The staff at the library have been glad to see many of you taking advantage of our increased hours since November, even with the series of holidays interrupting the flow of traffic. Our statistics have increased since announcing our new curbside hours, even during the hours we were already open. So far, the evening hours have been sparsely attended, but we expect as the days become longer and warmer, we will see more visitors at that time as well. If you’re not sure about our new hours, consult our website at sonomalibrary.org or give us a call for the full information.
A week or so ago, our children’s librarian, Charity, announced an opportunity to request bundles of children’s picture books via a Facebook post. This announcement brought on a remarkable response and we have provided bags of books to many families since. Although that collection particularly needed some more readers to lighten our shelves, we have thousands and thousands of books in all subject areas, not to mention our DVDs, CDs and more. All of our reference staff are always happy to help pick out some items that would interest you. Perhaps you would like to learn about a new style of cooking? Might you have added a new family pet this year and need to learn more about caring for your new friend? Or maybe you would like to try a few binge-worthy television series out and see what you like. We can create a bundle of items for you to borrow. Reach out and give us a call at 707-433-3772 and we can talk it over.
Our magazines had to take a break during the summer and fall, but we are back to a point where we are lending current and past issues of magazines. You can search and find what we have available on our library catalog, find.sonomalibrary.org, but to place a request, you’ll need to give us a call. Magazines may be borrowed for three weeks at a time. Although a lot of magazines have sadly ceased publication this year, we still have many available in a variety of subject areas.
Charity misses seeing all of our little storytime friends in person every week. This last year, we have explored several different online platforms for virtual storytimes. Some of you have already participated in live Zoom Storytimes (you can find them at our events calendar: events.sonomalibrary.org/events) as well as watching pre-recorded storytimes on our YouTube channel (youtube.com/sonomalibrary). We wanted to make sure you know about a special new Instagram account as well. We have a new program called SCL Kids Read (instagram.com/scl.kids.read) featuring new books to look for, early literacy tips and my personal favorite, the Storytime Breaks. These short (30 seconds to two minutes) videos are here to teach you a song, a rhyme or a literacy trick while having a little fun at the same time. Charity and other children’s librarians from Sonoma County provide these entertaining breaks that kids and adults will both enjoy. After watching, you can try them yourselves at home.
Happy watching and listening for 2021 from the staff at the Healdsburg Library, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
Jon Haupt is the branch manager of the Healdsburg Regional Library.
