News and Notes from the Blanding Library

Update on Library Closure

The Blanding, like all other public libraries in the state, is closed right now. Blanding Director Whitney Pape recently sent out this explanation of how things stand at the Library:

“Blanding Public Library will be closed until further notice in order to protect the health and safety of our community and reduce transmission of COVID-19. All programs and events are canceled.

“Due dates for materials will be automatically extended. Any overdue fines accrued during this time will be waived. Expiration dates on library cards will be extended.

“While the physical library will be closed, the library’s online services will be available 24/7 from www.sailsinc.org , as well as the Overdrive and Libby eBook apps. You may also sign up for an e-card with Boston Public Library to access additional online resources, https://www.bpl.org/ecard/ 

“For reliable and up-to-date information on the Coronavirus (COVID-19), please visit the Department of Public Health at https://www.mass.gov/resource/information-on-the-outbreak-of-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19 .

“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we all pull together as a community to get through this difficult time.”

From the Friends of the Library
To all our members of the Friends of the Blanding Library:  As you know, the library is now closed due to the corona virus pandemic. We are already missing this community resource, and especially missing the personal connections we have all made at the Library. It’s a great meeting place in a town that is lacking many such meeting places.

Friends Memberships: We were about to mail out membership renewal forms for the Friends of the Library just before the scope of this crisis became apparent. But now is not a good time to pursue this, as we all have more urgent things on our minds.  We will now (hopefully) send these letters out in early fall, before our big annual book sale. This fund-raising event is scheduled for mid-October.

Friends of the Library memberships will be good for one year. We regret that we could not hold our one-day book sale in April as scheduled and hope we will be able to make up for it with the autumn book sale. So hold on to those used books you’re planning to donate until the library is ready to reopen.

We thank all our Friends members for their past support of the library. The Friends of the Library is the all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to pay for various programs, especially children’s programs, which the library can then offer for free to the public. We also help purchase things for the library that are outside its budget. Last year’s big purchase was a much-needed new outdoor book drop.

We will look forward to getting together with you back at the library in better days.