We've now reached a sad milestone: two months of closure due to the "Stay Home -- Stay Healthy" proclamation issued by Governor Jay Inslee in response to the SARS CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic.
It's probably safe to say that we're all more than ready to go back to opening the Library, and we may also all agree that we want to do so while minimizing the potential for the virus to spread among library users.
I do have some cautiously optimistic news about that possibility: the public libraries in Washington have approached the Governor's office to make a case for curbside pickup of library materials starting with Phase 2 of the Governor's "Safe Start Washington" plan. If approved, that would allow us to offer curbside pickup as early as the last week of May. Also, if San Juan County does officially request a variance to move directly to Phase 2, and if the State approves that request, then we could potentially start curbside pickup sooner.
Of course, both of those possibilities include significant "ifs". In the meantime, I hope that you are able to take advantage of our many online services.
We also hope to embark on remodeling the former lobby soon, with the goal of adding new café-style seating options and convenient computer work spaces.
As always, be sure to contact me with any questions or suggestions.
The Library is a quiet place these days, and do we ever miss you!
Library Staff stagger the days we work inside the building, and we do most of our work from home. Still - like many of you - we've been organizing, updating, cleaning out and sprucing up the Library as we are able. We've had construction projects completed, new furniture delivered, carpets cleaned, transitioned to a new server, upgraded our electronics, and, of course, sorted through our collections!
Most notably, we've almost completed the long-awaited Nanawall construction project (left photo): glass doors that separate the children's and young adult areas from the rest of the Library. This will provide a sound barrier for the Library as well as added privacy for families and teens using those spaces. This was a fairly complex project that required scaffolding that made the children's and young adult area inaccessible for a period of time, so we're happy it could be completed during our closure.
New furniture (right photo) arrived in March to replace old chairs that had been in the building for decades. We're excited to go hi-tech with power ports on some of the chairs, and we continue to work on furniture updates for other areas of the original wing of the library. Additional furniture and carpet repairs and upgrades are happening this month.
Many of you already know about the bench that was installed on our south lawn in memory of Ginny Lu Wood. We look forward to this becoming a welcoming outdoor space for Islanders.
And last, but not least, we’ve been able to thoroughly sort through our collections to make room for exciting new book and media purchases, which have continued during our closure.
Table of Contents Book Club
Owl posts have been dispatched to Table of Content book club members and other non-muggles for the next meeting on Thursday, May 21st, 3:30-4:30pm via a Zoom invite. Owls are known to run off course, so please contact jdegroot@orcaslibrary.org if you would like to join our 4th - 6th grade book club and have not received your post. Guests will be discussing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling, downloadable free from Overdrive and Libby. Please contact the library if you are unable to access these audiobooks and ebooks.
Census workers will resume delivering invitations and questionnaires to those households that did not receive them when all field operations were suspended in March as a result of the COVID-19 virus.
This operation will affect about 5 percent of the households in the state, primarily more rural areas and households with PO boxes that do not receive mail at a physical address. We call this operation Update Leave.
This work does not require any interaction with the public – census workers will not ring doorbells or collect census information. All they will do is leave a packet with a questionnaire and instructions about how to respond at the front door. For information about how to identify a census worker, click here. They will also wear appropriate protective gear as needed.
Once people receive their invitation, we ask them to respond as soon as possible; each household should use the 12-digit code included with their census invitation for quicker processing.
