Kate Stevens and her son Samuel, 8 months old, came to the downtown library Monday from North Albany to return a movie and a book. They turned around when they saw the signs.
Unless you stocked up on library books, you’ll have to find something else to read in the next few days. In Albany, you can’t get any more until the end of the month.
The Albany Public Library originally hoped to keep its two branches closed only until they reopen on March 23. And that’s what the signs on the door of the downtown branch say. But on Monday the city decided to close the libraries for an additional week, hoping to reopen on March 30. When I called Monday afternoon, the signs were about to be changed to the new date.
Needless to say, due dates for the library books on your night stand no longer apply. And fines won’t accumulate until further notice.
The library closure is just one of many steps the city of Albany is taking to minimize close personal contact among people so as not to spread the new coronavirus. Among others: City court sessions have been canceled, and so have almost all public meetings.
One exception: The city council meets Wednesday afternoon to ratify an emergency declaration Mayor Sharon Konopa signed last Friday. Why wait until Wednesday? Because there’s no hurry. The declaration took effect as soon as the mayor signed it. The Municipal Code requires only that it be ratified by the council within seven days. (The declaration authorizes the city manager to reallocate money in the budget to help the city government cope with the coronavirus outbreak.)
For details on city operations, go to CityofAlbany.net and check the postings there. They are updated as things change.
There are of course many ways to find something to read. But the temporary (we hope) closure of the main library and the Carnegie branch downtown also drives home to some of us how much public libraries still mean, and how important they are to community life. (hh)
Somebody didn’t read the sign not to return books. The title: “The Bodies in the Library.”
The sign of the times this March.
Closing the libraries makes sense given the city has declared a public health emergency.
It is only natural that city government first protect its employees and their families from the coronavirus. The social distancing benefit for the public at large has some value, but is secondary.
Your photo raises, again, the question: Why force Albany taxpayers to fund this downtown anachronism? Better to sell it without strings attached to a private concern and funnel the money back into Albany’s existing, modern library system.
Make this relic a tax generator, not a revenue consumer. Let the private marketplace re-purpose this artifact and decide its best use.
Because there are folks who live downtown and who use it.
Take the bus
Wife uses the books on line deal thru the library. Very useful. We will get thru this….. We’re doing much better than in 1918-1919 when the flu pandemic killed millions.
Another option is to find the little free librarys around town. There are many!
https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/
Some have many other items such as seeds, games, movies, magazines, in addition to books.