Announcements

Otsego District Library Begins Receiving Used Book Donations May 1st!

The Friends of the Library Used Bookstore has reopened and is fully stocked with great titles. Come visit soon! We will begin accepting used book donations again on May 1st.

We ask that you only bring in what you can carry/move yourself on a cart. The staff are not available to help move donations at this time. The Friends will not be having any giant book sales currently but rather only operating the store and sorting books for the library to sell on Amazon & ThriftBooks.

Because we have limited volunteer help, in order to spread out the donations this spring, please wait until the listed week to bring in your donations:
Last Names A-G Week of May 3
Last Names H-N Week of May 10
Last Names O-T Week of May 17
Last U-Z Week of May 24
Or throughout the summer.

Signup to volunteer to be a Friend of the Library and help sort books in our bookstore at the library’s circulation desk!

The library will be closed Saturday, April 3 for Easter Weekend.

Have a safe and happy weekend with your family and friends!

The library will have adjusted hours for the up and coming holiday. Please note that the week after Christmas the library skylights are being replaced and will be offering Drive-Thru Pickup ONLY services on those days.

Christmas December 24 – 26
CLOSED

December 28 – 31
CURBSIDE ONLY*
*This may change if skylight repairs finish early

New Year’s Eve December 31
CLOSING AT 3 PM

New Year’s Day January 1
CLOSED

Have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends!

The library will be closed for the holiday.

CLOSED: November 26 – 28

Have a wonderful, safe, and happy holiday with your family and friends!

STARTING MONDAY, SEP 28, we are expanding our service hours.

Building Open:
Monday – Friday 10 AM – 6 PM
Saturday 10 AM – 3 PM

Drive-Thru Window Available via Call-In:
Monday – Friday 10 AM – 6 PM
Saturday 10 AM – 3 PM (Window closed Noon-1 for lunch – building remains open at lunch)

The drive-thru holds pickup window will no longer be staffed continuously as we expand our service hours, but rather will switch over to a call-in model.

We will ask that patrons call the library from their cell phone when they arrive at the window. If you do not have a cell phone, you can call ahead from home before you leave for the library and schedule a pickup time.

If you do not have a cell phone and were not able to call ahead from home, there will also be a doorbell at the window that can be rung and staff will come to get your items. Calling us from the window or calling ahead is the easiest for staff and quickest for you because the staff can grab your items when you call and come to the window with them.

Holds can also now be picked up at the circulation desk inside the building.

Expanded Service Hours Coming Soon – September 28!

The Otsego District Library Staff would like to thank you for all the positive encouragement in the past several months as the library has navigated the unprecedented process of reopening to the public during the Covid Pandemic. We have heard many great things about our drive-up window, and others are happy to be utilizing the building again since mid-July. We hope you will use the library in whichever way you feel safest.

As a public space we cannot guarantee all surfaces are sanitized at all times, but our staff does continue to work to sanitize throughout the day, especially in high touch point areas and the computers in between uses. We appreciate the community’s willingness to use the library while wearing a mask, social distancing, using good hygiene when visiting the library, and not coming to the library sick. We would like to thank you, we have had very few issues so far and we appreciate that!

We currently continue to quarantine items upon return. When you put your returns in the outdoor book drop, they are sent to the program room where they remain for a week before being checked in and re-shelved into the collection.

Today we have **exciting** news to announce. We will be expanding our service hours to 10-6 on Mondays-Fridays, 10-3 Saturdays, starting Monday, September 28, for both the building and the drive-up window. This adds an additional 4 hours of access to both the window and the facility on every weekday. The change starting Sep. 28 with the drive-up window will be that the window will transition to a call-in model. (You will call the library when you arrive at the window). At this time, our study rooms and Michigan History Room will also be available for public use by request and sanitized between uses. Building capacity limits will stay in place and the Friends Bookstore, Teen Room, and Early Literacy Center will stay temporarily closed.

We hope you had a chance to check out our Fall Newsletter https://otsegolibrary.org/newsletter/ and all the creative new services and virtual programs we are offering. A popular new service is our Book Packs to Go! https://otsegolibrary.org/bookpacks/ We are also eagerly preparing Rising Reader Activity Kits (thanks in part to the memorial donation of Albert Hoekstra!) for parents to work with their children on vital literacy skills – keep an eye out for those to start appearing later this fall and early winter in the children’s area! Our awesome staff continues to think of creative and adaptive ways to serve you at this time.

We hope you will remember your library is **Here For You!**

Have a great weekend!

Andrea Estelle, Library Director
Otsego District Library

Would you like a library staff member to pick out books for you or your child?

Click on the Book Packs To-Go link that fits your request below and fill out a form. You can list your interests or genre’s you prefer and a staff member will choose up to 10 books that they feel you will enjoy.

Do you like a certain genre or want to learn about a certain subject? Does your child like dinosaurs, fairies, or any other subject? A staff member will choose books to match that subject. The library will put materials on hold for you. When you receive an email, you can pick up your Book Pack To-Go at our drive-through curbside window.

 Greetings ODL Patrons!

We hope you are having a great summer despite everything this year has thrown at us so far. We have two very big announcements!

PROUD TO BE FINE FREE!

We want to start your July off right with two big announcements. First, the Otsego District Library will be going FINE FREE! The library realizes the barrier to access that fines create for some families and we wish to remove these barriers. In the current phased-based models of service, and with the necessity of quarantining returned materials, collecting overdue fines does not work. It will take some time to get through this process, so please be patient as we work on eliminating overdue fines. Our current priority has been getting the library ready to reopen but we are also excited to announce this good news. Replacement costs for lost and damaged items and materials recovery costs will not be waived but regular overdue fines on books and movies will be!

Regular check out limits will still apply, so you still will need to renew your items to avoid being charged for the materials. The Materials Borrowing Policy will be edited to reflect this change this month. Enjoy your fine free library! We believe that the goodwill in our community by eliminating fines will help our yearly donations to increase. You can make a donation to ODL anytime, from anywhere, at our PayPal account on the “Donate to your Library” button on our website!

REOPENING

Our second big announcement is we hope to OPEN our doors again in mid-July!

The library staff have been very busy working hard to prepare for “Phase 4” of our reopening plan. The goal is to open to the public again on MONDAY, JULY 13! We are getting closer to being ready but still have some shields to install, staff training to go through, interior repair work to do, and final cleaning projects to wrap up. The drive up window will remain available during our next phase. All holds must still be picked up at the drive-up window.

Our social distance phase of the library is a “grab and go” model. We ask that you keep library visits brief so others can also use the building safely. We know that you are eager to be back in the library, but we need to limit lingering and gathering at this time.

When we reopen our doors to the public there will be limitations in place and the library will look quite different to you temporarily:

• 40 PEOPLE, ONE HOUR VISITS: No more than 40 patrons will be in the building at one time and we ask those patrons to limit their time to no more than one hour once per day. If the building is at capacity of 40 you will be asked to wait outside or in your car until others leave.
• LIMITED GROUPS: Please try to limit your group sizes when you visit, if at all possible, so we can accommodate as many as possible.
• MASKS REQUIRED: Under current legal guidelines in order for us to be open, all visitors (with the exception of those who cannot medically tolerate it and children under age 2) are required to wear a mask. The library will provide you with a mask if you need one.
• DO NOT COME SICK: If you are sick or have been around someone diagnosed with Covid-19 we ask that you stay home.
• COMPUTER SANITIZING AND SHORTENED TIME LIMITS: The computers will be open with a limited capacity and a 60 minute time limit, no extended time will be permitted on the computers. The computers will have keyboard covers and stations will be sanitized after use. Copies, printing and Fax services will resume as normal.
• TEMPORARILY CLOSED: Newspapers and Launchpads will be unavailable for circulation. All board games and interactive activities are in temporary storage, as well as much of the library furniture and seating. The Early Literacy Center, History Room, Teen Nook, Study Rooms, and Program rooms will be closed. Indoor book drop, coffee, water bottle station, and water fountain are closed.
• RESTROOMS: Bathrooms will be available but only cleaned once per day, not between uses.
• COLLECTION CHANGES: Touch screen catalogs are closed. Library displays, new shelves, and book easels are not out in this phase, to limit repeat browsing. All items, including new materials, will be shelved on the regular shelves. The staff has been spending a large amount of time cleaning and sanitizing all the shelves throughout the library.
• HAIL DAMAGE UPDATE: We also may have some projects still being wrapped up from our roof recovery from the hail damage. Some interior work is still being done and the skylights still need to be replaced. These projects are in motion but not completed. All the skylights need to be custom ordered and created. We are not sure yet if the skylight replacement will mean a service interruption or not.
• HOW WE ARE TRYING TO BE SAFE: For everyone’s safety and to reduce the spread of germs, we have installed shields on the service desks, spread out computer stations, and sanitizer stations are set up around the library. We ask that patrons do not hand materials or library cards to our staff. Staff will be trained in how to keep transactions as contactless as possible. Only the outdoor book/materials return drop will be open. The interior book drop will not be available. Do not bring materials you are returning into the library; utilize the drive thru book drop instead. No food or beverage will be permitted in the building. One-way aisle markers and social distancing signage have been placed throughout the building. All incoming materials will continue to be “quarantined” for 3 days. Programs will continue to be virtual.
• QUARANTINE BROWSE BINS: The library requests that you only handle material you want to check out, however if you do browse an item and decide you don’t want it, please place it in one of our Quarantine Browse Bins to be sanitized by quarantine for 72 hours.
• EVEN WITH ALL OF THESE GOOD FAITH EFFORTS, THE LIBRARY IS A PUBLIC SPACE AND WE CAN NOT GUARANTEE THE BUILDING WILL BE SANITIZED AT ALL TIMES. While staff will work hard to sanitize computer stations and touch points throughout the day, there is no way that the library can guarantee a completely germ- free environment in a public space. We urge you to use our drive up window or send a relative/friend if you are immune compromised. We ask for your cooperation as a community to not visit if you or your family are or have been sick in the last 14 days, wear your masks, wash your hands, keep visits brief and to the point, and continue utilizing the drive up window for your holds. It is our desire to keep our staff and community safe.

Although these temporary limitations have been put in place, we continue to hope for the good health of our community and look forward to the day when we can return to full service.

Library leadership will continue to monitor conditions daily and adjust services accordingly. If things for Allegan County change, we may need to pause and step back a phase.

We hope you have a great summer and we have been so happy to see some of you again at our drive up window!