Those Librarians are Busy at the Howland Public Library!

Eddie the Lilac Lion poses for his #LibraryShelfie at the Howland Public Library's Shelfie Week on Instagram.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Sarah Blakeslee

If you're not already following the Howland Public Library's Instagram feed or subscribing to their newsletter, you are missing out on exciting action! The staff at Beacon's public library, the Howland Public Library, has been quite busy with upgrades and innovations. Just when we wanted to blog about their clever Food for Fines program, they went and completed the construction on their new automatic doors!

Food for Fines Program - Ends February 28th

In lieu of paying fines, the library kicked off a Food for Fines program that ran from January 1 - February 28th* (if you're reading this before then, there is still time to pay off those fines with creative ideas for local food pantries in Beacon). The library's new director, Amy Raff, experienced a successful variation of this program at her former library, focusing on toiletries for food pantries, as those can be overlooked when rummaging through cupboards for food. Socks are often the most needed by people who depend on food pantries and other charitable outlets.

As food pantries have been in the news a lot in Beacon, it has drawn attention to the senior community, a large proportion of those who use such programs. Not only do seniors need socks, they sometimes also need help for incontinence issues. Therefore, for my own fines for four overdue DVDs, my donation was absorbent underwear for women, and black and white socks. What did you donate?

*The Food for Fines Program was extended till the end of February due to upgrade-based library closures and national holidays that happened in February.

Easier to Use Computers and Rent DVDs

Announced just before 2016 started, the library unveiled new rules to make accessing their resources more time-friendly and less costly. The big changes are:

• Overdue fines for DVDs are now 25 cents a day (instead of $1.00). 
• DVD series (with more than 2 DVDs) now circulate for 14 days (instead of 7 days).
• Each item may now be renewed twice, if there is no hold on it (instead of once). 
• Use the public computers for 2 hours per day (instead of 1 hour per day). P.S.: You can thank Beacon Reads, the little bookstore next door with the FREE cart of books out front, for help in raising money to provide those computers!
• Use the computers if you owe less than $50 (instead of $10).

Now, don't go crazy with your lateness habits. Books, DVDs and other resources are in hot demand by other public libraries! Changes made to the computer-use rules will certainly help expand the types of work to be done on library computers, such as a bigger research project instead of quick email checking.

New Automatic Doors for Better Accessibility!

Taking a cue from Rite Aid's 2014 upgrade almost across the street, the Howland Public Library modernized with new automatic doors! The previous doors were very difficult to get through, especially if you were pushing a stroller, pulling a kid wagon, or using a wheelchair. And with the great programming at Beacon's library, the senior and kid communities are regulars! The entrance now has two rows of glass doors that slide open, providing a new source of natural light around the front desk area. According to the library, this accessibility upgrade was made possible, in part, by a construction grant from The New York State Department of Education/New York State Library.

Check out the Howland Public Library's new director, Amy Raff, demonstrate walking through the doors on the library's Instagram feed:

Testing 1,2,3. Our new doors are here and in motion! #howlandlibrary #beaconlibrary #beaconny #librariesofinstagram #librarylife #mhls #automaticforthepeople #adaaccessible #library

A video posted by Beacon Library (@beaconlibrary) on Feb 1, 2016 at 8:40am PST

Up Next: New Public Bathrooms!

As if the changes couldn't get any better - even the bathrooms are getting an upgrade! It's a real page-turner over there at the library as they keep us on our toes.