A-H Public Library looking forward to the day they can announce their doors are open

The A-H Public library staff is looking forward to the day we can announce our doors are open again to serve our communities with complete access to all of our library services. Until then, we encourage you to use our online digital services for eBooks, audios, and movies at www.ahlibrary.com

During the past six weeks we have often answered the question, “when is the library going to open”? Each time, our sadly offered answer wasn’t the response you wanted to hear.

It will soon be 8 weeks that the library doors were closed to our patrons, but I’m happy to share we do have a plan in place to eventually restore full library services.

Currently, the library is following a “stay at home order in place”, to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. This is referred to as Level III in our library service levels, from pandemic to restoring full library service plan.

The next “step up of Level III” will follow a “stay at home lifted/modified in place” for non-essentials. This part of Level III will allow limited business hours for curbside pickup initiated by phone and or online ordering of library materials. Procedure for library material pickups will be announced later. Patrons are still encouraged to use digital services during this “step up of Level III” plan

Today, we are tentatively looking at Tuesday, June 2, as the earliest date to begin “step up in Level III”. The final decision will be made following orders and recommendations from the Governor of Illinois, Illinois State Library, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local health advisories and the A-HPLD Board of Trustees.

Summer Reading Programs will be a new adventure this year. In fact, the iREAD program, a coordinated program produced by librarians and the Illinois Library Association, introduced this year’s theme as “Dig Deeper: Read, Investigate, Discover”.

The library will not host programs and activities inside of the library this summer. In-person public gatherings or meeting spaces will remain cancelled through August. Our Summer Reading Program is still a go! There will be reading, crafts, games, etc. and lots of prizes to win, to encourage continued reading throughout our usual 5 weeks of scheduled activities.

An online and or phone registration for summer reading activities is set for June 8-13. Watch for more information on registration times and pickup procedures of materials. They will be posted on our website, our Face Book page and here in the newspaper.

A return to all our library services will not be immediate. We will be following a carefully planned and informed approach for the health, safety, and well-being of our communities, our patrons and the library staff.