At the library: How to stay connected

By Makenna Burdock

Since March, the world has changed drastically in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. The Washington Free Public Library has taken the safety of our patrons very seriously and have made several changes to our policies to be able to continue serving the community as best we can during these trying times.

One of the ways we have been able to stay connected to our patrons is through our Curbside Pickup Service. Patrons are able to call the library at 319-653-2726, 24 hours in advance, to request materials to be picked up on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Our policy has recently changed to allow 4 books and 2 multimedia items per card. Pickup times are on the hour, starting at 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The items are placed on a cart outside of the library for the first 15 minutes of the designated hour to allow a contactless transfer to take place. If the books aren't able to be picked up, we ask patrons to call ahead so we can pull the books. If we receive no call, the items will be taken back into the library to be put in quarantine for the next 3 days to protect all patrons.

There are a few ways for a patron to decide what they would like to check out. On our website, www.washington.lib.ia.us, anyone can search our catalog for any material they would like to checkout. One useful part of the catalog shows if a particular book is checked out or not. Another way is by 'window shopping” in the front of the library. Our large windows showcase children's books along with adult books and movies. Our windows are a fun place to stop and look at also because of the large fire-breathing dragon!

An additional great resource is Bridges. Bridges is the library's online catalog that can be accessed remotely as long as patrons have their library card. Bridges can be accessed on our library page under resources. Once a patron logs in using their library card number as the username and their last name as the password, they are able to search the database. There are e-books, magazines, and audiobooks and you can put themselves on a list for an item that is unavailable. This is a wonderful way to be able to keep reading, or listening, to new items while away from home!

The Washington Free Public Library building is here to serve the community through these rough times, to assist patrons any way we can! Please don't hesitate to call us at 319-653-2726 with any questions!