Hot news for chilly times!
Well, our Friendsville Library is no more – for now. The old building has been torn down and the pad broken up, and a beautiful new facility is preparing to rise from the ashes, thanks to the support provided by the Maryland State Library Agency, the Town of Friendsville, and Garrett County’s government. In the meantime, we are honored to share quarters with the Senior Center – come on by and see our browsing collection, pick up and place holds, use the computer or participate in one of our Library events!
And we have more big news – the Board of Trustees voted to eliminate late fees starting in July, making the Library fine-free, as most public libraries have become in Maryland. Items over thirty days late are declared lost and billed to the account, but bringing them back will make that go away – we do have to get things back for the next person, after all. We look forward to getting more materials into the hands of people that will appreciate them!
The Main Library also has a new Cricut machine – and we’re making it available for you, the public, to use! If you bring your own materials it’s free – but we do have some you can use as well for a low price. If you’ve got a project you’d like to work on, we’re here to help you make it happen!
Our Pub Trivia series at the Vagabond Taproom is wrapping up for the season soon – our last session will be on March 7 at 7:00 PM, so if you haven’t tried it yet, come on by – people seem really happy with it, despite the fact that I’m running the show... We’ll be back next fall, though, and in the meantime we’ve got a lot of other great programs for you all to enjoy.
The Accident Library, for instance, now has a Pokemon club! Trade, battle and make new friends in Pokemon Go, the card game, or the regular series – the Library is here to connect you!
We are also starting a new Library Academy series of programs on fun and useful things to learn that you might not have picked up in school! Anyone ages 12 and up is welcome, and we’re going to be covering such things as Games the Ancients Played, the History of Food, How to Knit, improving your photography skills, and much more!
National Library Week is coming up in April. We’re celebrating with Tyler Reed’s Family Magic, a magic show that will be taking place across all of our locations in Garrett County that week – check our website for the dates and times it will be in your neighborhood!
So much of what we do, of course, is made possible by our amazing Friends of the Library. This year, they’re launching the first ever Friends of the Library Scholarship for our local high schools – graduating students can apply through March 1. We will also be offering a Shred Day event to coincide with the end of tax season (with the date to be determined) – if you have documents to dispose of, bring them by!
