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Salmon Falls Library 2019-2020 Monday 3-6pm, Wednesday 4-7pm, Thursday 3-8pm, Saturday 9-noon

Before closing for the pandemic on March 17, 2020, the library increased its membership by 25 households and 57 individuals.

The website was launched in August, 2019 and enables patrons to browse the catalog online as well as reserve and renew books.

We added the Bibliotheca Cloud Library e-book borrowing service through the Maine State Library just in time for the physical closing of the library. Since mid March, 85 people have used the new service, but only 15 of them since we opened again in September. We had a full schedule of activities planned, starting in the fall of 2019. With the Friends of Salmon Falls Library, we did two workshops: one on creating holiday centerpieces and the second on card making for Christmas. A new Book Club got off to a great start in January with 12 participants but shut down when not enough people wanted to continue on Zoom. The February workshop was called “Start a Home Business,” based on the experiences of two local residents who had home businesses. The March event, “Can You Make a Living as an Actor,” was geared to high and middle school students from the area and presented by a Buxton resident who had a successful career in Hollywood. Unfortunately the event was cancelled when the library closed. During the lockdown, we posted lists of free resources and activities, from learning a language to family activities, We added Tumbledown, a free online streaming service of books for children and teenagers. The library opened for Curbside pickup on June 8 th . Patrons could either request books from the website or ask me to pick out a selection for them. The books were left on a table at the front entrance in labelled paper bags. Returned books go into quarantine for three days before going back on the shelves. On September 16 th , the Library opened with regular hours and Covid related rules: a limited number of people at a time, one family in the Children’s Room, masks and use of hand sanitizer required. Returned books are still quarantined. Although the number of patrons is down somewhat, it’s encouraging to see increased use of the website.The reopening has gone smoothly and no one has had to wait to come in. We are so grateful to the Friends of Salmon Falls Library and all our volunteers who help the library run smoothly. Several people have volunteered in the library throughout the various stages of opening. We appreciate them all so much.

Respectfully submitted, Lynn Ericson, Library Director

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