Updates: Phased Reopening, Donations, Summer Reading Program, and If All Arkansas Read the Same Book

Hello, library friends.

We appreciate your patience and kindness as we work toward resuming public entry. Although we're not ready yet, the Newton County Library is much closer. We are working to ensure as safe of an environment as we can for staff and community. In the meantime, please use NCL's curbside service. Call, email, message, or text us to schedule a time to pick-up books and movies, to make copies, to send faxes, to pick up printed materials, or to use a laptop outside the doors. As always, wi-fi is available 24/7 from anywhere in the library parking lot. All returns should be placed in the drop box. Returned materials are being quarantined for 72 hours before being sanitized and reshelved. If you have any questions about how these services work, please contact us. Even after public entry resumes, we plan to continue curbside service for our vulnerable patrons and those who wish to continue social distancing during the ongoing pandemic, and we will offer special hours at least twice weekly for senior citizens and vulnerable patrons wishing to enter the facility. I will send out another update when we are read to move into the next phase of reopening. Please be aware that our plans could change in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

NCL is grateful to the Arkansas Library Association and other generous individuals and organizations who have provided assistance: making and donating cloth masks for staff, donating materials for staff and patron protection, making monetary donations, and more. NCL is blessed to serve in such a wonderful community! We are close to having all of the necessary safety precautions in place. However, our budget was not prepared for the unexpected need for these precautions or the increase in the cost of many products and supplies. If you would like to donate to NCL, donations can be mailed to: Newton County Library, HC 31 Box 8, Jasper, AR 72641, or you can donate through PayPal at https://www.paypal.me/newtoncountylibrary. All donations will be used to serve our community safely and effectively. 

Since we will not be able to host in-person programs or events in the near future, NCL's Summer Reading Program will be online and will run from June 1 through August 15. The Arkansas State Library has purchased an engaging online reading program for Arkansas public libraries called ReadSquared. Using ReadSquared, you can keep track of your summer reading as you earn badges. It's for everyone--all ages, from birth to elderhood. There are 4 programs: Pre-K, Children's, Teen, and Adult. ReadSquared also has reading lists, mini-games, missions, and more. Register today to get started! Visit http://newtoncountylibrary.readsquared.com to register or login. You can also download the READsqured app to your phone, tablet, or other device. Advice on registering: you only have to fill out the fields with asterisks (*), and don't click "Go Back" or everything you've entered will be erased.

NCL is also happy to share with you information about the Arkansas State Library's 2020 selection for If All Arkansas Read the Same Book. This year's selection is The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. Due to concerns about COVID-19, the author will speak during virtual visits with statewide access. The visits will be on Zoom and streamed through Facebook Live. On Wed., July 15 at 2:00 p.m. CT, Ms. Richardson will be having a conversation with State Library staff as a lead-in to the July 16 presentation, and on Thurs., July 16 at 2:00 p.m. CT, Ms. Richardson will do a presentation about the novel, with an opportunity for live Q&A from the audience. If you are interested in submitting questions, please use this Google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfAL4Z--wuIVaxFPY7JY-fy8Z5U9fiqH_L_DETcGx5oYLg8OA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1. Question suggestions will be accepted through Monday, July 6. NCL has one print copy of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, but the State Library is generously sponsoring simultaneous use access in late June through our consortium-owned digital library Library2Go. For more information, visit: https://www.library.arkansas.gov/programs/arkansas-center-for-the-book/if-all-arkansas-read-the-same-book/. 

Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or comments or if I can be of further assistance.

As always, your library loves you!

Kenya Windel, Director