Curbside pick-up available at Strathmore library

By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter

The Strathmore Municipal Library will start offering curbside pick-up May 11 so library cardholders can borrow books, DVDs, kits and items from the Smore Stuff collection. 

Since closing the library on March 16 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, library staff have worked at planning a safe way to offer physical library services along with its e-resources. 

Starting on May 11, patrons can call, email or complete an online form at strathmorelibrary.ca/curbside to request up to 10 library resources/books, and to schedule a pick-up time. Pick-up times may take up to one week to schedule and are reserved in 10-minute slots, on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m., Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. by appointment only. 

“The online form is preferred because it allows us to get all the information they need, allows them to give us subjects they’re interested in, the authors they’re interested and then we can select books for them,” said Carmen Erison, assistant director of library services. She added it’s important for users to show up at exactly their scheduled pick-up time so there is no crowding.

Only books and items currently held at the Strathmore library are available for loan; it is not possible to place holds or bring in items from other libraries at this time. 

“The kicker is that (requests) can only be for books currently in our library … it’s easier if you fill out the online form and let us know what you’re looking for then we can match it to what we have inside our walls,” said Erison.

Currently, all due dates have been extended and no late fines are being issued for items that came due when the library closed in March. Library cards that expired since the closure have been extended to August 1, 2020.

Erison said she hopes the library can accept returns soon, and library staff are currently working on a return procedure for books and items borrowed before the library closure. 

In the meantime, once the new curbside loan/pickup program is established, the library recommends patrons store books and other borrowed items for a minimum of 24 hours before handling them, and that patrons who are immune compromised or high risk not borrow items from the library. 

Currently, the Strathmore library is offering free library cards; visit strathmorelibrary.ca and click at the banner at the top. 

“We have great online resources for member to access but not everybody can use them,” said Erison. “Reading has proven to really help a person’s mental health, so being able to put books in people’s hands that they have a way to escape while they are isolating at home is super important to us,” said Erison. 

“Also for children in general, the more a child reads the more it will help them retain the knowledge they’ve learned over the school year so they are prepared for the future school year. We want to keep the children reading and if it’s a physical book that keeps them reading then wonderful, we’re glad we can do that.”