The Liberty Municipal Library is presently operating with limited service due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in the Liberty area. Even though the building is not open for foot traffic, the staff are hard at work Monday through Saturday as patrons call in their book or audiovisual orders for front door pickup service. Staff are also busy producing new weekly online Story Time programs that can be viewed from the library’s Facebook page. Telephone information service is also available, and the library offers e-books and audiobooks.
There has been some confusion over returning checked out materials, and patrons are reminded that due dates are still in effect even though the library is not open for foot traffic. To avoid fines, patrons are urged to return materials on time. Returning is easy—just drop the materials in the library’s outside book return which is located on the driveway in front of the library.
Library Director Dana Abshier reported that front door pickup service has worked very well, and patrons are happy to have access to thousands of books and other materials. Patrons may go online to the library’s catalog to search for books by their favorite authors at https://liberty.biblionix.com/catalog and will know at a glance if the titles they want are available for immediate checkout.
Patrons may then either reserve the materials online or call the library at 936-336-8901 to place their order. Library staff will locate the materials and have them checked out to the patron and ready for pickup within 30 minutes. Patrons are asked to call the library when they arrive so that the materials can be set out on a table just outside the front foyer doors of the Geraldine D. Humphreys Cultural Center.
The library staff are available to take patron orders Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. Materials requested after 4 p.m. are available the following day. The library is also offering front door pickup service on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Materials requested after 3 p.m. on Saturday will be available for pickup on Monday.
Materials will not be placed outside until the patron has arrived and they will not be placed outside if it is raining. Patrons needing additional assistance to pick up their orders are urged to let the library staff know so that materials can be taken directly to the patron’s car.
Materials can be renewed with a telephone call to the library. Books have a three-week checkout period and may be renewed once. Newly released DVDs have a three-day checkout period, older titles have a seven-day checkout period, and books on CD have a three-week checkout period. A wide variety of popular magazines are also available for three-week checkout.
If patrons have held on to materials past the due date because they thought the library was totally closed, they are asked to go ahead and return the materials as soon as possible. Fines can be waived in special circumstances.
The Liberty Municipal Library encourages the public to take advantage of all their library has to offer and librarians are on the job to provide assistance. Check out recorded Story Time programs on the library’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LibertyMunicipalLibrary. For more information please call the library at 936-336-8901.