October 8, 2024

Dear Community,

It has been a difficult couple of weeks, and I wanted to provide a library update. Thank you to those who reached out during the storm. We missed being here with you!

The library staff team is all physically safe and accounted for. Like many of you, several of our team members sustained varying levels of damage to their homes and property. The library was closed last week, with many library staff assisting with disaster relief efforts Wednesday through Saturday. We were delighted to open the doors again yesterday.

Library Services

The library is currently open with regular hours. Public computers, WiFi, printing, copying and scanning are all available. If you have stir-crazy children, bring them to the kids area and let them play with a STEAM activity kit. Charge your devices, sit in community with others, or take home a fresh armload of books. 

The only library service you need a library card for is checking out materials. We welcome patrons from our neighboring counties. Anyone with a library card from the NC Cardinal library network may borrow materials here; this includes all public libraries in western NC. 

Scheduled library programs will resume Friday, Oct. 11 at 9:30 am with yoga in the amphitheater. Come stretch out your stress! Bring the little ones here Saturday at 11 am for Storytime and a craft. Next week, programs will be mostly back on track, though we are still waiting on a final decision for Monday evening’s Family Dinner Series at Parks and Recreation. See the library’s event calendar for the most current information. The Bookmobile is currently off the road and will resume services as conditions allow.

Library Materials

We know many of our community members’ lives are unsettled right now. We don’t want library materials to add to your stress, so we tweaked some settings to make that easier.

Until October 21, we will process returned materials as if they were returned on September 26, the day we closed for the storm. We also extended most due dates by three weeks. As always, unless requested by others, your checkouts will automatically renew up to three times.

Many of our library neighbors with whom we share materials are still closed due to the storm, and this may cause delays in filling your holds. If you had an item on hold waiting to be checked out during the storm, we will continue to keep it for you through this week.

Please let us know if your library checkouts were damaged during the storm. You will NOT be charged for the damaged items, but we need to track and account for them. If you can’t get to the library, email or call Circulation Manager Derek Nelson (828 884-1802 / [email protected]).

Friends of the Library

Unfortunately, the Friends of the Library have had to cancel this year’s annual book sale. The book sale is a massive volunteer-led undertaking involving over 50 individuals and a week+ of set-up. Under current circumstances, that is not a viable option. The Friends’ Second Story Book store will reopen as planned on November 4, and the Friends will begin accepting book donations again in January. The Friends’ Board is confident in its ability to support Library programs and services in the coming year.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. If the storm affected your library account or library use in ways I did not address, we want to hear that, and we will do our best to resolve the issue. Please be patient with us — and each other — as we all continue the long path to recovery from Hurricane Helene.

With sincere gratitude,

Rishara Finsel

Library Director