Nancy Klingener, Community Affairs Manager for Monroe County Public Library, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the libraries.
The libraries not only have books, there are also games to be played.
Klingener said, “We have a lot of good old fashioned play them in person, not on a video screen, games at our branches. You can both come to the library and play the games there with your friends, or you can come to one of our organized programs, each one at each branch is, of course, different, and the best way to find out what’s happening at the branch near you is to go to our website, and you’ll see one of those little blocks along the top says events with a little calendar icon, and that pulls up our online calendar, which has all the events happening at each of the branches. So Mahjong has been very, very popular in Marathon for a long time and Big Pine also has a Mahjong game. And Key West just started a Mahjong game on Thursdays. It’s a tile game from Asia, but it’s very popular, and it’s one of those games that’s really good for your mental acuity, like focus and all skill levels are welcome, you don’t have to be an expert.”
The games really encourage social interation.
Klingener said, “We see all kinds of folks from all kinds of places, and that’s a really cool thing. Every couple of months, we’ll do a tournament. But if you just come to the Key West library on a Saturday and you’re interested in playing chess, learning more about chess, that’s a great way to do it.”
Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons are also popular.
Klingener said, “We would love to have you get a library card, but you do not have to have a library card to participate.”
What is required to get a library card?
Klingener said, “You just have to show us that you’re a resident. So if you have an ID, like a driver’s license with a Monroe County address, you’re all set. If you don’t have that, then something with your name and local address, like a utility bill or a lease or a pay stub, that also works, so come on and get your card. I would like to say, with Kanopy and Libby for the ebooks and the audiobooks, they have recently cracked down and are checking against the system and we’re hearing from a lot of people who are like, I have a PIN? I didn’t know I had a PIN. So the PIN is usually the last four digits of the phone number on your library account. So whatever phone number you gave us when you signed up, that’s probably your PIN. If that doesn’t work, there’s a way to reset your PIN. If you go to keyslibraries.org you’ll see a post there about how to reset your PIN. Sometimes the card is expired, and in that case, you need to contact us, either come in, give us a call or shoot us an email, and we can help you out.”
You can register for a library card online.
Klingener said, “There’s a block on the website that says, get a card, and there’s a link in there to online registration. That only works for the digital, the ebooks and Kanopy and stuff, and it only lasts for 90 days, but that’s just so you can get started right away, and then come on in and we’ll get you set up with the full two year card.”
For more information, click here: https://www.keyslibraries.org/