Nancy Klingener with Monroe County Public Libraries, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM yesterday morning to talk about the libraries.
A lot of people still enjoy physically going to the local library.
Klingener said, “One reason is to pop in and see books and DVDs that have been newly added to the collection. We’ve got those pulled out, or even just to browse the stacks. It seems now you find out from Goodreads or something else online what books are out but it’s fun to just wander through and find something that looks interesting. And of course, you can always ask our staff if you’re interested in a book, and they’ll ask you what you like to read. That’s our favorite thing to do, is to help people find their next great read. The other thing we have in each of our branches is displays where the staff pull out books on a certain topic, or sometimes even on the same color. They get really creative. I know right now in Key West, we’ve got a little display of books with lucky in the title, with St Patrick’s Day coming up. And people are taking those. And we’re setting up for the second year in a row a March Book Madness with a bracket of the most popular books from the last year, and we’re setting them up against each other, and we’ll see who comes out on top. If you stop by and vote, you’ll be entered to possibly win a prize. So that’s something you have to come to the library to do.”
Magazines are also available at the libraries.
Klingener said, “We have tons and tons of magazines online on our Libby app, which I definitely think people should check out. But we do still have physical magazines in the libraries, if you like to just turn pages and read print stuff you can read them here.”
You can even get items after hours.
Klingener said, “We have multiple ways for people to get physical items, books and DVDs after hours. One of them is at Bernstein Park on Stock Island. There we have a pickup locker. So if you want to request something from our online catalog and ask for it to be sent to the Bernstein pickup locker. You can just go there and get it. And it’s open 7am to 10pm every day, including weekends. Bernstein Park also has a lending machine, which is sort of like that red box or an automat, if anybody remembers those, and it’s got books and DVDs, and you just enter your library card, scan your library card, and you can pick which one you want, and it pops right out. So that’s a cool thing. Another one of those up in Key Largo at the Murray Nelson Government Center, because people know where that is. And there are also pickup lockers outside of the Marathon library and the Key Largo library. Those are accessible 24/7, anytime you want. You can just stop by and pick up your stuff.”
There are also a variety of events at the libraries that are on the calendar online.
Klingener said, “You can filter it by location or by age group. If it’s a little overwhelming at first, I know when you open it up, you’re like, oh my goodness, but you can just be like, what’s happening in Marathon or what’s happening in Big Pine. We make it fun. Our staff definitely makes it fun. Keep an eye on that website and the calendar and follow your local branch on social media if you really want to keep up on what’s happening.”
For more information, click here: https://www.keyslibraries.org/