Librarian Mary Hurley

Happy New Year! Here’s hoping 2021 is a better year for all of us.

2020, excluding the pandemic, was not a bad year for the library. We said farewell to an employee moving on to seek higher education. We were able to be open most of the year except when mandated to remain shut. We began to offer curbside service for material pick-up and return. The Meredith Foundation granted our request for funding for new floors which were installed in November and they look great. We removed our vintage Venetian blinds and painted the walls of the library. Those are the visible things that happened in 2020.

What you didn’t see were 226 new library card holders and 4,179 active library patrons. You may not know 8,677 people visited the library (as of Dec. 29) or that 22,805 items were borrowed from the library saving our patrons $378,787.

We offered 141 programs throughout the year. We began with traditional in-person programs and ended with passive grab and go activities. These grab and go activities contained packaged activities with most of the supplies and instructions necessary to complete them individually or as a family.

What will 2021 bring? Who knows, but the library will continue to offer materials for reading and watching; computer access via computer stations or Wi-Fi (available from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. from the comfort of your vehicle); curbside service; passive programs such as the grab and go; and staff ready to try and help with material locations or computer assistance as far as we are able. Our hours will remain Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and closed on Sunday and Monday.

Thank you to everyone for your support of the library and other local businesses throughout these unusual times. We look forward to serving the community in 2021 and beyond.

The Mineola Memorial Library is a 501(c)3, non-profit and your donations may be tax-deductible.