Long Island libraries to offer curbside pickup

Public libraries are slowly reopening operations on Long Island, according to Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.

On Tuesday, Curran announced libraries would start offering curbside pickup so families could stock up on books, movies and other items during the pandemic.

“There’s an element of escape in a good book. It’s my favorite part of reading. Whether it’s fiction, nonfiction, whatever the genre, if it’s a good story, you can escape and really let your imagination run wild and I think that is so incredibly valuable for our young minds now more than ever,” Curran said.

She said as the pandemic has forced many children and teenagers to stay home, they’ve turned to social media for an escape – which can be harmful.

Curran hopes everyone will take advantage of the pickup system at all 54 libraries in the county.

“I think books provide a really beautiful and valuable escape,” she said.

Caroline Ashby, the director of the Nassau library system says that she feared the pandemic would be the end of libraries, but has been proven wrong.

“Libraries were pretty anxious about closing because a lot of us felt like if patrons can’t come into our doors that they might forget about us and we are so pleased that that didn’t happen,” she explains.

Ashby says they have received over 6,000 requests for new library cards over the last few months.

They remain hopeful that the industry will continue to see a rise in patrons, especially as Long Island entered Phase 3 of its reopening on Wednesday.

Image courtesy of thesatimes |

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