Library service levels have been modified to better align with Oregon's new Risk and Protection Framework. Generally, the library service level will be tied to the county's current infection risk level; however, there could be times where a library location might be at a higher level than the infection risk level. Examples include if library staff have been asked to quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19, or a shortage of cleaning supplies means staff are unable to sanitize appropriately. 

Libraries are currently at Level 4: Take Out Only service. Effective Friday, December 18 when Lake County moves to the Moderate Risk level, libraries will open at Level 2: Advanced Precautions. Library staff will be happy to welcome the public back in our buildings. Please note that Saturdays at the Main Library in Lakeview remain Take Out Only due to staff constraints.

When visiting your libraries remember:

• If you are sick, stay home.
• Stay at least 6 feet from others.
• Masks are required over mouth and nose.*

Beginning Friday, December 18, all library locations will have new signs with the current service level. If you have questions about what services are available, click the image above to enlarge it, or contact your local library. For those who prefer not to come inside, Take Out is still available for checking items out as well as printing or copies. For questions about library service levels, contact Library Director Amy Hutchinson at 541-947-6019 or amyh@lakecountylibrary.org.

The library staff and board would like to thank everyone for their continued patience and goodwill as we work to stay safe and healthy while providing as much library access as possible. We thank you for the efforts you have made to reduce the spread of infection and enable increased access to services. 

* Masks or face coverings must be worn over the mouth and nose by everyone over 5. If you cannot wear a mask or face covering due to a disability or health condition, contact your local library to find out what accommodations are available for you. 

Lake County Library District Take Out Only service has been extended due to continued rising COVID-19 case numbers in Lake County. During Take Out Only service, the public cannot access the inside of library buildings, but can still check out books or use Wi-Fi outside the building. The library began Take Out Only service on November 18, 2020.
 
“Oregon Health Authority reported 88 new COVID-19 cases in Lake County during the month of November, and 74 of those were in the second half of the month,” said Library Director Amy Hutchinson. “Based on our library board approved pandemic response service levels, we need to remain at Take Out only until the spread is lessened,” said Hutchinson. The majority of library staff are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 based on age or health condition. When new Oregon Health Authority Guidelines and county risk levels are issued later this week, library staff and board will reassess library service levels based on the new information.
 
Virtual and Take Out services will be available during modified hours. Library patrons can still place holds online and via telephone as well as check items out through Library Take Out. Book drops will also be emptied and materials checked in during the closure. No overdue fines will be charged. The Main Library meeting room will not be available for public use during the closure. Online services such as downloadable e-books and audio books remain available at all times.
 
For questions or more information, visit the Lake County Library District website at www.lakecountylibrary.org, or call your local library.

LAKEVIEW, Ore.—November 13, 2020—All Lake County Library District locations will be closed to the public during the 2-Week Freeze November 18 through December 2, 2020. Virtual and Take Out services will be available. Library patrons can still place holds online and via telephone as well as check items out through Library Take Out. Library WiFi signal will still be available outside the building.
 
Book drops will also be emptied and materials checked in during the closure. No overdue fines will be charged. The Main Library meeting room will not be available for public use during the closure. Online services such as downloadable e-books and audio books remain available at all times.
 
“With infection numbers increasing across the state and within our county, we felt Take Out Only was the appropriate service level for the 2-Week Freeze,” said Library Director Amy Hutchinson. “This decision was made to protect the health of our communities and our library staff,” said Hutchinson. It is possible Take Out Only service could be extended beyond December 2, depending on advice from public health officials.
 
During the facility closure, hours for Take Out and virtual services remain unchanged from current operational hours: Main Library – Lakeview Tuesdays through Fridays from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Saturdays 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM; Christmas Valley Branch Library Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM and Saturdays from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM; Paisley  Branch Library Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM; and Silver Lake Branch Library Mondays from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
 
For questions or more information, visit the Lake County Library District website at www.lakecountylibrary.org, or call your local library. Click here for more information on using Library Take Out. Not sure what to put on hold? Click here for more information about Library Picks. 

​LAKEVIEW, Ore.—November 4, 2020— Summer Reading Program may be over, but the fun is not! Kindergarten through 12th grade students are challenged to create art to Imagine Your Story. Early art entries will receive a free 2020 Summer Reading Program shirt while supplies last. Entries will be accepted at the Main Library starting Tuesday, November 7, 2020.
 
By the time the pandemic hit in March, most Summer Reading Program supplies had already been purchased, including tee shirts to give away to promote the program. The library had to completely redesign the program to accommodate public health restrictions, which meant strict limits on in-person program attendance, and no big events at the schools. This left the library with too many shirts on their backs.

“We thought an art contest would be a fun way to distribute the extra shirts,” said Library Director Amy Hutchinson. “Students who enter an artwork in the Imagine Your Story theme can receive a free shirt while supplies last” said Hutchinson. Artworks will be displayed for at least one month at the Main Library, where they can be enjoyed by the community.
 
For questions about the art contest, please contact Youth Library Assistant David Lev at davidl@lakecountylibrary.org or 541-947-6019. ​

​This fall, the Main Library has become quieter than ever thanks to new acoustic panels throughout the building. Over the last couple of months, a construction crew has installed hundreds of acoustic panels on walls and ceilings to reduce echoes, absorb sound, and make the library experience more pleasant for all patrons. The meeting room is available again for community use, but rules have changed in response to public health restrictions.
 
The road to acoustic panel installation has been long. Library staff first issued a request for proposals for a general contractor for the Main Library completion project in September of 2018. They did not receive any responses for a general contractor, but did receive interest from acoustic panel suppliers and installers. In order to move the project forward, library staff solicited quotes for acoustic engineering services to provide specifications. Once that work was complete, they issued a request for quotes for the acoustic panel installation.
 
Shortly after an installer was selected and the contract was signed, the coronavirus pandemic began. Fortunately, by August of this year, public health restrictions had been modified enough to allow workers to be within 6 feet of each other while wearing masks. Since much of the installation was conducted by two installers working together in the small cage of a hydraulic lift, this was essential. Over the course of about two months, panels were installed on the walls and ceilings throughout the Main Library building.
 
“It is wonderful to finally provide a library experience, and especially a meeting room experience, where people can better hear and understand each other” said Library Director Amy Hutchinson. “Now voices everywhere in the library are more muted, and you can clearly hear others speak in the meeting room,” said Hutchinson. The meeting room is once again open to the public, but now under modified rules to meet public health restrictions. Information about meeting room use is available at the Main Library and on the library website at https://www.lakecountylibrary.org/meeting-room.html.  
 
Funding for the project was provided by the Lake County Library Endowment Fund, the Fred W. Fields Fund and the Jerome S. and Barbara Bischoff Library Subfund of the Oregon Community Foundation, and numerous individual local donors. If you have questions about the project, please contact Amy Hutchinson at the Main Library at 541-947-6019 or via email at amyh@lakecountylibrary.org. 

The Lake County Library District is now offering expanded access to downloadable e-books and audio books via the Library2Go website and Libby app. Starting October 15, additional titles to fill holds on high demand items and other requests will be purchased monthly. Funding for additional titles is provided by Friends of Lake County Library and individual donors.
 
The Lake County Library District has offered downloadable audio books and e-books through the Oregon Digital Library Consortium’s Library2Go service since 2011. Initial check outs were strong, but plateaued around 2,250 per year. Introduction of the popular Libby app for phones and tablets in 2019 combined with the public health restrictions of the pandemic has led to an increase to 3,124 check outs during the 2019-20 fiscal year.
 
“We are happy to be able provide additional digital copies of popular titles, especially those with a high number of holds, in these challenging times” said Library Director Amy Hutchinson. “Lake County patrons will have better service thanks to Friends and individual donors.” Lake County patrons will have first priority on additional titles ordered. If desired, library patrons can sponsor a title of their choosing. E-books cost an average of about $25 per copy and audiobooks cost an average of about $60 per copy. Sponsors get priority access to the title. To sponsor a title, contact Hutchinson at the Main Library.
 
If you have questions about using the Library2Go website or the Libby app, contact your local library or use the Libby Getting Started Guide online. If you have questions about sponsoring a title, please contact Amy Hutchinson at the Main Library at 541-947-6019 or via email at amyh@lakecountylibrary.org. 

To improve the sound quality in the Main Library in Lakeview, acoustic panels will be installed over the next month. Portions of the building, including some books and the library meeting room, may be inaccessible to the public on certain days. Library staff ask for your patience with extra time required to obtain your materials and with any construction noise.  

The library meeting room is temporarily closed to public use while the acoustic panels are installed. Installation requires construction workers to use a lift inside the building. As workers install panels in different parts of the library, different sections of shelving will be closed for the safety of library patrons. Library staff recommend allowing extra time to get library materials as staff may only have access to pull holds once per day when shelves are closed for installation.

“We are very excited to have acoustic panels installed. Everyone will notice much better sound quality with less echoing, especially in the meeting room.” said Amy Hutchinson, Library Director. Funding for installation of the panels was provided by the Fred W. Fields Fund and the Jerome S. and Barbara Bischoff Library Subfund of the Oregon Community Foundation as well as the Lake County Library Endowment Fund.

​Always a favorite of our Summer Reading Program, this year the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History is providing a virtual program and special activity packs for all three Summer Reading sites. The “Engineer It” program and activity packs explores science and engineering techniques of ancient peoples.

​For thousands of years, Native Americans have used science and engineering to create tools, homes, clothing, and more—passing this knowledge down through generations. In fact, many technologies that were invented long ago are still being used today. Through this unique virtual program, families can join us to explore artifacts designed by Oregon’s first engineers, visit with an archaeologist, and try out their own engineering skills! This program will include both a video component and an activity bag full of crafts and activities for you to take home!
 
Due to restrictions related to the Coronavirus epidemic, this performance will be online. You can watch from the comfort of your own home or  come to our regular meeting at 10:00 AM in Paisley or  2 PM in Christmas Valley, Tuesday, August 4th; or at 10:00 AM or 2:00 PM on Thursday, August 6th, 2020 in the Lakeview Main Library Meeting Room to obtain a copy of the video. Seating is limited for in-person programs, so call your local library to make a reservation. If watching from home, be sure to get your activity pack and access code at the library. For more information contact David Lev at 541-947-6019 or come to your local library!

Effective July 24, 2020, new mask rules from the State of Oregon apply to all Lake County Library locations. Face coverings or face shields are required inside all public facilities and outside wherever you cannot be at least 6 feet from people who are not members of your household. People with a disability or medical condition preventing them from wearing a mask may ask for an accommodation.

What does this mean for your library visit? Please bring a mask or face covering to wear over your mouth and nose while visiting inside Lake County Library District locations. (If you are not able to bring one, you may borrow a clean reusable or disposable one at the library.) Here's a quick overview of mask guidelines:

• Age 0 - 2: Should not be masked
• Age 2 - 4: May wear a mask if they are able to take it off themselves
• Age 5+: Masks required unless a health condition or disability makes it hard to breath when wearing a mask or impossible to wear a mask. 

If you do not wish to wear a mask, you can still do any of these things without one:

• Use Library Take Out to check out physical books, movies, or audio books.
• Use Library2Go or the Libby app to download e-books or audio books. 
• Explore our other Online Resources to find information and get answers.
• Use our WiFi outdoors with your own device when at least 6 feet from others.

Do you have a favorite song you learned when you were young? Do you like to read books? Well, does the Summer Reading Program have a program for you! Famed local musician Randy Dary will be providing a virtual performance for all Summer Reading locations called “Imagine Yourself in Song.” Randy is planning to cover many old favorites, so check out what he has prepared Be ready to sing, dance, and play some instruments!

We will be playing performances of “Imagine Yourself in Song” at our regular Summer Reading meetups at the Paisley Community Center at 10 AM on Tuesday, July 28, 2020,  and at the Main Library – Lakeview at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM on Thursday, July 30th, 2020. We will also be posting the video of his performance on the library Facebook page if you are unable to make it to our library locations. For more information contact David Lev at 541-947-6019 or come to your local library!