Library offers curbside pick-up

We started offering curbside pickup on June 8 and it’s been heartening to see bags of library materials going out the door again. Patrons can call 509-659-1222, email [email protected], visit the online catalog at catalog.ritzvillelibrary.com, or send a Facebook message to “East Adams Library District” to request items. Once your items are ready we’ll arrange a time for you to pick up your items from the library using zero contact. Our current Ritzville hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

For Benge, Lind, and Washtucna patrons, we’re arranging weekly deliveries by appointment.

You can return items using the book drops at our Ritzville and Washtucna locations. If the book drops are full, please hold onto your items and try again later after we’ve had a chance to empty them. If your items are too large for the book drop, call us during regular business hours and we’ll arrange a time to get the item from you. All items must be quarantined for three days after you return them, and won’t be checked off your account until after that three day period. If you receive an overdue notice from us for items you’ve already returned, please disregard it.

You can place holds for books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, and magazines. We also have four new Discover Passes available for checkout so your family can explore our State Parks for free this summer! Library staff are happy to make recommendations or put together a bag of items we think you’ll like if you’re not sure what to request without browsing.

Along with checking out library items, we’re also providing printing, copying, scanning and faxing services for the public using zero contact. Call the Ritzville library at 659-1222 during business hours to make an appointment for these services.

Although our libraries remain closed to the public for all other services and programs during Phase 2, we’re still offering ebooks, online classes and online programs. Our regular kid programs like Lego Club and GAMERZ have moved to Facebook Live and Zoom, and we’ve also started new online programs for adults like our “From the Couch” Trivia Night every Thursday at 5:30pm on our Facebook page. Visit the events calendar on our website at http://www.eastadamslibrary.org for more information.

We’re hoping to start limited public computer use during Phase 3, but until then we’re working with various agencies to purchase hotspots and tablets that people can check out to use at home. We’re also working with the State Broadband Office to install hotspots at different locations throughout Eastern Adams County to provide free, public internet access. And of course, the free public Wi-Fi at our Ritzville location is always on. You can get online from your car and you don’t need a password to use it.

If you’re tired of being online (and who isn’t right now?), stop by our Grab n Go table by the back door of our Ritzville location to pick up a craft bag for your kids, seeds for your garden, or books you can keep. We put the table out every weekday from 9am-5pm (weather permitting), and new craft bags for kids will go out every Thursday this summer.

Speaking of summer, our popular Summer Library Club for ages birth to adult is June 22-August 31. Pick up a packet from the Grab n Go table, download one from our website, or sign up online to track your reading and activities for the chance to win prizes. We’ll be offering fun online programs all summer long including Cecil the Magician on July 6, conversations with authors Sarah Hulse and Richard Fifield as part of our Fifth Annual Summer Author Series, an ice cream party in August, and more! Visit our website at http://www.eastadamslibrary.org for more information.

Curbside pickup and online programs are new to you and to us, and we greatly appreciate your understanding as we fine-tune our services this summer. Be assured, we’re doing everything we can to make this process as seamless as possible, and we can’t wait to see everyone at the library again when it’s safe to do so.

— Kylie Filmer is the Adams County library director