To the editor:

Dear patrons of the Saranac Lake Free Library:

The Saranac Lake Free Library is pleased to announce that beginning Tuesday, May 4, the SLFL will once again open the doors for limited “In-Person Browsing” of books from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, the SLFL will close the stacks to the public and continue to provide only “Walk-Up Service” for those patrons who are not yet ready to come in contact with groups of people.

We will be able to accommodate limited numbers of people in both the adult collection areas and the Elinor B. Preis Children’s Room.

Unfortunately, the SLFL is still not yet able at this time to open the Main Reading Room, provide access to our public computers or provide public restrooms. Likewise the Adirondack Research Room, the Thomas B. Cantwell Community Room, the Dickert Wildlife Museum and the Betsy Whitefield Tutoring Room will all remain closed to the public.

Here are the days and times to remember: Tuesday through Friday 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. open stack browsing for limited numbers of people, with only “Walk-Up Service” Tuesday through Friday 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays we will have open stack browsing for limited numbers of folks from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

We have missed you, and the entire staff is very excited about being able to once again provide this traditional library service to all our community users. The SLFL is staying the course with our SLFL board-approved reopening timeline, and we are balancing the desires of our users with the needs of keeping all of our patrons, volunteers and staff as safe as possible. So put on your spiffiest mask, remember to stay socially distanced, use the hand sanitizer, and cruise the stacks looking for your favorite authors, or check out our New Fiction and New Non-Fiction shelves.

See you @ the SLFL,

Pete Benson, director

Saranac Lake Free Library