Although we were sorry to have to close our doors to the public once again to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Smiley Library still has plenty to offer thanks to our electronic library and curbside Books to Go service. We also want you to know that we are taking every precaution when it comes to your health and safety.
Using Books to Go is simple and safe. Just place your holds from the Library’s catalog either online at www.akspl.org, via email at circ@akspl.org, or call us at (909) 798-7565. Once we get your requests, we’ll gather them up and give you a call to schedule a pick-up time. When you arrive, ring the doorbell and one of our friendly employees will bring your books outside and place them on the table by the Vine Street entrance. Please remember to wear a face covering and maintain a six-foot distance when collecting your materials.
When you’re ready to return your items, they can be placed in the book return boxes outside the library. We empty the book drops several times a day, and everything goes directly into a four-day sanitization process.
One of the questions we get asked most often is “How can books be sanitized?” After all, we can’t dunk them into a bucket of boiling water and hang them in the sun to dry. We’ve done our research and learned that a combination of cleaning, sanitizing, and quarantining is the best way to go. Every time we collect items from the book drops, the covers are sprayed and wiped down with a hospital-grade disinfectant. They then go into plastic bags and get a blast of Lysol spray before being sealed up for two days.
After two days, we open the bags and set the books upright on sterile tables in a closed room with the pages fanned out, where they remain for another two days. Finally, they get wiped down to remove any residue from the disinfectant. It’s a laborious process, but we’re committed to doing what we can to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
We encourage you to make use of Books to Go, and also to check out our eLibrary at www.akspl.org/elibrary/. Here, you will find downloadable eBooks and audio books, access to popular magazines, the New York Times Online, the Redlands Daily Facts, streaming movies, resources to help with job searching, databases for students’ projects, and much more – all from the comfort and safety of your own home. Just make sure to have your library card barcode number on hand.
All of us at Smiley wish you a happy and healthy 2021. These are difficult times, but we’ll get through this together as a community.
Jennifer Downey
Principal Librarian, Adult Services
Smiley Library is pleased to announce the addition of a new electronic resource. 
In the meantime, you can keep up with your reading by using our 
Kanopy is currently featuring films about racial and social injustice. Inspiring documentaries like “The Talk: Race in America,” “P.S. I Can’t Breathe,” and many others can help contribute to a more open dialogue about race relations in modern America.
The Great Courses include such titles as “How to Read and Understand Shakespeare,” “Big Questions of Philosophy,” and “Masterpieces of the Ancient World.” You can also learn to meditate, play the piano, and even train your dog using the Great Courses.
One of our Kanopy staff favorites is “Party Girl,” a 1995 dramedy starring Parker Posey as Mary, a free-spirited young woman who goes to raves and parties her money away. Following an arrest, Mary finds herself without bail money, so she gets a loan and takes a job as – gasp – a library clerk! Mary worries that working in a library will cramp her style, and she can’t make heads or tails of the Dewey Decimal System. No spoilers, but let’s just say Mary learns how to enjoy library life while staying true to her party girl nature. Of course, here at the Smiley, we already knew that library folks know how to party.