The Library Director and Trustees have been diligently working on our reopening plans. To continue serving our patrons during this difficult time, while placing the health and safety of our community at the forefront, the Library Board of Trustees has adopted the Temporary Safety Practices Policy which you will find linked HERE. {NOTE: The board is planning a series of special meetings throughout the month of June (6/9, 6/16, 6/23, and 6/30) on Tuesday evenings at 6:30, to discuss reopening issues. If there is no need for a meeting in any given week, it will be cancelled.}

All fines and due dates continue to be suspended. Please hang on to any library items you have at home until 6/8/2020. At that time, you can return items in our outdoor book drop only. Our plan is to start offering curbside service on 6/15/2020. Stay tuned for more details!

In the meantime, we encourage patrons to explore our online resources. Our Wi-Fi is on 24/7 and is accessible outside the building with no password. The Library Director can be reached at slm-director@sals.edu or via Facebook.

The next regular monthly meeting of the Bancroft Public Library Board of Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 6:30 PM.

NOTE: The board is planning a series of special meetings throughout the month of June (6/9, 6/16, 6/23, and 6/30) on Tuesday evenings at 6:30, to discuss reopening issues. If there is no need for a meeting in any given week, it will be cancelled.

These meetings will be held in Proudfit Hall following social distancing guidelines, and we can allow a maximum of only 10 people to be present. Members of the public should please email slm-director@sals.edu if they are planning to attend, so that we can be prepared. If you have an issue you would like addressed at the meeting, but are not able to attend, please email any board member.

Previous meeting minutes and agendas are available by clicking the Board of Trustees link under the “About Us” category in the menu bar at the top of this page.

Bancroft Library is searching for a Library Director.

You can view the –> Job Description <– here.

For further information, or to submit your resume, email bancroft.director.search@gmail.com.

Please submit by June 30, 2020.

A special meeting of the Bancroft Public Library Board of Trustees has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 6:30 PM. This will be a virtual meeting, open to anyone who would like to attend. Please email sgetty@sals.edu for the login information.

Agenda is linked –> here <–

The next regular monthly meeting of the Bancroft Public Library Board of Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, 2020 at 6:30 PM.

This meeting will be held in Proudfit Hall following social distancing guidelines, and we can allow a maximum of only 10 people to be present. Members of the public should please email sgetty@sals.edu if they are planning to attend, so that we can be prepared. If you have an issue you would like addressed at the meeting, but are not able to attend, please email any board member.

Previous meeting minutes and agendas are available by clicking the Board of Trustees link under the “About Us” category in the menu bar at the top of this page.

The next regular monthly meeting of the Bancroft Public Library Board of Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, 2020 at 6:30 PM. Library Board meetings are open to the public. This meeting will be held virtually. Please email sgetty@sals.edu for the access information.

Previous meeting minutes and agendas are available by clicking the Board of Trustees link under the “About Us” category in the menu bar at the top of this page.

We know it’s easy to get crazy overwhelmed by all of the internet resources out there. We’ve been sharing many of them through our Facebook page. We’re going to use this space to curate a list of valuable links for you to refer back to. We’ll be attempting to keep it updated regularly. You could bookmark this page and return often to see what’s new.

New Groups on the Bancroft Library Facebook Page! Please join in!

• Bancroft Library LEGO Challenge Group
• Bancroft Library Nature Study Group

Just for fun!

• The Facebook group “518 Rainbow Hunt” is a source of positivity and a fun activity to occupy some time : “A great fun way to be with family, get outdoors and be socially distant during this 2020 COVID19 Outbreak.  🌈 If you have a Rainbow in your window, snap a photo and tag the street/area/neighborhood AND The town you’re in so those near you can go for a walk and hunt for your rainbow! (Avoid posting your house number so it’s a real 👀HUNT!)”
• Hogwarts Digital Escape Room
• Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibit at the British Library

For kids and families:

• SALS e-Resources page for Families and Youth (includes access to free e-books!)
• Coronavirus informational coloring book from St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
• How Kids’ Lit is Responding to the Coronavirus (a long list of digital resources from children’s book authors and publishers)
• On Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library YouTube Channel, families can watch Dolly read a new bedtime story each Thursday night at 7:00.
• Dav Pilkey at Home: a partnership between children’s book author Dav Pilkey, the Library of Congress, and Scholastic to share a collection of fun activities and videos each Friday.
• PBS Parents is a wonderful resource of activities for kids, articles for parents, and a daily newsletter you can sign up for with “activities and tips to keep your child playing and learning even when school is closed”.
• PBS Learning Media: FREE resource for PreK-12 educators and families.
• Khan Academy schedules for students and the main Khan Academy site (vast amounts of online learning resources, for all ages)
• Girls Who Code: Code at Home
• Ranger Rick is offering free digital access to their magazines!
• Play and learn with Space Racers! https://www.spaceracers.com/
• NASA shares lots of educational and fun resources on their Teachable Moments site: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teachable-moments/
• All sorts of fun science lessons on the Mystery Science site! https://mysteryscience.com/school-closure-planning
• Cool Kitchen Pantry Science Experiments from Storey Publishers
• Two articles from Book List Reader about creating makerspaces at home: https://www.booklistreader.com/2020/03/18/books-and-authors/creating-makerspaces-at-home/ and https://www.booklistreader.com/2020/03/20/books-and-authors/creating-makerspaces-at-home-part-ii/
• Lunch Doodles with children’s author Mo Willems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmzjCPQv3y8
• Cool School educational videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/coolschool/videos
• Complete Schoolhouse Rock series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0KiZzoWB0Wdq3xiTQzmFlw
• The Homework Spot Resources for Parents and Children: http://www.homeworkspot.com/
• PBS Kids Educational Videos and Games: https://pbskids.org/
• National Geographic for Kids: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
• Discovery Education for Children: https://www.discoveryeducation.com/
• FunBrain math and reading video games: https://www.funbrain.com/
• Homework Help: https://www.infoplease.com/homework

Virtual tours:

• The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections
• Virtual Visit of Blarney Castle: https://www.virtualvisittours.com/blarney-castle/
• Virtual Visit of five of the National Parks: https://artsandculture.withgoogle.com/…/national-parks-serv…
• Live Opera Stream from the Met each night: https://www.metopera.org/
• Live Cam from the Monterey Bay Aquarium:
  https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams
• Virtual Tour of the Guggenheim:
  https://artsandculture.google.com/…/solomon…/jAHfbv3JGM2KaQ…
• Tours of Renowned spots around the world:
  https://artsandculture.google.com/search/streetview…
• National Museum of Natural History Virtual exhibits:
  https://naturalhistory.si.edu/…/virtual-to…/current-exhibits
• San Diego Zoo live streams:
  https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams
• Virtual walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens:
  https://www.google.com/…/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPmLp2CCL…
• Space Center Houston Educational App:
  https://spacecenter.org/app/
• Museum of Modern Art Library of Photos: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/sophie-taeuber-arp/swKioHNhYqZoLw?fbclid=IwAR0bscBFdp-yfUbJfshGnDO-_xDwLIeOoBHfZsZRIybWd9CWgVg12ftvDK4
• British Museum in London interactive tours: https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/
• Tour the Louvre in Paris, France: https://www.youvisit.com/tour/louvremuseum

Other learning opportunities:

• 25 Sources of Free Public Domain Books
• Nobel Prize Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/user/thenobelprize/videos
• Ted Talks: https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector/videos
• Build new skills by taking one of Coursera’s free classes: https://www.coursera.org/
• Stay active by taking a free fitness class from home: https://www.youtube.com/user/popsugartvfit/videos
• Feeling Stressed? Take an at-home yoga class with Adriene: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene/videos
• Learn a brand new skill: https://www.instructables.com/classes/

The Board of Trustees is planning a special teleconference meeting on Thursday, March 26, 2020 at 6:30 PM. This virtual meeting will be held using GoToMeeting. It is a public meeting, and if you plan to attend, you will need to email Susan Getty at sgetty@sals.edu for the instructions to listen in. The agenda for this meeting is –> HERE <–

Previous meeting minutes and agendas are available by clicking the Board of Trustees link under the “About Us” category in the menu bar at the top of this page.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Bancroft Public Library Board of Trustees is Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 6:30 PM. This meeting will be held virtually. If any member of the public would like to attend the meeting, please send an email to Susan Getty at sgetty@sals.edu for the access information. The agenda for this meeting can be found by clicking –> HERE <–

Previous meeting minutes and agendas are available by clicking the Board of Trustees link under the “About Us” category in the menu bar at the top of this page.

The wonderful Jack Scott at SALS has helped us to create this great infographic representing key statistics from our 2019 year.

Click –> HERE <– for a downloadable version