Sanibel Public Library has announced an immediate closure of the building to the public as of noon on August 6, 2020. The Library staff will continue phone and email support to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and contact-free curbside pickup weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. You can also ask for help via email: notices@sanlib.org. The temporary closure is due to safety concerns for staff and library users. The Library’s eShelf and all online services remain available 24/7.
“Out of concern for staff and public we are conducting a deep sanitizing, and need to temporarily close the facility for public use. The Library facility is physically closed for now, but open for digital borrowing,” said Library Executive Director Margaret Mohundro. Watch the Library’s website, local newspapers, and social media for updates.
Best way to ensure you get Library news? Sign up for the email announcements and monthly newsletter at: bit.ly/ConsTanTConTactSPL.
Contactless Curbside Services Continue:
The Library is continuing Contactless Curbside Service for materials requested on hold. “The contact-free curbside pickup has been very popular,” said Candy Heise, Sanibel Public Library’s Adult Services Coordinator, adding, “we will continue to offer this service, with the same pickup times of weekdays from noon to 3 p.m.”
You can place item(s) on hold online, or make requests by calling the Library at (239) 472-2483. You will be notified when your items are ready for pickup. Patrons will have three days (excluding Saturday and Sunday) to pick up items. If you are unable to pick up your hold(s) within those three days, please call the SPL at 239-472-2483, or email reference@sanlib.org.
There is a table set up outside the first sliding door entrance of the Library’s parking garage. The bags are in alphabetical order. Items will already be checked out and in a green bag with patron’s name on it.
The Library has many copies of new fiction, you can place a hold online in the Library catalog: Click here to search the catalog.
Holds will be maintained during the closure, if patrons cannot pick up their curbside holds at this time. Patrons may return items to a book drop; one is located outside the west front entrance, the other is located in the second parking garage. Returned materials will be quarantined for a minimum of 24 hours.
The Library loans cooking kits for patrons to check out and take home, click here to borrow a Cooking Kit.
Interlibrary Loan is available. All user fees have been waived during the closure, there will be no overdue fines assessed.
eBooks, Apps, and Other eShelf Services:
The Library’s public WiFi works for most devices, outside of the building in the parking lot areas.
Sanibel Public Library card holders can borrow eBooks and audiobooks via the OverDrive Libby app. Your PIN should be the last four digits of your Sanibel Public Library card number. Check out the “Hints & Tips” for OverDrive Libby here: https://sanlib.org/2020/03/01/libby_overdrive_hints_tips/
The Hoopla Digital app also allows users to stream movies, TV shows, comics, and music. With Hoopla all material can be accessed simultaneously (no holds).
The Library also offers Mango – an online language learning tool. Mango has more than 70 languages and dialects, including English. Mango can be used on a desktop or offline on a mobile device.
More than 70 choices of downloadable magazines are available through the RB digital app where you can access newspapers via the PressReader app.
Library cardholders can also use the popular on-demand video streaming service Kanopy. Kanopy showcases more than 30,000 documentaries, indie films, and classic movies.
The Library’s own SanLibMobile app helps you search the Library’s catalog, manage your account, place a book on hold, and more. The app works on all iOS, Android, and other major smart phones and tablets.
Sanibel Public Library’s eShelf was originally funded in 2010 with a grant from the Sanibel Library Foundation, to provide bestseller eBooks and audiobooks. The following year the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club provided funds for an eBook business collection. These services are offered to Sanibel Public Library cardholders at no extra charge. Since 2011 the eShelf usage has grown by 20 percent every year, and more than 43,000 eBooks have been checked out in the past six years, including 9,000 audiobooks.
Sanibel Public Library offers several e-reader apps; including Hoopla for downloadable eBooks, movies, music and audiobooks as well as Libby from OverDrive. New in 2018, cardholders can download music with the Freegal app, more than 13 millions songs available.
For Sanibel Public Library cardholders there is no charge to use Library apps.
Sanibel Public Library cards are available to all residents of Sanibel and Lee County, Florida, at no charge. Visitor library cards are available for a $10 annual fee.
To access all of the Library’s online services, choose “eShelf” from the homepage menu. Your PIN is the last four digits of your Library card.
Library staff has been creating “how to” videos to help patrons remotely. To see the videos, scroll through the news blog at https://sanlib.org/blog:
Click here for Sanibel Public Library’s video with staff explaining the steps to place a hold online.
Click here to see Beth from Sanibel Public Library video,reviewing how to use Freegal music.
Operationally, the Library notes:
• All overdue fines and user fees are waived during the closure;
• The Library is implementing automatic renewal of library cards;
• The book drops are open;
• The Library’s eShelf and all online services remain available 24/7.
Services for Children:
Children’s Librarian Deanna Evans has recorded storytime videos as well as Baby Bounce videos with songs. Click here for the Children’s page on the SPL website, to hear Miss Deanna tell stories and sing a few songs.
With a gift from Hans and Leslie Fleischer, the Library has added learning tablets, audiobooks, and audio-enhanced children’s books. Launchpad, Playaway’s popular learning tablet, features ad-free educational games for preschooler through third graders. The Launchpad experience lets children design a personal avatar and choose an adventure they’re most interested in. From math and monkeys to science and superheroes, every tablet is pre-loaded with different topics. Adults will love that Launchpads are 100% secure, ensuring that children will not be exposed to unintended content. Plus, the amount of playing time on the tablet can be monitored. You can place a hold to borrow the devices for home use.
The six Playaway audiobooks, including Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy can be checked out with or without a print version of the book to read along as you listen. Six Wonderbooks were added to the Library’s audio-enhanced book collection. These books will read aloud to the young listener and can even be adjusted to ask the listeners comprehension questions. Children are given cues to turn the page at a specified sound. Titles include We Are Grateful by Tracy Sorell and Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle. Place a hold to borrow the devices for home use.
Kanopy Kids has a diverse selection of educational and entertaining content — Movies, TV Series, Animated Storybooks, Live Action, and Animated favorites. Most content is for children age two to eight.
The Hoopla Digital app offers movies, TV shows, comics, and music. With Hoopla all material can be accessed simultaneously (no holds). Click here for Hoopla content for kids. Popular content for kids include Little House in the Big Woods audiobook by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Diary of a Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney, and the Mo Willems film, The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog!
Teens and ‘Tweens:
Stream or download music and music videos via the Freegal app. Freegal offers more than 13 millions songs, including popular artists: Khalid, Sia, A$AP Ferg, Nicki Minaj, John Legend, Miranda Lambert, Drake, blink-182, H.E.R., BTS, Camila Cabello, Kelly Clarkson, Zac Brown Band, and Harry Styles.
The Hoopla Digital app offers movies, TV shows, comics, and music. Popular Hoopla content includes the comics series Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Hunger Games audiobook series by Suzanne Collins, and the 2017 documentary Hamilton: One Shot To Broadway. Popular music on Hoopla includes artists Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and the Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording).
Practice your foreign language skills with Mango – an online language learning tool. The Mango app mixes listening and reading activities to help you pick up basics of a foreign language using conversation. Want to learn Cantonese? Spanish? Croatian? Chaldean Aramaic? Mango has more than 70 languages and dialects, including English. Mango can be used on a desktop or mobile device. The app can be used offline if you’re not on WiFi.
Borrow eBooks and audiobooks via the OverDrive Libby app. Popular YA fiction includes books by John Green, Nicola Yoon, Rick Yancey, and James Dashner. OverDrive Libby also has a collection of books by diverse authors, part of the “Own Voices” collection.
