Update, March 14, 7:10 a.m.: The East Hampton Library has announced that it would be closed indefinitely and that fines would be waived for all overdue items. Updates will be posted on the library's website and facebook page.
All talks, classes, and other public programs at the East Hampton, Southampton, Sag Harbor, and Amagansett Libraries have been suspended through the end of March.
In an email message Friday morning, Dennis Fabiszak, the East Hampton Library director, said that decisions about April events and classes would be announced on its website and Facebook page as they are made. The library will remain open, with normal hours for the time being.
Toys, puzzles, and iPads have been removed from the children's room, and touchscreens are being cleaned frequently, as are surfaces throughout the building. "The Library staff are working on ways to continue to offer library services in the event that we need to restrict library hours or close the building," Mr. Fabiszak said.
Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton will not have any programming beginning Monday. In addition, the Friends of the Rogers Memorial Library Book Shop will also be closed beginning Saturday until the end of the month and will accept donations.
Online Alternatives
Library patrons disinclined to venture out at this point can access a vast range of books, music, movies, television programs, and magazines online or through smartphone apps. Anyone with a valid library card number and a phone can link up with the Libby, Hoopla, Kanopy, Live-brary, and Flipster services.
Getting started can be a bit tricky, but the library staff can help. Information is on the library's website under "Free eBooks, Music, and Movies" and accessed via icons on the homepage. Audiobooks are available, as well as versions that can be read on a Kindle and similar devices.
Hoopla, for example, has a massive collection of more than 33,000 recordings, from Metallica to Mozart, thousands of TV programs, and almost 10,000 movies to choose from all free. Overdrive, which provides eBooks and Kindle downloads, has more than 134,00 titles to choose from -- 38,000 of them in its Romance section alone.
Other libraries participating in Live-brary include Amagansett, which has limited its hours to Monday through Friday afternoons from 1 to 5 only. Public computers and meeting spaces will not be available. The Montauk Library offers the service as well.
Programs have been canceled at Sag Harbor's John Jermain Memorial Library, which will be temporarily closed to the public as of 5 p.m. Friday. Among its digital online offerings are RB Digital audiobooks, Flipster, Kanopy, and Hoopla. Hampton Library in Bridgehampton has a range of services, including Mango Languages and Pronunciator, which has lessons for almost 60 languages. Rogers Memorial Library also provides cardholders with many of these services.
