Social distancing is a common phrase we’re hearing often due to the fast spread of COVID-19. Your Abilene Public Library will close its doors to the public, effective Monday, March 23, in the city’s attempt of lessening the potential exposure to the virus. With our closure comes the cancelling of our great storytime programming attended by so many kids and families in the community. Well we have great news. Starting Monday we will offer online storytime sessions three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 10:45AM.
If you’re interested in watching, do so by accessing the Abilene Public Library’s accounts on Facebook (facebook.com/AbilenePublicLibrary) or Instagram (instagram.com/AbilenePublicLibrary) as we’ll be livestreaming our storytimes on those dates for anyone to watch. Led by different members of the children’s department, we will continue to offer these regular storytimes as long as staff is able to continue to report to work.
Why haven’t you offered storytimes online in the past? That’s a great question. The main reason online storytimes have not been done is due to copyrights. Many may not know this, but to be able to read a children’s book, or any book for that matter, you need to have the permission of both the author and the publisher (unless that item is in public domain). Due to the coronavirus situation in the world, many authors and publishers have come together and allowed their stories to be presented online and that’s simply amazing. It’s the only reason we’ll be able to provide them to you starting next week.
So be sure to tune into either our Facebook or Instagram accounts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:45AM and allow us to share some children’s stories with you.