We will have a virtual birthday party featuring all things Harry Potter!

Be sure to sign up to join us for the fun, call us at the library 518-648-5444.

By signing up you will receive the links to join the virtual party, and kids will receive activity bags with craft supplies and game pieces for the party.

Activities include several readings from the Harry Potter book series, and accompanying craft and game activities.

Miss Susan will host 2 different virtual sessions at 1pm and at 3pm. Each session will last 40 minutes. There will be live readings from the Harry Potter books. We will play games, and there will be how-to’s for the Harry Potter related crafts: magic wands, snowy owls, and planting the dreaded Mandrake seedlings!

The big bonus is a online presentation of “Here There Be Dragons!” by the REPCO Wildlife Center. They will show and tell us about 10 amazing dragons from all over the world! This link will be available to view for an entire week, as many times as you’d like!

Supplies are limited, so sign up soon. If you have any questions call the library or email ind-director@sals.edu

Troll Booger slime for the first 30 kids to sign up too!

Our re-opening plan includes a phased approach to returning to normal library service.  As we have learned over the past few months, anything can change at any time.  Our re-opening plans may change as well.

The Library Board of Trustees has opted for a measured and careful approach to re-opening that focuses on the safety of our staff and our patrons.

The Indian Lake Library is still closed to the public.  Our staff are working in the building to prepare for re-opening.  Tasks we are working on include cleaning the building, processing returns, processing new materials, fulfilling curbside pickup orders for patrons, taking care of administrative tasks, securing adequate cleaning materials and PPE’s, and working out the logistics of reorganizing the building in light of social distancing protocols.  All areas of the library building need some form of modification to conform with social distancing guidelines in order for our patrons to enter.

Additionally, there are extensive health and safety guidelines that must be followed for the protection of staff and patrons.  Staff have undergone training on new safety guidelines and our new contactless check out procedures.  Again, all of these efforts have been done to keep our community safe.  Crucial to our re-opening is our ability to maintain supplies of PPE’s and cleaning supplies.

The library is accepting returns now.  Due to construction to our building, please use the old book drop box located on the south side of our building, opposite the senior meal site.  Please do not bring us donations at this time!  We cannot manage donations now. When the Friends of the Library are once again ready to accept donations, we will let the community know.

Returned materials are quarantined for 96 hours before being checked in.  Please do not worry if you still see borrowed materials on your account for a few days after you returned them.  The Southern Adirondack Library System placed 96-hour quarantine requirement on all of its member libraries. 

The Library’s front entrance is undergoing a remodel that was planned long before the pandemic began.  Eventually the lobby entrance will be more accessible to those with mobility issues and it will be an attractive place for library and community notices.  The new book return is currently not in use because it is behind construction lines.

Contactless Curbside Pickup service began June 18^th.  There are parking spaces reserved in front of the library for pickups, which must be scheduled by appoint over the phone. 

The hours to order materials are as follows:   MWF 12 – 6, TTh 10 – 4, Sat. 10-1

The hours for pickups are as follows:  MWF 2 – 6, TTh 11 – 4, Sat. 11-1 (Pickup appointments must be made, please don’t just show up as it takes time to assemble patrons orders)

For more about contactless curbside pickups, click here: https://indianlake.sals.edu/contactless-curbside-service/

The kid’s summer reading program “Imagine Your Story” is taking place virtually this year.  It began June 24^th and runs for 8 weeks, on Wednesdays at 7 pm.  We will explore fairy tales, fantasy, mythology, and adventure over the next weeks.  It’s not too late to register, click here to join the fun: https://indianlake.sals.edu/imagineyourstory/

As we move toward opening more services at the library, we will post them on our website and Facebook page. Feel free to call us (518)648-5444, or direct questions to ind-director@sals.edu

We look forward to seeing everyone again and getting back to as close to “normal” as we can manage.

Our “normal” may need to be re-imagined in order to serve our patrons in a safe manner, as well keep our staff healthy.

With support, patience, and common sense we can get through this challenge as a community, and emerge a stronger resource serving the people in our small piece of the Adirondacks.

Yogurt is a yummy treat to enjoy on its own or use in recipes from smoothies to sauces to desserts. Plus yogurt has protein and vitamin B12 (good for your red blood cells and nervous system), and yogurt contains live cultures that are good for your gut health.

How does yogurt making work? Milk is heated to denature its protein so it doesn’t curdle. The milk is then cooled and yogurt bacteria are added to the milk and allowed to ferment for a period of time. During the fermentation, the bacteria eat the milk’s sugars and create lactic acid. The lactic acid causes the milk protein to form its creamy, thick texture and tangy flavor.

What bacteria are in yogurt? Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.

Here are instructions for how to make a basic plain yogurt:

Click here to watch a video on how to make yogurt that we filmed with the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts as part of their ALCA-Seltzer Series:

Our 2nd collaboration with Adirondack Lake Center for the Arts had brought forth all you need to know about helping your garden and house plants by harvesting the power of the humble Red Wriggler worm!

Creating and supporting a worm bin is a fun project for anyone, especially if you like gardening, are interested in biology, or just want to do something good for the planet.

Feel free to email any questions about vermiculture to ind-director@sals.edu

Here’s a link to the instructional video from ALCA:

Here’s the instructions that will help you figure out what you’re getting into:

VERMICULTURE-INSTRUCTIONS

Despite the cool temps, garden season is around the corner! We’ve been teaching classes about straw bale gardening at the library for a couple years each spring, but Covid-19 has caused us to adjust our strategy…

With the filming and editing skills of the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, we produced a how-to video about starting a straw bale garden. It is part of their online ALCA-Seltzer Series to deliver virtual programming to our community. Many thanks to the ALCA crew for making this happen!

Straw bale gardening (SBG) has many benefits over traditional gardening, The video below gives an idea of what you’d be getting into. I’m not a professional presenter (that will become VERY apparent soon), so please ignore my bloopers and general awkwardness. The pandemic is taking us all out of our comfort zones…

The link below is a PDF for step-by-step Straw Bale Garden instructions, so don’t worry about taking notes during the video.

If you have any questions about the instructions, send questions to: ind-director@sals.edu

The library is pleased to be able to offer OverDrive Instant Card. This gives you access to OverDrive e-content using a phone number. Now if you don’t have an Indian Lake Library card, you may still have access to OverDrive ebooks and audios.

Click here to sign up for instant digital card to access OverDrive content: https://salon.overdrive.com/

In addition to adult content, OverDrive has materials for kids and teens. Check out those collections here: https://salon.overdrive.com/library/youth

Remember, if you don’t have a card, and don’t wish to sign up for one, Tumble Book Library is accessible from the Indian Lake Library home page with instant reading or listening.

In an effort to stay connected with our community the library has an at-home reading challenge for you to try for fun. It’s the Indian Lake Library 30-Day Reading Challenge!

The challenge is a series of different ways to vary your reading activities for a month. Some challenges you may already do regularly. Others may prove a fun way to add some variety to your reading routine.

We hope this challenge helps you spend time reading in new ways. See how many in your household you can get to participate. Send an image of your completed challenge to ind-director.sals.edu and you will receive a congratulatory certificate to display as bragging rights!

Click the button below to download the challenge. Enjoy!

In an effort to keep our community informed of online resources to access while our buildings and books are off limits, we are posting them again, with some additions to the list:

1.) Our library website also has a huge collection of databases you may access: indianlake.sals.edu. Hover over “Find Materials” on the left, and click “More Catalogs, Health, Government Resources.” There’s tons of stuff available, but of particular interest to families will be “Kids Infobits”. Your family can learn about animals, plants, music science, sports, and much more.

2.) https://www.stimolaliterarystudio.com/#/
Stimola Literary Studio, representing kid lit and YA authors and illustrators, will host livetreamed readalouds, craft activities, and drawing demonstrations between 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. EST with Matt Tavares, Ellen Hagan, Shannon Stocker, and many others.

3.) www.myon.com
Free access to Renaissance myON digital reading resources for students and families during the current COVID-19 school closures. Students who are not already reading with their own personalized accounts to the myON literacy environment can log in through a single, shared account, to access this collection of curated resources.

What’s available on myOn:

• The myON digital library—which includes thousands of authentic digital books, fiction and nonfiction, covering a variety of topics and themes
• Five daily myON News articles—which are written for students by journalists and reviewed by a child psychologist for age appropriateness
These resources are available 24/7 and can be accessed on any digital device that is connected to the Internet. Books from the myON digital library can be downloaded onto mobile devices for offline reading.

How to log into myON:
1. Go to: www.myon.com and click the login button at the top of the screen
2. Enter the following information on the login page.

School name: New York Reads
Username: read
Password: books

4.) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-QcZISbFb9EiIEQ41cVhxw…
Science Mom is hooking us up with a variety of STEAM stuff on YouTube.

5.) http://daybydayny.org/
A website for young children and their families with daily ideas to keep learning fun. It is part of the New York State Library early literacy initiative Ready to Read at New York Libraries.

6.) https://www.storylineonline.net/
Stream videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.

7.) https://pbskids.org/
Videos and games for little learners. There is also a helpful parent’s resources section with ideas and activities for your little ones.

8.) https://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/reader/index.html
Resources from the US Department of Education.

9.) https://switchzoo.com/
Fun learning games with animals.

10.) https://www.si.edu/kids
Learning games and videos from the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. Learn more about the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and the National Zoo—shaping the future by preserving our heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world.

11.) http://buttonsandfigs.com/
A fun, educational program for kids, parents, educators, librarians, anyone, everyone who values wordplay. Buttons & Figs introduces kids to great nonsense literature, poetry, and songs as a way to give them permission to play with words.

12.) https://www.storynory.com/
Free stories for kids age 7 to 11 including some fun re-tellings of classical myths and lots of original content.

13.) https://www.parents.com/syndic…/museums-with-virtual-tours/…
This is a list of museums that offer virtual tours–no admmission fee!

14.) https://totallythebomb.com/heres-33-national-park-tours-you…
This has cool virtual tours of National Parks.

15.) https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/…/list-of-education-compan…/…
A list of educational companies offering free subscriptions due to school closings.

16.) https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/…/learnathome.html
Free educational activities.

17.) https://www.katemessner.com/read-wonder-and-learn-favorit…/…
An extensive & updating list of read-alouds, mini-lessons, and more from children’s author Kate Messner.

18.) https://twitter.com/hashtag/OperationStorytime…
Follow on Twitter to see how authors are sharing their stories virtually.

19.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjaYnyCJDdU&feature=youtu.be
Lunch doodles with kid’s author MoWillems

20.) https://jarrettlerner.com/activities/
Downloadable comic activities from author Jarret Lerner.

21.) https://www.youtube.com/StudioJJK
Drawing classes with graphic novelist Jarrett J. Krosocka on Youtube.

22.)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCowhHSUaWp3KJDcuI0nR0vw
On this channel, you’ll find workshops, readings, activities, art projects, writing games, writing advice, and more.

23.) https://www.slj.com/…
An article from School Library Journal about kid’s authors helping educators, students, and parents during the covid-19 pandemic. Has links to resources.

24.) https://www.vice.com/…/millions-of-books-are-secretly-in-th…
An article about downloading books in the public domain that are free. The article has links to online sources for these books.

25.) https://www.cosmickids.com/
Combines yoga and storytelling, very fun!

26.) https://www.nypl.org/books-music-movies/ebookcentral
New York Public Library has an app that allows anyone with a library card (and an iOS or Android phone) to “borrow” any of the 300,000 e-books in the collection. To gain access, NYPL’s free e-reader app, SimplyE, can be downloaded for iPhone or Android.

There is a limit of three books that you can borrow because there has been a surge in the app’s usage now that we’re all at home, according to the library.

You can also search the library’s collection of 800,000 digitized items, including historic prints, photographs, maps, and manuscripts and check out Mango Languages and Career Cruising with your New York City library card.

For more info on getting a NYPL card, click here: https://www.nypl.org/library-card

27.) indianlake.sals.edu
Tumble Book Library is easy to use, and feature unlimited access from home! You can read as many books as you want, when you want, and on any device. There are NO CHECK-OUTS, NO HOLDS, or NO BULKY DOWNLOADS. Books are available INSTANTLY.

There are 5 collections to browse from:
1. Children’s ebooks
2. Children’s math ebooks
3.Teen ebooks
4. All ages audio books
5. A huge collection of Romance novels for the older crowd!

Access this free service by going to indianlake.sals.edu. On the right side of the page, below the link for OverDrive e-books, is the Tumble Book logo. Simply click the collection you’d like to browse and enjoy. Please share this info widely.

If on your phone, simply scroll down until you find the Tumble Book logo. Hope this helps you spend the time well.