In the interest of the health and welfare of patrons and employees, the board and staff of the A.K. Smiley Public Library are implementing immediate steps to cancel or postpone gatherings of more than 250 people and limit smaller gatherings that do not allow appropriate social distancing, in keeping with recent guidelines from the California Department of Public Health.

Effective immediately through March 31, all scheduled meetings and events in the Library’s Assembly Room, Lincoln Shrine museum, and Contemporary Club facility are postponed. This includes the Young Readers Room story time programming. This policy will be reviewed as events warrant. The library board and staff regret any inconvenience that is caused by this necessary decision.

The Library and Lincoln Shrine will remain open normal hours. In collaboration with the City of Redlands Facilities and Community Service Department, both facilities will undergo elevated cleaning and sanitizing.

In order to comply with the California Department of Public Health recommendations regarding social distancing, approximately a third of the library’s public access computer terminals will be taken off line and a third of the chairs at tables throughout the building will be put into storage. This policy will also be reviewed as events warrant.

For those who are unable or choose not to visit the library in person, the library’s electronic resources are available from home to all library cardholders at any time of the day or night. Cardholders can download e-books or audiobooks available from Overdrive on home computers, tablets or phones. 

For those with young children at home, BookFlix, an online resource that pairs classic video storybooks with related non-fiction eBooks to encourage a love of reading and learning for grades Pre-K to third grade, is a valuable resource.

Magazines are available through Flipster, a digital magazine service with 18 titles for adults and children.

The library’s website has full details at www.akspl.org.

More information on the California Department of Public Health guidelines can be found at the CDPH website at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Gathering_Guidance_03.11.20.pdf.