January 12 was FURL’s first virtual meeting of the new year. We primarily discussed some of the library’s new initiatives and FURL’s author spotlight blog. In our last meeting, FURL approved to help fund holiday gift cards for the staff to local deli Pumpernickel and Rye. This also marks the one-year anniversary for the FURL blog and website. It’s amazing how much has happened in our world in just one year.
Branch administrator, Tara Lebherz, was happy to report the success of curbside pickup services. November and December each had more than 7,000 pickups. Urbana is also piloting a service specifically for teens, “Teen Take-Away Bags.” The concept is similar to the “personalized picks” program. Teens pick a literary theme and the librarians choose a variety of books, DVDs, and playaways associated with the theme. Initial interest has been tremendous.
There is still no estimate or timeline for when the library will move to Phase 2. While we are still waiting for the library to physically open, the staff has been busy preparing the building to meet expected perimeters and safety guidelines. One library element that has returned to normal is late fees. This is for all libraries in Frederick County. Fines are still important to library revenue. After nine months of no late fees, it was time to reinstate the practice. This does not apply to children’s items. FCPL eliminated fines for children’s items more than a year ago; therefore, kid’s books, DVDs, launchpads, etc. should not incur additional fees.
In December, FURL launched our new local author spotlight series. The blog profiles authors from the surrounding area featuring their journey to becoming a writer, inspirations, and their latest works. Our first feature was children’s author Kari Martindale. Kari is a former Air Force linguist and president of the Maryland Writers’ association- Frederick chapter.
Our second post features romance writer, Laralyn Doran. Laralyn has lived and raised her family in the Urbana area for almost twenty years. Her first book, A Fast Woman, was released in September 2020.
If you or someone you know is a published author living or working in the area served by the Urbana Regional Library and would like to be featured on our Author Spotlight Series reach out to FURL atFURL@friendsurbana.com.