Sheltering at home hasn’t stopped the staff at the Alpena County Library from flexing their creative muscles.

The unexpected closure of the library meant staff members needed to find a way to shift many services to an online platform.

Through the collaboration of the different departments, the library cooperative, and vendors, the library is thrilled to share examples of the different resources available to the Alpena community through its website and social media.

For members of the community realizing that they don’t have a library card or perhaps have lost their card, there is an online form through the website to request a new card. With that card, patrons can access Overdrive for e-books or audiobooks, RBDigital for online newspapers and magazines, and Kanopy for streaming movies. Also on the library’s website is access to Ancestry.com, Foundation Center, Heritage Quest, the Michigan e-Library, and a whole host of online resources and activities to do at home.

The Reference Librarians are still hard at work and can answer questions in the chat box on the library’s homepage.

Library programs are available as well. Each weekday morning, the Children’s Department will post a virtual storytime kit which has a link to a book to read/listen to and various extension activities for flexible, at-home storytimes.

The Special Collections Department will host live programs on Facebook and upload the videos to the Library’s YouTube channel for on-demand viewing.

Staff members are putting together craft ideas and videos, scavenger hunts, and more.

For more information visit alpenalibrary.org or Facebook.