When it gets dangerously hot, or even just uncomfortably hot, the media urges people to spend time in “cooling stations.” They usually mention museums, malls, and libraries.
Very sensible! BUT – where ARE those libraries? And when can you get in? Back in 2018, when I was doing a weekly blog for The Leader, I ran a piece on our public libraries … where they were, and when they were open. It’s time to update! So here are the libraries in our Southern Tier Library System, looking specifically at WEEKEND hours.
At this time, unfortunately, there are only two libraries in our system with Sunday hours. (Corning and Elmira USED to, which was delightful, but not now.)
Alfred Library (Allegany County) has Sunday hours (noon to 4), but NO Saturday hours … which may seem curious, but flows from Alfred’s Seventh-Day Baptist heritage. (It also makes ME feel right at home, as I grew up in the Seventh-Day Baptist corner of Rhode Island.)
Hector’s library (Schuyler County) has Saturday hours 9-1, AND Sunday hours also 9-1, BUT Sunday opening ONLY comes on the second Sunday of each month. And those are our only Sunday options as of now.
These libraries have NO weekend hours (Sunday OR Saturday) throughout the summer:
Chemung County: Horseheads, Big Flats, West Elmira, Van Etten
Steuben County: Addison, Arkport, Atlanta, Greenwood
Allegany County: Andover, Bolivar, Genesee.
ALL the Schuyler County libraries are open summer Saturdays: Hector 9-1, Montour Falls 11-3, Odessa 10-noon, Watkins Glen 10-2.
All the Yates County libraries are ALSO open summer Saturdays: Branchport 9-1, Dundee 10-2, Middlesex 10-3, Penn Yan 9-4, and Rushville 9-1.
Elmira (Steele) is the ONLY Chemung County library with summer Saturday hours (1-5).
These Steuben County libraries have Saturday summer hours: Avoca 10-1, Bath 10-2, Canisteo 10-2, Cohocton 10-2, Corning 9-2, Hammondsport 10-2, Hornell 10-2, Howard 10-2, Jasper 8:30-noon, Prattsburgh 10-2, Pulteney 9-1, Savona 9-1, Wayland 10-noon.
Thirteen libraries in Allegany County have Saturday summer hours, although Richburg is open ONLY on the SECOND Saturday of each month. The others (open EVERY Saturday) are: Almond 11-3, Angelica 10-3, Belfast 10-1, Belmont 10-1, Canaseraga 10-2, Cuba 9:30-3:30, Fillmore 10-1, Friendship noon-5, Rushford 9-noon, Scio10-3, Wellsville 10-4, Whitesville 9-noon.
Many libraries are open all five “weekdays,” but some of our smaller libraries are closed at least one weekday. It’s a good idea to check first, by phone or Internet. Also, I got all these hours from websites, which I HOPE are up to date.
I don’t have enough information to identify them, but there ARE a few of our libraries without air conditioning. It’s also possible that a library’s A/C is not working, or is not working well, on any given day. Their websites and social media may have up-to-date news, but it might be a good idea to call before you make a trip.
It doesn’t cost a dime to get in, of course, and if you don’t disturb anybody else, libraries are usually happy to have you. Find a comfortable seat, then look at a book, a newspaper, or a magazine. Sign up for some time on the public computers. Sometimes there’ll be a concert, or some other activity.
As I mentioned, it doesn’t cost a dime to get in. Libraries are a funny “business.” Most places, if they get more patrons, they make more money. When libraries get more patrons, they just stretch the same money ever and ever thinner.
The public library is one of the western world’s greatest inventions. For many kids, the library is a sanctuary from the rage and chaos of home. One woman told me that when she was growing up she read EVERYTHING in Bath’s Davenport Library. “I learned that I didn’t have to spend my life in the family business in Bath,” she said. And she didn’t, embarking on a productive and adventurous life elsewhere.
Well, we’ve lived in Bath for 30 years, and we’ve been happy to do so. The point is not to escape someplace, but to be able to do what YOU want to do. The library … at that time a small, awkward place … made that possible for her. And nowadays, most libraries will also keep you cool.
– Kirk House, of the Steuben County Historical Society, writes a column appearing in The Leader and The Spectator.
This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Libraries are a great place to keep cool during hot weather | Column
Reporting by Kirk House, Steuben County Historical Society, Special to The Spectator / The Evening Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kirk House, Steuben County Historical Society, Special to The Spectator | USA TODAY Network
