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The Suffolk Public Library expanded its curbside pickup service hours earlier this month.

Library locations are now offering curbside pickup service from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. These hours are in addition to the previous curbside pickup hours of 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and are offered at both Morgan Memorial Library and North Suffolk Library.

As part of the expansion of the Tech2Go initiative, laptops will be able to be checked out for four hours for use on Library property between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. A library account is required. Due to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, staff will be unable to provide one-on-one technical assistance. Laptops can be requested by using curbside pickup service at Morgan Memorial Library and North Suffolk Library. Laptops are available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be placed on hold in advance.

To utilize curbside pickup service, library cardholders must place holds in advance and wait to receive a text, email or phone call notification before coming to the library. Once at the library, customers drive or walk up to one of the designated spots and call the Library. Library staff will bring items out and place them on a table, and then indicate when the customer can approach the table to retrieve their items. Any items customers bring back to the Library must be returned to the item drops and will not be accepted on the tables. Exceptions include WiFi2Go, Litter Cleanup Kits, and Cake Pans which do not fit in the item drops and can be returned by using the Library’s curbside service and calling staff. All items returned to the Library go through a quarantine period prior to returning to circulation.

Library cardholders can place items on hold through their account online or by calling the library. People can sign up for a free library card online through the library’s website for immediate access to digital content and to place holds on print materials. In addition to books, cardholders can check out items from the Library of Things which include Litter Cleanup Kits, Knitting Kits, Adventure2Go Kits, and more.

There are many ways for customers to discover what to read next while Library buildings are closed. A recent update has improved the layout of Suffolk Public Library’s catalog, allowing for easier search functionality and visual carousels of titles, including new books and rotating themed selections. The library’s website also houses a growing collection of recommended reading lists for all ages centering around monthly celebrations and current topics. Additional valuable online tools accessible through the library’s website are EBSCO NoveList Plus and EBSCO NoveList K-8 Plus which connect to the library’s catalog allowing users to check availability. For those interested in receiving curated content based on reading preferences at the first of each month, they can sign up for Suffolk Public Library’s Ready Reads Subscription Service online.

Grab Bag Books is another new service Suffolk Public Library is offering in conjunction with curbside pickup exclusively for children’s picture books. If a parent or caregiver needs picture books for their children but don’t care which titles they receive, they can ask for up to 10 books using curbside pickup without having to put them on hold first.

To learn more about the Suffolk Public Library, visit www.suffolkpubliclibrary.com. Follow the Library on Twitter @SufPubLib, and check for updates on Facebook at Facebook.com/SuffolkPublicLibrary. Subscribe to Suffolk Public Library’s YouTube Channel to access a collection of digital classes.