Get an eyeful with book room, get an earful with Twilight at the Pond

MILLERTON — Book and  music lovers alike can rejoice as the NorthEast-Millerton Library continues to move away from COVID-19 restrictions by reopening the Used Book Sale Room and scheduling concerts.

The sale room in the Library Annex at 28 Century Blvd., which has been closed for over a year, is reopening on Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and will continue with those hours until the end of summer. 

Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson said that as always, the donated items for sale in the room are all 10 years old or newer and are in excellent condition. Offerings include books, puzzles, CDs, DVDs and videos with children’s books starting at a quarter and no items costing more than a dollar. 

Patrons will be allowed to shop the room with a limit of eight shoppers at a time with funds being collected near the building’s entrance rather than in the room. Because the state has not yet provided specific guidelines for libraries, the old ones remain in place including mask requirements. 

Leo-Jameson said that donations of items for the room will soon be accepted again but that donors and potential volunteers should check with the main desk in the library to make arrangements. She said monetary donations are always appreciated and added that sales from the book room will help to cover unexpected costs. 

Music in the open air

Without the capacity to meet in person last summer, the ever popular Music in the Annex concert series was held outdoors on library grounds, but because that proved to be crowded and overly warm, this year the program is being moved to Rudd Pond at the Taconic State Park, at 59 Rudd Pond Road in Millerton.

Park guidelines, including any related to COVID-19, will be enforced, but the change will allow for an expanded audience size and a chance to “take advantage of the beautiful surroundings, whether in the shade or on the beach,” according to Leo-Jameson.

The concerts, newly dubbed Twilight at the Pond, are free, but there may be a charge for parking. Donations are appreciated to offset the cost of the series, which is partially funded by grants. 

So far, three performances are set, each for Saturday at 6:30 p.m., with additional ones in the works. Open Border Trio will perform on June 5, Ten Mile on June 19 and Twangtown Paramours on July 10. 

Both the book sales and concerts are one more step in a return to normal for the library, which was closed last year from March 6 until the end of May, when curb-side pick up, which is still available, began. 

In June the library was open “by appointment only,” until a full opening in the fall allowed a limited number of patrons in the building with safety restrictions in place. 

At this point only 15 patrons and staff are allowed in the library at any one time. 

“Now that people are becoming vaccinated, small group meetings including Mahjong, sewing and chess are taking place with masks still required,” Leo-Jameson said. 

For more information on library programs and services, go to www.nemillertonlibrary.org or call 518-789-3340.

Open Border Trio, a group begun when, as they say, “three old hands got together one day to play music,” is the featured band at the Saturday, June 5, 6:30 p.m. kick off for the newly dubbed Twilight at the Pond music series, which is this year’s version of the NorthEast-Millerton Library’s former Music in the Annex series. It’s scheduled to take place at Rudd Pond at Taconic State Park in Millerton. Photo submitted