Orange County Public Libraries
Though most branches of the Orange County Public Libraries have reopened after months of closure because of the coronavirus emergency, there are restrictions in place to comply with county and state guidelines. still numerous resources available.
Curbside Pick-Up Contactless service allows you to pick up items from the library without any physical contact. Simply place items on hold via https://catalog.ocpl.org. When you receive notice that they are available for you, drive to the OC Public Libraries branch you chose (the closest is the Los Alamitos-Rossmoor Library at 12700 Montecito, Seal Beach), call the number on the sign outside, then wait for a staff member to place your items on the table near your car. The service is available Tuesdays through Thursdays, noon-6 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Grab & Go
If you want to peruse in person, designated areas allow for a select number of visitors to browse the library’s collection. Single-user computer stations are also available Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; one-hour reservations can be made via https:// www.ocpl.org. All visitors must wear face masks and practice social distancing.
Virtual Book Groups
The Seal Beach Library’s Thursday Adult Book Club meets the fourth Thursday of every month at 10 a.m. Contact Amy Johnson at amy.johnson@occr.ocgov.com for more information
and the link to access online meetings.
Free Audio and Ebooks
Readers with an OC Public Libraries card can check out audio and ebooks through the online Overdrive and Libby apps. (To get a card, go to https:// catalog.ocpl.org/client/en_US/ default/search/registration/$N/ TEST/true.) Through these apps on your cellphone or tablet, you can find audiobooks and ebooks, check them out, download them, and access them. You can keep track of your reading history, and all your loans and holds are consolidated in a single place, with positions and notes synced across all your devices. Libby can also send books to Kindle for people who like to read on that device.
Overdrive and Libby are available for download from either the Apple App Store for iPhones or Google Play for androids.
If you need help getting set up, there are a number of helpful videos posted at https://ocpl. org/elibrary/virtual-programs/ how-videos.
