How Curbside Pick-Up Works

• Hours of service: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 12 PM-5:30 PM; Wednesday, 3 PM-6:30 PM.
• Call (585) 340-8720 to submit a request for items to be picked up the same day no later than 2 hours before our curbside pickup service closes for the day.  Please request no more than five items at a time, and make only one request per day to insure all requests can be satisfied.  You may also submit a request using our online form.
• You may claim your items at any time during the specified hours of service that same day.  Items not picked up will be returned to the shelves.
• To pick up your requested items, call or text 585-313-3520 to let us know you are here to pick up your requested material.  Proceed into the lobby of the Community Center wearing a mask, and a staff member will meet you there with your items.

Donations

Effective Thursday, September 10, donations will be accepted at the back of the library (door next to trailer) on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Donors should ring the doorbell to alert Sorting Room staff to their presence.  Donations must be put into the custody of Sorting Room staff, not just dropped off.

Teen Creative Writing Club via Zoom

Wednesdays, December 2-16, 4:00-4:45 PM

For grades 7-10. Teen Writing Club continues and new members with all levels of writing experience are welcome! Writer and library aide Dani Galens provides fun and inspiring prompts and writing games as well as tips and tricks to improve your stories. Register here

Life on Venus of All Places? (virtual)

Tuesday, December 8 from 3:00-4:00 PM

A link to the virtual meeting will be emailed the morning of December 8. The planet Venus sprang into the news this fall with the announcement of the gas phosphine in its atmosphere. On Earth, phosphine is produced by some bacteria. But how could anything live on a planet with a surface temperature approaching 900 degrees and sulfuric acid clouds? In this virtual program, RMSC Strasenburgh Planetarium Director Steve Fentress reviews our growing understanding of Venus, the Carl Sagan connection, what might be next for Venus research, and how to view Venus in the sky. Register here

Gingerbread Friends Story Time & Edible Craft

Friday, December 11

For Grades K-5. Registration opens Nov. 27 for residents & Dec. 4 for all others; limited to 50 participants. A link to the virtual event will be emailed the morning of December 11. Ready to hear a sweet story and decorate scrumptious cookies? Join Mrs. Carpenter virtually to hear the fun-filled story. All supplies are included. Registrants may pick up cookie kits in the library’s children’s room from December 10-12 during open hours. Register here

PPL Smart Beginnings Storytimes

Registration for our virtual storytimes by our children’s librarians is open! Enjoy some at-home bonding with your child through stories, songs, and rhymes that stimulate your child’s growing mind! All classes share videos through December 4, 2020.

Baby Storytime: Monday-Saturday, infants & pre-walkers

Wee Walkers: Monday-Saturday, ages 12-23 months

Terrific Twos: Monday-Saturday, ages 24-36 months

Preschool Story Time: Monday-Saturday, ages 3-5

Activity Calendars for Kids & Students

If you’re looking for some inspiration for projects to do with your child or young student, these nifty calendars have some great ideas that tie in with every day of the month! Check out the November calendars for early literacy activities and children’s activities.

New On-Demand Video Streaming Services

Penfield Public Library is proud to now offer access to Access Video on Demand: Master Collection and Access Video on Demand: Just for Kids to our patrons! Find out more about all the options available to you and your family through this platform.

Friends of the PPL Book Sale

Did you know that whenever you shop on Amazon, you can benefit the library at the same time? Log into smile.amazon.com. You will be prompted to select a benefitting organization. We hope you’ll choose Penfield Public Library Foundation. You may then shop as usual and 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible items will be donated to your designated nonprofit organization!

Reopening to the Public

Our services and hours are limited. Please see this infographic to learn the services we will offer and the cooperation we will need from our visitors to ensure staff and patron safety.

Returning Your Items

Our outdoor bookdrop remains open 24/7, so you may return your items at your leisure. Please keep track of your items’ due dates as we have transitioned back to normal operation due dates.

Items returned to PPL via our bookdrop undergo a mandatory quarantine period that requires a minimum of 72 hours to complete, after which your items will be discharged from your account. You will not be charged overdue fees for the days your items are in quarantine even if your account lists those items as overdue.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above, please feel free to call us during hours of service at 340-8720. Thank you!

2021 Erie Canalway Calendars

PPL will have a limited number of Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor 2021 calendars available at the Information Desk beginning Tuesday, December 1. Calendars are available on a first-come-first-served basis and are limited to one calendar per family. You can learn more about the work put into the calendar and get a sneak peek of some awesome calendar photos here.

Storybook Trail

Saturday, December 5, 10:00 AM-1:30 PM (at your leisure)

For children of all ages & families; no registration required. Put your walking shoes on, bundle up, and enjoy a family walk as you read the pages of Jimmy Kimmel’s The Serious Goose. The storybook trail begins at the front entrance of Penfield Public Library and brings you around the community center’s grounds, ending up inside the PPL!

Take-It-and-Make-It Craft: Gift for Someone Special

Optional Zoom Craft Room: Friday, December 11, 4:00 PM

For grades 6-12. No registration required this month, but the kits are given away on a first-come-first-served basis. Pick up a craft kit with supplies and instructions at the library’s Information Desk beginning December 4. There will be a Zoom Craft Room on Friday, December 11 at 4:00 PM for those who would like to follow along step-by-step with the project and craft together in a virtual community (link will be provided in craft kits).

Book Discussion Group (virtual)

Thursday, December 17 from 2:00-4:00 PM

Registration is required by December 16 & opens November 19. A link to the virtual program will be emailed the morning of December 17. This month we get together to revisit our favorite books of the year and recommend choice reads to each other. Please bring your favorite book (or books) to present/share with the group. No need to prepare anything formal, just a casual sharing of a few of our favorites! Librarians Kim Catalanello and Candice Johnson will co-host. Register here

Early Bird Senior Access

We are happy to open our doors early to our senior citizen patrons on Wednesdays from 12-1 PM beginning October 7. All mask and social distance requirements must still be met and we look forward to serving you!

Online Tutoring & Job Help with Brainfuse
The Penfield Public Library is proud to offer patrons access to Brainfuse, an online platform that endeavors to “connect people who want to learn with experts who love to teach”. PPL’s subscription to Brainfuse is sponsored by the Penfield Public Library Foundation. Brainfuse may be accessed within PPL itself or with a library card on any internet-enabled computer outside of PPL.

Brainfuse HelpNow
Get free online homework help from one-on-one tutors daily from 2:00 to 11:00 PM.

Brainfuse JobNow
Provides live, interactive online help combined with online resources to guide you through the necessary tasks to get a job.

Homework Help

We have a number of excellent books in our special Literacy collection which will help you with your academic assignments. You can find information on the vaccination debate, the ebola outbreak, and other science-oriented topics. Check out biographies of Andrew Jackson, Ben Franklin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and other historical, sports, and popular-culture figures. For social issues, take a look at titles on racism, sexism, politics, community resources, immigration, the opioid crisis, and the media. Animal lovers can choose books on habitats, extinction, and predators. Those with an eye to the future have a choice of books on topics like artificial intelligence, hybrid and electric vehicles, fuel cells, space exploration, and STEM careers.

Please ask at the Information Desk for additional help in selecting resources to make it easier to complete your assignments. You may call us at (585) 340-8720 or stop in during the library’s open hours.

BookBrowse: Your Guide to Exceptional Books

Penfield Public Library now offers our members free access to BookBrowse.com, a leading book recommendation and review website. BookBrowse believes that the very best books entertain, uplift, and educate. They wrap us in their world, giving us a window into the lives of others or a mirror to reflect on ourselves. These are the books you’ll find on BookBrowse.

Some of BookBrowse’s content is publicly available, but many premium features are accessible only by subscription. Library patrons can now use their library card to access members-only content!

We now offer wireless printing! Whether inside or outside the library, just go to http://www.printeron.net/ppl/main , upload your document, then pick it up using our document station. Our station will remember your document for 3 days.  The cost is 15¢ per black and white side and $1.00 per color side.