COVID-19 Outbreak Response
Effective 6PM on Monday, March 16, 2020, Washington District Library will be closed to the public.
The drive-up window only at the Main Library will be open from 9AM to 12PM on Tuesday, March 17, and we encourage patrons to pick up any holds on that day. While WDL’s first priority is service to our public, we feel it would be irresponsible to put vulnerable community members at risk by remaining open. We will take advice from public health officials and state library organizations to determine a date to reopen.
The library buildings, drive-up window, and bookdrops will be closed during this time. We ask all patrons to please keep any materials they currently have checked out. Due dates for all current checkouts will be extended until May 1. All programs and meetings at the library will be suspended during the closure.
WDL will be closed until further notice. We will update the public on changes as they arise via our website, www.washingtondl.org, and our social media pages. Access to electronic resources will be available through our website. Questions can be directed to questions@washingtondl.org. Our staff and Board of Trustees appreciate your patience and understanding during these unprecedented times.
Census 2020
It is time for the 2020 Census
From March 12-20, homes will receive an official Invitation to Respond from the US Census Bureau. You can respond online, by phone, or by mail. Guides for how to respond via each of these methods can be found on the US Census site. If you wish to respond online and you do not have home internet access, you can respond at a library computer. You are not required to have a library card to use our computers.
Why is the census important?
- The federal government uses census data to determine where money is sent. These are funds that are used for road repair, schools, libraries, health clinics and other services. For every person not counted in the census, the state of Illinois loses approximately $15,000 in funding.
- Census results determine how many seats in Congress each state gets.
- Everyone living in the United States is required by law to be counted in the census.
For more information on the census, visit 2020census.gov.
Cabin Fever Adult Winter Reading Challenge
Cabin Fever, our adult winter reading challenge, has started!
Sign up at our Main or Sunnyland Branch locations to be eligible for weekly drawings. Turn in your completed bingo cards by March 15th to be entered for our grand prize and blackout bingo drawings!
Grand Prize is a Book Lover’s Basket.
Blackout Prize is a Cabin Fever Survival Basket.
Introducing the RSAcat Mobile App!
The RSAcat Mobile app makes it easy to access the library from anywhere. You can digitally browse the library’s collection, see details about items, make your selection and place a hold for later pickup, renew items you have checked out, and pay outstanding fines in your account. The app’s location finder lets you find the location and operating hours of public libraries around you. The comprehensive account management includes the ability to link other library cards to easily manage multiple accounts from one app.
To download the new app search for RSAcat Mobile in your app store or click the link to your app store below.
My Account Major Features:
- View your checkouts, renew them if they have available renewals
- View your current holds, modify the pickup library, set hold suspension dates or cancel one or more holds
- View and pay your fines online inside the app
- Add Linked Accounts to add additional cards to your app. Linked cards include all My Account features listed above
Searching and Holds Features:
- Use the search box on the homepage to perform searches
- Search results are limited to your home library by default if you are logged in
- If you are not logged in, search results display for all 190+ RSAcat libraries
- Filter your results using the 3 options at the bottom of the results page – Limit To: changes the search library, Format: allows you to limit to books, movies, music and more, Collection: allows you to select an eBook provider
- Touch any title to see more information about it or place a hold
Other Features:
- Nearest Libraries: allows you to find other public libraries in the area, see their hours, location, contact information, and the library’s website
- Scan ISBN Barcode: scan the barcode of a book with your device’s camera to see if it’s available in an RSAcat library
- My Barcode: if you are logged in, it shows your library card number and barcode and any linked cards you have added to your app. Note: the barcode displayed may not scan in the library
The new RSAcat Mobile app replaces our old mobile app BookMyne which is no longer being developed.
The Holidays at Your Library!
We have plenty of ways to celebrate the holiday season coming up this month!
December 7th: Gingerbread houses at the Sunnyland Branch and Main Library – ages 3+; registration required.
December 9th: Cricut Christmas Cards – ages 8-12.
December 10th: Santa Storytime and Songs – all ages.
December 11th: Craftstravaganza!: Holiday Gift Edition – ages 18+; registration required.
December 12th: Teen Holiday Party – grades 6-12.
December 14th: Drop-In Gift Wrapping.
December 18th: People’s Choice Holiday Movie.
December 20th: Teen/Tween Afternoon Holiday Movie – ages 9-18.
December 23rd: Ornament Extravaganza – ages 3+; registration required.
Both the Main Library and Sunnyland Branch will be closed December 24th and 25th. They will close at 1:00 PM on December 31st and all day January 1st.
Library Closed November 28-29
The Main and Branch libraries will be closed Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th for Thanksgiving. We will reopen with our regular hours Saturday, November 30th. We wish everyone in our community a happy holiday!
Library Seeks Circulation Clerks
The library is currently seeking two circulation clerks. For more information, check out our Employment page.
Main Library Closed Friday, October 18th
The Main Library will be closed all day Friday, October 18th for technology upgrades. We are sorry for the inconvenience, but this will allow us to upgrade our patron computers and Wi-fi speed, improving the library experience for our patrons. The Sunnyland Branch library will be open regular hours, from 9:00am-5:00pm. Genealogy meetup has been rescheduled to October 25th.
Friends of Washington Library Book Sale
It’s time for the fall book sale!
The sale will be open the following dates and times.
Friday, October 11, 1 -5 PM – $1 each
Saturday, October 12, 9 AM – 5 PM – $1 each
Sunday, October 13, 1-5 PM – $.50 each
Monday, October 14, 9 AM – 6 PM – $3/Bag
Tuesday, October 15, 9 AM – 8 PM – Free
Sale includes thousands of books of all genres and topics. All proceeds go toward adding popular items to the collection, paying for additional programs, covering expenses for the children’s department and summer reading.
Donations accepted at the Main Library September 23 – October 5. No encyclopedias, textbooks, VHS, Cassettes, or Reader’s Digest Compilations accepted.
Community Needs Survey
For a chance to win a $50 Washington Chamber gift certificate, please fill out our community needs survey. We want to hear from you! Take five minutes to tell us what you want to see in the library. Ten lucky survey respondents will win a gift certificate.
You can access the survey here. Prefer a paper survey? Stop by the library to pick one up.