Whitehall Township Public Library will hold its first-ever writing contest, built around the 2020 summer reading program theme of “Imagine Your Story.”

This contest will be open to all ages, with submissions split into four age groups: second grade and younger, third-fifth grades, sixth-12th grades and adult.

The deadline to submit your story is 5 p.m. Aug. 22.

All works must be 1,500 words or less and must be family friendly.

As part of our theme, all works must relate to fantasy, fairy tales and/or mythology in some way. You can write fiction or nonfiction, and it can be in prose or poetry. You must submit original works and characters only; no fan fiction is permitted. We’ll accept only one entry per person.

Email your work, along with your name and age group, to the children’s librarian, Lorraine Santaliz, at santaliz.l@whitehallpl.org with the subject line “Summer Writing Contest.”

Santaliz will remove the names from the work before passing it along to the judges, so make sure the format you send allows for that.

The top three works of each category will be posted Aug. 29 on the Reading Programs page of our website, and the top work in each category will be published in our September newsletter.

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All in-library programs have been canceled until further notice. This includes all meetings, book clubs, coloring club, story times, etc.

The new library hours are 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Fridays.

We will follow the protocols of social distancing, and patrons must wear a mask at all times while in the building.

Patrons will have one hour to browse the collection and select items to check out and/or two hours to use the public computers. Please sign up at the front desk to use a public computer. We will wipe down each station after every use.

Patrons must use hand sanitizer when entering the library. There are three hand sanitizer stations located in the library. Gloves and masks will be provided, if needed by the patrons.

Patrons are encouraged to only handle materials they wish to check out.

For the safety of our staff and other patrons, if you feel ill, do not come inside but rather use curbside pickup. Curbside pickup will be 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. The library is closed to patrons on Saturdays.

You can place holds on items by calling our front desk or using this website. To request items online, you can log into your account, search our catalog, click on the words “Place Hold” and submit your contact information. We will call you to schedule a pickup time when the items are ready.

If you pay for prints or fines with cash, we will accept exact change only, and if you pay with a credit or debit card, there is a $5 minimum. If you buy anything from our book sale, we can only take cash in exact change.

Returns will not be accepted at the circulation desk but must be placed in the yellow book drop in the parking lot. Items will be placed in quarantine for four days before being put back into circulation.

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Go to whitehallpl.org, then click on Research & Learn to access a variety of different databases. Select the free database, type in the bar code and PIN from your purple card and search for whatever information you may need.

A few of the fun resources are A to Z Food America, with thousands of recipes, hundreds of fascinating culture and ingredient articles and essential culinary resources; A to Z Maps Online, the world’s largest database of royalty-free, downloadable maps for academic use; and A to Z the USA, which helps the library patrons and students learn about the country’s people, history, economy, geography, symbols, culture and society.

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If you don’t have a purple LCLC library card, you may apply online by clicking the Request Library Card section of the library’s website.

Fill in the information, along with your email address, and we will email you a library card number and information so you can start using it that day. You may pick up the physical card in person at the library.

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We will get through this virus. Thank you for your support. We are doing our part to keep the staff and patrons healthy.

If you have questions or need help with a database, I check my emails daily at vahey.p@whitehallpl.org. I can help you.