COVID-19

Accepting Donations starting Monday April 18

AKSPL Donation Policy

A.K. Smiley Public Library accepts donations

of gently used books, DVDs and CDs

Thank you for your support and patience during these challenging times. In an effort to keep everyone safe, the following rules will be implemented:

Donation drop-off hours will be Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm, with the exception of when the library is closed for holidays.
Please limit donations to 4 bags/boxes per day. If you have more than 4 bags/boxes please call Smiley Library (909) 798-7565 to see if special accommodations can be arranged.
Because of COVID-19 staff will not be able to assist with unloading donations.
Please wear a mask, ring the doorbell at the library’s delivery door located on Eureka Street and a cart will be provided.
Smaller donations may be placed in the donation bin located outside the Assembly Room door on the south side of the library.

Please see our donation map for the delivery entrance and donation bin locations.

New Public Hours as of July 12

Update August 16, 2021

The following public health measures have been implemented to help protect our patrons and employees.

Masks are required for all non-vaccinated individuals
Masks are Optional for those who have been vaccinated
Fully Vaccinated Means:
2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine
The Will J Reid coffee bar area is closed until further notice.

Our new hours are:

Library

Monday	10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday	10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday	10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday	10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday	10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday	10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday	1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Heritage Room (by appointment only)

Monday	Closed
Tuesday	1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Wednesday	1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Thursday	1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Friday	1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Saturday	1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Sunday	Closed

For information or to schedule an appointment, use the online portal, call (909)798-7632, or email heritage@akspl.org

Special Collections Research Appointment

In order to serve you in a safe and efficient manner, the Heritage Room has shifted to an appointment only system. Researchers are asked to provide information about their research topic and list specific titles they are interested in accessing when scheduling an appointment. Please review the Library’s catalog to identify titles and shelf numbers to include in your request. All researchers are required to provide their own writing materials; pens are not allowed. No more than two persons are allowed per research appointment.

In accordance with Smiley Library’s COVID-19 reopening procedures, research visits are limited to one hour and researchers are required to wear face coverings at all times during their visit. Hand sanitizer is available for all Heritage Room visitors to use upon entry. Any person feeling unwell or exhibiting signs of illness is asked to remain at home. All surfaces will be sanitized between research visits.

Donations to the Archives, Museum of Redlands, and Lincoln Memorial Shrine will also be accepted with an appointment. Contact Special Collections staff for further information.

Appointments are available during the new hours of operation: Tuesday 2-5pm, Wednesday-Thursday 1-5pm, and Friday-Saturday 1-4pm. To schedule an appointment, please submit a request on our online portal, call (909)798-7632, or email heritage@akspl.org. Appointments are only finalized when confirmed by Special Collections staff.

Resilient Redlands Webinar Series

A.K. Smiley Public Library’s “Resilient Redlands” webinar series focused on topics related to Redlands history and the collections of the Lincoln Memorial Shrine. Webinars were led by Smiley Library staff with a few special guests.

Past Webinars

2020

April 25 – “Intro to Redlands History”

May 2 – “From the Shrine’s Collections: Emancipation and Lincoln’s Letter to James Conkling”

May 9 – “The Great Crusade: Reflections on the 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II in Europe”

May 16 – “All Aboard for Redlands: How the Railroad Shaped Our Town”

May 23 – “From the Shrine’s Collections: The U.S. Sanitary Commission”

May 30 – “Redlands History in Motion: The Home Movie Preservation Project”

June 6 – “Reflections on D-Day and the Normandy Campaign”

June 13 – “From the Shrine’s Collections: Colonel Chapin and the 21st Connecticut Infantry”

June 27– “California Sunshine: Citrus Label Art of the Redlands District”

July 11 – “Grant’s First Great Victory: The Campaign for Forts Henry & Donelson”

July 25 – “Let’s Take a Walk Around the Block: A Brief Survey of Architecture in Redlands”

August 8 – “Hiroshima-Nagasaki: Reflections on the 75th Anniversary”

September 12 –“Booze, Brews, and Views: Redlands’s Uneasy Relationship with Spiritous Beverage”

September 26 – “Warriors & Patriots: Women of the Civil War”

October 10 – “Pure Gold Archives”

October 24 – “The Smiley Library Children’s Room Centennial: The Couple Behind the Gift”

November 14 – “Redlands and the Influenza Pandemic, 1918-1919”

December 12 –“The Smileys and Christmases Past”

2021

January 9 –“The Civil War in Southern California”

January 23 – “Redlands: The Town That Philanthropy Built”

February 6 – “African American literature” by Professor Charles Williams of Chaffey College

February 13 – “Lincoln’s Greatest Decision: Emancipation and the Use of Black Troops” with Smiley Library Director Don McCue

February 20 – “Black Voice News and the History of the Black Press” by Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds

February 27 – “Hidden in Plain Sight: African Americans in the Library’s Historic Collections” with Archivist Dr. Nathan Gonzales

March 13 – “Women of Redlands in World War I”

March 27 – “The Indomitable Florence Billings of Redlands”

April 10 – “Water in Thirsty Land”

April 24 – “Redlands: A Heritage of Greenery”

May 9 – “The of Life Elmer Ellsworth of the 1st Fire Zouaves”

May 22 – “Midcentury Redlands”

Watch previous webinars on Smiley Library’s Facebook page and the Special Collections YouTube channel.

These programs were made possible by a generous grant from The Kara Foundation.

Community Steps Up for Smiley Library

Demonstrating how important A.K. Smiley Public Library is to Redlands, dozens of members of the community pledged their own financial resources to save the Library from the most severe budget cuts in its 126-year history, raising $193,000 in two weeks.

“What an amazing testament to the people of our community who, rather than see drastic cuts in our Library’s hours and services, dug into their own pockets to keep it open” remarked Library Trustee Rosa Gomez. The gifts from the community, in concert with the entirety of the Library’s $126,000 reserve fund, make up the 2020 COVID-19 Emergency Fund needed to avoid many of the projected layoffs, if only for one year. “Fortunately the Library Board was able to cobble together additional reserve funds to contribute, but the challenge when you use one-time funds for recurring needs is that once they’re spent, they’re spent. We won’t be able to do this again next year,” Gomez continued.

“The Library hadn’t completely recovered from the cuts of the Great Recession, so the sudden 20% reduction from the City meant the loss of 16 positions and the elimination of 21 hours of service to the public,” commented Library Director Don McCue. “While this doesn’t fix everything for the upcoming year, it is a great help, allowing the Library to be open 48 hours a week instead of only thirty-five.”

“We’re confident that, as the City budget picture hopefully improves, the City Council will reaffirm its commitment to the Library by resuming the funding needed to preserve these important programs,” said Bill Hatfield, President of the Library’s Board of Trustees. “The Library is part of the soul of this community. When Albert Smiley gave the Library and park to the City of Redlands in 1898, it was with the expectation that it would be ‘faithfully and liberally sustained’ by the City. We, with the City Council, must continue to honor his vision and gift.”