New Shelter Island library options: cards or bar-coded tags

Shelter Island’s public library has new library cards to go with its newly renovated interior, with a picture of the library building on the front.

But, librarian Denise DiPaolo said, a lot of people might not end up using them. When residents pick up their new cards, they also will be able to get a little plastic bar-coded tag — the kind that goes on a key ring — they can use instead.

“They won’t have to go through their wallets. Most of the libraries on the East End already have them,” she said.

The tags, similar to the ones given out by supermarkets, are available at many libraries in the rest of the county, according to the Suffolk Cooperative Library System.

Meanwhile, the Shelter Island library also is collecting donations as part of last month’s Turkey Plunge” fundraiser, which had 133 people jumping into the water and paying $25 for the privilege.

The library raised more than $15,000, less than the nearly $20,000 brought in last year. “It was much colder,” DiPaolo said.

The Shelter Island library spent $700,000 this year renovating its 2,700-square-foot basement — the first major improvement in the building since it was constructed in 1965 — with the money coming from private fund-raising, rather than taxes.

The donations raised from the Turkey Plunge — with contributions still trickling in — will be used for an awning to cover the new patio. “We discovered this summer it would be really nice to have some shade there,” DiPaolo said.

Above: Shelter Island poet Hilary King reads from her recent book, "Love & Other Poems," at the Shelter Island Library. (May 7, 2011)