Stars in Our Eyes

Many of our patrons will be excited to hear Winters-Bellbrook Community Library is now the proud owner of a circulating telescope. It all started when Beavercreek received two telescopes from Miami Valley Astronomical Society in 2017, and other library locations soon followed. By the end of 2017, there were nine telescopes in the Greene County Public Library system, but the question of space in the Bellbrook library plagued us. Where would we keep a telescope on a regular basis?

Thanks to some hardworking and crafty librarians, we made room in our reference area to be able to keep the telescope in the view of patrons. The Friends of the Winters-Bellbrook Library provided the funding, and Jim Ventling of the Miami Valley Astronomical Society put the kit together and pledged continuing support should the telescope need some fine-tuning. We couldn’t be happier!

Our telescope was checked out the first day it arrived, if you can believe it. Any adult with a library card in good standing can check it out, but here are a few things to keep in mind:

• There is an agreement form, opens a new window you will need to fill out the first time you check a telescope out. This includes a brief safety and handling training from library staff.
• If you see the telescope on our shelf, it is available to check out. Sadly, we can’t hold it for another day or reserve it for you to use later.
• The loan period is one week, and telescopes must be returned to the same library location during our open hours. You won’t be able to renew a telescope (or fit it into our book drop!), so keep that in mind when you check it out.

We listened to our patrons and are excited that our new telescope is finally here! Thanks again to our Friends of the Winters-Bellbrook Library and to Jim Ventling of MVAS.