It is a small sign of progress; Stanislaus County Library staffer Brent Lowe cleans up and prepares the ‘book return’ outside the Oakdale Library branch on South First Avenue recently, as it has now re-opened for use by patrons. The curbside book drop had been closed for several months due to COVID-19 but is now back in service for the return of checked out materials. Stanislaus County is seeing improvements in COVID numbers but remains in the state’s ‘Purple Tier’ status.

Marg Jackson/The Leader