Grafton Public Library

Weekly Report: August 16-20, 2021

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The Library is unable to open to the public as planned on Monday August 23, 2021 due to delays in raw materials, fabrication, and shipping. Without the remaining shelving, we cannot put away relocated items or finish shelving the collections.

Additionally, COVID, weather and other vendor issues have delayed various installations and trainings on the A/V System, new Xerox copiers, key cards and alarm/security camera, printer release software, and PC reservation software. Phones are not yet installed. While there are several punch list items we can work around, we cannot plan workflow, or learn and practice systems that have not yet been implemented, nor open to the public if it is not safe to do so.

Construction specialists from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners — our grant funders — visited this week to review the project. They were pleased with the design and had some feedback. MBLC advised remaining closed completely for two full weeks AFTER everything is set up so staff have time to acclimate – MBLC does not condone the partial opening we had intended and said we must either be fully open at 60 hours/week or closed, which puts us into September for reopening to the public. Dates will be announced as soon as possible. In the meantime, please continue to hold materials at home and us digital resources shared at www.graftonlibrary.org/digital.

We know how disappointing this is for the community, key stakeholders and donors. Please know staff are doing everything in their power to ready for open day, we miss you, and thank you for your patience.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is still on schedule for 11am Friday October 1. Further celebrations will take place next summer.

All staff (not on vacation) attended a key training and were interviewed for the Wage and Compensation study. All staff are reading Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin for our next reader’s advisory training in September. In medieval Cambridge, England, Adelia, a female forensics expert, is summoned by King Henry II to investigate a series of gruesome murders that has wrongly implicated the Jewish population, yielding even more tragic results. As Adelia’s investigation takes her behind the closed doors of the country’s churches, the killer prepares to strike again.

Heidi answered questions about library accounts, holds, readers’ advisory, kits, when we will be open, where they can return materials. She updated library accounts and made new ones for patrons. She attended the weekly staff meeting and took the minutes. Heidi attended the Daytimers’ Book Group discussion of Cat Shout For Joy by Shirley Rousseau Murphy and the GPL Mystery Book Group discussion of Dead as a Dinosaur, by Frances and Richard Lockridge.

Allie initiated contact with the Princh Rep – Ronnie in Denmark and got Princh installed and set up, Jane and Sandhya attended, and then they set up the four patron computers and bookmarked Princh on it. Allie also connected the receipt printers to staff computers and installed Hatch.

Allie worked on the September newsletter. Jane set up the circulation desk and made a video on how to use the Automated Materials Handler using Canva. Ranjita helped set up the circ desk, unpacked, and cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer at St. Andrews. Susan, Allie, Jane and Ranjita all helped reorganized the magazines in the Historic Reading Room.

Sandhya completed work on Wi-Fi hotspots, read through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) resources, added new items on Library of Things, and worked on a Reader’s Advisory assignment.

The Children’s Staff continued to work on setting up their space. Allison did final Summer Reading Program kit pickup Wednesday & Thursday.

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