Grafton Public Library

Library Updates

Library Weekly Report Week of October 24-29, 2022

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This week we circulated 2,672 items, received 505 items in transit and sent 469 items. We requested 469 items and filled 452 hold requests; registered 13 patrons for library cards, and added 62 new items. The most popular book this week is It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. We hosted 44 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 106 people including multiple events with Small Stones Festival of the Arts last weekend, Grafton Girls Softball, Environmental Sustainability Committee, and Scout troops, as well as private work, study, and tutoring sessions.

Admin
Beth worked Friday and Saturday night last week to accommodate Small Stones Festival of the Arts programming, as we still do not have a lock for the newly installed gate at the bottom of the stairs. We continue to monitor temperature and wait for a replacement part for our system. She attended the New England Library Association conference, meeting with vendors and colleagues, and attending sessions on Dealing with Difficult Patrons and Library behavior management, sunsetting programs and items that no longer serve the institution, Coaching as a Management Strategy, Fine Free Libraries, Confronting Propaganda, Intersectionality of Social Issues, and more. She attended a number of meetings with staff, worked on MBLC reports and the construction grant, corresponded with patrons, volunteers, vendors, Capital Campaign, Friends, trustees, and various Town Departments. GCTV came by to test the live feed for a Thursday evening program.

The Board of Library Trustees met and approved a Piano Use Policy; we are waiting for insurance before making it available to the public. Save the date for student recitals scheduled for Sunday January 8 and Sunday June 18, 2023. Building Committee met to approve a change order (affordable due to several credits) and pay bills.

Beth also assisted with planning for the Emotional Wellness Fair on Saturday; please join us from 10am-4pm for vendors, mini-sessions and Goats and Giggles on the front lawn from 10:30am-12:30 noon. Our month of programming was funded in part from a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester.

A special thank you to Christine, our gardening volunteer, who delivered 22.5 hours of service in our Library gardens this fall to weed and prune. Join her next spring on Tuesday mornings as soon as the weather is over 50 degrees!

Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals and prepared bills. Debby worked on press releases, social media content, details for the Emotional Wellness Fair and shepherded the Fair on Saturday as well as scheduling, payroll, and Board of Library Trustees tasks. She attended the Massachusetts Library Trustee Association Meeting on Saturday, October 22 along with several Trustees, and the Board of Library Trustees meeting on October 26.

Borrower Services
Staff managed the service desks, delivery, museum passes, the lobby, room reservations and Automatic Materials Handling equipment. They assisted patrons, placed holds, performed readers’ advisory, and supervised volunteers.

Kara reported results for the MLS delivery survey, adjusted staff schedules, ordered adult fiction and nonfiction e-books and e-audio, consolidated e-books and e-audio titles with expiring licenses for additional purchase consideration by department heads, met with the scanner vendor, and prepared items for Halloween trick-or-treating. She spoke with the high school transition program coordinator about volunteer opportunities, prepared documentation for previous volunteer hours, and continued to coordinate existing volunteers and new applications.

Sandhya cleared expired holds from the hold shelf, followed up with patrons about missing holds, managed out of network requests for materials, assisted patrons with technology questions, investigated hotspot vendors used by other CW/Mars libraries, followed up with a library on an item damaged in the AMH, created signs for the Friends corner, and planned her November endcap and main displays, including ordering books and creating graphics. Allie performed troubleshooting for books kicked back in the AMH and updated the tracking sheet, displayed new fiction books, created graphics for the November newsletter, organized and updated the readers’ advisory binder, prepared materials for the volunteer, worked with CMD solutions IT technician for troubleshooting public computer default printing settings, designed posters for the featured museum of November, and she planned her November endcap display, including ordering books and designing the poster. She received multiple positive comments on the beautifully renovated library. Jane corrected records for patrons with the wrong home library, posted the New York Times best seller list for print and audio fiction and recommended titles for purchase, worked on an endcap display for “No Shave November” featuring books with moustaches on the cover, and worked on the main staircase display for November celebrating games and puzzles. Ranjita posted the New York Times best seller list for print and audio nonfiction and recommended titles for purchase, processed ComCat requests, performed a routine check of the Library of Things, and processed new adult fiction titles.

Children’s Services
Sarah ran two sessions of Toddler Time, ran one session of Preschool Storytime, participated in the Recreation Department’s Trick or Treat program, managed the collection and worked on collection development, worked with patrons to recommend and put aside materials on a variety of topics, reached out to the Grafton Food Bank, communicated with YFCP and STEM Beginnings about the upcoming session of Young Scientists, hosted the Library’s Goats and Giggles program, prepared for Monday’s Library-wide Trick or Treating event, acted as manager on duty and managed staff absences on Monday evening, attended the webinar How to Give and Receive Feedback, provided coverage upstairs on Monday night, and attended a meeting at the library.

Jen ran a session of Library Babies, shepherded a session of Young Scientists, updated Event Keeper and social media, worked on finalizing the November newsletter, and researched and pulled requested items for patrons on a variety of topics. Cyndi worked on completing a sample apron for an upcoming sewing session in November, continued to work on removing the items to delete from the library of things, assisted in decorating the CR for fall/Halloween, and trained a new volunteer. Mare communicated with and managed library volunteers. Stacie ran a library craft program, presented a Spooky Storytime, decorated the room, and planned for upcoming programs. Kristin coordinated with local schools about school visits, dropped off items to NGES, and prepped for upcoming programs.

Teen Services
On Wednesday, Sarah and Allison attended the Friendly Trick or Treating run by the Recreation Department at the Municipal Center. We brought rubber ducks and were a hit with the 175 people we saw over the course of the hour. Allison also hosted hosted two Mandala Pumpkin Painting programs on Wednesday night, one for tweens and teens and a second for adults. Sarah S. brought down and displayed newly catalog teen nonfiction and graphic nonfiction titles and researched 2023 teen and tween graphic nonfiction.

Reference Services
Heidi and Eric assisted with tech and reference questions as well as circulation. Heidi continued to work on PR for future book groups, shepherded “It’s Electric! How Your Body’s Electrical System Impacts Your Emotional Well-Being”, and hosted the “Inspirational Book Group and Guided Meditation. In honor of Emotional Wellness Week, the group discussed Emotional Advantage by Randy Taran. Eric attended a GALE webinar and continued tweaking the GALE database page.

Technical Services
Cynthia worked on cataloging fiction, nonfiction, audiobooks, and DVDs, and added new puzzles and a DVD player to the Library of Things. She requested records for cataloging from the CatCenter, and worked on a project for the Children’s Room cataloging DVDs.

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Willard House and Clock Museum: 50-Years of Collecting Excellence Lecture with Robert C. Cheney

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Willard ClockA program in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Willard House and Clock Museum and the loan and installation of a Benjamin Willard 1795 eight-day clock in the Library’s Historic Reading Room will be held on Monday November 14, 2022 at 7:00pm in the Community Room with a reception to follow. The clock was made by Benjamin Willard (1743-1803) here in the historic Grafton workshop preserved at the museum. Robert C. Cheney, Executive Director of the Willard House and Clock Museum will present “Willard House and Clock Museum: 50-Years of Collecting Excellence: An Illustrated Lecture.”

The Willard House and Clock Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places and was the birthplace and home of four Willard clockmakers working from 1760-1800 here in Grafton. The museum is known as “The Center of Early American Clockmaking” and now features over 90 masterpiece Willard clocks and timepieces, family portraits, furniture, books and ephemera, including an important Thomas Jefferson document providing Simon Willard with a drawing and instructions for the installation of Willard’s clock at Jefferson College in 1826.

photo, Robert C. Cheney,, in front of a portrait of Simon Willard

Robert C. Cheney, Grafton, Massachusetts is a third-generation clockmaker, dealer and
nationally recognized authority on early clocks, watches and scientific instruments. He
has served as a consulting conservator and curator for over fifty museums including Old
Sturbridge Village, Worcester Art Museum, American Antiquarian Society, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Consulting has also brought him to the United States Capitol and Supreme Court, the US Department of State and the oval office of the White
House.

Cheney’s museum affiliations include numerous terms and officer positions on the boards of the American Clock and Watch Museum, Bristol, CT, the National Clock and Watch Museum, Columbia, PA and the Willard House and Clock Museum, Grafton, MA.
Cheney has lectured extensively on antique clocks in the United States, Canada and the U.K. and has appeared as an appraiser on the “Antiques Roadshow” for over a decade.

Willard House and Clock MuseumAfter a 35-year career of self-employment and a decade as founder and Director of the “Clocks, Watches and Scientific Instruments” department at Skinner Inc., he currently serves as Executive Director and Curator of the Willard House and Clock Museum in North Grafton, Massachusetts. Robert C. Cheney was recently (2018) honored as a Silver Star Fellow in the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors for his writing, lectures and leadership in the field of horology.

Registration will begin on Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 10:00 AM.

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It’s Dinovember in the Children’s Room!

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View our November newsletter.

Join us for special dinosaur themed events and activities all month long! We’re celebrating Dinovember in our Science Nook and as part of our monthly mission. Stop in and view our dinosaur decorations, play in our dinosaur-themed sensory table and attend one of our special dino programs.

Drop-in and create dinosaur art with Ms. Stacie on Tuesday November 8th or Thursday, November 10th.  Craft materials will be available from 5:30-7:00pm.

A special dino guest will join Ms. Cyndi for a quick storytime on Tuesday, November 8th at 2:00pm. Stay for a photo op!

Finally, hatch dinosaur eggs on Saturday, November 26th from 3:00-5:00pm.  This program is for kids in grades 3-5 and registration is required.

Young Scientists meets on Friday, November 4th, and Friday November 18th at 10:30 am.

Join STEM Beginnings for a 6-week series for children, ages 3-6. Children will learn STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts through hands-on activities, story time and simple experiments. Registration is required.

Ms. Kayla from Apple Tree Arts will visit the Library for a Music and Movement program for children aged two and up on Monday November 7th at 10:30am. Registration is required.

BookWorms Book Clubs will meet on Tuesday, November 15th.

K-1 graders will meet 5:45-6:15 pm to discuss the book Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder and Dan Santat. 2-3 will meet from 6:30-7:00pm to discuss Fairy Tale Comics by Chris Duffy; 4-5 graders will meet from 7:15-7:45pm to discuss Rump: the true story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff. Registration is required. Stop by the Children’s Room to pick up a copy of any of the BookWorms Book Club books.

Comic Creators Club meets on Tuesday, November 15th at 4:00pm. Learn about the characteristics of comics/graphic novels and then try drawing or writing some of you own. This program is for school aged children in grades 2-5 and registration is required.

Open Play for Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers will be held on Tuesday the 15th, Wednesday the 16th, and Thursday the 17th from 10:00-11:00am. Has going to the library on storytime days become part of your routine? Though storytime is on hiatus, the library is still open! Come by and meet up with friends, play, or choose from a selection of specially curated read-aloud books.

Storytime resumes the last week of November.

We’re offering two sessions of Sewing Club in November. Tweens is grades 5-8 will learn how to make a Thanksgiving apron. This special class meets from 3:00-5:00pm on Saturday, November 12th and Friday, November 18th. Please register for only one session. Sewing skills are not required but helpful.

Drop in and make a pinecone turkey on Tuesday, November 17th. Craft supplies will be available from 5:30-7:00pm.

On Wednesday, November 23rd we’ll be showing a special movie in our program room. All ages are welcome, and no registration is required. Movie will be either rated G or PG.

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Weekly Report October 17-22, 2022

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This week we circulated 2,615 items, received 643 items in transit and sent 584 items. We requested 506 items and filled 507 hold requests; registered 14 patrons for library cards, and added 62 new items. The most popular book this week is It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. We hosted 28 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for MetroWest Building Officials Association, Cub Scout Troop 106: Wolf Den, Girl Scouts, Brownie Troop 65197, for 177 people as well as private work, study, and tutoring sessions. This weekend will be partnering with the Small Stones Festival to host “Nicholas Gage: A Writer’s Odyssey” on Friday evening and “Victorian Gossip Girl (TM): Annie Adams Fields” on Saturday evening.

The Library will have a delayed opening on Friday October 21 for scheduled staff development, opening at 2pm.

Admin

Beth was out for observance of Shmini Atzaret and Simchat Torah. Policy Committee met Wednesday evening and approved an Appeals Process for addressing conflict over policy, the Piano Policy and the Privacy and Confidentiality Policy for reviewed by Board of Library Trustees for their monthly meeting next Wed.  She worked on construction reports, made website and social media updates, paid bills, and met with various staff members.

Beth attended the Friends meeting; they have canceled their November book sale and scheduled a date in February 2023. Their book bag fundraiser is ongoing. Donations remain on hiatus. It is National Friends of Libraries week and we thank our all of our volunteer Friends Board for everything they do.

Beth prepared meeting materials for next week’s Board of Library Trustees meeting on Wed October 26 at 7pm on Zoom, and corresponded with volunteers, Capital Campaign, the Grafton Historical Society, GCTV, the Accessibility Commission, Grafton Police Department, and with presenters for this week’s staff development day. She worked with HDC, CPC, and Town Administration to withdraw a funding request for furniture restoration.

Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals and prepared bills. Debby worked on social media content, preparing for the Emotional Wellness Fair, as well as scheduling, payroll, and Board of Library Trustees tasks including attending and taking notes for the Board of Library Trustee Policy Subcommittee meeting on Wednesday.

Two thirds of the staff attended staff development on Friday. Offerings including a session on American Sign Language, by request, to better serve our deaf and hard of hearing patrons, and a Sounder Sleep workshop to reduce stress in honor of National Mental Health Screening and Suicide Awareness month.

Construction Update
Beth corresponded with MA Department of Labor Standards regarding fluctuating temperatures in a staff member’s office. HVAC review is scheduled for Monday; HVAC is the outstanding item on the construction punch list. The gate at the bottom of the stairs received hardware and a lock; a supporting wheel is still missing. William Blake is following up on a signage issue. At the end of last week, we did an emergency broadcast test with our phone system, Grafton Public Schools, and Grafton Police. Building Committee meets on Zoom Monday November 7 at 6pm.

Borrower Services
Staff managed the circulation desks, delivery, museum passes, room reservations and Automatic Materials Handling equipment. We assisted patrons, placed holds, performed readers’ advisory, and supervised volunteers.

Kara trained with Susan on regular print, e-book, and media ordering as well as running monthly collection reports in Evergreen. She processed volunteer applications, worked on onboarding new volunteers, added to the volunteers projects list, arranged for staff coverage for the circulation desks, and submitted the large print fiction and nonfiction orders for November and December.

Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials, worked on interlibrary loans, cleared expired holds from the hold shelf, followed up with patrons about expired holds, investigated hotspot lending programs in other libraries, created a staff projects sheet for the department, updated museum pass information on TixKeeper, and worked on the home delivery service, including ordering items, making calls, processing holds, and coordinating volunteers. Jane assisted with the A/V setup for a Small Stones program, posted the New York Times best seller list for print and audio fiction, recommended titles for purchase, corrected patron records for patrons with the wrong home library, collected items with alerts for cataloging corrections, and replenished the National Pizza Month display since all the titles had been checked out. Ranjita posted the New York Times best seller list for print and audio nonfiction and recommended titles for purchase, processed ComCat requests, and performed a routine check of the Library of Things. Allie planned and created graphics for the November newsletter, added contacts to the distribution list, performed testing on the Library Connect account, and trained a patron on the A/V system for a weekend presentation.

Children’s Services
Sarah ran two sessions for Toddler Time programming, presented one session of Preschool Storytime, prepared for the Municipal Center Trick or Treat event next week, managed CR collections and updated materials orders, planned for upcoming fall programming, and attended the staff development day.

Jen updated EventKeeper calendar and social media posts, worked on the upcoming November CR newsletter, ran a session of Library Babies, shepherded two wellness programs for children, and attended the staff development day. Cyndi worked on cleaning up the CR Daily sheet tabs and volunteer file, managed and organized the CR Library of Things, and added labels to the holiday book bins, audio books and picture book labels. Mare managed library volunteers. Stacie ran two sessions of drop in fall crafts, planned for spooky storytimes next week, updated book displays, updated the Science Nook, and attended staff development day.

Teen Services
This week Allison and Sarah B. gathered table decorations for next week’s Friendly Trick or Treating at the Municipal Center. They have also been staffing the desk during after school hours (2-6) to ensure that teens sign in to use the space. Allison attended the Policy Subcommittee Meeting on Wednesday evening. Sarah read reviews for new manga and researched upcoming 2023 YA and MG books to be possibly added to the collection. She put up new displays for Origami and International Magic Week and worked on of organization and storage of display cards.

Reference Services
Heidi and Eric assisted with tech and reference questions as well as circulation. They also attended professional development events. Heidi continued to work on PR for future book groups, finished the Library’s entry in the Recreation Department’s Scarecrow contest. She will be shepherding “Retro Fashion in Your Closet” and the Saturday Afternoon Knitting group this weekend. She also hosted the Daytimers Book Group discussion of The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley and the GPL Mystery Book Group discussion of The Lady Has A Past, by Amanda Quick. Eric continued weeding non-fiction and worked on the November displays.

Technical Services
Cynthia met with the representative from Ingram rep about our accounts and processing of books. She cataloged new adult fiction, nonfiction, and audiobooks; sent in CatCenter requests for records to be added to the catalog, and ordered new adult biographies from Ingram.

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Weekly Report October 3-8, 2022

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The Library will be closed Monday October 10 in observation of Indigenous People’s Day. No materials are due, no fines charged. Of note, the entire CW MARS network is now fine-free.

This week we circulated 2,721 items, received 595 items in transit and sent 708 items. We requested 531 items and filled 502 hold requests; registered 16 patrons for library cards, and added 143 new items. The most popular book this week is It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. We hosted 22 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 74 people including Girl Scouts and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners as well as private work, study, and tutoring sessions.

Admin

Beth was out for Yom Kippur observance Wed Oct 5. All Library Department heads met on Tuesday to address the ongoing middle school student behavior problem. The Teen Room was subsequently closed to the public for the rest of the week due to these ongoing behavioral issues. We have had 68 documented behavior incidents in the last 9 months, several which warranted calling the police for assistance. Beginning on Tuesday, we are going to be requiring advance registration with a library card for students ages 13-17 who want to use the Teen Room or Study Rooms so we can identify them when there is an issue. Children ages 12 and under are not allowed to be alone at the Library per our Unattended Child Policy. Middle schoolers will not be allowed on the Upper Level; staff will bring requested materials to them. The Teen Room will not open until 2pm on October 26, 2022 which is a half day of school. We will re-evaluate at the end of the month and appreciate parent intervention about expected Library Behavior; our Code of Conduct and Unattended Child Policy are posted in the building and online at https://graftonlibrary.org/home/policies.

Beth reviewed incident reports, paid bills, and worked on the MBLC financial report. She had phone and email exchanges with the middle school principal and Board of Trustees. A number of patrons expressed concern over the procedural change, including Friends, donors, parents, school committee members, and Trustees and we reviewed at the end of the week, and made some changes for Monday.

The Friends storage closet is full and they have halted donations for the time being.

We had an HVAC emergency with temperatures reaching over 76 degrees on the upper level, and temperatures dropping to 61-67 degrees on the lower level. Veterans, the HVAC commissioning company, has been made aware of the issue. Paint and plaster from the Historic Reading Room ceiling dropped into the room due to a cupola leak after Tuesday’s rain; the Building Department is handling repairs.

Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals and prepared bills. Debby worked on press releases, social media, gathering pictures of weekend events to pass on to local media, and communicated with local businesses regarding the upcoming Emotional Wellness Fair. She met with Department Heads and the Director to create a plan of action to combat behavior issues after school in the Teen Room, worked to solve several existing issues with our phone system as well as scheduling, payroll, and Board of Library Trustees tasks.

Borrower Services

Staff managed the adult circulation desk, delivery, museum passes, the lobby, room reservations and Automatic Materials Handling equipment. We assisted patrons, placed holds, performed readers’ advisory, and supervised volunteers. Kara met with the volunteer coordinators for each department to review the volunteer application process and plan for working through the backlog of applications, sent the first batch of applications to coordinators for review, and began updating volunteer record keeping. She worked on the ARIS and circulation statistics for September along with the monthly narrative, pulled materials for and made the monthly visit to Crescent Manor with Susan, and submitted the October audiobook order.

Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials, worked on interlibrary loans, cleared expired holds from the hold shelf and followed up with patrons. She began working on an endcap display of movies, investigated a unique 1940’s movie request for a patron, assisted patrons with technology questions and room reservations, updated museum pass information for Old Sturbridge Village, and worked with the Director on ending the existing MBLC hotspot service and researching alternatives. She worked on the home delivery service, including ordering items, making calls, processing holds, and coordinating volunteers. She prepared incident reports for events that happened throughout the week. Jane posted the New York Times best seller list for print and audio fiction, recommended titles for purchase, began collecting items with alerts for cataloging corrections, checked the Top Ten Titles for CW MARS against our catalog, and performed troubleshooting on the AMH. Allie partnered with Jane to provide A/V Training for staff members, did last-minute edits and created graphics for the newsletter, shelved new adult fiction and new large print fiction, and met with the Bibliotheca technician to discuss two case issues. She worked with Bibliotheca customer support on the phone, performed troubleshooting with the Bibliotheca technician onsite, documented the troubleshooting steps, created a new recording sheet, and wrote new procedures for Bibliotheca AMH induction/returns. In addition to circulation and lobby duties, Ranjita set up the monthly displays of Horror and Mystery fiction books and Mindfulness Meditation and Yoga nonfiction books for Emotional Wellness month in October. She posted the New York Times Bestseller Nonfiction listing; processed ComCat requests; reviewed the Library of Things; checked in, stickered, and shelved October’s new hardcover fiction books and audio CDs; and performed the monthly check of AED and First Aid boxes.

Children’s Services

Children’s Room staff assisted youth patrons and their caregivers. Sarah attended an Encyclopedia Britannica database webinar, met with library Department Heads, discussed an HVAC issue with Beth, scheduled school outreach sessions with NGES, planned for upcoming October programming, attended a staff meeting, ran two sessions of Toddler Time, one session of Preschool Storytime, and two sessions of Outreach at Busy Bee Academy.

Jen ran a session of Library Babies, shepherded a session of Music and Movement with Apple Tree Arts, updated EventKeeper, planned for upcoming October programming, attended a staff meeting, and worked on the November CR newsletter. Cyndi worked on the Library of Things CR collection, added storage hooks to the CR closet, helped to decorate the CR, attended a staff meeting, planned for upcoming October programming, shepherded a session of Young Scientists with STEM Beginnings, and managed volunteers. Mare managed volunteers, shelved, and attended a staff meeting. Stacie decorated the CR, planned for upcoming October programming, and attended a staff meeting. Kristin updated the CR bulletin board for October, coordinated with local schools, and planned for upcoming October programming.

Teen Services

Allison met with Department Heads this week at special meeting to develop a plan to address ongoing behavior issues in the Teen Room. She collaborated with other staff to close the Teen Room temporarily, communicate the closure to teens who came to the library, develop a system to limit the number of teens that can use the Teen Room at a time that ensures that they have library cards. She also attended a webinar on using Britannica Library Edition.

This week Sarah decorated the windows with yarn spider webs with bats and moths, brought in more pumpkins and gourds and set up a display decoration with a poster for the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival. She put up displays for Bullying Awareness and Indigenous Heritage Month. She had three events this week with a showing of the horror movie Lost Boys, a Queer History talk with author Sarah Prager, and hosted the New England Horror Writers Halloween Roundtable in the Community Room on Saturday.

Reference Services

Heidi and Eric answered reference, circulation, and tech questions. Heidi created library cards for people, worked on program planning and statistics. Heidi also helped shepherd the Spooky Movie shown Tuesday evening. Eric continued to plan a new book display to replace the Challenged Books display as well as working with Sandhya to create a Halloween non-fiction book display for the Large Print /New Books room. He worked on statistics for the ARIS report and helped Borrower Services make their visit to Crescent Manor more festive and spookier.

Technical Services

Cynthia worked on cataloging adult and young adult graphic novels and young adult manga, adding 143 new items to the collection. She unpacked and cataloged new large print books, completed training through CW MARS on CatCenter records requests and cataloging, as well as training with our representative from Ingram Content Group.

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Teen Room Rules and Procedure

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Teen Room Rules

  • Earbuds or headphones must be used. No sound coming from electronic devices.
  • Respectful language only. No profanity, disrespectful, or unsafe language.
  • Remain in the Teen Room. No in and out.
  • Noise must be kept at a conversational level.
  • Clean up your area before leaving, throwing trash away.

Three Strikes

  1. Verbal warning/strike
  2. Repeated warning — may be non-verbal
  3. You will be asked to leave library property within 2 minutes*

*Groups may be asked to leave if individual members of the group are not following the rules.

When You Can Return

If you are asked to leave for a minor violation, you may return the next day with a clean slate.

Repeated violations may result in a longer suspension from the library.

Immediate Removal

You will be asked to leave IMMEDIATELY if any of the following occurs:

  • Picking up, hitting, kicking, chasing another person or taking another person’s property
  • Entering a staff area, cabinets, or drawers without permission; misuse of supplies
  • Unsafe or destructive behaviors such as vandalism or damage to equipment, furniture, walls, or other library property
  • Disrespect to library staff

When You Can Return

If you are asked to leave immediately for unsafe or disrespectful behavior, you may return:

  • 1st removal — the next day
  • 2nd removal — one week
  • 3rd removal — one month

A meeting with the Library Director or manager, and/or a parent meeting may be required to return.

If you return and are on Library property, the Grafton Police Department will be notified and you will be served with a No Trespass Order.

Teen Room Behavior Contract

Beginning 10/11/22, all teens requesting use of the teen room will be asked to sign the Teen Room Behavior Contract, which outlines the rules of the Teen Room and consequences for not following them. This will only need to be completed once and a note will be added on your library card account.

Teen Room Sign In Procedure (updated Friday October 14)

In order to ensure a safe, positive and inclusive space for all tween and teens we are limiting the number of patrons visiting the Teen Room to 22 people. Rooms further are limited by number of chairs (no more than 16 in the gaming room, 16 in the maker space, or 19 in perimeter seating at any one time). There is no congregating in ways that block doors or emergency exits, access to stacks, or life/safety equipment.

Visitors ages 13-17 must sign into the Teen Room to use the space, including the Gaming Room, Maker Space and open seating and browsing. Tutoring Rooms may be reserved on EK Rooms.

Name, grades, address, and phone/email are required to sign in.

Unattended Child Policy

Please note that all tweens and teens must also comply with the Library’s Unattended Child Policy:

  • 0-7 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian at all times;
  • 8-12 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian remaining in the Library;
  • 13+ may be unaccompanied, provided child is able to use Library independently and follow the Library’s Code of Conduct.
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Behavior Management Procedure Change Effective Immediately Tue 10/4

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Due to the ongoing crisis with managing the middle school population at the Library, Department Heads met yesterday to develop a new plan for managing behavior expectations in the Library. To give the entire staff a much needed break and time to prepare for procedural changes, the Teen Room will be closed for the remainder of this week Tuesday-Saturday and reopen with new guidelines on Tuesday, October 11, 2022. If you are a parent or guardian of a child in grades 6-10, we urge you to please speak with your child about the value of the newly renovated and expanded public library with an engaging Teen Room.

Effective Immediately 10/3/2022

  • There is no open seating for middle schoolers on the upper level through 11/10/2022.
  • The meeting rooms on the Upper Level (202, 219, 228, 229) are restricted to for adults and high school students with high school ID AND library card. If high school students do not have a library card, they can get one with a school ID.
  • A library card is required to make a meeting room reservation for any room, including in person. All teens in the meeting room must have a library card to be in the room.
  • Once you’re in the meeting room, no in-and-out. Restroom breaks are fine.
  • Room limits on EventKeeper will be enforced – Group Study 202 is for 4 people, tutoring rooms for 2 people.
  • The Teen Room is closed temporarily for the remainder of this week. We apologize for the inconvenience. The room will reopen on Tuesday 10/11/2022 with new protocols.

Effective Tuesday 10/11/2022

  • Beginning next Tuesday 10/11/2022, we will implement a new system to communicate behavior expectations, enforce consequences, and limit numbers of middle school students. Tentative procedures are being drafted by the youth services team and include:
  • The Teen Room will be open to ages 13-17 with a library card (no crossover with the Children’s Room, which is 0-12 only; that age group has to have parent in the library)–with the following limits:
  • Teens will need to sign in to use the room and show an ID / Card to get into the room. No card in system = no entry; no card present = show on phone or confirm identity with two pieces of data (address, date of birth, phone number on file, email on file).  The library card would allow us access to their contact information should we need to reach out to a parent. If the students have the library card on their phone, this can be used to confirm their information.
  • We will enforce an occupancy of 22 in the Teen Room [2 in each of 2 tutor rooms; 2 groups of 4 in the gaming room; 10 seats for open seating (computers, maker space passive programming, general seating)]
  • Once you’re in the Teen Room or Meeting Room, you stay in the Teen Space. Students will need to locate all of their friends ahead of time who are signed up to be in the room and to come with everything they need. Restroom breaks are fine as long as they are not using them to play and be loud in the hallway.

Other Things to Know:

  • The Teen Room Staff are working on signage that clearly states specific unwanted behaviors with consequences and a behavior expectations contract modeled on what Boston Public Library does for their teen space.
  • We will not offer Teen Room Access on early release days for the rest of the school year; the Teen Room will open at 2pm.

Thank you for your compliance in these procedures.

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Director’s Report: August 2022

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The Library was open 27 days in August and had 6,489 visitors. We were open 273 hours and had 11 attempts/requests for access between 9-10am. We had 107 meeting room reservations for 261 participants with 1 no-show. We registered 126 new borrowers, and corrected 2 accounts for Grafton patrons. We provided 351 computer use sessions (not including Wi-Fi which is still not trackable). Staff answered 336 reference questions. We offered 31 programs to 259 attendees. September is traditionally a quieter month with back to school and post-summer reading program regrouping. The programming survey was completed by 56 people.

The Board of Library Trustees Policy Sub-Committee met on August 10 to review the 3D Printing Policy; draft was sent to legal for review. They met again on August 31 with guest Kristie Proctor, Director of Student Accessibility Services, Quinsigamond College and member of the Disability Commission, to review the Unaccompanied Adults policy after an incident in March 2022. Ms. Proctor felt the safety of children was of highest priority, and stated that if the person with the disability was satisfied with the reasonable accommodation offered, no further escalation should take place. She recommended a formal appeals process be defined that includes a timeline and procedure and include it in our policies; Beth will draft. The committee also reviewed a draft piano policy; Debby is researching PianoMe as another rental venue for our facility/piano use.
We convened a committee of staff and 2 board members and determined that My Heart is On the Ground by Ann Rinaldi (Scholastic, 2001) should have been weeded from our collection a long time ago due to misinformation and erroneous narrative about the Native American Boarding School experience.

Staffing
We suspended notary service in August and are unable to offer Passport Acceptance due to low staffing. We had 42 low coverage instances where we had to pull someone from another department, derailing them from their work or duties; call in a temp; close a department and one building closure due to lack of adequate staffing. We extended an offer letter to Kara Dzindolet as our new Head of Borrower Services; she will begin in August. We extended an offer letter to Cynthia O’Neil as our new Adult Services Librarian—Technical Services.
Multiple staff attended a training on Bystander Intervention + Conflict De-escalation in the Workplace

Budget
We are unable to close FY22 and pay encumbrances and begin the ARIS financial report due to the transfer to VADAR, the Town’s new accounting system. We have a very tight FY23 budget.

Building
Flooding during rain at the Emergency Exit door in the Teen Room continued to be an issue, repairs were made in September (a clogged gutter contributed to the issue).

Construction Update
• We continue to wait for the stair gate, folding doors for presentation area, additional signage.
• The HVAC system is the only remaining punch list item; Advantage will be back when parts arrive to complete work.
• We are still working to resolve other outstanding non-punch list items, including signage, office shelving, locks for cabinets and drawers in public spaces, soundproofing, landscaping, wiring, piano, patio furniture and lighting, and FF&E installations.

IT Update
No further movement on laptops for loan or meeting room tablets from work completed in July. Allie worked on Bibliotheca tickets and printer troubleshooting, new emails and logins were set up for new staff.

COVID-19 Update
Case counts in Grafton have remained stable but masking is still strongly encouraged.

Children’s Services
August brought the end of Summer Reading Programming and the beginning of the school year to the children and families in Grafton. We experienced high volumes of returns as families brought back materials checked out over the summer in preparation for starting the school year and transitioning to their fall schedules.

Staff were hard at work wrapping up the summer program, planning upcoming fall programming, decorating the room, and planning upcoming displays. We are eager to get back to our first series of in person fall programming since Fall 2019!

Order carts for new children’s materials are ready to go and our young patrons are eager to see an influx of new items!

Teen Services
The Teen Room was very busy the first week of school! Staff set behavior expectations and were overwhelmed by the number of kids. We capped at 40 and then started turning people away. Beth reminded youth of the unattended child policy and asked the schools to send the reminder to parents and students, to deter the under 13-year-olds from hanging out on site.

Staff displayed their favorite teen picks. We also worked on adding new manga titles to our future book order. Sarah S. hosted Manga Club and Anime Club this month. Allison worked on book orders, created a schedule for the book end themes, researched animal programs, escape room programs, Halloween and GCTH supplies, and booked programs for October and December.

Borrower Services
We circulated 13,959 physical items and 17386 digital items, bringing our total circulation for 2022 to 96, 424 physical and 120, 486 digital items. There were 104 museum pass reservations; 87 were picked up and there were 17 “no shows.”
4 seed packets went out. We made 13 out of network requests. Of note: Overdrive has scheduled monthly maintenance for the first Thursday of every month 6AM-8AM
EST.

Our main display for August was “Dog (and Cat) Days of Summer” to celebrate International
Dog Day and International Cat Day. The 3 smaller displays were: Cool Books for Hot Days, Good
Books about Friendship, and Ice Cream & Other Sweet Treats.

Volunteers and Outreach
Crescent Manor BookWagon had 15 participants, 20 check-outs and renewals, 5 requests, and 1
new card registration. We delivered 34 items to Homebound patrons. 27 volunteers donated 105 hours of service.

Reference Services
Staff placed 573 holds. We had 1106 database uses and 9,682 page views on our website over 5,684 sessions. The reference team created the displays on the themes of Read Beyond the Beaten Path display (Eric) and Beach Reads (Sarah L.)

We hosted the following programs in August:
“Not Just for Young Adults” Book Discussion Group met to discuss Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett.
Daytimers Book Group met to discuss The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin.
GPL Mystery Book Group met to discuss Celine by Peter Heller.
The “Reads Well with Others” Adult Book Discussion Group met to discuss How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior.
The “Inspirational Book Club” met to discuss The Secret Wisdom of Nature: trees, animals and the extraordinary balance of all living things: stories from science and observation by Peter Wohlleben; translated by Jane Billinghurst.
Lecture: Returning to the Moon – and What Comes Next.
Lecture: Chiropractic for Kids – What You Need to Know Before Heading Back to School.
Saturday Afternoon Knitting.
Grafton Ukulele Musicians met for their regularly monthly session at our partner Apple Tree Arts, held an extra practice session on site, and also played in the sun! on the patio for the first hour of the Friend’s Children’s Book Sale for Play Music on the Porch Day.

Technical Services
Items ordered at the end of June continued to arrive. Beth did some cataloging over Labor Day Weekend to get some of the bestsellers out before our new cataloger arrived.

Friends
The Friends held a Children’s Book Sale on Saturday August 27 from 10am-4pm and collected around GUM will be celebrating International Play Music on the Porch Day from 10-11am with family-friendly tunes. A book sale will be held on Saturday Nov 5. A bag fundraiser is underway, with 2 size options. Mobile Mini-Golf fundraiser will be held on Sunday October 2.

YES Log
8/29 Yes, I can show you where to find the 616 nonfiction books.
8/29 Yes, we have audiobooks available.
8/29 Yes, I can help you locate your downloaded files.
8/29 Yes, I can help you make a copy.
8/29 Yes, I have a pen you can borrow.
8/29 Yes, I can help you print a document.
8/29 Yes, I can help you find a book by Lucy Knisley.
8/29 Yes, we can renew your library card and update your address.
8/29 Yes, a 10-year-old can be on their own as long as their adult is in the building.
8/27 Yes, we have A Street Cat Named Bob
8/13 Yes, you can get a lost card replaced
8/13 Yes, we take donations!
8/2 Yes, we have notary service — by appointment only.
8/2 Yes, I have a highlighter you can borrow.

NO Log
8/31 Can you tell me which books I recently returned?
8/29 Do you have access to LinkedIn Learning?
8/29 Do you have Microsoft Access on the public computers?
8/27 Do you have passes to Franklin Zoo?
8/26 Do you have notary service? (suspended in August due to short staffing)
8/25 Do you have Colleen Hoover books available?
8/24 Do you have a soda machine?
8/23 Patron wanted to know if the scan to email was working yet. (IT says it’s a Xerox issue, Xerox says it’s an IT issue! – BS)
8/18 No, you can’t drop off your 11-year-old and leave her here unattended.
8/13 No, we don’t have Apple computers, we have PCs. (we have 3 macs in the teen room for teens -BS)
8/13 No, you don’t need a code to use the computers.
8/13 No, we do not have a weekly mahjong group (we can provide the game and space if someone wants to start one!) -BS
8/5 No, when you use a museum pass, not everyone has to be a Grafton resident. Only the person reserving the pass.
8/2 No, I’m sorry we don’t have any more baby/toddler story times this summer. They won’t begin again until the fall. The patron was disappointed because she is a teacher and won’t be able to bring her child.
7/29 No, we do not have a keyboard (piano type, not computer type) in the Library of Things. (ordered! -BS)

Patron Comments

Compliments

  • Building 2
  • Circulation 1
  • Collections 4
  • Customer Service 5
  • Heidi’s costumes 6
  • Programs 3
  • Gardening 2
  • Meeting rooms 1
  • Book Sale 1

Complaints

  • Doors 2
  • Collections 2
  • Noise 2
  • Programs 1
  • Computer Privacy 1
  • Signage 1
  • AMH/Self Check 1

8/31 Oh boy, what’s going on in that room (pointing to YA). I would not want to be here with them being so loud, are they always here around this time? Yes – Oh, in that case I will avoid coming to the library around this time.
8/29: Where are all the teen new books? (explained about not being able to order or process books without a cataloger)
8/26 “Please stop looking at the DVDs. We don’t have a DVD player.” We have one available to check out for patrons in the Library of Things! -BS)
8/25 Patron wishes we would buy more copies of contemporary romance books (Hazelwood, Thorne, Hoover). They are available as ebooks but she likes physical books. (Me too! we have stickered all the romances and I would like to create a trade paperback collection -BS)
8/25 “My son was here the other evening and you closed an hour early because you didn’t have enough staff. Are you hiring?” I explained that we have to have a minimum number of staff in the building to remain open, and if one person goes home, we sometimes don’t have enough.
8/22 “I aim to use my library card as much as my credit card.”
8/20 A patron was looking for the Margaret Arnold plaque or the Margaret Arnold room. I told her I don’t think the plaques have been installed yet.
8/20 We were open for 32 hours over 4 Saturdays and have 784 visitors. Two patrons expressed surprise we were open: “Nobody is open on Saturdays in the summertime.” (We are open late to meet state aid requirements based on population and budgeting decisions. -BS)
8/17 A patron mentioned that she tried to apply for a library card online and there was no option to add a preferred name. She wanted to make sure her preferred name was added instead of her legal name. She was not sure if we can add that field to the online form.
8/16 My son is 18 and my daughter is 22. Do you have anime or manga programming for adults? (I said not at the moment but would take that request under advisement) -we can add if someone on staff wants to take it on -BS
8/16 “Seems like you guys have a lot of holidays coming”, staff member said, “No the next one is in Sept for Labor Day,” patron said, “Well that’s the day I would like to come.”
8/16 There’s an awful lot of Democrat books. Where are the conservative books? Who does the ordering? -AP & RH (We order books from a variety of viewpoints and purchase patron requests all the time! -BS)
8/13 You are open till 6 pm on Saturday? it’s too late , you should close early especially during summertime. (We are open late to meet state aid requirements based on population and budgeting decisions. -BS)
8/6 A patron was super impressed with all the offerings we have for children. She had read our website since April and was very impressed ~ no other library that she has been to has as many as we do. She loves the room and all the things for her child to do!
8/6 Patron, walked up to me and said that the public computers are visible to all when they are working on private and sensitive documents and if can install privacy screens on them.
8/5 “I have to say the new library is phenomenally beautiful! I grew up in Grafton and was recently here and stopped by the library. The architect did a great job of marrying the old with the new and maintaining the character of the Common. So lovely! I used to live in Westborough and was on a board that oversaw what could be built in the center of town and you did a great job. Take care of the building…I lived so close to the library as a kid that whenever I had a question, my parents would tell me to run over to the library to find the answer.”
8/2 “Unlock the door” said a mom to her young child who was in the restroom. We don’t have a key if someone can’t unlock the door. (locksmith: 1-800-555-1212 or 508-757-1434)

Respectfully submitted,

Beth Schreiber, Library Director

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Library Weekly Report September 26-October 1, 2022

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This week we circulated 2,641 items, received 763 items in transit and sent 684 items. We requested 485 items and filled 592 hold requests; registered 25 patrons for library cards, and added 146 new items. The most popular book this week is The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict. We hosted 28 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 106 people including Tai Chi, Marvel Champions, Pleasant Street Neighbors group, and Girl Scout Troop 65070 as well as private work, study, and tutoring sessions.

Admin
Beth was out for two days for Rosh Hashanah observance. She worked on the financial part of the ARIS report, due on Friday October 7, and requested final FY22 figures from the Town Accountant’s office. She prepared meeting materials for next week’s policy committee meeting, attended the Library Board of Trustees meeting, and managed the Teen Room for part of the early release day. We had to close the room at 1pm due to lack of staffing. Teens were dispersed from the building and police were called to multiple locations on the Common in response to the crowds of middle school students.

Beth responded to a public records request and reviewed and edited Library page updates for the new Town website. She reviewed requests for camera footage—our cameras focus on library property, and we are unable to provide footage of the Common, Upton Street, or South Street. She reviewed and edited meeting room requests, tested A/V equipment, and met with a League of Women Voters member about their upcoming program. No one attended the Friday evening movie night last week, which Beth ran. She hosted a piano karaoke program that no one attended and worked with Apple Tree Arts on the October Ukulele 101 program. Beth reviewed incident reports, corresponded with the construction team, and worked on the July MPLCP report. She worked with IT to determine HDMI cable issues. Jonathan brought to our attention that the televisions are not properly secured, Beth will bring this up with custodial. She met with Cynthia regarding ordering new library materials; once we have straightened out which accounts from our jobber, Ingram, are coming in shelf ready, we can commence with ordering. Part of the delay is due to the long outstanding FY22 balance due to the new accounting system, but with this week’s warrant, we should be up to date and back in good standing. Beth requested a quote for new barcode scanners (two have stopped working) and will have to ask Trustees to fund as there is no budget for new equipment in FY23. Signet returned to manage staff key card issues and program our doors with the approved September Calendar. She completed and sent the October newsletter and paid bills. She reached out to a contractor for a quote on cupola restoration, and reviewed options for renewing our popular Wi-Fi hotspots, as the free program ends October 1.

Beth coordinated with Willard House and Clock Museum staff installed a Willard clock, made in Grafton, in the Historic Reading Room. This is on temporary loan. Willard House and Clock Museum: 50-Years of Collecting Excellence: An Illustrated Lecture will be presented by Robert C. Cheney on Monday November 14 at 7pm with a wine and cheese reception to follow. Registration begins Saturday October 1.

The Friends are planning their third Caddy Stacks mini-golf fundraiser, which takes place in the Library this Sunday October 2 from 12-4pm. Tickets are available in advance online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/caddy-stacks-2022-tickets-416733700717. Thanks to all of our local businesses who are sponsoring holes!

Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals and prepared and prepared the weekly warrant for payment. We received a $1000 check for our grant from the Coalition from a Healthy Greater Worcester and a $50 memorial gift. This week Debby worked on diagnosing and trying to resolve concerns with the phone system, created graphics and communicated with vendors for the Emotional Wellness Fair. She planted new mums on the front porch, created and posted content to Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, attended the Board of Library Trustees meeting, and continued to work on scheduling, payroll, and Board of Library Trustees tasks.

Construction Update
Our stair gate arrived for installation on Thursday and we anticipate completion on Friday. The panel insets do not match what was selected by the Interiors Committee. Veterans was on site working on HVAC system. A solution for handles for the display case was provided by the architect.

Borrower Services
Staff managed the adult circulation desk, delivery, museum passes, the lobby, room reservations and Automatic Materials Handling equipment. We assisted patrons, placed holds, performed readers’ advisory, and supervised volunteers.

Kara placed the large print fiction and nonfiction book order for October, processed damaged fiction titles and media, began working on an October endcap display, and attended training on using the A/V equipment in the meeting rooms.

Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials, worked on interlibrary loans, cleared expired holds from the hold shelf, followed up on missing holds with lending libraries, performed troubleshooting on the AMH, assisted patrons with technology questions and using the Libby app, answered patron questions on social media, and began decorating the Borrower Services areas for Halloween. She worked on the home delivery service, including ordering items, making calls, processing holds, and coordinating volunteers.

Jane posted the New York Times best seller list for print and audio fiction, recommended titles for purchase, collected items with alerts for cataloging corrections, and prepared an endcap display for October for National Pizza Month. She worked with Allie on using the A/V equipment in the meeting rooms and provided training to Kara, Mary, and Cynthia.

Allie finalized content and graphics for the October newsletter, gathered materials for an endcap display, talked to young adults about appropriate behavior in the library and the Code of Conduct, and worked with the Bibliotheca support representative on troubleshooting instructions, including problems with the security gate and external return issues.

Ranjita posted the New York Times best seller list for print and audio nonfiction and recommended titles for purchase, processed ComCat requests, performed a routine check of the Library of Things, processed new hardcover adult fiction, and assisted patrons with technology questions.

Mary attended training on using the A/V equipment in the meeting rooms.

Children’s Services
In addition to shelving, assisting patrons, and managing volunteers, the Children’s Room staff worked on the following projects:

Sarah presented two Toddler Time programs and one Preschool program, communicated with YFCP and STEM Beginnings, shopped for Octoberfest donation baskets, attended a Blackstone Valley Youth Services Roundtable meeting, coordinated Tumble Bus and provided storytime to children waiting, discussed Halloween outreach programming, planned November programming, and reviewed the schedule and brainstormed possible solutions.

Jen provided storytime to children waiting for their turn on Tumble Bus, sent out the October Children’s Room newsletter, worked on the November newsletter, updated EventKeeper and posted to social media, planned November programming, and presented a successful session of Library Babies. Cyndi prepared the October room decorations, shifted collections, planned for October, began preparing for November, and made the program room more accessible. Stacie cleaned and organized the program room closet, began decorating for October, prepped book displays, and reorganized the CR toys.  Kristin covered lunches in the Children’s Room, dropped books off at both SGES and NGES, and communicated with the schools.

Teen Services
This week Allison shopped for and put together two themed baskets for Octoberfest at South Grafton Elementary School: Hocus Pocus and Bluey! Wednesday was a half day and there were dozens of tweens & teens in and around the library. Allison also ordered the remainder of items needed for Halloween and Grafton Celebrates the Holidays, and created and sent out the October Teen Newsletter.

This week Sarah helped the teens to change out games in the Nintendo Switch from Super Smash Bros. to Just Dance and put on an afternoon movie on Tuesday. She put up displays for LGBTQ History Month, Space Week, and Fall themed books. She made Halloween bookmarks as well as stenciled bats and werewolves for seasonal decorations.

Reference Services
Heidi and Eric answered reference, circulation, and tech questions.  Heidi created library cards for people, worked on program planning and statistics. In honor of National Library Card Sign-Up Month, she hosted the “Reads Well with Others” book discussion of The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson as well as the Inspirational Book Group (and Guided Meditation) discussion of The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books that Changed their lives, edited by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager.

Eric organized and repopulated book displays and planned for future displays. He continued weeding the non-fiction collection, worked on troubleshooting databases with GALE, and made more patron-requested seasonal bookmarks.

Technical Services
Cynthia has been working on cataloging Young Adult fiction, new adult fiction, and large print books. She unpacked and organized new shipments of books that came in and worked on fixing damaged items.

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Weekly Report September 19-24, 2002

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This week we circulated 2,740 items, received 5645 items in transit and sent 593 items. We requested 589 items and filled 438 hold requests; registered 22 patrons for library cards, and added 87 new items. The most popular book this week is The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict. We hosted 23 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for
90 people including Grafton Republican Town Committee and MetroWest Building Officials Association as well as private work, study, and tutoring sessions.

Admin
Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals and prepared and paid bills. Debby worked on press releases, social media content, partnerships with local businesses, finalizing the Caddy Stacks mini golf display and the upcoming Emotional Wellness Fair. She attended the Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium expo as well as scheduling, payroll, and Board of Library Trustees tasks. This is the last week to participate in our Library Card Selfie Contest! We’d LOVE to hit 10,000 borrowers by the end of September. Current count: 9,635 residents with cards (8,901 borrowers with Grafton cards).To enter, post a picture of yourself with your Grafton Public Library card by 9/30/22 at 6 p.m. for a chance to win a $25 Visa gift card. Post your library card selfie as a comment to this post to enter. Rules: There is no age limit, if you have a Grafton Public Library card in your name, take and post a picture with it to enter! If your card is expired, call the library to renew it over the phone! 508-839-4649. The winner will be chosen at random and the winner notified via Facebook Messenger on the account they used to post their entry. A parent/guardian may post one entry per child in their home through their Facebook account, but the child must have a library card in their name. (There is no minimum age to get a library card!) If you don’t have a library card, you still have time! What are you waiting for?

Beth attended a Capital Summit with other department heads, completed and submitted the ARIS report, and responded to patron correspondence. She met with town counsel to review draft policies. She worked on PR and website updates for upcoming October programs, collection development and responded to staff and patron requests.

CTA construction addressed the leak at the teen room door. No leaking during the rainstorms this week! The gate for the stairs is scheduled to be installed next week. Work to meet ADA compliance for counters and sinks is anticipated for November. HVAC commissioning continues. We are moving forward with a plan for a humidifier for the historical documents room Beth attended meetings with the construction team.

Borrower Services
Staff managed the circulation desks, delivery, museum passes, the lobby, room reservations and Automatic Materials Handling equipment. We assisted patrons, placed holds, performed readers’ advisory, and supervised volunteers.

Kara worked on replacing damaged items, had a phone meeting with the large print vendor representative, ordered new large print adult fiction and nonfiction, prepared for upcoming orders, selected horror comics for a Scary Stories display, worked on collection development for adult horror, and tested and provided training on transferring title-level holds.

Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials, worked on interlibrary loans, cleared expired holds from the hold shelf, processed holds on museum passes, and assisted patrons with technology questions. She worked on the home delivery service, including ordering items, making calls, and processing holds. Jane posted the New York Times best seller list for print and audio fiction, recommended titles for purchase, collected items with alerts for cataloging corrections, worked on using the DVD players in the study rooms, and developed a list of winter holiday fiction for a display. Allie created graphics and curated content for the October newsletter, applied new formatting to the newsletter template, arranged a display for new fiction, planned an endcap display, and performed troubleshooting and cleaning of the AMH. Ranjita posted the New York Times best seller list for print and audio nonfiction and recommended titles for purchase, processed ComCat requests, performed a routine check of the Library of Things, and processed new hardcover adult fiction. Mary trained on Teen Room procedures with Allison and got an introduction to the Children’s Room from Jen.

Children’s Services
Sarah presented Toddler Time and Preschool Storytime programs, booked the school year outreach with Busy Bee Academy, coordinated with presenters, practiced collection maintenance and collection development, planned for upcoming fall programming, shopped for Octoberfest basket donations, and met with staff.

Jen presented a Library Babies storytime, worked on the October newsletter, decorated the room for fall, created a Banned Books display, updated EventKeeper, and created CR PR.
Cyndi decorated the room for fall, planned for upcoming fall programming, managed the Library of Things, and assisted Mare with volunteers. Mare wrote letters of recommendation for a few of our CR volunteers who are applying to be in the NHS. Kristin attended school open houses, delivered books to local schools, and planned upcoming fall programming and displays,
Stacie decorated the room, planned for upcoming fall programming, and created displays.

Teen Services
This week Allison attended the Grafton High School Open House and spoke to an assembly of parents to let them know about our space and highlight our new Peterson’s Test Prep database and tutor.com. She is also working on 3D printing the parts needed to set up the 3D printer enclosure and updating the Ingram cart when new books can be ordered. Sarah staffed the teen room and worked on October programming, including movie nights and an Author Fair scheduled for October 8.

Reference Services
Heidi and Eric answered reference, circulation, computer and printer questions. Heidi created library cards for people, worked on program planning and statistics. She hosted the Daytimers’ book discussion of The Lost Castle by Kristy Cambron as well as the GPL Mystery Book Group discussion of Plaid and Plagiarism by Molly MacRae. Heidi also attended the Grafton Anti-Racist Book Group (GARB). Eric replaced books checked out from the Banned / Challenged book display, selected books and made graphics for the Fall Reading display in the Historic Reading Room and continued weeding the non-fiction collection.

Technical Services
Cynthia cleared the backlog of adult books and tween books from the summer, learned how to use the label maker, and followed up on original cataloging requests. She is working on finishing cataloging the new adult and children’s books–nonfiction, fiction, graphic novels, and manga.

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