Grafton Public Library

Library Updates

Director’s Report: February 2023

Posted by bethg on

The Library was open 21 days in February and had 7,068 visitors. We closed early due to cold temperatures once, and due to inclement weather once. We offered 71 programs, 7 passive, all in-person, for over 790 attendees. We had 139 meeting room reservations for 525 participants, 2 cancellations and 2 no shows, and 77 additional meeting room uses for staff or Library programs.

We kicked off the Boston Bruins/MBLC Cradles to Crayons Pajama Drive on February 1 and collected 75 pairs of new pajamas for ages 0-18 through March 15.

Admin
Beth attended a ToG Department Head meeting and met briefly with Legal regarding policy questions and a few incidents; going forward we will only email out incidents with names redacted. She met with the Board of Library Trustees Policy Subcommittee, where we approved bringing three revised policies (Parking Policy, Security Camera Policy, and Inclement Weather) to the February BoLT meeting. We discussed draft Food & Beverage and Kitchen Use Policy as well, and the Art Display and Exhibit Policy is with legal for review.
Beth made website updates, started the Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness training, which is about responded to behavior issues in ways the preserve the dignity and respect of patrons of all ages, from all walks of life. She responded to requests from Trustees and Capital Campaign, provided logistical support for the Friends upcoming Used Book Sale, and worked on promoting Library events. She responded to meeting room use and facility rental requests.
Beth completed the December 2022 and January 2023 MBLC MPLCP grant reports,and started the February report, began working on the draft application for MA Historical Commission’s 29th Preservation Grant Round, and wrote a grant report for MA Office on Disabilities from our grant for hardware and training for patrons with low vision. We have the following available for use:
• Da Vinci Pro All-in-One HD Video Magnifier with full page text-to-speech OCR that allows it to easily read your favorite article or book aloud in a male or female premium voice and in many different languages. Sign up to use in-house our 10-seat conference room (219).
• MagnaLink Zip PREMIUM portable video magnifier for enlarge objects on the desktop (near), like a book or newspaper, or to look across a room (distant). Check out or in-house use.
• Explorer 5 digital video magnifier – use to take a snapshot and enlarge a spine label, a price tag, ingredients list, a receipt, or any other information that you need to increase font size of for readability! Check out or in-house use.

Beth contributed to and sent the March newsletter, completed January statistics, collected February statistics, prepared materials for the library’s budget hearing with FinCom on March 15, submitted bills for payment, compiled a list of resources for computer and browser accessibility, completed a non-fiction book order, met with IT, held a staff meeting, reviewed incident reports, and communicated with Trustees, Capital Campaign, and other town departments. She met with a GHS student interested in completing a library internship, and worked on a list of tasks and paperwork for the internship. She updated the website, updated procedures, posted two Temporary On-Call Library Associate Positions for the Children’s Room and Teen Room, and she and Debby responded to applicants.
Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, took care of incoming mail, and prepared bills. Debby compiled the Weekly Report, worked on upcoming social media posts, payroll and scheduling, as well as tasks for the Board of Library Trustees for their upcoming meeting on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. She represented GPL at the 2023 Legislative Breakfast at the Worcester Public Library and coordinated details for the Super Cheesy Secret Cupid exchange for staff.
Save the Date: The Friends of the Library’s Spring Fundraiser takes place Saturday April 1; Egg
Staffing
We recorded 28 low coverage instances where we had to pull someone from another department, derailing them from their work or duties; call in a temp, or close a department. We had multiple staff go out on leave and are in need of a larger temp pool to cover service desks. Beth posted a vacancy notice at the end of the month and hopes to interview and hire in March; staff are stretched thin, very stressed, and morale is low.

Half of the staff participated in a staff development day, receiving ALICE training with practical drill, lunch, and department meetings. Most completed the First Amendment Audit Webinar and we have several suggestions for improvements to make; our policy is strong. Most completed the Niche Academy’s Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness.

Budget
With three months left to go before end of fiscal year, we are getting tight on funds. Although slightly under in utilities, we are over in repair and maintenance and office supplies, and we have about $10,000 left to spend on educational materials.

Beth met with Evan, William and Mary to review the FY24 budget proposal, edited down to 6.66% increase, in February, then met with a FinCom liaison, before our public hearing March 15. The FY24 budget request includes increasing one staff member from 19 to 35 hours, and adding 1 18-hour a week position in the Teen Room, plus up to 6 hours a week for temps. This still leaves us at a significant deficit for covering all desks all hours through benefit staff leave time, meetings, and programs.

Building
Beth expressed profuse thanks to Building Department and DPW for their responsiveness to an unexpected hail and ice storm at the beginning of the month–custodial was deployed and the Library lot thoroughly salted. Beth is working on the documents required for the annual building inspection. Once the ADA millwork is complete and the architect alerts the Building Inspector we can get our permanent certificate of occupancy and request another reimbursement of grant funds. The building is very dirty and dusty as the custodial vacancy has not been filled and we are back to getting 10-15 hours a week. The good news is, when we have an issue, there is usually someone on call who can clean up biohazards or remove ice and snow.

Construction Update
Beth attended weekly construction meetings, and took minutes at the Library Planning and Building Committee, where frustration was expressed over long lead time for punch list items and lack of collaboration with Director for scheduling of contractors. We have a quote from Evergreen to remove a boarder of the green roof that may be contributing to the ongoing leak in the Community Room Beth met with Chandler regarding an ADA door opener issue – the motor sensor has failed and part needs to be ordered. Chandler swapped the crash bar for the Children’s Program Room Emergency Exit and still need to add an alarm to the emergency exits from the Children’s Room, a needed safety feature. ADA Millwork began; Beth confirmed a quartz backsplash option, laminate option, and and wall supports instead of laminate legs for computer counters. The millworks made a housing for drawers that were cut when we lowered the counter in the Teen Librarian’s office so we would not lose storage. We had a few noise and scheduling complaints. Work was completed by mid-March. Tucker Library Interiors came to install additional shelving. Veterans, LG, and Advantage met to resolve the HVAC software issue and replace a part; we still have an outstanding repair that is preventing 219-215 from being a comfortable temperature between 68-74 degrees per OSHA standard.

Still outstanding: HVAC commissioning, ADA Millwork, wheel for gate, presentation area and maker space doors, humidifier, exterior ADA sign. Sunshine Sign was on site at the beginning of the month to install donor signage and corrections to the donor wall. A portion of the green roof was cut back to solve the issue of the leak in the Community Room. No leaking was reported during a significant storm in March.

IT Update
Still outstanding: Outlook and Office 365; Deep Freeze installation, laptop deployment.

COVID-19 Update
None.

Volunteers, Outreach and Partnerships
We had 16 volunteers who put in 62.5 hours. Crescent Manor BookWagon had 8 participants, 28 check-outs and renewals, and 4 requests. We delivered 15 items to Homebound patrons.

Grafton Ukulele Musicians – GUM Jam met in partnership with Apple Tree Arts. Joe Kuras presented the History of Baseball in Grafton in partnership with Grafton Historical Society). We are working on a Clock Scavenger Hunt with Willard House and Clock Museum in April in celebration of Simon Willard’s birthday.

Social Media
TikTok and Instagram subscribers are increasing thanks to Debby’s engagement, while Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube remain stable.

Children’s Services
Children’s programming continued in February with weekly storytime programming for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers; outreach programming at Busy Bee, North Grafton Elementary, South Grafton Elementary, and Willard House; drop in programming for school aged children and their families in the evenings and on weekends. Storytime programming continues to draw a consistent crowd and we are seeing more and more school age kids in evening and weekend programming.

School vacation was filled with fun activities like Sewing Camp, Slime Making, Perler Beads & Movies, Tinker Tuesdays, and a special Space themed Saturday storytime.

Due to an unanticipated, and unprecedented, staffing shortage, staff spent much of February looking at the staffing schedule and trying to think of ways we can keep the CR fun and interactive while the library is down 86 hours per week. In the end, department heads made the very difficult decision to suspend library programming in March. The end of February was spent alerting patrons, making social media posts, updating the EventKeeper calendar, and fielding questions from patrons.

Teen Services
During the month of February the Teen Librarian took leave and worked from home on planning the summer programs and Beanstack, and scheduling book orders and displays. Multiple staff have been covering the room in her absence and Allison sends her gratitude.

Borrower Services
We circulated 10,965 physical items and2,675 digital items. There were 87 reservations; 73 were picked up and there were 14 “No Shows.” We registered 81 new borrowers and corrected 1 account for Grafton patrons. We made 19 out of network requests; 13 were unfillable. Staff began preparing to reopen the seed packets program, hopefully mid-March. Allison prepared the March newsletter. Sandhya updated museum passes and hosted two programs for adults: “Unplug with Art,” and “Color Me Calm.”

Our main display for February was “Books about Empowering Women.” The four smaller displays were: National Library Lovers Month, Romance Trilogies, New Historical Romances, and “Chocolate Goes with Everything, especially a Great New Story.” A book list and two displays were created for Black History Month. A graphic novel display was set up for Valentine’s Day.

Reference Services
We answered 360 reference questions, placed 602 holds, and had 3,498 computer users including 174 on site.
Heidi assisted patrons on the reference desk with information and referral, reference and research request, meeting room use, computer help, and more. Both ordered books for the non-fiction collection.

Eric assisted patrons with technology, reference and circulation questions. They organized and displayed new non-fiction arrivals. They worked on weeding and refreshed the endcap displays. Eric reached out to Omnigraphics to help collect Teen Resource Center statistics. They also reported monthly statistics. Eric created a non-fiction staircase display having to do with interpersonal relationships and relationships with yourself, and worked on the March staircase display as well. They helped set up the technology for the “History of Baseball in Grafton” event put on by the Grafton Historical Society.
We held the following in person book discussion groups:

  • The “Not Just for Young Adults” Book Discussion Group met to discuss The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye.
  • The Daytimers Book Group met to discuss Death in Kew Gardens by Jennifer Ashley.
  • The GPL Mystery Book Group met to discuss Under the Alaskan Ice by Karen Harper.
  • The “Reads Well with Others” Adult Book Discussion Group met to discuss Underground Airlines, by Ben H. Winters.
  • The “Inspirational Book Club” discussion of Wintering: the power of rest and retreat in difficult times, by Katherine May was postponed to March 7 due to inclement weather.

Additional programs included a Financial Seminar and Saturday Afternoon Knitting, etc.

Technical Services
637 items were added in February and 234 items were deleted. Cynthia created a spreadsheet to track problem items to see common issues; she fixed 46 items this month. Cynthia created records for various Library of Things items including portable CD players and Children’s games, ordered books for each department and unpacked items as they arrived, sent in scans to the CatCenter for original cataloging and sent in requests for records to be added to the catalog, and worked on documentation for using and ordering from Baker & Taylor. She created a bookplate for a donated children’s book, received the first shipment from Crimson Multimedia for our video game order, and helped with coverage for the Escape Room program and Borrow Services desk.

Friends
The Friends held their February Book Sale and raised over $2,500. There has been little interest in summer reading t-shirt sales. The Spring Egg Hunt takes place Saturday April 1. Tickets go on sale March 11 for $5 each. Their next Board meeting is Tuesday March 21 at 7:30 via Zoom.
YES Log
Yes, you can return books from Worcester Public Library in our return.
Yes, we have WIFI you can use to livestream a program? (Historical Society person wanting to live stream the baseball speaker on Saturday)
Yes, we have computers you can use to print something out
Yes, we have colored pencils that you can use.
Yes, we have a big rooms available for events? Yes, you may bring food according to BoH/Town/Library policy.
Yes, you can get into the Teen Room to browse, but not to hang out unattended, when we are under-staffed.

NO Log
No, you can’t come into the Children’s Room without your parent. (to a child under 8)
No, I’m so sorry but you can’t book a teen/tween study room or hang out in the teen room. You are welcome to browse the collection, but the space is reserved for our teen patrons. (to an adult patron)
No, there’s no toddler time today. We take a break for school vacation. x4
No, the Friends are no longer taking book donations x2
No, we don’t have a laminator for your use. (We do, in Borrower Services… $1/page -BS)
No, we don’t have Kanopy Streaming ( But Shrewsbury/Westboro/Sutton do have it)
No, I cannot contact other patrons to see if anyone is willing to switch Escape Room time slots with you.

Patron Comments
Compliments about the building: 8
Complaints about the building: 1
Complaints about closures: 2
Compliments about programs: 5
Complaints about programs:1
Complaints about noise/teens: 2
Compliments about teens: 2

Respectfully submitted,
Beth Schreiber

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Library CLOSED Monday April 17 in Observance of Patriot’s Day

Posted by bethg on

The Grafton Public Library will be CLOSED in observance of Patriot’s Day on Monday April 17, 2023.

Please pick up museum passes for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before the Library closes for the long weekend at 6pm on Saturday April 15.

Please visit our online digital branch 24/7 at www.graftonlibrary.org – you can even get a digital card for the OverDrive catalog if you do not have a library card.

For a complete calendar of 2023 Library closings, please visit https://graftonlibrary.org/2023-closings/

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Weekly Report March 13-18, 2023

Posted by bethg on

This week we circulated 2,798 items, received 189 items in transit and sent 613 items. We requested 475 items and filled 311 hold requests; registered 20 patrons for library cards, and added 174 new items. The most popular book this week is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. We hosted 30 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 132 people including Grafton Girls Softball, Grafton Neighborhood Planning, Republican Town Committee, Brownie Troop 65197, NGES PTG Fun Fair Planning, Girl Scouts Gold Award Planning, and Tai Chi Ladies, as well as private -work, study, homeschool, and tutoring sessions.

The Grafton Public Library was closed Tuesday, March 14, 2023 due to inclement weather. Staff worked from home on various projects.

Admin
Beth submitted a grant to the MA Historical Commission to supplement restoration and preservation of the Library’s cupola, which has weather damage and missing flashing and has leaked into the historic Wheelock Reading Room, it was last restored over 20 years ago. She attended a budget hearing with FinCom to review the Library’s FY24 budget request of $1,106,760, a 6.6% increase for additional staffing. Beth covered in the Teen Room, submitted bills, set up a display of nonfiction with an Irish theme, drafted an interview schedule for candidates for the on-call temporary Library Associates vacancies, prepared Board of Library Trustee documents for the upcoming Board meeting, and corresponded with patrons about Hoopla, meeting room and facility rental reservations, and training requests.

Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, took care of incoming mail, and prepared bills. Debby compiled the Weekly Report, worked on upcoming social media posts, and completed payroll and scheduling tasks as well as tasks for the Board of Library Trustees. She processed incoming applications for open temporary Youth Services positions, reviewed applications with Sarah, and attended and recorded minutes at the Board of Library Trustees joint meeting with the Finance Committee on Wednesday evening.

Borrower Services
Staff managed 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 created procedure for merging Overdrive user IDs, reviewed industry newsletters to add upcoming titles to purchase lists, asked CW MARS about database MARC records, checked CW MARS top titles against our collection, reviewed the next Ingram standing order, placed the March DVD order, and prepared for the opening of the Seed Library by reviewing seed library opening tasks with staff, preparing letters requesting seed donations and promotional materials, updated website content, and helped with other opening tasks. Jane replenished the Irish Heritage endcap display, processed pending patrons, continued weeding adult fiction, corrected patron records with the wrong home library, viewed two Niche Academy webinars (“Back Up–How to Back Up Your Coworkers During a Crisis”, and “Advanced Body Language”), and began working on the endcap for April for Stress Awareness Month. Ranjita posted the New York Times Best Seller List for print and audio nonfiction and recommended titles for purchase, processed ComCat requests, processed pending library card applications, and performed a routine check of the Library of Things. Allie performed troubleshooting on the Children’s Room Star printer, watched part of a webinar on “Sexual Harassment: How to Respond to a Customer’s Inappropriate Comments,” observed the staff development active shooter trainings, performed troubleshooting with Bibliotheca on the AMH Staff Induction barcode scanner, requested two newly published books to be added to the next order to fill patron requests, created a new brochure to present the GPL New Library Patron Welcome Packet content, and performed tasks for the April Newsletter, including creating graphics for spotlight on fiction, museum of the month, and upcoming events. Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials, cleared expired holds from the hold shelf and followed up with patrons, worked on interlibrary loans and followed up with patrons, contacted patrons to pick up new library cards, processed pending library card applications, coordinated museum pass renewals with museum contacts and accounting, updated information for renewed museum passes, and worked on the home delivery service, including ordering items, making calls, and coordinating volunteers.

Children’s Services
Sarah communicated with many of the local schools to finalize spring field trip details, scheduled the spring session of Young Scientists, communicated with Willard House & Clock Museum regarding summer programming, planned upcoming outreach Storytime programs, planned for April School Vacation, planned for the upcoming summer reading program, touched base with staff about scheduling and programming, met with other department heads, met with Debby to review applications for the temp positions in Youth Services, contacted William Blake about low temps in the library, ran three outreach Storytime sessions at NGES, attended the Library’s staff meeting on working with the homeless population, and worked on collection maintenance and development. Jen worked on upcoming Storytime lesson plans, planned for upcoming programming including April Vacation and Summer Reading, attended the staff meeting on working with the homeless population, updated EventKeeper and social media, and shifted the collection. Stacie planned for upcoming programming including April Vacation and Summer Reading, attended the staff meeting on working with the homeless population, updated EventKeeper and social media, prepped the Egg Hunt craft, and shifted the collection. Mare assisted patrons, communicated with and supervised volunteers, completed the Niche Academy homelessness training, and shelved materials. Kristin delivered C.A.R.E.S. books to NGES and SGES.

Teen Services
Allison telecommuted working this week finalizing book orders and summer reading plans. Sarah S. worked on decorating the Teen Room for spring, put up displays for Mermaid Day, cosplay, Transgender Day of Visibility, and Graphic Nonfiction, and worked on stickering and shelving new nonfiction and manga.

Reference Services
Heidi and Eric assisted with tech and reference questions as well as circulation. Heidi continued to work on things for the Friends of the Library Community Read and made a display to publicize the upcoming Beekeeping Workshop (the same program will run Monday, March 20th; 7-8:30pm and Wednesday, March 22nd; 1-2:30pm).  Eric worked with Cynthia and Borrower Services to send two boxes of items to Better World Books.  Eric also refreshed bookends, planned the April book display, and worked on non-fiction collection development and weeding.

Technical Services
Cynthia ordered new books and unpacked items as they arrived; cataloged new young adult books, children’s books, and adult nonfiction; worked on fixing problem items; worked with Bibliotheca to help fix the problem with my RFID tag reader; put together a Demco order; and watched two training webinars–one on Violence in Libraries and the other on Preventing Conflict.

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Weekly Report March 6-11, 2023

Posted by bethg on

This week we circulated 2,768 items, received 828  items in transit and sent 609 items. We requested 450 items and filled 484 hold requests; registered 24 patrons for library cards, and added 196 new items. The most popular book this week is Spare by Prince Harry. We hosted 37 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 97 people including 10 library programs such as Winter Farmers Market, GUM Jam, and Young Scientists, as well as private -work, study, homeschool, and tutoring sessions.

Tickets are still available for Matt York’s presentation Johnny Cash – Stories and Songs on Friday TONIGHT, Friday March 10 at 7pm. Go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/matt-york-presents-johnny-cash-songs-and-stories-tickets-554675618707 to reserve your free ticket. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Grafton Local Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Tickets for the Friends of the Library’s spring fundraiser, the Egg Hunt, go on sale at 10am Saturday April 11 ($5 per ticket, choose from 2 start times). The Egg Hunt takes place Saturday April 1, 2023 (no foolin’!).

Thank you to Grafton Police Department officers Alves and Benoit! Ten staff participated in Staff Development with a panic button test and implementation of January’s ALICE Active Shooter Training.

Admin
Beth coordinated staff development, worked on the MHC preservation grant submission, submitted bills, compiled the weekly report, reviewed applications for temporary on-call youth services staff, wrote and reviewed incident reports and addressed patron behavior issues. She submitted press releases for spring events, updated the website, approved meeting room requests, submitted MPLCP grant reports, prepared an agenda for the Library’s budget hearing with FinCom scheduled for Wednesday March 15, and checked in with residents who pulled nomination papers for Board of Library Trustees. She covered service desks in three departments, attended GUM Jam, and hosted the Matt York program on Friday evening.

Beth attended a short construction team meeting on Monday and a walkthrough on Friday with the millworkers who corrected sinks and countertops for ADA compliance. A portion of the green roof was removed to address a recurring leak. Beth followed up with the door vendor on a replacement part to make the door opener button functional again. She followed up on an issue with staff key cards not working, and met with the vendor to test our panic button software.

Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, took care of incoming mail, and prepared bills. Debby sent the Weekly Report, worked on upcoming social media posts, and completed payroll and scheduling tasks as well as tasks for the Board of Library Trustees.

Borrower Services

Staff managed 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 added a subpage for book lists to the Library’s website: find it under the READ heading, or go directly to https://graftonlibrary.org/2023/03/01/booklists/. She set up a March display for the Academy Awards, sent February’s OverDrive MARC records to CW MARS, submitted the March adult CD audiobook order, checked CW MARS top titles against the collection, ordered high demand e-book and e-audio titles, reviewed industry newsletters to add upcoming titles to purchase lists, prepared the first adult fiction order for March, processed volunteer applications, and ran Evergreen reports for lost, transit, and missing items for February.

Ranjita and Jane posted the New York Times best seller lists for print and audio and recommended titles for purchase, collected items with alerts for cataloging corrections, corrected patron records with the wrong home library, worked on weeding adult fiction, and began displaying the “spring joke of the week” at the borrower services desk. Ranjita processed ComCat requests, processed pending library card applications, and performed a routine check of the Library of Things. Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials, cleared expired holds from the hold shelf and followed up with patrons, worked on interlibrary loans and followed up with patrons, processed pending library card applications, provided training on Evergreen and museum pass reservations, contacted patrons to pick up new library cards, coordinated museum pass renewals with museum contacts and accounting, updated information for renewed museum passes, and worked on the home delivery service, including ordering items, making calls, and coordinating volunteers. Allie recorded statistics for 7-day and 3-week fiction books, helped patrons with readers’ advisory and printing from an iPad, made changes in Evergreen to the hold notices for patrons who are notified by phone call, contacted Bibliotheca about an AMH issue, and began research for April’s endcap display.

Children’s Services
Sarah worked on collection development and maintenance, met with staff, compiled February stats and narrative, presented two sessions of preschool storytime to Busy Bee Academy, attended the Friends Egg Hunt meeting, and planned upcoming spring programs with Jen and Stacie. Jen worked on social media and the newsletter. Stacie decorated the CR bulletin board and shifted books with Jen. Mare coordinated with volunteers and assisted patrons.

Teen Services
Allison met with staff about what’s been happening in the library as she works from home. She worked on planning summer programs, preparing orders and displays, and other items in advance of upcoming maternity leave. Sarah finished inventorying the manga collection, added additional titles to be ordered, shelved books, participated in the professional development, worked on manga reader advisory cards, and spring bookmarks. She emailed and spoke with parents about teen behavior and continued to train our new volunteer.

Reference Services
Heidi and Eric assisted with tech and reference questions as well as circulation. Heidi hosted the Inspirational Book Group (and Guided Meditation) discussion of Wintering: the power of rest and retreat in difficult times by Katherine May. Heidi also worked on the Friends of the Library Community Read preparations and collection development. Eric met with our Comics Plus vendor. Eric and Heidi both participated in professional development activities.

Technical Services
Cynthia ordered new books and unpacked items as they arrived, cataloged new adult nonfiction, fiction, and children’s books, worked on fixing problem items, and sent in requests for records to the CatCenter. She covered the desk for Borrower Services.

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Matt York Returns In Concert Friday March 10 2023 at 7pm: Johnny Cash: Songs and Stories

Posted by bethg on

Longtime New England musician/author Matt York will perform the songs of Johnny Cash and tell stories about Cash’s career, spanning from his early beginnings in the 1950’s to his passing in 2003. York was recently nominated for the Boston Music Award for Best Country Artist and his album Gently Used was named one of Worcester Magazine’s best albums of 2022. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Grafton Local Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Check out this promotional clip! https://youtu.be/D6bZfpMOcfM

Get Free Tickets!

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Weekly Report February 27-March 4, 2023  

Posted by bethg on

This week we circulated 2,784 items, received 374 items in transit and sent 691 items. We requested 524 items and filled 387 hold requests; registered 7 patrons for library cards, and added 100 new items. The most popular book this week is Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. We hosted 20 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 48 people including Grafton Book Club, Grafton Democratic Town Committee, and Tai Chi Ladies, as well as private -work, study, homeschool, and tutoring sessions.

The Grafton Public Library will have a delayed opening at 2:00 pm on Thursday March 9 for Active Shooter training – practicum. This is a scheduled training -please do not be alarmed by loud noises coming from the library between 10am-12pm.

The Friends of the Library’s Spring Fundraiser takes place Saturday April 1; Egg Hunt tickets go on sale Saturday, March 11 when the library opens at 10am.

Admin
Beth covered both the Children’s and Teen Room on Tuesday–we had just over a dozen visitors in youth services between 10am-6pm—and in the Teen Room on Wednesday evening. She completed the December 2022 and January 2023 MBLC MPLCP grant reports, and a grant report for MA Office on Disabilities from our grant for hardware and training for patrons with low vision. We have the following available for use:

  • Da Vinci Pro All-in-One HD Video Magnifier with full page text-to-speech OCR that allows it to easily read your favorite article or book aloud in a male or female premium voice and in many different languages. Sign up to use in-house our 10-seat conference room (219).
  • MagnaLink Zip PREMIUM portable video magnifier for enlarge objects on the desktop (near), like a book or newspaper, or to look across a room (distant). Check out or in-house use.
  • Explorer 5 digital video magnifier – use to take a snapshot and enlarge a spine label, a price tag, ingredients list, a receipt, or any other information that you need to increase font size of for readability! Check out or in-house use.

Beth sent out the March newsletter, reviewed meeting room use requests, collected February statistics, prepared materials for the library’s budget hearing with FinCom on March 15, submitted bills for payment, compiled a list of resources for computer and browser accessibility, completed a non-fiction book order, met with IT, held a meeting with staff, reviewed incident reports, and communicated with Trustees, Capital Campaign, and other town departments. She met with a GHS student interested in completing a library internship, and worked on a list of tasks and paperwork for the internship. She updated the website, updated procedures, posted two Temporary On-Call Library Associate Positions for the Children’s Room and Teen Room, and responded to applicants.

ADA millwork continued in the Borrower Services Workroom, Teen Maker Space and Staff Office, and public computer counters. Tucker Library Interiors came to install additional signage. HVAC team was on site to work out a programming issue that is not allowing the system to respond as scheduled.

Staff completed MIIA’s First Amendment Audit webinar and discussed at staff meeting. We reviewed our Code of Conduct for compliance in 2021. We will be reviewing addition of Authorized Personnel ONLY signage on interior doors, additional book carts to block access to staff desks and computers, and need for privacy screens for public service desks.

Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, processed incoming mail, and prepared and paid bills. Debby attended NGES Community Reading Day, worked on compiling a list of shifts we need covered as we face an unprecedented staff shortage due to family leave and reached out to staff to fill those vacancies. She also compiled the Weekly Report, worked on upcoming social media posts, helped clear the sprinkler room to meet compliance standards from the Grafton Fire Department, completed payroll and scheduling tasks as well as tasks for the Board of Library Trustees, and covered the Teen Room Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Borrower Services
Staff managed 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 helped relocate items from storage, shelved new adult fiction, took down February displays, set up the March staircase display and website title list for National Crafting Month, created signage and set up a graphic novel display for March for Will Eisner Week, created space for adult fiction duplicates, reviewed weeding procedure with staff, checked CW MARS top titles against the collection, reviewed adult fiction standing order titles for March, pulled materials for Crescent Manor and made the monthly visit, and prepared the ARIS, circulation statistics and narrative for February. Jane posted the New York Times Best Seller List for print and audio fiction and recommended titles for purchase, corrected patrons with the wrong home library, worked on weeding adult fiction, set up an endcap display for March highlighting Irish authors or books set in Ireland, finished the Niche Academy homelessness training, and watched webinars on “Ornery Teenagers: Compassionately and Effectively Managing Their Problem Behaviors” and on “Service Dogs: Your Obligation Under the ADA.” Ranjita posted the New York Times Best Seller List for print and audio nonfiction and recommended titles for purchase, processed new adult fiction, processed Commonwealth Catalog requests, processed pending library card applications, performed a routine check of the Library of Things, performed the monthly AED and first aid checks, and set up an endcap display for women’s history month. Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials, cleared expired holds from the hold shelf and followed up with patrons, worked on interlibrary loans and followed up with patrons, contacted patrons to pick up new library cards, processed pending library card applications, continued to prepare for the re-opening of the seed library, updated EventKeeper for postponed programming, and worked on the home delivery service, including ordering items, making calls, coordinating volunteers, and signing a new patron up for the service. Allie checked in new fiction books, added Historical Fiction and February stickers to fiction titles, added stickers and updated the status to display for new to collection titles, continued the Niche Academy homelessness training, worked on the NoveList Plus training, began webinar “Alison’s Mastering Influence and Negotiation,” performed troubleshooting when the Evergreen server was down, took down the February end cap display, designed graphics and put up the March end cap display “Our Books are Better than Gold,” checked in and recorded statistics for 7-day and 3-week fiction books, pulled duplicate books to put in storage, shelved nonfiction, and accomplished newsletter tasks, including running the report, adding contacts, editing, and adding “FOR SCREEN READERS” alt text description for images.

Children’s Services
New shelving was installed in the Children’s Room which means more space for more books! Sarah attended NSS Community Reading Day, performed collection maintenance and development, prepped for upcoming school visits, assisted patrons, and communicated with staff. Jen assisted patrons, updated EventKeeper, updated social media, updated the March calendar, sent out the March newsletter, and assisted with the website. Stacie shifted books and furniture and decorated the Children’s Room. Mare kept in communication with volunteers, worked on volunteer scheduling, shelved materials, and attended to patrons.

Teen Services
Allison completed the First Amendment Audit training, worked on the February monthly report, and ordered books for March. Sarah S continued to inventory the manga list; trained a new volunteer; put up book displays for books with green covers, Women’s History Month, and National Crafting month; collated list of titles for YA/MG fiction, graphic novels and nonfiction for April through June to add to order lists, and updated the manga release spreadsheet

Reference Services
Heidi and Eric assisted with tech and reference questions as well as circulation. Heidi was prepared to host the Inspirational Book Group (and Guided Meditation) discussion of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May, but the meeting was postponed until next week. Heidi also prepared for the Friends of the Library Community Read. Eric installed the new staircase display with “National Hobby Month” as the theme. He also assisted in collection development and set up a check-in with our Comics Plus vendor.

Technical Services
Cynthia ordered new books and unpacked items as they arrived; cataloged new adult nonfiction, various video games, and DVDs;  sent in requests for records to the CatCenter; fixed problem items; and ran reports to gather cataloging statistics for the month of February.

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