The Library was open 25 days in March and had 7,429 visitors. We closed for one day due to inclement weather, and delayed open for staff training, once. Due to short staffing, we had a staff-led programming hiatus in March. We offered 26 programs, 10 passive, no virtual, and 16 in-person, for over 450 attendees. We had 192 meeting room reservations for 762 participants, and 2 no shows, and 20 additional meeting room uses for staff use (interviews, photography, meetings) and programs delivered by outside presenters.
Admin Beth covered service desks, 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.
Our internship candidate’s project was approved by GHS and Audrey Yard will donate 20 hours a week for five weeks beginning in April; she will be working on the posters and a slide show and QR code scavenger hunt in fulfillment of the required historical displays for the MA Historical Society. Beth updated the website, updated procedures and began interviewing on-call temporary library associates. She also began overseeing the Teen Department more directly due to staff leave.
Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, took care of incoming mail, and prepared bills.
Debby worked on scheduling and payroll, compiled Weekly Reports, worked on upcoming social media posts, helped clear the sprinkler room to meet compliance standards from the Grafton Fire Department, and covered the Teen Room, and worked on Board of Library Trustee tasks. 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 meetings.
Staffing We recorded 38 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.
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.
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. Beth participated in a training from MA Board of Library Commissioners in Crisis Communication, specifically addressing the prevalence of book challenges and how to respond. Jane attended Ornery Teenagers: Compassionately and Effectively Managing Their Problem Behaviors, Back Up–How to Back Up Your Coworkers During a Crisis, Advanced Body Language”, and Service Dogs: Your Obligation Under the ADA. Allie attended Mastering Influence and Negotiation and Sexual Harassment: How to Respond to a Customer’s Inappropriate Comments. Cynthia attended webinars on Violence in Libraries and another on Preventing Conflict.
Budget With two months left to go before end of fiscal year, we are getting tight on funds, and have unexpected costs and repairs that is stretching the repair and maintenance line thin.
Beth and several BoLT members 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.
Building 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. David L. King architects was out with an engineer to inspect the cupola to develop a scope of work and estimate for restoring and repairing it. Deteriorating wood and flashing is caused a leak into the Historic Reading Room a few months ago and we are working to remedy the situation.
Construction Update Beth attended weekly construction meetings and Library Planning and Building Committee. Evergreen removed a boarder of the green roof that may be contributing to the ongoing leak in the Community Room—no more leaking! A replacement part was ordered for the door opener. ADA counterwork repairs are complete and signed off on, and we are waiting for the architect to request the permanent certificate of occupancy. The humidifier for 218 was ordered, and William Blake is working on installation – we need to follow public procurement law and go out to bid. Doors for the Maker Space and Presentation Area are scheduled for installation at the beginning of April. We are still waiting for a ball bearing for the gate at the bottom of the stairs.
HVAC commissioning is still outstanding; a replacement coil will be installed May 1.
IT Update Deep Freeze has been installed on public computers and laptops. We are trying to find a security solution for the laptops, which are in-house use, as the tags are not setting of the alarm.
COVID-19 Update None.
Volunteers, Outreach and Partnerships We delivered 47 items to Homebound patrons. We had 20 volunteers who put in 80 hours. A new teen volunteer had not been entering their hours on the log sheet. For Year End 2022 and January 2023, there was 1 additional volunteer and 6 additional hours. For February 2023, there was 1 additional volunteer and 4 additional hours. check-outs and renewals and 9 requests.
Sarah and Debby attended NSS Community Reading Day. Beth shepherded the GUM Jam program led by Eric from Apple Tree Arts. Beth gave a tour to Sarah from CMRPC and replenished survey forms, and met with Bob from Willard House – we will be hosting a clock scavenger hunt at the Library in April, and youth participants will earn a glow in the dark sticker and enter a drawing for a mantle clock in April. Beth set up a Horology Display in the lobby display case.
Social Media TikTok and Instagram subscribers continue to increase thanks to Debby’s engagement, while Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube remain stable. We have 2172 followers on Facebook, 948 on Tik Tok, 762 on Instagram, 106 on YouTube, 420 on Twitter, 423 on Pinterest, and 8 on Flickr.
Children’s Services March brought a halt to our regularly scheduled staff run programming due to being down 86 staff hours per week. Department heads made the difficult decision to pause programming so we could focus on room coverage and keeping patron services up and running. We did have some disappointed patrons in the Children’s Room, but as a whole, families and caregivers were understanding and supportive of the decision. We were very fortunate that we were able to keep our school visits going, so our outreach to the local schools was not affected.
Shelving in the Children’s Room has increased to a point where a large portion of staff time has been spent reshelving CR materials. With staff out and three more staff with varying levels of injury, the shelving load has been difficult to bear. We have been requesting a steady paid page position in the CR for a number of years, but it just isn’t possible due to the tight budget. The Children’s department was encouraged to add more volunteers, but Kara reported the majority of applicants have been high school students. Adult applicants have so far been mostly senior tax volunteers who apply in the fall when that program year starts. We haven’t received many general adult volunteer applications. During the month of March, the Children’s Room circulated 7,551 items which is the highest circ number of any department.
Teen Services Allison worked on book orders, Beanstack challenges, planning summer programs, and preparing displays. Sarah S continued to inventory the manga list; trained a new volunteer; put up weekly book displays, 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. She decorated the Teen Room for spring, worked on stickering and shelving new nonfiction and manga, conducted reader advisory, reached out to a contact about tarot programming for the summer and kept up with reviews for upcoming releases. Computers were restored at the end of the month and had 25 uses.
Borrower Services We circulated 12,858 physical items and 2,903 digital items. There were 65 reservations; 52 were picked up and there were 13 “No Shows.” We registered 84 new borrowers and corrected 5 accounts for Grafton patrons. We made 10 out of network requests; 8 were unfillable.
Our main display for March was craft fiction for National Crafting Month. The four smaller displays were: Books with Clover on the Cover, Women’s History Month, St. Patrick’s Day, and Books Set in Ireland or by Irish Authors. 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/ — a list was published for National Crafting Month. A joint fiction and non-fiction display was set up for the Academy Awards. A graphic novel display was set up for Will Eisner Week. Staff-led programming was on a hiatus during the month of March. We had a department staff meeting during the March 9th professional development day.
A “spring joke of the week” is being featured at the Borrower Services desk. The seed library will open for the season on April 1st. Letters were sent requesting seed donations and promotional materials were updated or created. Allie created a redesigned Welcome Packet brochure
Reference Services We answered 350 reference questions, placed 564 holds, and had 175 total computer users and 4,012 Wi-Fi sessions. Patrons accessed library databases 1,654 times.
Heidi also worked on the Friends of the Library Community Read preparations and collection development, and made a display to publicize the Beekeeping Workshop. Eric assisted patrons with technology, reference and circulation questions. They continued collection maintenance and collection development activities. They worked on refreshing the endcap displays and worked on the staircase display for April. The theme is gardening to promote the seed library. Eric also assisted with the Blackstone Canal program put on by the Grafton Historical society as was necessary. They met with the Comics Plus representative and worked with Cynthia and Borrower Services to send two boxes of items to Better World Books. Eric also completed some professional development training and created a non-fiction staircase display having to do with March being National Craft Month.
We held the following non-staff-led programs – Grafton Ukulele Musicians – GUM Jam,
Johnny Cash – Songs & Stories with Matt York funded by Grafton Cultural Council, two sessions of a Beekeeping Workshop, and a presentation by Tom Keller on the Blackstone Canal.
Technical Services 847 items were added in March and 258 items were deleted. Cynthia fixed 121 items this month. A lot of these items were requests for edits of the call number due to the children’s room getting more shelving. They wanted to move a lot from either j NF to EZ NF or j B PIC to j B. She 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. She spent a significant amount of time troubleshooting the RFID tag reader and had several support sessions with Bibliotheca in order to get the problem resolved.
Cynthia prepared a Demco order and I began reviewing documents from Ingram regarding getting a new grid account set up and verifying that all the call numbers and spine labels will be correct. She also covered the desk for Borrower Services.
Friends The Friends are planning the Spring Egg Hunt (April 1), their Annual Meeting and slate of candidates, and a fall book sale.
YES Log
Can you help me make a room reservation? I tried to do it online but it was really confusing. It gave me a big form to fill out.
Yes, these are all returns, and yes, it’s pretty typical for the children’s room! We don’t have the budget for a Page and our teen volunteers often don’t show.
Yes, we can get rid of the hand sanitizer and replace with something better (the free stuff from 2023 smells like “stale tequila” and “feels nasty” will need guidance on disposal in case it’s flammable.
NO Log
No, the computers in the CR don’t have audio- (please verify with IT – headphones are required, but they should all have soundcards! -BS)
No, the Children’s Room tutoring room is not available for use today. (Packaging for shelving is still in there)
No, we are not accepting book donations at this time
“What is the event scheduled there for Sunday? I can’t find it on the calendar. My friend told me about it.” (He’s going to check with his friend, because we have nothing on the schedule for Sunday)
No, we are not offering notary services at this time.
No, we really don’t have any volunteer opportunities for an 11 year old.
Patron Comments
3/31 “It’s beautiful. I love the blue painted bricks and the rug. It’s my first time here. My husband was here for the ZBA meeting this week and said it was great. He showed up late and was afraid he was going to have to walk right in front of the person doing the presentation to get into the room. He said a very nice staff person took him in through the kitchen. I mostly read eBooks, but I might have to start reading printed books. ”
3/31 “You’ve earned your keep today. Thank you for all of your help!” (managing partner library networks in Libby on patron’s phone, updating account, answering questions about the new building). She was also very pleased to find some 7-day books she could check out as the wait for best sellers in eBook formats are long. “I might have to read more regular books.”
3/30 Are you taking book donations? Because someone from the Friends says you need fiction books desperately. We asked they do need fiction, but they don’t want to just open up the book drop because they don’t have room.)
3/29 – “Hi Heidi, I did finally get in. Must have been the system. Thank you for checking on me. Great customer service!!” (Setting up her Libby account for the first time on her iPad and checking something out.)
3/29 – We have visited many of the local libraries and we love how kid-focused your library feels. We visit every week and there is always something new and fun.
3/29 – We love all the new toys in the kids room!
3/28- Patron came with young kids( between 5 to 6 Years) in YA and wanted to use makerspace (wanted his kids play with coloring papers and LEGO), when I told him he can go to Children’s room and they have coloring papers there, he was upset and mentioned has used this space before (I pay taxes and have right to use any space in the building) I explained him this makerspace is for teenager after school to use and they can be loud , he understood and was calm later and he wanted to be here for 10 minutes to use craft papers for coloring( I allowed him because there were no teenage during that time, for 10 minutes) He said craft/coloring stuff and LEGOs are better here than children’s room. (Well handled! Please consider writing an incident report, this is a policy violation -BS)
3/28 – “I just love this library. Everyone is always so helpful and lovely. Wonderful to see our tax dollars put to good use.”
3/27 – When will the external lobby door be fixed? (from multiple patrons)
3/27 “I have to say, whether it’s you or the town clerk’s office, whenever I need something from the town, the town employees are so helpful. You’re doing a great job!”
3/25 The outside door is really a struggle with a stroller, but I can do it!
3/25 “I haven’t been in since before the pandemic. But I see all your costumes online and it’s just great. Some of the books I don’t even know. Do you own all that stuff? It’s such a vast collection. Thanks for all of your help today.”
3/25 “There she is! You’re always so enthusiastic. I bet the kids love it.”
3/25 I’m looking for the theater group meeting here. (She called her people, and her meeting was really in Groton.)
3/23 I love the Safe Space signs. We have noticed them today and think it’s great.
3/23 I love it that the computers are locked! (They’re on the log in screen and no one has used them and the kids haven’t figured it out!) It’s great that the kids aren’t automatically trying to use them and they are looking at books instead. -mom in CR
3/23 Thank you for being so hospitable. This is a lovely place to be. -mom in CR
3/23 This place is great! I haven’t been in since you renovated. It’s a great space. (attender of the Blackstone Canal program)
3/23 Where is Ms. Stacie? Why isn’t she doing crafts?
3/23 “I see all of your posts on Facebook. Your costumes. I love it.”
3/22 Did you order me a replacement DVD? That was so nice of you!
3/22 “The door is so heavy! When will it be fixed?”
3/22 “Thank you so much for finding it [the book she had seen in the catalog, but didn’t know where to find]. I could’ve looked all day and still not found it.”
3/22 Families loved all the extra stuff we put out for the half day. “There’s always something new to do here!”
3/22 “I brought my husband here over the weekend, after you showed me around last Wednesday. He loved it! He spent an hour in the Historic Reading Room and an hour in the New Books room. It’s wonderful. Also, I succeeded in returning my books today all by myself, after you showed me how last week.”
3/22 “Wow! You have a puzzle swap?”
3/22 “My husband and I just retired last year and we’re really enjoying getting to know about what’s available in town, that we didn’t have time to do before. I’m intrigued by all the things the library offers to check out (library of things), like the cake pans. I’d been looking for a heart shaped pan for my grandson’s birthday that is around Valentine’s Day and couldn’t find one. Then I came here and there it was!”
3/22 “I like your bee costume.” (I told them about the beekeeping program this afternoon and they said), “Well, your advertising campaign is working!”
3/20 Beekeeping presentation was awesome. Presenter was very good
3/20 Whatever happened to the art squares project? Was it ever displayed?
3/20 “Are you a dandelion? I love it!” (Was also able to mention
3/18: tween patron: ‘oh my god you know what demon slayer is! Have you also watched/read… [listed a dozen titles]? His joy was absolutely infectious.
3/17-’Please have Robin (YS teacher) back again. She was wonderful!
3/16 “I can’t book a study room with my Grafton card because I don’t have a Grafton ZIP code? That really s*** because Sutton doesn’t have any rooms we can use to study with my son.” This is probably why she was having trouble booking the room herself. I told her she could come in the day of and book a room as a walk-in.
3/15 “Thank you. You’ve been so helpful.”
3/15 “I love that your staples are free. I don’t have a stapler, so this really helps.”
3/15 “That’s very efficient. I love this library.” (Was pleased with how easy it was to get the Mystery Book Club title as an audiobook when she came in to get it).
3/13 Beautiful library, I like LP area carpet but not the rest.
3/13 “Wow! Gorgeous. I want to be here all the time! I see you have little conference rooms here.”
3/11 Patron thinks we should invite author Jeanne Mackin to do a program. She lives in New York.
3/11: Four patrons waiting to get in before ten. A couple kept trying to open the doors, but were told they were on an automatic timer.
3/10: A parent of an elementary age child asked if she could use one of the teen/tween study rooms since the children’s not available. I told her it probably wasn’t going to be quiet in here even with the door closed this time of day. Suggested she try the historic reading room if the other tables and rooms upstairs were occupied. She thanked me for my help.
3/10 “I have books coming from other libraries. I ordered them on Tuesday. I need them on Monday. They’re “in transit”. How will I know if they will be here on time? Shouldn’t they be here by now? If I call those libraries, can I pick them up there?” (They didn’t come in delivery today, so the first they could show up would be Monday, which is too late for him. He was going to order them from Amazon. He had hoped he could just get them from another library, but only one was available and he didn’t want to go to Sturbridge.
3/10 A patron from another library called to ask to renew something with no more renewals. “This is the most wonderful book we have ever gotten from a library. It is fantastic!” He was appreciative that they could keep it and continue reading and listening to it each evening. (A Child’s Intro to the Orchestra with music you can listen to for each instrument)
3/10 “The look on my daughter’s face when she learned that we could request a book to be sent here just for her—and no one will get to take it before we get there to pick it up?–it was priceless.”
3/10 Patron complained- when is front door going to be fixed, it’s too heavy
3/9 Two patrons complained about a teen patron wearing just a sports bra. We listened to the complaints but told her we really can’t enforce a dress code unless it’s overly indecent. (Should we discuss this as a staff?)
3/8 I am sorry you have to deal with these teenagers every day. I have noticed that they are loud, rude and don’t follow the rules – Patron who was here for the Farmers Market
3/8 Tutor wanted to know when the children’s tutoring space would be available again. It is filled with heavy shelving/furniture currently. I helped her book an upstairs room for next week.
3/8 “You are amazing. I had just mentioned Bill Bryson books in passing and when I got home there the information was in my email.” HF (couldn’t tell her all the Bill Bryson books because I didn’t remember them all and Evergreen was down).
3/7 Patron was unhappy that she couldn’t check out her son’s hold using her husband’s library card. The son had a lost book/super late book fines and couldn’t check out his hold.-(he has since returned the super late book and was able to pick up his own hold)
3/7 Patron asked when we were bringing back children’s programming.
3/4 Patron who has attended most of the adult programming was disappointed that the Yarn Art was canceled
3/4 A Patron commented that they couldn’t get their kids to leave the library, even though their son got a brand new XBox with a flight simulator.
3/3 [Do you want your change?] “No. Just the fact that you are here is amazing.”
3/3 We really enjoyed astronaut storytime last weekend.
3/2 “I really miss Hoopla! It was so helpful to me for school and homeschooling.” 3/2 A volunteer of ours asked about us being short staffed and if she can volunteer to fill in those positions. I did direct her to the town website to take a look at the job posting and asked her to fill out the application if she is interested in those positions.
3/1 Patron called to tell us that her daughters, who had been in the library earlier in the day, just got diagnosed with a contagious form of strep. Kids were in the children’s room before their doctor’s appointment and touched EVERYTHING. (staff wiped down all toys and manipulatives)
The Library was open 24 days in April and had 6,385 visitors. We closed for one day due to inclement weather, and delayed opening for staff training, once. We offered 60 programs, including 7 passive programs, for over 900 attendees; three were cancelled, two due to performer illness and one due to lack of staffing. We had 149 meeting room reservations for 838 participants, and 2 no shows. We hosted an additional 47 meeting room uses for staff use (interviews, photography, meetings).
Admin Beth worked with Willard House and Clock Museum to promote the Library Clock Scavenger Hunt—8 people participated and a brother/sister team won! She updated an accompanying book list and display. She shepherded the Grafton Cultural Council grant funded program “Let’s Get Growing” with Eric the Plant Guy—17 people attended at it was well-received—(there was 1 complaint) and our monthly GUM Jam session in partnership with Apple Tree arts.
Beth met with the construction team weekly, attended Town Department Head Meeting, Building Committee meeting, and Board of Library Trustees policy subcommittee meeting. She met with legal to discuss the MHC grant requirements and policy issues, worked on missing items from the MHC grant application. Our GHS intern continued work on a slideshow presentation, QR code display and display of historical photos to satisfy MHC requirements for our building renovation and expansion.
We filed 11 incident reports, including two minor injuries. Beth covered in the Teen Room and Borrower Services Desk, and trained new temp on-call staff. She worked on Vadar reports, and reviewed and submitted payroll and bills. She approved meeting room usage; updated the website, social media, and calendar of events; and made updates to the procedures manual.
We received our second State Aid disbursement, totaling $42,693.09 for the Town of Grafton in FY23. We use this funding for items not covered in the municipal budget, such as marketing, professional dues, conference and seminar fees, as well as for unexpected expenses such as replacement laptops and emergency maintenance.
Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, took care of incoming mail, and prepared bills.
Debby worked on scheduling and payroll, compiled Weekly Reports, worked on upcoming social media posts, helped clear the sprinkler room to meet compliance standards from the Grafton Fire Department, and covered the Teen Room, and worked on Board of Library Trustee tasks. 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 meetings.
Staffing We hired and trained five new on-call temp staff, who helped fill gaps: please join me in welcoming Katie Millett, Betsy Perry, Shannon Phelan, Greta Schonberg, and Jessica Young.
We recorded 13 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.
Sarah S. viewed webinars on dealing with ornery teens, and on manga in libraries.
Budget With one month! left to go before end of fiscal year, a spending freeze was announced but Library was told we can continue spending as we are in good order.
Building Beth submitted the remaining outstanding required materials for the MHC preservation 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. David L. King architects provided an estimate of $218,288 which far exceeds the original verbal quote from 2019 of around $80,000 to restore. With the estimate coming so late, we could not secure a Town Meeting Article, capital funding or CPC support for May 2023 Town Meeting; Beth recommends the Board provide a letter of support and proven cash in hand for 75% of the project, and continue to seek support from CPC for funding at October 2023 Town Meeting.
She called Worcester Elevator for a repair – the grab bar handles lining the elevator were loose, as if someone put excessive weight on them. We also had to remove multiple changing tables in public restrooms due to someone putting excessive weight on them. This kind of ongoing damage is not something we have budgeted for. Beth connected with Renaud HVAC to schedule semi-annual seasonal maintenance; we are still out of step with our scheduled annual maintenance contract. As the Library is very dirty, Beth cleaned and sanitized doors, windows and handrails mid-month.
The “head” library gardener has been in touch and we are compiling a crew to be trained and volunteer under her direction; please complete a volunteer application if you are interested in assisting! Many thanks to Christine Crepeault for her efforts.
Construction Update Beth attended weekly construction meetings and Library Planning and Building Committee. The doors for the maker space and presentation area do not align with the existing window framing and the installer says the doors did not match the design and with no oversight on site, installer them anyway. Beth will bring this to Building Committee for review. The doors in both locations require lock installation, and we need to order 2 new cores ($170 each). We are still waiting for a ball bearing for the gate at the bottom of the stairs. Tucker Interiors installed remaining additional shelving in the Children’s Room and Sarah is going through remaining pieces to reconcile the order.
HVAC commissioning is still outstanding; a replacement coil was installed May 1-2, and the installer from Brazer noted the coil held up to the required pressure test, but one of the existing sensors was found to be defective. The HVAC unit above the staff is still making a random loud screeching noise like a hard water stop, and the unit rumbles at a low vibration that is extremely disruptive to staff using the room as a respite from work on their legally required break.
IT Update Beth met with IT on laptop bookmarks and browser homepages; Deep Freeze has been installed on public computers and laptops… just in time for the license agreement to be renewed. Cynthia cataloged and secured all of the circulating laptops. During this, we identified an issue with the laptops and the RFID tag we are currently using, as it will not set off the gates at the door. We are still looking for a security solution – Bibliotheca is providing a sample RFID tag for non-book and media materials.
COVID-19 Update None.
Volunteers, Outreach and Partnerships Crescent Manor BookWagon had 8 participants, 29 check-outs and renewals and 7 requests. We delivered 24 items to Homebound patrons. We 23 volunteers who put in 90 hours. We did a push for additional volunteers to help with Library gardens.
Social Media TikTok and Instagram subscribers continue to increase thanks to Debby’s engagement, while Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube remain stable. We have 2,172 followers on Facebook, 972 on Tik Tok, 762 on Instagram, 106 on YouTube, 419 on Twitter, 423 on Pinterest, and 8 on Flickr.
Children’s Services April in the Children’s Room saw the return of programming after our month-long hiatus in March. We were still working a bit short, but Susan was able to step in and fill a good number of Cyndi’s hours and new temps began to fill in some of our hours by the end of the month.
Storytime programming had an abbreviated session due to a break for school vacation week programming, but our families seemed very happy to have storytime back in rotation. School vacation week saw a mix of art and STEM activities. All of our programming brought in a good crowd, but the real star of the show was our Slime Lab. We will definitely be offering it again in the future.
The Children’s Room continues to be a busy and fun filled spot in the library. Staff spent the month hard at work assisting patrons, shelving materials, and prepping for upcoming school visits and programming.
Teen Services Allison went out on maternity leave at the end of March, and Beth is the acting department head for Teen Services in addition to all other duties, through Allison’s return at end of June.
Beth put out materials for pop-up programming including LEGO, puzzles, and What Can You Make with Recycled Materials and posted a question of the week on the whiteboard in the Teen Room. She began investigating the possibility of Xbox games without a console offered through our Samsung televisions (we just need controllers and an Xbox Live account), and compiled YA stats for March. Three teens attended the PopUp Art School watercolor program during April school vacation week.
Sarah S. attended Anime Boston and purchased manga titles, covered the Teen Services desk and worked on displays. stickered and shelved new YA fiction and manga, worked on reader’s advisory posters for the manga collection. put together “Star Wars May the 4th” buttons to have at the desk next week; put together displays for National Food Month and Humor Month, Stars Wars Day, AAPI Heritage Month, and Jewish American Heritage Month. Sarah S. looked into movies and programs for Pride month. Jessica reviewed shelving locations, reader’s advisory handouts and online resources, and checked out library databases.
Borrower Services We circulated 10,720 physical items and 2,767 digital items, slight decreases from last month and last year. We had 107 museum pass reservations; 93 were picked up and there were 14 no shows. The seed packets program has opened for the season with 198 packets (108 packets put out for the “soft opening” in March, and 90 additional packets put out in April. We registered 82 new borrowers and corrected 6 accounts for Grafton patrons. We made 5 out of network requests; 2 were unfillable.
Evergreen was updated to version 3.7.4 over Patriot’s Day Weekend, April 16th-17th. The update includes adding a “staff view” tab to the staff catalog, removal of the gender statistical category in the patron record, and updates to the “Search Library” field, updating patron notification preferences, and editing lists in the OPAC
Our main display for April was National Poetry Month. The four smaller displays were: Autism Acceptance Month, National Card and Letter Writing Month, Gardening from Seeds, and Stress Awareness. A book list was added to the website for Autism Acceptance Month. A graphic novel display was set up for Reading is Funny Day. A mixed display was set up highlighting the seed library and spring/summer items from the Library of Things. Sandhya hosted two programs for adults: 8 people attended the daytime “Unplug with Art” event, and 15 attended the “Watercolor Poppies” program with the Pop-Up Art School, participants were delighted and we have had a request to bring in more art programs for adults.
Reference Services We answered 251 reference questions, placed 607 holds, and had 193 total computer users and 3,824 Wi-Fi sessions. Patrons accessed library databases 1,873 times.
Eric and Heidi assisted patrons with technology, reference and circulation questions, worked on statistics, and continued collection maintenance and collection development activities. Because we wanted to be sure that the unanticipated staffing shortage was resolved we postponed the Community Read to May. Therefore there were no book groups held in April. Instead, a teaser display was put up for the Community Read.
We hosted Time to Habitat, a Financial Seminar with Frank Randall, Grafton Ukulele Musicians – GUM Jam, an author visit with Ted Reinstein, National Poem in Your Pocket Day
Eric created a non-fiction staircase display having to do with gardening to promote the seed library. They worked on refreshing the endcap displays and worked on the staircase display for May. The theme for the staircase display is “May is Get Caught Reading Month…We’re making it easy with our oversized collection.”
Technical Services 841 items were added in April and 274 items were deleted. Cynthia worked on fixing 135 items, including many requests to change the call number and spine labels for consistency and many faded spine labels that could no longer be read. She 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.
Cynthia prepared to pause ordering as Ingram is currently working on setting up our account consolidation and grid account. She pulled reports to monitor our open items and pulled reports to get lists of our cancelled backorders. She prepared those lists and sent each selector lists from their department. She attended a webinar training on Grid Ordering from Ingram; this webinar was less about using the grids for call numbers, so she will still need to attend training with our Ingram rep. Cynthia also put together a Demco order and helped cover the desk for Borrower Services during meals and staff leave.
Friends Save the date! The Friends Annual Meeting is Friday June 9. They will vote in a slate of candidates for the Board positions, and are planning a fall book sale. YES Log Yes, we have the ability to scan documents, but not to email. (BS to follow up on why this has not been resolved yet.)
Yes, we have internships, but only unpaid and only in partnership with existing organizations and programs, like GHS.
Yes, you may check out board games
NO Log No, unfortunately we cannot accommodate a 3-day private training seminar; per our meeting room policy, all events must be open to public during operating hours
No, we do not have a deck of cards? Not that we could find (reordered 4/19/23! -BS) No, we do not have anyone who teaches about computers and Cricut machines (staff referred her to Shrewsbury for Cricut equipment and found a Cricut book in our collection; one-on-one tech training is available by appointment -BS) No, we cannot renew your library book from another library. -No, but you can call the owning library and ask them if they will renew it for you (in the past, staff have called on a patron’s behalf, not sure when this changed… -BS)
No, we do not have any internship opportunities, like tutoring or computer help open – we only work with existing program (but you can complete a volunteer form! BS). No, we do not have cough drops to dispense to the public.
Patron Comments I love this display in the lobby! (the art quilt) It is so beautiful!
A patron in the CR commented “You always have such a great selection of books here! I come all the time and always find something new and wonderful! Before you opened we would go to a play space for playtime and then go to a bookstore. Now we do both here and it is so much fun, and saves us so much money!”
A patron suggested some type of sign be on the first pane of glass at the bottom of the stairs so someone doesn’t accidentally walk into the glass when trying to get to the checkout from the Friend’s corner – CZ (I reviewed, there is a large post, and a stair rail, and the glass between is too narrow for a person to fit… -BS)
This library is so beautiful! I’m originally from Grafton and visit many libraries to do paperwork. Grafton Public Library is beautifully designed, like two bookends.
This library is so great! (overheard from parents visiting with small children)
The outside door opener is fixed? I came on just the right day then!
Wow, you do free art programs for kids every Tuesday and Thursday? That’s amazing!
Your library of things has lot of puzzle collections-Love it
“Wow this place is beautiful. This is my first time here”
Patron complaint about “Let’s Get Growing” program. Patron upset their tax dollars funded this program, and that it was free and open to the public. (Checked in with BoLT chair and with Cultural Council, GCC they will address at their next meeting. -BS) What a beautiful idea to have art in the library and anyone can do it! I wish you opened earlier during school vacation week! X5 “Wow, this is the place to be!” (14 families before 10:20am) Little friend made me a statue out of magna-tiles to “thank” me for “this place.” Thanks to Stacie for buying all the new set of magna-tiles! They are such a big hit this vacation week! “I read one of your books from the end (The Secret Life of Sunflowers). I liked it. I’m very glad you put interesting things at the end.” [Endcap displays].
“It’s my favorite librarian.”
“It’s a fascinating machine. I could do this all day. (She likes the self-checkout machine).
Four patrons came in before 10 am because the front door was unlocked due to construction. –(they should be coming in through the Community Room or another door before opening, will follow up with Custodial -BS)
This is our first time here. I remember the old library. This is really neat. I like the use of space and the open ceiling in the CR. Well done. (-patron in CR)
Already things are breaking here–I see a sign saying the charging station is broken, Its New building , what’s going on? (Most damage has been caused by patrons – in this case, someone backed into the ESVE and we are waiting on parts to repair it – scheduled for 5/15/2023. Unfortunately, our camera software is not good enough to collect license plate information to press charges for the person who did it. As for the changing table, we suspect teens sat or climbed on it, but no restroom cameras to bill responsible party. We replaced the one on the first floor in the gender free restroom before end of month. -BS) “Can you help me find a book? I don’t usually do this, but it’s such a nice day out that I want to read outside and I need a book. I just got a library card.”
“You do such a great time with storytime. I have been to a lot of these programs, and I am a teacher, and you are so fantastic at keeping the kids engaged.”
“This floor is kind of dirty. It looks like the doors were left open and a lot of leaves blew in.” -the Community Rooms after the farmer’s market was here the day before. (Custodial is on call for issues like this, please refer to emergency Contacts and Procedures sheet -BS)
It looks like a car wash! (Little friend coming into the CR for the first time.)
“Thank you for offering an MP3 CD player in your Library of Things. It has broadened my audiobook listening options!”
I had a lovely conversation with a college admissions counselor visiting Grafton for a career fair at the high school. She always stops by the local library when visiting a town to see the importance the town puts on lifelong learning. She was super impressed with the children’s room and called it one of the best she’d ever seen. She loved how vibrant and welcoming the room is and how diverse the collection was, and she is sure she’ll see the results of this in her applicants.
“Do you have to work until closing? Wow, closing at 9pm? That’s late. Too bad you won’t get to enjoy the beautiful day.”
“I love it [self-check out]. It’s so easy. I think the return is easy too. When you don’t like something, you can just return it. I got two books last week. I’m liking one of them. But I didn’t like the other, so I just returned it. It’s great.”
“This is the most beautiful library. I’m from town and I just discovered it!”
“We watched the first episode of Happy Valley last night, we liked it thank you for finding it for us.”
“What an awesome [Children’s] room!”
The gender neutral/family bathroom downstairs smells horrible! (May be related to the HVAC coil needing replacement… Custodial is on call for issues like this, please refer to emergency Contacts and Procedures sheet -BS)
“I’m appalled by the language I’m hearing in the hallway” (outside YA) (staff are directed to correct behavior that violates Code of Conduct, i.e. creating a disturbance for others -BS).
A patron expressed concern/frustration that the changing table in the women’s bathroom was still out of order and hadn’t been fixed. They said that they have noticed it has been out of order for a number of weeks. They also mentioned that the changing table in the gender neutral bathroom on the first floor seems to be damaged. SB – I put an out of order sign on the changing table in the gender neutral bathroom. I checked the changing table in the family bathroom and it looks to be working as intended. (I asked Paul to remove the broken ones and see if they can be repaired, and reinstall an extra one we have. We have also ordered a changing pad for the Nursing Room -BS) Given the great popularity of the Pop-Up Art workshop for adults, is there any chance that another class could be added for patrons who are interested? X3 (We can talk about scheduling another session or submit requests for GCC funding -Oct deadline! -BS)
A patron requested that we hold a self-defense program for senior women. She thinks it would be well attended. (GPD is offering one for high school students, I will pass along -BS)
Patron commented that they loved the adult watercolor program that we are offering (pop up art school), but were disappointed that it filled up so fast. They hope to see us offer more adult art programs in the future.
“Every time I come here there are misbehaving kids” (staff are directed to correct behavior that violates Code of Conduct, i.e. creating a disturbance for others -BS).
Patron stated that they love all of our children’s books because they are so inclusive. She loved that we showcase a variety of races and families and that our picture books help at such a young age to start the discussion on tough topics.
“We’ve been trying to figure out if we need to print his [driver’s] permit or not. He tried to print it at school and that didn’t work. Then he said why don’t we try the library? Oh, the library! We should try that. I haven’t been here since he was 10. And Wow! How amazing it is!” (please promote the MA Driving Tests online software – it’s free! -BS)
“You look like a green garden fairy!” (dressed to encourage interest in the gardening program tonight.)
“You’ve been so helpful. Thank you!” (School project – A.E. Burgess leather factory).
This week we circulated 2,497 items, received 425 items in transit and sent 544 items. We requested 372 items and filled 337 hold requests; registered 10 patrons for library cards, and added added 127 new items. The most popular book this week continues to be Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. We hosted 30 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 155 people including MetroWest Building Officials Association, Small Stones planning, Town of Grafton Zoning Board of Appeals, and Grafton 4H Club, as well as private -work, study, homeschool, and tutoring sessions.
Admin
Beth was on vacation this week. The EV charging station was repaired correcting damage sustained when it was hit by a vehicle months ago.
Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, took care of incoming mail, prepared bills, and sent out late notices. Debby compiled the Weekly Report, worked on social media content, collaborated with North Street Elementary to plan a 6th grade orientation to the Teen Room, and completed payroll, scheduling, and Board of Library Trustees’ tasks.
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 reviewed expiring Overdrive titles, added requested e-book and e-audio titles to carts for future orders, began working on data gathering and evaluation of the print vendor standing order program options, worked with staff and reviewed information on current standing order titles, investigated large print title options, reviewed industry newsletters to add upcoming titles to purchase lists, prepared carts for future DVD orders, checked CWMars top titles against the collection, corresponded with volunteer applicants and staff coordinators, and worked with other staff to coordinate filling shortages in the schedule. Jane posted the New York Times Best Seller List for print and audio fiction and recommended titles for purchase, corrected patron records with the wrong home library, processed pending patron applications, collected items with alerts from invalid RFID tags, continued weeding adult fiction, began weeding DVDs to make room for new titles, and helped Ranjita with a report for the Library of Things. 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, performed a routine check of the Library of Things and processed new items, and performed a weekly check of the Seed Library. Sandhya finished up tasks and arranged coverage for home delivery, interlibrary loan, take-and-make crafts for May adult programming, the Seed Library, and other tasks in advance of the start of her time off. We miss her already! Allison P updated website with May’s general audience newsletter, printed May newsletter out for reference view in Historic Reading Room, updated Top 10 List-event graphics for June general newsletter, created new signage for Nonfiction Gardening section, added new contacts to newsletter, set up accounts for Niche Academy and Ethics/Conflict of Interest, ran report for removing New to Collection stickers and Item Alerts, attended the Borrower Services meeting for Standing Orders authors, and pulled March New Fiction books to allow more room for face-out display.
Children’s Services
The Children’s Room has been busy this week and we have been down a few staff members due to illness. We have spent a lot of our time assisting patrons, shelving books and keeping up with class visits and other school events. Sarah, Jen, and Stacie hosted six first-grade classes for visits. Sarah and Jen staffed a table at North Grafton School’s Fun Fair.
Sarah ran two sessions of Toddler Time, ran a session of Preschool Storytime, and worked on book and replacement orders. Jen ran a session of Library Babies and created Summer Reading signs. Stacie ran two sessions of Drop-in Arts & Crafts and staffed a table at a school Family Night at Grafton High School. Mare continues to work with setting up schedules for new and existing volunteers, has reached out to a couple of new volunteer applicants, assisted patrons, shelved, and tidied up the room. Kristin delivered books to NGES & SGES.
Teen Services
Thank you to staff who continue to fill in coverage gaps in the Teen Room in Allison’s absence. Sarah S. updated the manga inventory spreadsheet with new volumes in process, shifted nonfiction and biography to make room for the new manga, shelved books, and performed reader advisory.
Reference Services
No report was received.
Technical Services
Cynthia unpacked items as they arrived; cataloged new children’s books, young adult nonfiction, and CDs; worked on fixing problem items; sent in requests for records to the CatCenter and worked on going through the lists of cancelled items from Ingram that will need to be reordered.
The Grafton Public Library will be CLOSED in observance of Juneteenth Independence Day on Monday June 19, 2023. The Library will reopen on Tuesday June 20 at 10am.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, and is an opportunity to reflect on the need to continue working toward racial justice.
This week we circulated 2,380 items, received 469 items in transit and sent 521 items. We requested 473 items and filled 414 hold requests; registered 17 patrons for library cards, and added 65 new items. The most popular book this week is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. We hosted 32 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 134
people including Grafton Democratic Town Committee, Grafton Soccer Club Board of Directors, Small Stones planning, Girl Scouts troop 65197, Girl Scouts Grafton Lakes Service Unit as well as private -work, study, homeschool, and tutoring sessions.
Admin Beth attended Town Meeting – the FY24 Library budget passed as submitted. She drafted and posted a vacancy notice for the new 18-hr per week Library Associate, Teen Services position so we can have someone start on July 1, 2023. We did not have any other items on the warrant.
The Board of Library Trustees met to approve minutes, bills, and a letter of support committing up to $109,114 for restoration of the cupola. We will seek out additional funding. Beth completed submittal of outstanding items for the MHC preservation grant application; we should get notification of project funding in June. She and William Blake met with architect David L. King to get a better understanding of the plan and scope of work.
Several people have expressed interest in volunteering to help with Library gardens. Beth coordinated training with the head gardener and connected them with Capital Campaign regarding plantings, and is working with a resident to provide a butterfly observation program, since our gardens are host to birds, butterflies, and insects. Of note MA Audubon society’s Bird-A-Thon is this weekend—what can you spot on our site? We’ve seen robins, blackbirds, chickadee, jays, and hawks! https://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/activities/birding/bird-a-thon.
Beth attended GUM Jam (focus was on Beatle’s music!); worked on updating the schedule, events, calendar and website; and approved meeting room requests. Our intern worked on promotional posters for our social media accounts and finalized a Library QR code scavenger hunt for displaying photos of the Library before renovations took place, and made promotional materials for library databases of interest to teens, including Tutor.com and Comics Plus. Beth met with someone who wants to do a facility rental in June, met with IT, checked in with a union steward on outstanding items, and met with various staff. She will be on vacation and unavailable next week; the BoLT chair and Asst. Town Manager have been alerted, and managerial staff received clear instructions for the task delegated to them: call in temps as needed to staff our facility. Thank you again to BoLT for allocating funds to cover service desk during staff leave.
Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, took care of incoming mail, prepared bills, and send out late notices. Debby compiled the Weekly Report, worked on social media updates, and completed payroll and scheduling tasks as well as tasks for the Board of Library Trustees. She attended the Town Meeting and special meeting of the Board of Library Trustees on Monday evening and filled in gaps in the Teen Room schedule.
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 placed the May order of adult CD audiobooks, began working on the June title list for Pride Month, checked CWMars top titles against the collection, reviewed industry newsletters to add upcoming titles to purchase lists, attended the Ingram standing order program meeting for adult fiction, ran a report to weed DVDs and Blu-rays to make room for new donated titles, and ran Evergreen reports for lost, transit, and missing items for April. Jane posted the New York Times Best Seller List for print and audio fiction and recommended titles for purchase, completed the conflict of interest training, provided AV support for a program, collected items with alerts for invalid RFID tags, and continued weeding adult fiction. Ranjita posted the New York Times Best Seller List for print and audio nonfiction and recommended titles for purchase; processed ComCat requests and pending library card applications; performed a routine check of the Library of Things and processed new items, and processed new adult DVDs. Allie researched CW MARS staff guidance on quantity of patron cards, shelved new adult fiction, trained a new hire in room reservations and museum passes, took photos of the “Mind-Body & Spirit” display, and created a music video from the photos for social media outlets. She planned the staircase display for June’s Pride Month, created Spotlight for Fiction content and graphics for different newsletter sections, created graphics for June’s Museum of the Month, and created the June adult events printable flyer. Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials and followed up on open issues; worked on interlibrary loans; cleared expired holds from the hold shelf and followed up with patrons; worked on the home delivery service; created more seed packets and labels for the Seed Library; created graphics and requested titles for the June endcap display; assembled kits for the take-and-make yarn craft program, and hosted the daytime Unplug with Art program for adults.
Children’s Services Sarah moved surplus shelving, ran two sessions of Toddler Time, ran a session of Preschool Storytime, ran an outreach storytime program at Willard House & Clock Museum, ran three preschool outreach sessions at NGES, discussed final details for summer partnership with Willard House & Clock Museum, and planned for upcoming programs and school visits. Jen worked on the upcoming CR newsletter, updated EventKeeper, finalized the printed summer reading calendar, and ran a session of Library Babies. Jen and Sarah presented a program for the 6th graders at MSES who did not attend Nature’s Classroom. Stacie updated CR room displays, ran two 2 sessions of Drop-In Arts & Crafts, assisted patrons, and prepped for upcoming programming. Cyndi went through the emails she received while she was out, met with staff to get updated on anything new that happened while on vacation, trained a new volunteer, and put together a math book display for K-2 & 3-5. Kristin delivered materials to the local schools. Mare managed volunteers, continued to reach out to new volunteers, worked on the volunteers’ schedules, assisted patrons, tidied up the room, and shelved.
Teen Services Thank you to staff for continuing to cover shift in the Teen Room in Allison’s absence. Sarah S put up displays for Tiara Day and Sherlock Holmes Day; planned displays for Pride month; kept up with reviews for new YA books, collected a list of upcoming YA nonfiction; and updated the manga release spreadsheet. We had several incidents of teens being disrespectful to the space and to staff which were handled well.
Reference Services Heidi and Eric assisted with tech and reference questions as well as circulation, worked on monthly statistics, and attended an Ingram meeting. Heidi helped select books for the next Mystery Book Club; hosted the “Not Just For Young Adults” Book Group discussion of Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira; helped host the Friends of the Library’s Community Read Book Discussion of Love & Saffron by Kim Fay on Thursday, May 11th. (If you couldn’t make it, but want to discuss the book, we’ll be talking about it at the Daytimers Book Group on Tuesday, May 16th at 1:30pm and at the “Reads Well with Others” Book Group, on Monday, May 22 at 7:30pm.) Eric refreshed the reception book display and bookends and met with OUT MetroWest for June programming.
Technical Services Cynthia unpacked items as they arrived; cataloged new young adult and children’s books; coordinated a meeting and met with a Collection Development Librarian from Ingram to discuss our standing order; sent requests for records to the CatCenter; and worked on fixing problem items.
Many people around the world create art as a means to create pace and happiness and to also deal with stress and trauma. In May of 2021, staff and library patrons expressed their thoughts and emotions in either vertical or horizontal line format on an eight-inch square canvas. Four curated collective art quilts are the results of each beautiful piece. Stop in at the Grafton Public Library at 35 Grafton Common, Grafton MA to view the quilts on display–one in the lobby and three on the upper level near the public access computers.
This week we circulated 2,776 items, received 659 items in transit and sent 605 items. We requested 405 items and filled 526 hold requests; registered patrons for library cards, and added 261 new items. The most popular book this week is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Beth is currently reading this and it’s excellent). We hosted 35 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 135 people including Cub Scouts as well as work, study, homeschool, and tutoring sessions.
Free Comic Book Day is tomorrow, Saturday May 6! Please drop by between 10am-6pm to get a free comic book and vote for your favorite publisher of graphic format stories: Marvel, or DC?
Admin We pulled a winner for the Willard House and Clock Museum scavenger hunt! Congrats to Anton and Leora who got every question correct. We are coordinating a photo op with WHCM.
Thanks to Allie and Paul for coordination installation of the Mind, Body and Spirit art square project completed by patrons and staff during the pandemic! Panels are now on display in the lobby on the lower level and above the public access computers on the upper level.
Beth continued to work with our GHS intern; we are making a QR code scavenger hunt on the upper and lower levels of building so visitors can scan a QR code to see what the space used to look like. Beth covered the Children’s and Teen Services desks, supervised YA staff, temps, and volunteers, corresponded with staff, MA Historical Commissioner, Board of Library Trustees Chair, Willard House, Apple Tree Arts, Zoning Board of Appeals, and about upcoming events, programs, and grants. She reviewed and submitted bills, worked on a NF book order, sent a query to legal regarding movies and public performance, sent out the May newsletter, made updates to the website, social media and events calendar, She attended the First City on Mars presentation, and met with the Garden Volunteer coordinator, two Small Stones Festival of the Arts board members, and our in-house facilities photographer. The keycard entry system went down unexpectedly and without explanation on Tuesday and resolved on Thursday morning, we are still trying to track down the source of the issue.
The Board of Library Trustees Policy Subcommittee met to review the Art Exhibit and Display Policy and Food / Beverage and Kitchen Use Policy, the Fine Free Library Policy, and the list of Library Policies. Our next meeting is Monday June 7 and we are looking at updates for Materials Selection and to draft a new Displays policy for in-house. Beth worked on meeting materials for May.
Beth lost a light saber battle to Debby on Star Wars Reads Day (are you following the Library on TikTok? https://www.tiktok.com/@graftonpublib #maythefourthbewithyou.
Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, took care of incoming mail, and prepared bills. Debby compiled the Weekly Report, worked on social media posts, and completed payroll and scheduling tasks as well as tasks for the Board of Library Trustees. She attended and took notes for the Board of Library Trustees Policy Subcommittee meeting on Wednesday evening and filled scheduling gaps in the Teen Room.
Construction Update The newly installed door panels do not line up with existing panels as designed, and this will be brought to Building Committee. The HVAC coil was installed and a sensor was discovered to be faulty; the system’s rooftop unit over the staff room continues to make disruptive noises. The Teen Room Door was leaking again, and we captured footage of rain dripping along the awning over the book drop pooling to create a huge pebble and spread the mulch in front of the book drop. Community Room ceiling tiles were installed from attic stock—no leaking in that space since removing some of the green roof. We are still waiting for a ball bearing for the gate at the bottom of the stairs and a quote to install the humidifier in the historical materials room (218).
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 took down April displays; set up the title list and displays for May; sent April’s OverDrive MARC records to CW MARS; prepared the ARIS, circulation statistics, and circ narrative for April; identified priorities for staff coverage during upcoming shortage; pulled materials for Crescent Manor and made the monthly visit; reviewed industry newsletters to add upcoming titles to purchase lists; continued preparations and helped host the Free Comic Book Day celebration. She rescued one colleague in need when we learned that if the fence enclosure around recycling and the shed is shut, it cannot be opened from the inside…
Jane and Ranjita posted the New York Times Best Seller Lists and recommended titles for purchase. Jane prepared a list of nearby libraries that are currently accepting book donations for the lobby and circ desks, processed pending patron applications, collected items with alerts from old displays and invalid RFID tags, and continued weeding adult fiction. Ranjita processed ComCat requests, processed pending library card applications, performed a routine check of the Library of Things, processed new adult fiction and CD audiobooks, set up the May endcap display for Mother’s Day, and performed the monthly AED and first aid kit checks. Allie installed new signage for the Historic Reading Room’s new graphic displays, added new email contacts to the general newsletter list from an adult program class, processed CLIO requests, corresponded with Bibliotheca about troubleshooting issues and tested the internal and external returns, added a new section to the May newsletter, set up the May endcap display for Memorial Day, worked on planning the June staircase display for Pride month, helped a patron with questions about e-cards and access to e-resources, and assisted with set up of the Mind, Body and Spirit display. Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials and followed up on open issues, worked on interlibrary loans, created more seed packets and labels for the seed library, worked on the home delivery service, cleared expired holds from the hold shelf and followed up with patrons, prepared materials and graphics for the June endcap display, sent invoices for two museum pass renewals, prepared for adult programming in May and assembled kits for take-and-make crafts.
Children’s Services Sarah worked on planning and implementing the storage of surplus shelving, ran a session of preschool Storytime, ran two sessions of Busy Bee preschool outreach, met with Sarah S and Eric to discuss June Pride Month programming, met with Kara to discuss Free Comic Book Day, put together a volunteer/temp project to manage media donations, delivered Fun Fair prizes to NGES, worked on the April stats and narrative, and dropped off unclaimed lost and found items at Treasures. Jen worked on updating the EventKeeper calendar, finalizing the May Newsletter, continued to work on the Summer Reading Calendar, planned for upcoming programming, ran a session of Library Babies, and filled in for Sarah to cover two sessions of Toddler Time. Stacie decorated the room, updated displays, planned for upcoming programming, set up a new experiment in the STEM corner, and ran two drop-in Arts & Crafts programs. Mare worked on volunteer schedules, communicated with volunteer applicants, tried to fill in future gaps with upcoming graduating high school senior volunteers, assisted patrons, and shelved materials in the absence of some volunteers. Kristin delivered items to NGES and SGES.
Teen Services Beth trained temps to cover in Teen Services. Unfortunately, no one was available to cover on Friday afternoon and we had to close the room. Thanks to staff are covering shifts in Allison’s absence! Sarah S scheduled LGBTA speakers for September, gave out buttons and bookmarks for Star Wars Day, put together endcap display lists for pride month, introduced a new pop-up program with 3-D puzzles, and oversaw shelving volunteers. The question of the week is, What is Your Favorite Flower? Responses have been in text and drawings!
Reference Services Heidi and Eric assisted patrons with tech and reference questions and circulation. Heidi shepherded author Justin Hollander’s visit to discuss his newest book First City on Mars: An Urban Planner’s Guide to Settling the Red Planet. Eric researched programming and met with other departments for June events; refreshed bookends; and ordered items for the non-fiction collection. Community Read is this month and includes art, film, book discussion, and other activities relating to Love and Saffron by Kim Fay, culminating in an event on Thursday May 11.
Technical Services Cynthia unpacked items as they arrived; cataloged new adult nonfiction, audiobooks, and young adult books; worked on fixing problem items; sent in requests for records to the CatCenter; and ran reports to gather cataloging statistics for the month of April.
Thanks to the generosity of the Capital Campaign and a donor who covered the cost of the Teen Patio, including furniture and gaming tables, we are in a position to buy some tabletops for outdoor gameplay. What should we buy? Teens ages 12-18 are invited to vote for their favorite choice!
