Weekly Report November 5-11
Library Weekly Report
Week of November 5-11, 2023
This week we circulated 1,702 items, received 569 items in transit, and sent 616 items. We requested 553 items and fulfilled 410 hold requests; registered 14 patrons for library cards, and added 123 new items. The most popular book this week is Elevation by Stephen King. We hosted 32 meetings in our conference, study, and tutoring rooms for 91 people including GCVS MCAS testing, Grafton Girls Softball Board, and Small Stones Festival planning, as well as private work, study, homeschool, and tutoring sessions.
The Grafton Public Library was closed Saturday, November 11, 2023 in observance of Veteran’s Day.
We will be closed on Friday, November 17 and Saturday, November 18, 2023 for installation of spray foam insulation in the areas that sustained flood damage. Due to the airborne chemical nature of the material, it is required that the building be unoccupied on those days.
The Children’s Room and Community Room remain closed and the Friends of the Grafton Public Library book sale remains on hold awaiting reconstruction from flood damage sustained in August. While we understand the concerns around having these areas closed and the desire to have them reopened and return to business as usual, please be kind and respectful to staff when discussing these matters. Please understand that we want nothing more than these spaces to be reopened as well, however, we do not have a definitive timeline for the work to be completed. Please check our website and social media for updates.
Admin
The director remains on FMLA leave through the end of the calendar year. In her absence, there has been no disruption in services and every department is running along smoothly under the guidance of Library Department Managers and the Administrative Assistant.
Thank you to everyone who has been helping out during this time especially: Jen McNeil for website and EventKeeper updates; Town Accountant, Mary Lauria and Payroll and Benefits Director, Kristen Pasacane for helping out with payroll and staffing changes; Town Administrator, Evan Brassard and Assistant Town Administrator, William Blake for meeting with Library Department Heads and providing support to staff, especially William Blake for his continued support and attention to buildings and facilities concerns.
Eileen maintained the collection of periodicals, took care of incoming mail, sent late notices, prepared bills, paid invoices and assisted with coverage for Borrower Services. Debby worked on a number of tasks in the absence of a director including compiling Library statistics, writing the Director’s Report, fielding concerns about construction from patrons and community organizations, running the staff meeting, and maintaining daily communication with Trustees and Municipal Staff. In addition, she compiled the Weekly Report, and worked on payroll, scheduling, social media, and tasks for the upcoming Board of Library Trustees meeting.
Borrower Services
Staff managed the adult circ desk, delivery, museum passes, the lobby, room reservations, and Automatic Materials Handling equipment. We assisted patrons, placed holds, performed readers’ advisory, and supervised volunteers.
Kara checked CWMars top titles against the collection; reviewed industry newsletters to add upcoming titles to purchase lists; ran Evergreen reports for lost, transit, and missing items for October; ordered requested e-book and e-audio titles; and placed an order of CD audiobooks prepared the first/second adult fiction order for November. Jane posted the New York Times Best Seller List for print and audio fiction and recommended titles for purchase; collected items with alerts from invalid RFID tags; and attended a webinar on managing problem behavior. Ranjita posted the New York Times Best Seller List for print and audio nonfiction and recommended titles for purchase; performed a routine check of the Library of Things as well as the monthly AED and first aid kits; and set up the November endcap display for Thanksgiving.
Sandhya managed out of network requests for materials and followed up on open issues worked on interlibrary loans and followed up with patrons; cleared expired holds from the hold shelf and followed up with patrons; worked on the home delivery service; gathered supplies and prepared for adult programming in December and January; sent reminders to patrons for the upcoming daytime Unplug with Art program and the evening Stencil Art program; and selected materials and requested titles for the December staircase display. Allie placed a request for a new nonfiction title for a patron and for our collection and displayed new to our collection fiction books. She also worked in Tech Services this week.
Children’s Services
The Children’s Room staff continues working out of the temporary CR space located in the Friends of the Library Corner while we await repairs to damage sustained in the August flood. As we continue with our department’s displacement, we are feeling the strain and challenges of working with limited space and resources. Staff have continued to field questions and concerns from the public ranging from sympathetic understanding to frustration about the closure of the Children’s Room, our current programming hiatus, and the temporary suspension of the Friends of the Grafton Public Library’s book sale on a daily basis. At this time, the timeline of the project continues to be unclear, making it challenging to alleviate the concerns of the public.
Children’s Room staff began program planning for the new year, began our yearly Summer Reading promotional material order, placed book and materials orders, reorganized and maintained the temporary collection, stored excess materials that we not able to fit on current shelving, lesson planned for November & December outreach programming, assisted patrons with Hold requests and reader’s advisory, attended professional development, communicated with patrons, updated displays with seasonal items, cleaned and updated fish tank décor for Anthony Hop-kins and his fish friends, began planning Summer Reading and a Children’s Room Grand Reopening party, and assisted patrons.
Teen Services
Allison attended the staff meeting and department head meetings, worked in the Teen Room and cataloging upstairs in Tech Services. Sarah S hosted Teen Gaming: Mario Kart 8 & SuperSmash Bros Open Play and Teen Movie and Crafts Afternoon. Shawn interacted with teens and supervised the Teen Room during after-school hours as well as Thursday and Friday mornings when Grafton Schools were out for Parent-Teacher Conference and Veteran’s Day observance.
Reference Services
Heidi and Eric assisted with tech and reference questions, circulation, room reservations and museum passes. Heidi worked with the Mystery Book Club on future title selections, and worked on program PR and statistics. Eric also worked in Tech Services.
Technical Services
A big Thank You to: Allison (Teen Services), Allie (Borrower Services), and Eric (Borrower Services) all took shifts in Tech Services cataloging new books and putting them into circulation for patrons until the position is permanently filled. Eric cataloged new arrivals and put out new adult non-fiction materials. Allie worked on processing new fiction and mystery books, unpacking new book boxes, checking in new fiction and new to collection fiction books and placing them on display, as well as researching and communicating with a local library’s Tech Services on an incorrect catalog record.