Grafton Public Library Publishes Weekly Report For October 31 - November 6

Press release from Grafton Public Library:

November 5, 2021

6,374 physical items and 30,620 digital items circulated in October – we were closed to the public for a third of the month. Visitor stats are still being compiled.

Library Director Beth Gallaway opened the Library for restroom access and Halloween goodies on Sunday October 31 from 4-8 pm, after distributing donated bags of candy on South Street in the afternoon – we had enough to give every participating household 2 small or 1 large bag of treats, thank you to everyone who donated! The Library participated in the Teal Pumpkin Project again and only gave out non-allergen treats.

Beth submitted a press release of Library updates to media outlets, completed an ad for the GHS fall play, attended the Department Heads meeting, completed a Passport Acceptance Facility recertification training, and facilitated the hybrid Building Committee meeting; a tour of the building followed. She also provided desk coverage for Children’s, Teen, Borrower and Reference services, worked on additional procurement items, finished an information request for the Salary and Compensation survey, and began tracking items for the FY23 budget. She signed off on another year of Freegal, a free-to-the-public music database for streaming music (up to 3 hours a day) and downloading MP3s to keep (up to 3 a week); check it out at https://grafton.freegalmusic.com/home.

Meeting Room Reservations debuted, and Beth spent a lot of time connecting with requestors to explain the policies, get more information, and approve or deny requests. The public can request an available room at any service desk, or request in advance online. Please read the policy before making the request. Two meeting rooms remain out of order for storage while we await final shipments of shelving. The 10-seat conference room has been reserved for writers participating in NaNoWriMo – come write in community instead of solitude!

Landscaping and punch list work continued, with plumbing, signage and other contractors on site. Beth scheduled annual gutter cleaning, met with Ransford Pest control for their monthly review, called Worcester Elevator when the lift put itself out of service again, and continued to troubleshoot phone and IT and fax issues. Monday evening had the Director climbing on the roof with a Building Committee member in an attempt to close the open attic hatch over the historic building. It’s unclear why the hatch was open, but the door’s hinge/latch may be damaged and she had to call on Andy Deschenes to come and help, which he kindly did.

A ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony is being planned for December. The Library will be open during Grafton Celebrates the holidays from 12-4pm.

The Friends were busy sorting through donations for the inaugural Book Sale in the new location, taking place in the Community Room Saturday November 6 from 10am-3pm at the Library at 35 Grafton Common. The Bread Guy will also be on site to do a pop-up fundraiser. As a reminder, masks are required in municipal buildings, and food should be consumed on the outside patios, due to the ongoing pandemic.

Borrower Services staff covered their two service points, helped patrons find material, checked material in and out, answered questions, etc. They continue troubleshooting the AMH, which has some quirks, and are working closing with IT on patron and staff computing and printing issues. Allie worked on the November newsletter, Readers Advisory material and continues to be our in-house tech support; Sandhya continued updating the museum pass program as needed, and took responsibility for updating Library flyers and handouts and handled requests for materials from outside of the local library network. Jane and Ranjita managed the New York Times Bestseller list and made purchase recommendations for audiobooks and adult fiction & nonfiction. Ranjita completed the monthly AED checks, and Susan supervised staff projects, organized Home Delivery, compiled October statistics, purchased supplies, trained volunteers, trained new staff members on Evergreen (our circulation software), and prepared the monthly Crescent Manor BookWagon.

Heidi answered various reference questions regarding collections, meeting rooms, and donations. She created new library accounts and updated existing ones. She managed details to do with the Senior Book Club. She managed requests for things to be put on our bulletin boards, planned upcoming programs, worked on the Reference monthly report and helped train the temporary Reference Assistant. Welcome Kate, who will be covered on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and every other Friday/Saturday at the information desk.

Children’s Services welcomed Miss Stacie, our newest Library Associate! In addition to regular circulation and shelving duties, Marilyn coordinated with volunteers and began to plan for a group training session, Jen ran the Library Babies program with a PowerPoint that included early literacy tips and song lyrics, updated EventKeeper and social media, followed up with participants of the Teddy Bear Sleepover and printed souvenir photos. Cyndi performed notary duties, helped cover desks for staff meal breaks, compiled staff extensions and created a document to share with each department. Kristin continued to reach out to the schools and met with Doreen Parker.

Sarah ran Toddler Time and Preschool, planned and ran three sessions of preschool outreach for North Grafton Elementary School, trained Stacie, coordinated with Beth and Allison regarding the upcoming Winter Reading Program, and provided desk coverage in Reference and Teen Services. The PowerPoints are available online on our YouTube channel.

Teen Services was hopping all week! We have 20-30 students after school between 2-4 pm: studying, listening to music, playing on computers, socializing, reading. We are conducting an in-house review of our Unattended Child policy, which states children from 0-7 must have a parent in vicinity and 8-12 must have a parent or guardian over age 14 on site; children ages 13 and up may be at the Library unattended. Many children in grades 4-6 are walking to the Library after school unattended. Many teens are coming in unmasked, and since we have run out of masks to give away, will be turning away those who come without masks. Beth and other staff addressed these and other behavioral issues as they came up.

A Reminder: the Library will be CLOSED in observation of Veteran’s Day on Thursday November 11; materials can be returned 24/7 but no items are due. Thank you to all who served!

This press release was produced by Grafton Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.