A Note from the Director

Every September, we are required to submit fiscal year statistics to the MA Board of Library Commissioners for compliance with the State Aid program to certify our library and for grant eligibility. In FY22 we were open 2,150 hours over 226 days over 40 weeks, including 35 Saturdays and one Sunday for Grafton Celebrates the Holidays. We had 47,367 visitors, notarized 20 documents and proctored 1 exam; had 45 volunteers donate 915 hours; offered 64 curbside pickups and made 98 deliveries to the homebound, and circulated 85 items from our Seed Library. In FY22 we answered 1,443 reference questions; provided 1,019 computer sessions, and an estimated 1,200 WiFi sessions; and provided 215 programs to 2,193 participants.

Our FY22 circulation of library materials (checkouts and renewals) totaled 144,210 items, including 36,521 items in digital format and 53,526 items in non-print format. We had 22,567 uses of electronic resources and 38,872 hits to our website. We had 258 meeting room reservations with 1,492 participants. At the end of FY22 we had 10,153 registered borrowers with Grafton cards (including 8,796 Grafton residents) and physical holdings totaled 65,475 items valued at $1.4 million dollars. Our non-resident circulation was 11,200 items including 8 items to out of state visitors. Our Friends membership stands at 195 people over 127 households. All of these figures are significant increases from FY21 in part due to the pandemic and closures during our library relocation and reopening, but also thanks to increased traffic as a result of visitors coming to see the new library, our program offerings, and our meeting room use.

We continue to cultivate community partnerships: staff attended all of the school open houses in September, will be a presence at the OctoberFest fundraiser, and I am personally looking forward to NGES's November Community Reading Day. In addition to GUM Jam, we are hosting Ukulele 101 in partnership with Apple Tree Arts, and have accepted a loan of a Willard clock for our Historic Main Reading Room from the Willard House and Clock Museum, where we have an ongoing storytime session. We are partnering again with Small Stones Festival of the Arts to present several programs in October, and our Friends are hosting the third annual Caddy Stacks mini-golf fundraiser, sponsored by local businesses, this weekend on Sunday October 2 from 12pm-4pm. Tickets are still available! Pick your tee time at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/caddy-stacks-2022-tickets-416733700717.

In addition to Hallowe'en, fall storytimes, book discussion groups, and scary movies, we are celebrating Emotional Wellness Month in October, with a offering of programs to support mental health and self-care in these trying times, funded in part by our programming grant from UniBank and in part from a grant from the Coalition from a Healthy Greater Worcester. I am most excited about the TumbleBus this weekend, and Goats and Giggles at the end of the month.

Finally, please join me in welcoming our newest staff member, Cynthia O'Neil, Adult Services Librarian--Technical Services. During the month of September, she cleared the backlog of summer arrivals and is in process of setting up our selection lists for automatic processing so we can resume ordering soon.

Happy Autumn!

Beth Schreiber,

Library Director

Expansion Update

Thank you to the Capital Campaign, for funding a refurbished Steinway "O" series baby grand piano. The Board of Library Trustees Policy Subcommittee is working hard on a Piano Use Policy. Thank you to custodian Paul Farrar who cleaned all of the rugs in the building over Labor Day weekend.

We approved a design for folding doors for the YA Maker Space and the kitchen presentation area. Remedial work to meet ADA compliance for counters and sinks is anticipated for November. We are moving forward with a plan for a humidifier for the historical documents room. Our stair gate arrived for installation at the end of the month, which will allow us to (finally!) rent our facility after hours on Friday and Saturday evenings and on Sundays. Veterans finalized HVAC commissioning and Renaud did semi-annual maintenance on the system. Our LEED application packet was submitted for review. A solution for handles for the display case was provided by the architect. We tracked down the source of two different leaks and scheduled gutter cleaning. Final proofs for donor signage were reviewed at the end of the month. The Historic District Commission approved our benches for the front walkways and we anticipate installing in October, along with our wetlands border signage. Thanks to DPW for stenciling EV parking icons in our lot, to Parks and Cemeteries for the grass trimming, and to our many volunteers who are weeding the garden beds regularly.

The Library Planning and Building Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday October 3 at 6pm on Zoom:

Agenda

Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 879 5681 7665

Passcode: 087506

Check out construction photos in our Construction album on our Facebook Page!

Stick Library Contest

Bring your dog by the Stick Library on the front lawn and take a picture! Post a photo of your dog on the lawn of the Grafton Public Library next to the Grafton Stick Library on Instagram to enter to win a bag of goodies from Quite Fetching Barkery and Pet Boutique!

To enter:

Like and follow both the Grafton Public Library and Quite Fetching Barkery on Facebook and Instagram
Post your photo on Instagram from 10/10/22-10/21/22 and tag @quitefetchingbarkery @graftonpubliclibrary #graftonsticklibrary

The Library will post all of the submissions on Facebook on Monday, 10/24/22 starting the contest which will end at noon EST on 10/28/22. The picture on the Grafton Public Library’s Facebook post with the most likes will win a gift bag of google from Quite Fetching Barkery for their four-legged friend!

Spotlight on Fiction

The Shining

By Stephen King

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more

remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

Request a book, a CD-Audiobook, an e-book on the Libby app, or an e-audio on the Libby app.

Our October Display

The Borrower Services and Reference staff invite you to

check out an item from our two staircase displays in

Room 201 - Large Print/New Books.

Craft Items Wanted

Have you given up on scrapbooking? Discovered crocheting just isn’t for you? Don’t have enough time for crafts now that you have to go back into the office? Because arts and crafts aren’t just for kids, the Grafton Public Library is happily accepting donations of your adult craft items that are in like new or even brand new condition. This fall, we will be putting together adult craft kits to check out from our Library of Things as well as Take-And-Make craft kits for adults to get us through those long winter days indoors.

We are looking for the following supplies:

Painting–oil, acrylic, watercolor paints, brushes, canvas and watercolor paper, paint by number kits
Scrapbooking–unused scrapbooks, whole pieces of paper, fresh sheets of stickers, appliques, acid free glue and glue dots
Needle and yarn crafts–crochet hooks, knitting needles, round knitting looms, yarn, embroidery hoops, canvas, embroidery floss, embroidery needles, felting, macrame
Beadwork–beads, hooks, clasps, hardware and tools for jewelry
Baking and confectionary–new disposable pastry bags, tips, tools, candy molds
Sculpting and burning–clay and sculpting tools, wood burning kits and supplies
Candle making–packaged wax, wicks, scents
Miscellaneous supplies–glue guns, hot glue gun sticks, pinking shears to cut designs, art markers and pens, sketchbooks and pencils
Model building kits–cars, boats, airplanes
>>Please do not bring glitter<<

Please email Debby Jackson, Administrative Assistant, jacksond@grafton p ub l i c li b r a ry.or g with any questions and to coordinate drop off.

Seeds Needed for Our Seed library

We hope that you enjoyed

your gardens this summer!

Please donate leftover seeds to a staff member in the Lobby or at Borrower Services on the second level. Seeds should be labeled and placed in a plastic ziploc bag.