June 2022 Newsletter

A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

I attended the Massachusetts Library Association Conference at the end of May, where I attended many excellent programs. Responding to patrons and staff through a trauma-informed approach was a major theme of the conference.

I was in attendance to see Marilyn Wilcox awarded her ParaLibrarian 3 certification. The process includes rigorous documentation of on-going professional development. Congrats to her, and to Cyndi Zarriello, who was achieved ParaLibrarian 2 certification last year.

I was delighted to be nominated for (and win!) the ParaLibrarian's section Staff Advocate of the Year award, in part for the compassion we showed for staff during the pandemic but also for encouraging ongoing staff development.

The Library's greatest asset is not the building or the collection, but the staff. Staff development is part of our Long Range Plan, part of our annual goal-setting and review process, and paramount to training and retaining not merely competent, but forward-thinking, avant-garde staff. May we continue to foster an environment where staff can grow and thrive!

Speaking of staff... we're hiring! If you have a Master's degree in Library and Information Science and experience with cataloging and technology training, OR in supervising public library circulation, we encourage your application.

EXPANSION UPDATE

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is awarding the Town of Grafton $2,444,882 as a partial payment for the MA Public Library Construction Program Grant. Funds should be received in June. The money is for eligible grant expenses and is a partial fulfillment of the $7.4 allocated to the project. Bartlett's and Perrault completed tree work, fertilization, and landscaping in the front of the Library mid-month. Evergreen Solutions was scheduled to be on site to treat the green roof at end of May. Window decals were installed. The sliding doors for the youth services tutor rooms were installed at the end of May. HVAC work continues -- we are experiencing a lot of noise from the system in the Youth Services Workroom.

We are working to resolve other outstanding non-punch list items, including signage, office shelving, locks for cabinets and drawers in public spaces, landscaping, wiring, piano, patio furniture and lighting, and FF&E installations.

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

Upcoming Library Planning & Building

Committee Meetings

Library Planning and Building Committee meets on the first Monday of the month. Next meeting:

Monday June 6, 2022 6PM

Join the Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81745556188?pwd=MUdoRzE2eFI4VmRkUGFFYVdRN2J2dz09

Meeting ID: 817 4555 6188

Passcode: 361649

One tap mobile: +16465588656,,81745556188#,,,,*361649# US (New York)

EMBARKING ON A NEW JOURNEY

Two of our dear staff members, Donna Bates-Tarrant and Susan Leto, are retiring at the end of June.

Donna, our Cataloger and Head of Technical Services, has worked for GPL for 22 years, getting our library materials ordered, processed and onto the shelf. She covers the Borrower Services desk and knows more patrons by name than anyone else.

Susan, our Head of Borrower Services, has worked for GPL for 19 years, managing check out of library materials, meeting room and museum pass reservations, and overseeing the volunteer program, including delivery to homebound patrons. Their institutional knowledge and ability to manage change have been real assets over the last ten years, and they will be greatly missed.

Whatever comes next for them, may it bring them the same joy and fulfillment as they brought us! We will miss you, Donna and Susan, every day! Thank you for enriching our lives with your grace, expertise and friendship!

JUNETEENTH

Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans--the Library will be CLOSED on Monday June 20th in observation of Juneteenth.

The House Girl: A Novel by Tara Conkllin

A stunning debut novel of love, family, and justice that intertwines the stories of an escaped house slave in 1852 Virginia and ambitious young lawyer in contemporary New York.

Virginia, 1852. Seventeen-year-old Josephine Bell decides to run from the failing tobacco farm where she is a slave and nurse to her ailing mistress, the aspiring artist Lu Anne Bell.

New York City, 2004. Lina Sparrow, an ambitious first-year associate in an elite law firm, is given a

difficult, highly sensitive assignment that could make her career: she must find the "perfect plaintiff" to lead a historic class-action lawsuit worth trillions of dollars in reparations for descendants of American slaves.

It is through her father, the renowned artist Oscar Sparrow, that Lina discovers Josephine Bell and a controversy roiling the art world: are the iconic paintings long ascribed to Lu Anne Bell really the work of her house slave, Josephine? A descendant of Josephine's would be the perfect face for the reparations lawsuit - if Lina can find one. While following the runaway girl's faint trail through old letters and plantation records, Lina finds herself questioning her own family history and the secrets that her father has never revealed: How did Lina's mother die? And why will he never speak about her?

Moving between antebellum Virginia and modern-day New York, this searing, suspenseful and heartbreaking tale of art and history, love and secrets, explores what it means to repair a wrong and asks whether truth is sometimes more important than justice.

Request a book, an e-book on the Libby app, an audiobook on the Libby app or an audiobook on the Hoopla app.

OUR JUNE DISPLAYS

The Borrower Services and Reference staff invites you to

check out a book from our fiction and non-fiction staircase displays in

Room 201 - Large Print/New Books.

SEED LIBRARY

We are excited, as part of the fulfillment of our LEED certification, to nurture a community of native and organic plant gardeners by providing a seed collection and exchange through the Library! Check back often--we'll be adding new seeds during the season!

Our Goals

• Provide free seeds to the community from seed companies and occasional seeds from gardeners who've saved seeds from plants that thrive in our local area.

• Encourage the use of native, heirloom, open-pollinated and organic seeds.

• Encourage gardeners to save seed and donate seed back to the Seed Library from successful varieties of plants they have grown.

• Educate our community on topics related to gardening, ecology, food and nutrition, health and wellness and the environment.

• Promote the importance of organic gardening for our health and the health of our planet.

• Increase awareness of and mitigate food scarcity

How the Seed Library Works

Choose a maximum of 2 free seed packets per visit
Follow the link on the back of the seed packet for growing instructions and plant the seeds in your garden.
Donate any leftover seeds back in the original packet.
Water, weed, and wait!
Harvest seeds from successful flowers and produce and thoroughly air dry them.
Place harvested in the envelopes provided, label and return to the Seed Library so others can grow them next year. (optional)

Orphan seeds from local gardeners who have extras will be made available to gardeners who need extra in our informal seed exchange.

Don’t forget to browse our gardening books in the 635s!

Thank you to Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland MA and

Prairie Moon Nursery in Winona MN for donating seeds to

start our Seed Library!

https://graftonlibrary.org/home/about/garden/seed-library/

DID YOU KNOW?

Enabling Check Out History

You can opt-in to keeping your check out history by signing in to the catalog and clicking the link in the top right labeled, “My Account.” This will bring up the Account Summary page. From here, navigate to Preferences -> Search & History, check the box labeled, “Keep history of checked out items?” and then click the save icon below. Voila! From now on, you will now have a record of every book you check out.

Once the page loads you will be greeted with a list of items you've checked out in chronological order from most to least recent.

It’s important to note that keeping a check out history is not retroactive. You will only be able to see a record of items you check out going forward. Items you have checked out prior to enabling this feature will not be visible.

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HIGH DEMAND HOLDS

Top 10 Books Requested in CW MARS

22 Seconds by James Patterson
The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand
Dream Town by David Baldacci
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner
What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
The Investigator by John Sandford
It Ends with Us: A Novel by Colleen Hoover
Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Top 10 Movies Requested in CW MARS

FEATURED MUSEUM

Mass Parks Pass

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) manages state parks and oversees more than 450,000 acres throughout Massachusetts. It protects, promotes, and enhances the state’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources.

The health and happiness of people across Massachusetts depends on the accessibility and quality of our natural resources, recreational facilities, and great historic landscapes. DCR continues to improve the vital connection between people and the environment. ~ Mass.gov's website

Reserve a museum pass online!