March programming will be on hiatus as we are facing an unanticipated staffing shortage.

Due to this staffing shortage, the Library is not able to offer any staff-led programming in March. We still have a lot to offer! The Farmer's Market returns Wednesday March 8, and programs from an outside provider, including Young Scientists, Music & Movement, GUM Jam, Farmer's Market, Beekeeping, and Johnny Cash: Stories and Songs will proceed as planned. We hope to resume programming in April.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and ask for your patience while we prioritize staffing our service desks, assisting our patrons, and training temporary staff.

If you are interested in working at the Library, we anticipate posting two temporary vacancies for on call temp hours in youth services. For more information or to apply, please visit https://www.grafton-ma.gov/Jobs.aspx.

Beth Schreiber,

Library Director

Beth has been working with William Blake and OPM Mark Sullivan to complete the final MA Public Library Construction Program financial report for MBLC (we are still within budget!). We are also working on items for our permanent Certificate of Occupancy, which is the next benchmark for our next reimbursement payment, which will go straight to the bank to pay down the bond.

In February, we completed the locking gate at the bottom of the stairs and additional shelving for the Children's Room should arrive and be installed this spring. Doors were ordered for the Maker Space and Presentation Area and ADA Millwork was nearly completed by end of the month.

Evergreen Environmentals LLC will be site the first week of March to remove a portion of the green roof that may be responsible for a leak in the community room. and will be reduced the footprint of the succulent planters to troubleshoot the issue.

HVAC commissioning and LEED certification are in process. We are still having a programming issue that is not allowed all parts of the building to maintain temperatures as scheduled.

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

Agenda

Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 879 0582 0658

Passcode: 478236

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

Grafton, MA - Longtime New England musician/author Matt York will perform the songs of Johnny Cash and tell stories about Cash’s career on Friday March 10 at 7pm in the Community Room at the Grafton Public Library, 35 Grafton Common, Grafton MA. The program spans Cash’s early beginnings in the 1950s to his passing in 2003.

York was recently nominated for the Boston Music Award for Best Country Artist and his album Gently Used was named one of Worcester Magazine’s best albums of 2022.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Grafton Local Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Space is limited; free tickets are available through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/matt-york-

presents-johnny-cash-songs-and-stories-tickets-554675618707.

For details, please contact Library Director Beth Schreiber at 508-839-4649 x1836 or by email at gallawayb@graftonlibrary.org.

From February 1 through March 15, Cradles to Crayons®, the Boston Bruins, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and Wonderfund are coming together with organizations in your community to collect new pajamas for local children living in low-income and homeless situations. Together, we are looking to collect 10,000 pairs of pajamas.



What we are collecting:

We are looking for brand new pajamas, appropriate for all seasons, from sizes 0-3 months through adult medium. Please do not give pajamas that include any family or holiday references, and refer to our Quality = Dignity guidelines. 

Our most needed sizes are:

Girls: 12-18 months, 18-24 months, 5/6 (child S), 18/20 (child XXL/adult M)

Boys: 12-18 months, 18-24 months, 10/12 (child L), 14/16 (child XL/adult S), 18/20 (child XXL/adult M)"

Other ways to donate:

Purchase and donate pajamas through our Amazon Wish List (beginning on February 1) or make a $10 donation to provide a child with a pair of pajamas!

Violet Speedwell is a 38-year-old surplus woman, a term used to describe women who had lost their husbands or fiancés as a result of the Great War. Having tended to her elderly and unpleasant mother, who never recovered from her own losses, Violet leaves her dull life in Southampton, England, and starts anew in the nearby town of Winchester, where she takes a low-paying job as a typist at an insurance company. In Winchester, Violet stumbles upon a group of women, the broderers, who embroider kneeling pads for parishioners at Winchester Cathedral. Their devout artistry helps shape our heroine's future in more ways than expected. Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) excels when describing the events and organizations of the time as well

as the nuanced craftsmanship of needlepoint. Readers may find themselves more interested in Violet's craft than the story of how her life unfolds. VERDICT For fans of Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, or readers looking to immerse themselves in the past and enjoy a tale rich in details about an overlooked art.

--Cassandra Walsh (Reviewed 08/01/2019) (Library Journal, vol 144, issue 7, p85)

Request a book, a Large Print book, a CD-Audiobook, an

e-book on the Libby app, or an e-audio on the Libby app.

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.

The Library is in need of beginners knitting needles and crochet hooks. If you have any to spare, please leave them with Heidi Fowler, our Reference Librarian. Feel free to email us with any questions: info@graftonlibrary.org.

Thank you in advance!

Top 10 Books Requested in CW MARS

1. Spare by Prince Harry
2. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
3. The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
4. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
5. A World of Curiosities by Louise Penney
6. Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
7. Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes
8. Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder
9. The House of Wolves by James Patterson and Mike Lupica
10. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Top 10 Movies Requested in CW MARS

1. The Fabelmans
2. Tar
3. Ticket to Paradise
4. Till
5. Women Talking
6. Black Panther. Wakanda Forever
7. Devotion
8. The Whale
9. Man Called Otto
10. Greyhound

Due to unanticipated staff shortages, the Grafton Public Library is not able to offer any staff-led programs in March.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and ask for your patience while we prioritize staffing our service desks, assisting our patrons, and training temporary staff.

Reserve a museum pass online!

Visit www.graftonlibrary.org/beanstack

The Board meets via Zoom on the fourth Wednesday of the month via Zoom

Zoom Link for Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 7pm:

Our FY24 Budget Hearing is scheduled for Wed March 15 at 7pm.

Thanks to all who donated saleable materials and came to the Friends Used Book Sale! They raised $2,500+ dollars. Proceeds pay for museum passes and support the summer reading program.

The Egg Hunt on Grafton Common will take place Saturday April 1 with two start times to choose from. Tickets at $5 each and go on sale March 11.

Members can check the Friend's Facebook page for scheduled meetings.

https://www.facebook.com/GPLFriends

Join or renew your membership at www.friendsgpl.org/join

Questions? Please contact info@friendsgpl.org