The Grafton Public Library will reopen temporarily to the public in June with limited hours at the 53 North Main Street, North Grafton location to allow browsing and checkout of Library materials in advance of a closure in July to move back to Grafton Common.

Curbside pickup will be suspended May 24, with in-person pickup and browsing from Tuesday June 1 through Friday July 2. Hours are as follows: Mon/Tue 10am-2pm; Wed/Thu 2-8pm; Fri/Sat 10am-2pm. The first hour of each day (10-11am or 2-3pm) is designated for high-risk population.

It is important that the Library is a safe space for everyone. Young children and their families are daily visitors at our library. Because most children are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, we require that ALL patrons and staff continue to wear masks when inside the library regardless of vaccination status. Masks are required to enter the building and must remain on, covering your mouth and nose completely, for all patrons over 2 years of age, no exceptions.

Patrons who cannot wear a mask will be served via remote services (phone or email) and No-Contact Curbside Pickup or Home Delivery by calling 508-839-4649 in advance. This decision has been made in accordance with current public health information, CDC guidelines, and the Massachusetts updated face covering advisory for K-12 schools and Child Care facilities effective 5/29/2021.

The Library is available for browsing only, with no public seating. No toys, puzzles, or computers will be available. Free public WiFi is available outside and in the parking lot (password Libr@ry!). Copying, scanning and faxing will be available. Remote printing from your device--from home or the Library parking lot--is available and encouraged, via print.princh.com (printer ID 103048). We will not provide passport, notary, proctoring, or computer assistance at this time. DIY and Make & Take kits will remain available on the covered porch, first come, first served.

No appointment is required for browsing. Our facility limit is 25 members of the public at one time, restricting to no more than 10 in the Children’s Room and no more than 10 in the sanctuary where adult materials are housed. No more than 1 browser or family unit at a time in the Large Print, Audiobook or YA room. Magazines, Graphic Novels, music CDs and part of the YA collection will be available by request only, as some spaces remain closed to the public. When we meet capacity, browsing will be limited to 20 minutes, the entry door will be locked and a socially distanced line will form outside, with new visitors allowed in as visitors leave.

Please continue to return all items via the outdoor Book Drop, and plan to keep items through an extended due date of mid-August when we reopen at our renovated and expanded facility at 35 Grafton Common. We encourage you to check out items for Summer Reading in advance, or plan to make arrangements for pickup at other local libraries in July.

We will continue to offer remote reference, reader’s advisory, library card applications and renewals, assistance with OverDrive, the catalog and electronic resources via phone, email (graftonlibrary.ma@gmail.com) and Facebook messenger. In addition, our Concierge Service is still available for us to pull materials in advance! Visit https://tinyurl.com/gplselect to complete a request form.

For more information, please contact Beth Gallaway, gallawayb@graftonlibrary.org or 508-839-4649.

In May, we connected plumbing, carpeted, tiled, made decisions about finishes like film for full glass interior windows, completed millwork, ordered materials to install a green roof, and other finishing details. We anticipate delivery of the Automated Materials Handler in June, shelving and furniture mid-to-late June, and movers on site July 12 at St. Andrews to move the collection and supplies and some loose furniture to 35 Grafton Common! The Library will be closed for the month of July for relocation.

Check out construction photos in albums on our Facebook Page:

Gen X at Middle Age in Popular Culture. This book examines the portrayal of Generation X in contemporary television, movies, music, and Internet sources. Drawing on generational theory, cultural studies theory, race theory, and feminist theory, the essays analyze the role of Generation X in American popular culture in relation to both Baby Boomers and Millennials.

Click here to register. There are 20 spaces available.

There are two important events this month, so we are doing a “double feature” spotlight!

Juneteenth – also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day – is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States.

In honor of Juneteenth, we are featuring the bestseller The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.

The Vanishing Half follows the lives of two twin girls, both light-skinned

Black girls, who runs away from home at the age of sixteen. Desiree marries a dark-skinned Black man and has a child, while Stella lives her life passing as white. The book tracks their lives across generations, as their lives branch away from each other and yet remain intertwined. It's a story that explores the intricacies of identity, family and race in a provocative but compassionate way.

AND It’s P R I D E month!

An Annual LGBTQIA+ Pride Celebration

Every year, during the month of June, the LGBTQIA+ community celebrates in a number of different ways. Across the globe, various events are held during this special month as a way of recognizing the influence LGBTQIA+ people have had around the world. Why was June chosen? Because it is when the Stonewall Riots took place, way back in 1969.

In honor of PRIDE month, we are featuring Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala.

On the surface, Niru leads a charmed life. Raised by two attentive parents in Washington, D.C., he's a top student and a track star at his prestigious private high school. Bound for Harvard in the fall, his prospects are bright. But Niru has a painful secret: he is queer--an abominable sin to his conservative Nigerian parents. No one knows except Meredith, his best friend, the daughter of prominent Washington insiders--and the one person who seems not to judge him.

When his father accidentally discovers Niru is gay, the fallout is brutal and swift.

Coping with troubles of her own, however, Meredith finds that she has little left emotionally to offer him. As the two friends struggle to reconcile their desires against the expectations and institutions that seek to define them, they find themselves speeding toward a future more violent and senseless than they can imagine. Neither will escape unscathed. (From dust jacket)

Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse is a Graphic Novel about coming of age, gay, during the Civil Rights movement

The Color Purple by Alice Walker also fits BOTH themes!

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is a contemporary novel that mixes politics & romance

Middlesex by Jeffery Eugindes is about a hermaphrodite

Author Xan West (z'l!) wrote about marginalized people (black, trans, Jewish, gamers...) in all kinds of relationships, and their books are available via OverDrive: https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=xan+west&autoLibrary=t&f-consortium=all%7cAll+saved+libraries

Local Gold Award candidate Girl Scout Madison Berardi created a Reference Guide that is now available for checkout at the Library (and all 4 elementary schools!) and we are in process of developing a series of booklists and social media promotions encouraging residents to exercise body and mind: take a hike with a good book! Madison's beautifully photographed and captioned fact-filled guide book might be a good place to start.

We added 440 items in April! Subscribe to Wowbrary for a weekly email delivery of our New Titles newsletter (includes new OverDrive titles!) or check out the CAROUSELS feature in our catalog, which highlights new titles at https://grafton.cwmars.org/.

Want to expand your access to online resources? Anyone who lives, works or goes to school in Massachusetts can sign up for a FREE Boston Public Library e-Card, then visit their website to get even more content! (hint – it’s good for their OverDrive catalog of eBooks and eAudio and eVideos and eMagazines, too!)

Not sure where to begin? Watch a YouTube tutorial created by our very own Jane Burough!

The MA Trustees of Reservations enjoy and care for more than 100 special places - roughly 27,000 acres - all around Massachusetts. For more than a century, The Trustees have been on the ground in communities across Massachusetts, working to protect special places, providing loving care of our reservations, building creative new programs to engage people, and sharing our expertise with neighbors and partners across the state. For more information about the locations to visit, go to https://thetrustees.org/content/go-pass/

MANY DATES THROUGHOUT JUNE!

Self-Guided Mindful Summer Saunter

Stevens to Stevens Trail | North Andover

Rejoice in the gifts of June on the trails.

Want to visit one of The Trustees locations? Reserve a museum pass on our website.

Stay Tuned for a separate Summer Reading email blast and

new Lego programs on the GPL Event Calendar!

See all of our upcoming LIVE and PASSIVE PROGRAM events, including Children & Teens:

See what is

happening

around town:

Visit print.princh.com or download the PRINCH app on your mobile device to send and pay for printouts – $.20 for black and white, $.50 for color.

Our printer is #103048, or you can search by location.

Missing the flag at St. Andrews? The tattered remains of Old Glory have been removed and handed off to the Grafton Veteran's Agent for proper disposal, and a new one has been ordered. We have a interior flag on site that will relocate the renovated library with us.

Sign up for individual newsletters and stay up to date with the latest news, events, items and more!

Teen - for grades 6-12 and their caregivers

Children for ages 0-grade 5 and their caregivers

Wowbrary - weekly new releases of library materials in digital and physical formats.

Questions? Please contact info@friendsgpl.org.