Please continue reading below for all the ways that – even now – #LibrariesAreCommunity. And if you are not already following the Goodnow Library Foundation on Facebook and/or Instagram, please do so, as it's an excellent way to stay in the loop with all our community goings-on!
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Hello GLF friends,
Fall has arrived! I’m so ready. I crave routine, and September always provides a backdrop of built-in schedules to make my days more orderly. No doubt, however, it’s a new normal for all of us. Our children are back to school … but not really. The Library can be accessed … but not in-person. Our offices have moved to our homes and so the line is more blurred than ever between work and leisure.
Nonetheless, life moves on and I am optimistic! We have so many things going on at the Goodnow Library Foundation that it’s hard to keep up. Please bear with the lengthiness of this newsletter ... but what can I say when there’s so much to report?
My superstar “feature” for this issue is Marilyn Ellsworth, a longtime resident of Sudbury who has meaningfully engaged in so many worthwhile civic and social projects that I stopped counting as we spoke.
Because I have known that Marilyn is very active with the League of Women Voters, I've been thinking of her since our country has been celebrating the 100th year anniversary of women’s right to vote. In her work with the LWV, Marilyn has been instrumental in leading the charge for important changes in Sudbury. When she discovers a “need" Marilyn gets things done!
As always, thank YOU, our readers and supporters, who give generously to the GLF in various ways.
#StillWorkingFromHome,
Holly Bernene
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The Goodnow Library's Historical Room. Photo by Mitchell Green. |
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The Goodnow Library Foundation is happy to share that Article 48 passed at Sudbury's recent Town Meeting! On September 12, $150,000 in funding was approved from the Historic Resources category of the Community Preservation Act Fund to renovate the Library’s Historical Room. We, the Goodnow Library Foundation, are supplementing this amount with $50,000. The estimated total project cost is $200,000.
The renovation of the Historical Room is the final phase of the Goodnow Library’s multi-year “Reimagining the Second Floor Project.” This plan will allow for the beautiful Historical Room to be open to the public for a quiet space to read, write, and study. (Goodnow's patrons have been asking for this for ages!) It will also allow the Library to preserve its important archival material. We now have the go-ahead to get the work done. Please let us know if you would like to make a contribution specifically towards this renovation.
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On Sunday, September 20, Sudbury-based and international sculptor Janice Corkin Rudolf unveiled "Tree of Inspiration." The GLF "debuted" this presentation on Facebook Live, and we uploaded it to YouTube so that you may watch it right HERE or via the thumbnail below.
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Please take a moment to watch Janice discuss her artistic process as well as the story behind "Tree of Inspiration," which she sculpted to commemorate the newly renovated spaces on the second floor of the Library and to honor the legacy of Sara Sherman, for whom the NOW Lab is named. |
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The GLF’s annual gala committee is transforming Books & Brews into a 60-minute online event to be accessed digitally. Please join us on Saturday, October 17 from 7 - 8 PM and enjoy the program from the comfort and safety of your homes – complete with a catered dinner from Bakers' Best, to be picked up at the Library between 5 and 6 PM.
We’re excited and hope that YOU are too! We’ve retained the elements that make our galas special year after year – lively entertainment, delicious food, and a celebration of our Library and the community. Our virtual program will include a bartender from Sudbury's own 29 Rustic Mediterranean who will demonstrate how to make a specialty cocktail and a mocktail, three Moth-style storytellers thanks to Fugitive Productions, and a dynamic piano performance by Berklee-trained Patrick Durkin!
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We would like to thank Emerson Hospital for its generous Platinum Sponsorship of Books & Brews. If you plan to attend the program from
7-8 PM, but will not pick up a dinner, we will donate your catered meal to the staff at Emerson that evening.
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Thank you to all our sponsors, whose generosity is making this special evening possible: |
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We are pleased to be working with MediaBoss to bring an innovative virtual program right to your screen!
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Marilyn Ellsworth, accepting the "Citizen of the Year" designation at Sudbury Chamber of Commerce's 2019 Awards Ceremony. Photo by Stuart Beeby Photography. |
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Marilyn Ellsworth grew up in a small New Hampshire town with a tiny library. “I couldn’t wait to get in there for their limited open hours!” she recalls. She says she has always been an avid reader and she quickly read through all of the library’s children’s books, so she started reading adult literature. She remembers feeling resentful when the librarian felt the need to call home to Marilyn’s mother to ask if she knew what Marilyn was reading. Her mother said, “If she can read it, she can bring it home!”
Marilyn moved to Sudbury with her husband Bob and their two young daughters in July of 1975. Upon moving to town, the first thing Marilyn did was to take the girls to get their library cards. She recalls the librarian at the time, Carolyn Anderson, who was “legendary.”
How is the Goodnow Library “community” for you? “The Library has always been really important to me. I have had so many of my meetings at Goodnow for all of the groups I belong to such as for the Garden Club. With the League of Women Voters, we have had Candidate Nights at the Library and have also held healthcare forums for many years. Sometimes I love to go just for the quiet and for the phone not to ring! In short, the Library feels like home.”
Tell us about your involvement in League of Women Voters: “I joined League of Women Voters in 1978, and because of my nursing background, I have always been interested in social issues. Basically – because of my involvement in LWV – I found my voice.”
Some of the LWV’s local success stories include:
- Initiating conversations to get the Sudbury History Center and Museum built;
- A 1986 study of healthcare resources in and around Sudbury that resulted in the social worker position that is now held by Bethany Hadvab;
- Recognition of the trend of women returning to the workforce, resulting in a study that ushered in Sudbury Extended Day;
- Continuing to register voters, especially at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and Framingham State University. (Marilyn also wanted to remind people about the Library’s Drop-Off Ballot Box!);
What else? “In my spare time, I love to garden, quilt, read, and bake. I’m happy with everything I do. There’s so much to volunteer for. It’s been a blessing to have the type of work where I can see immediately how it helps people.”
The Goodnow Library Foundation is so grateful for the $25,000 gift that Marilyn and Bob made in 2017 to create Goodnow's Technology Center, a part of the "Reimagining the Second Floor Project."
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Thank you for your ongoing support!
Please don’t forget to make your annual donation to the Goodnow Library Foundation’s fall appeal. Did you miss the letter that showed up in your mailbox? If so, click HERE to read it. You may donate to the GLF online, by clicking HERE.
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Even a cursory glance at this edition of News from the GLF will show you that the Goodnow Library Foundation is busy, active, and constantly working to provide that "extra margin of excellence" for Goodnow . If you'd like a more in-depth look at what the GLF does, please peruse our 2019 Annual Report, which we released this summer.
Click HERE to read the GLF's 2019 Annual Report.
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