July Newsletter

In this Newsletter: COVID-19 update, Expansion Update, Online programming, and more!

JULY NEWSLETTER

COVID-19 UPDATE

The Grafton Public Library will remain CLOSED to the public as we move into Phase 1 Step 2. Thank you for continuing to return items in our Book Drop. For items too large or fragile for the book drop, please call the Library (508-839-4649) Mon-Sat between 10am-4pm and we will schedule a drop-off time and put a large return bin out, weather permitting.

We will begin to circulate materials via

NO-CONTACT TAKEOUT from our porch

beginning Monday July 13, weather permitting.

This estimated date is subject to change pending availability of PPE. We may shift our plans as we have new COVID-19 data.

We will continue to offer home delivery service for the aged, infirm or incapacitated as capacity allows.

If you would like to request an item, you can:

Call the Library at 508-839-4649 Mon-Sat between 10am-4pm. Leave a message and we will return your call.
Email graftonlibrary-ma@gmail.com or info@graftonlibrary.org - we need you name, card number, phone number, and the request.
Log on to your library account and place a hold yourself. If the item is AVAILABLE in Grafton, place a copy hold. The C/W MARS site has instructions for how to search for items, place a hold using our Evergreen catalog, and how to manage your library account online. We are very happy to do it for you!
If you do not have a specific author/title request, we are happy to put together a collection of material to delight and surprise you!

Please DISREGARD any text or email alerts about item availability for now. You may log into your account online and see that holds have arrived, but this does not mean items are actually available for pickup.

We will be calling you directly to notify you of the availability of your items and to schedule a pick up window: Mon-Sat, between 10-4, beginning next week. We will extend hours as needed based on this trial run.

When you arrive to pick up your items:

Items are located on the covered porch (red doors to the sanctuary).
Wear a mask from your car to the pickup location and back.
Observe social distancing. If you see another patron picking up their items, please stay at least 6 feet apart and give them space. We will provide markings for your convenience.
Obey all posted signage and staff directive
Help yourself to hand-sanitizer before touching items, including railings, the book cart, etc.
Do not walk into the library, even if the door is open.
Do not approach staff.

Only staff and trained volunteers will have handled your requested items. We are taking all precautions to provide a safe and healthy environment, including quarantining items between patrons, sanitizing surfaces, washing hands frequently, and not working if feeling ill or in contact with anyone with COVID-19 symptoms. If you would like to take additional precautions, the Institute of Museums and Libraries has conducted independent research and recommends quarantining items for 72 hours upon receipt, and you may feel more comfortable setting items aside for a few days before cracking open that book.

A reminder: please do not microwave materials to sanitize them. A three-day time-out is all that is necessary.

We have enabled auto-renew and extended due dates through 9/1/2020. Still see a fine on your account? Don't worry, we won't collect! If you are seeing a fine on your account, it may just mean it did not renew because someone is waiting for the item, in which case, please bring it back at your earliest convenience.

We are not charging fines through August 31. When we check items in we will use amnesty mode – no fines.. Even though there may be a charge on the account, you should still be able to use databases, Overdrive, Freegal, Hoopla and other digital resources. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any issues. Feel guilty? Food for Fines is still part of the Summer Reading Program!

If we fail to remove a fine from your account, please give us a call and we will remove it.

Please don't be alarmed if items returned in the book drop remain on your account for a few days. We are quarantining everything for 72 hours before checking in.

Please do not leave items outside of the Book Drop. Items are still checked out to you and borrowers are responsible for all materials checked out - items must be in a dry and safe location for us to receive them back.

If the Book Drop is full, please hold your items and call the Library at 508-839-4649 between 10am-4pm. Please remain in your vehicle if you see a staff member swapping the full bin for an empty one.

Please do not donate materials via the Book Drop. We are not taking any materials donations at this time.

Please return Grafton items (barcode begins 37445) directly to Grafton. Although some local libraries may be opening their doors or book returns sooner, there is NO need to overwhelm neighboring libraries.

Statewide delivery has started up again! We are now receiving items you may have placed on hold in March. We will be calling you this week or next to schedule your pick of items.

We do not have dates for reopening to the public or resuming in-person programming at this time. Once we complete Phase 1, we will move into Phase 2 (patrons allowed to enter but NO further than the circulation desk) and then Phase 3 Step 1 (browsing the collections at 40% capacity).

Our virtual summer reading program, Imagine Your Story, is underway; details at www.graftonlibrary.org/srp.

We continue to return phone calls and emails daily between 10am-4pm; please don't hesitate to reach out or visit us on Slack or Facebook for suggestions for what to read next, or help with digital resources!

REMINDER: If you don't have a library card (or know someone who needs one!) please complete a digital card application and we will issue a card number for access to digital resources. When the Library reopens, proof of residency (or proof that you live, work, go to school or own property in Grafton) will be required to get a physical card and check out physical items (books, movies and more).

The Grafton Public Library continues to function as a digital branch ! For a complete list of resources, please visit https://www.galepages.com/mlin_c_graftpl/all

Please continue to wash your hands regularly and if you have any flu-like symptoms, please stay home until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours without medication. Check our website for a list of resources for students and for self-quarantined adults.

Please note that all Library information comes through either our newsletter,

our website, our social media pages, or Town of Grafton.

Beth Gallaway,

Library Director

Expansion Update

Construction Update from Andy Deschenes, Clerk of the Works

Over the last month, you may have noticed a LOT of progress! Drainage (pipe and structures) is about 80% complete. Areas to be paved are 95% backfilled, compacted and to grade. Another! Underground Storage Tank (UST) was discovered approximately 8’ off of Upton Street adjacent to a telephone pole. It was removed and the impacted soil around it was tested and removed. Soil test results are pending.

No further concrete work has been done on the foundations but the new footings that are directly at the east face of the existing building are currently going in, after weeks of discussion and varying plans about how best to do this work.

Approximately half of the steel frame is erected, from column lines 1-5. The remainder will be in place in July. No significant issues, we have a good steel subcontractor.

The masonry work at the north gable end of the existing building has not yet been completed; an RFI associated with the work took a long time to be answered. The Historic District Commission approved the color of mortar to be used on the north gable end repairs. It may look a little light at first, but will age to match the existing building. The existing chimney was slated to have the top 6’ removed and due to the adjacent footing work starting now it was removed for safety purposes.

The plaster walls in the basement have been removed. Underslab plumbing, Underground Tel/Data, site lighting conduits and underslab conduit are all scheduled to begin the week of 7/6/20.

Soil removal is nearly complete at this point so we’ll have a final tally on that massive change order in July. There have been a number of other PCOs generated that have been heavily reviewed, revised and combined into a Change Order for the committee’s review. The total for those PCOs is $155,027.As of the end of June, our contingeny is at $765,699.

Work is on schedule – the key to maintaining the schedule was to get the steel erected so that masonry can begin on time. The work at 8.4 line took a long time to resolve and has held up foundations and steel but has not impacted the overall schedule. Submittal review and approval has been good; RFI response times could be better (from a field perspective). We are expecting to pave (binder course only) in the second week of August.

We have had very good adherence to standard safety practices on site, with a weekly safety review by independent consultant, and COVID-19 protocols in place and followed on site.

Our UTS representative has been on site to perform reviews of rebar and concrete and compaction testing of structural fill at roadways. LGCI (geotechnical engineers) has been on site for any excavation to provide guidance on the structural quality of the bottom of excavation. They will be involved in the work at 8.4 line. Weston & Sampson has been on site for groundwater monitoring well testing and to take soil samples from specific location around the excavation. The discovery of an additional UST was handled quickly by them including an additional filing with MA DEP. They are preparing a comprehensive report for the site which is required to be filed with the DEP in July.

We expect the mockup to be completed in July. The only remaining major item to be decided is the color of the siding -- colonial yellow or pewter grey?

Check out construction photos in albums on our Facebook Page:

Construction

Excavation

For project updates, including construction schedules, meeting minutes, and MBLC reports, please visit www.graftonlibrary.org/thetimeisnow.

Upcoming Library Planning & Building Committee Meetings:

Monday August 3 4:30 pm

Monday August 31 4:30 pm

Zoom Link TBA

Agenda & Minutes: https://www.grafton-ma.gov/library-planning-building-committee

2020 Virtual Summer Reading Program

To sign up now or learn more visit: graftonlibrary.org/srp

FRIENDS COMMUNITY READ

The Friends of the Grafton Library are promoting a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Community Read this summer, culminating in an online discussion!

Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/362151331434414/

Events over the last few weeks have alarmed, saddened, and deeply affected many people. Though social injustices in this country are not new, in the time of COVID-19, we are all facing many challenges all at once, which can feel overwhelming. Despite all of that, it is encouraging to see peaceful protests happening here and around the world and that people are seeking to educate themselves on the issues, which include institutional racism and police violence.

The Friends of the Grafton Public Library would like to help. We are hosting a Community Read: “Diversity, Equality and Inclusion”. We invite the public to read something on the topic, and then come together on Zoom Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 7:30pm, to discuss these important issues through the lens of the book or books participants have chosen to read.

The discussion will be facilitated by Ken Wagner, a founding member of the New England Region’s Antiracism / Anti-oppression / Multicultural Transformation team called GRACE. Ken has served for the last nine years on the Executive Steering Committee of the Allies for Racial Equity and just completed a two year term as president of that organization. He is currently active in the Montachusetts Martin Luther King Coalition. Ken frequently speaks at church and community events across the country with a focus on the examination of race and the impact of white supremacy on our lives.

See a complete list of suggested books online at https://www.facebook.com/events/362151331434414/

These books are available in various formats on two digital platforms: Overdrive and Hoopla. The Hoopla eAudiobooks and ebooks are available to as many people as would like to check them out. Overdrive items availability may vary as these digital copies behave more like paper books most of the time. Usually if all the copies are checked out, you have to wait for a copy to be available. However, as noted above, some formats are available for simultaneous use for a limited time. Other formats may exist in the Overdrive catalog (either the C/W Mars catalog or the partner library’s catalogs), but titles may need to be requested/placed on hold. These platforms require you to have a library card to check them out, complete a digital card application to obtain a FREE digital card for online use. If you need help, please contact the Grafton Public Library at info@graftonlibrary.org or 508-839-4649.

The Friends of the Grafton Public Library and the Grafton Public Library hope to bring people together in calm, respectful conversations that look at the facts of the situation, try to make sense out of them, and hopefully bridge ideological divides.

Upcoming LIVE Virtual Events

Virtual Book Discussion: Daytimers' Book Group

Tuesday, July 21 from 1:30-2:30 pm via Slack

Virtual Book Discussion: GPL Mystery Book Group

Tuesday, July 21 from 7:30-8:30 pm via Slack

Summer Songs with Mr. Bill

Thursday, July 23 from 10-10:30am via Zoom

Virtual Book Discussion: Reads Well With Others Book Group

Monday, July 27 from 7:30-8:30 pm via Slack

Virtual STEM Kids

Tuesday, July 28 from 10:30-11am via Zoom

Virtual Book Discussion: Inspirational Book Group

Tuesday, July 28 from 7:30-8:30 pm via Slack

Pumpernickel Puppets Virtual Puppet Show

Wednesday, July 29 from link available from 8am-8pm

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

Summer Songs with Mr. Bill

Thursday, July 30 from 10-10:30am via Zoom

Ongoing Passive Programs

#GraftonReads

Join us for on demand, all-ages storytimes now available online!

Virtual Program: DIY Face Masks

Create face masks at home!