Dear Boylston Community, 

Did you notice a few snowflakes in the air this morning? Winter is fast approaching. As we prepare to enter a new season, I want to share some of the major successes we have experienced at the library over the last few months.

We saw record-breaking numbers in our Summer Reading programs with over 1,000 participating adults, teens, and children. Our community is reading! We also saw record numbers of people visiting the library on a daily basis. 

After a busy summer our staff transitioned to preparations for the 2nd annual Fall Festival on the Common. You told us you wanted to see some large-scale community celebrations, and we listened. With sponsorship from the Boylston Public Library Foundation, Inc. as well as Clinton Savings Bank and Creative Event Services, Fall Fest is our biggest event of the year. 

Use of digital materials has increased in recent months, and we now have the resources to regularly perform digital asset management to ensure diverse collections are available for you. We work hard to maintain a variety of audiobooks, ebooks, movies, television shows, newspapers, magazines, and scholarly materials. Boylston card holders have access to several different services and databases in addition to what is offered through our CWMARS network. If you're not taking full advantage of our online resources, reach out to learn what you can access for free through the library. 

What are we working on next?
We're preparing some upcoming additions to our regular services. After being awarded an American Library Association grant this June, we've held community conversations and sought feedback on how to make the library more autism-friendly. I want to thank everyone who took the time to get involved with this process. Our next steps are to implement some of the ideas and action items from our research. There will be some exciting new additions to the Children's Room in the year ahead!  

One of the initiatives of our Strategic Plan is to develop a comprehensive "Library of Things." The Library of Things will provide various materials for the community to share. I'm happy to announce that Boylston Parks and Recreation has generously donated disc golf sets as well as a pickleball net with rackets and balls. These items are now available to borrow. What other types of items do you want to have access to through the library? 

You belong here. 

Erica Hout, MLIS
Boylston Public Library