Director's Letter

March was a good month. We kicked off the month with Plant Guy Eric's Cannabis Education program, sponsored by the Douglas Cultural Council. The program was excellent, and will be presented at the Grafton Public Library on 4/20 if you missed it and have regrets.

We finished the month with Pop-Up Art School's Clay Yeti Luminaria program, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, where 15 kids got to make their own molded clay night lights! Check out a couple of these clay cryptids:

March also continued our trend of high circulation. Douglas residents borrowed 1,930 books, 39 audio discs, 68 magazines, 385 DVDs, and 1,567 digital loans. 42 patrons checked out laptops, and 155 logged into our wifi network.

Let's count audiobooks and ebooks as books. The content is the same, so there is no reason we should not. Let's also assume patrons actually read what they borrow. That means 114 books are being read or listened to out of our collection every day by Douglas residents. Bravo, Douglas!

If we include everyone who uses our collection--not just Douglas residents--that number becomes 216 books per day! In the words of Marie Kondo, "This sparks joy."

-- Justin Snook

Story Walk on the SNETT: Ethan Chisholm's Eagle Scout Project

Thanks to Ethan Chisholm, a local boy scout of troop 316 working on his Eagle Scout project, we are getting a sturdy, attractive, all-weather, permanent storywalk installed on the SNETT! This will be a significant upgrade to the yard signs we have been using to deploy our storywalks, and the ease of switching out material means we change it more often and make poetry walks, puzzle walks, riddle walks, and more.

If you would like to help Ethan fund this project, he is seeking donations. You can bring cash or check donations to the Library, or venmo him funds here. For $150, you can sponsor a station and get a dedication plaque!

Upcoming Book Clubs:

• April 11, 4:00pm -- Young Reader's Club: Sweet Dream Pie by Audrey Wood
• April 11, 6:30pm -- Intrepid Readers: Sailing Alone Around the World by Captain Joshua Slocum
• April 13, 4:00pm -- Book Wizards: I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
• April 25, 3:30pm -- Book Bunch: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Hunt
• May 16, 6:30pm -- SciFi Book Club: Memory's Legion by James S. A. Corey

See our calendar for more events and more details!

Building Funds are now at $158,177.42

Bits & Pieces with Rebecca Lavallee: Historic Districts

The topic for this month’s Bits & Pieces can once again be attributed to an ongoing project. This time the project is being worked on in conjunction with the Douglas Historical Commission (disclaimer: I am a member of the Commission). The Douglas Historical Commission has been working towards a Downtown Douglas Historic District. Now, before you get out the pitchforks and protest signs, let’s dive into what a Historical District is and what it means for you, the homeowner.

Douglas is eligible for two types of historic districts:

The first is a Local Historic District, which is the strongest form of protection to a town’s treasured historic resources. Local Historic Districts are administered by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, under the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts General Law requires that there is a two-thirds majority town meeting vote in order to create a Local Historic District. If your home or business falls within the Historic District, your local Historic District Commission must approve any proposed changes to exterior architectural features that are visible from a public way. A Local Historic Commission also has oversight over any new builds to the district, ensuring that the designs will be compatible with existing architecture. It is believed that by establishing a local historic district, “...a community recognizes the importance of its architectural heritage and how vulnerable it is to inappropriate alterations without this local regulation.”

The second is a National Register District, which is a part of the National Register of Historic Places. “The National Register of Historic Places is the list of individual buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts, deemed important in American history, culture, architecture, or archaeology.” The National Register of Historic Places is administered by the Secretary of the Interior and is a federal designation. Unlike a Local Historic District, being placed on the National Register does not impose any restrictions on alterations done by the homeowners. Once a district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is automatically included in the State Register of Historic Places. 

Both Local Historic Districts and National Register Districts come with benefits outside of historic recognition. The biggest benefit is obviously the protection aspect of a historic district. While the National Register District does not provide the same protections as a Local Historic District, it still provides a level of protection against any state or federal projects that could have an adverse effect on the historical area. There can be tax incentives that are associated with rehabilitation projects for these districts, as well as government funding provided through grant programs. 

Regardless of which type of district a town or city chooses, the intention is the same. Preserving and honoring the history of the town and townspeople. In the next Bits & Pieces, I’ll delve into Historic Districts and Douglas, and preservation of Douglas’s history.