Building Funds Now at $166,161.58

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Damascus Steel Dagger Raffle

Master Bladesmith Jim Saviano has graciously donated one of his creations--a unique Damascus steel quillion dagger--to be raffled off by the Friends of the Library. All proceeds will go to the Library Building Fund.

The dagger is on display at the Library, so come see it yourself! Tickets are $10 each and the drawing will be on October 24. The blade will featured during Oktoberfest and through the Friends Fall Auction.

We are humbled by Mr. Saviano's act of generosity and want to honor it accordingly. If you are a regular library donor, please consider donating during this period and picking up some raffle tickets!

If you have been on the fence about donating to the Library building fund, hopefully this incentive can entice you to take action! There's no limit to the number of tickets one can buy!

More info and pictures at: mysfpl.org/knife

Notes from the Director:

This Summer was a busy one. Deb's summer reading program had 59 participants who logged 530 hours of reading! Evan Maddy won the grand prize quilt. Meanwhile, we collected 203 surveys and information from 5 focus groups and 2 public forums to inform our building renovation plans. This information is currently being compiled into a building program by specialist Mary Braney, but some of the things y'all pointed out in the surveys have already been heard.

We will be trimming back the bushes next week and placing them on a maintenance schedule. An outdoor lounge area is incoming to the front lawn. The highway department placed some gravel down to alleviate the hump on the curb. These are all things that came out of the survey process, and more will come. Thank you all for your input!

Now we're ending the summer with Jim Saviano's spectacularly crafted knife on our circulation desk. I guarantee we have the coolest desk in CWMARS right now. If you are into blades, it is a masterwork. If you aren't, it is still really awesome. If you don't get the chance to come see it before Oktoberfest, visit the FoL booksale and buy a raffle ticket then! Then register for the Friends Online Auction kicking off thereafter!

Before Fall storytime and the generally frenetic pace of the pumpkin spice season overtakes us, we're trying to catalog a lot of music CDs. Marlborough Public Library deaccessioned their entire music CD collection. I expressed interest, and they gave us the whole kit and caboodle. First, we prioritized cataloging the ~500 CDs that were last copies in CWMARS so that access to them would go uninterrupted. Now we're taking on the rest of the lot--about 9 shipping boxes full. I had really better be getting back to cataloging now.

Thanks for Reading

Justin Snook

The current book on the storywalk is Pete The Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. Pete the Cat needs to introduction. He's cool. He's groovy. And he likes to sing. Parents, get ready to sing, too!

More info at: mysfpl.org/storywalk/

The wood on the benches out front has been replaced with fresh red mahogany thanks to Ethan Chisholm and Troop 316.

The picnic table is the start of another Eagle Scout project being undertaken by Jack Dooner of the same troop. Over the next few months, an outdoor lounge will start to take shape out front.

Read more here!

Friends of the Library Seek Auction Donations:

The Friends of the Library are now accepting donations for our 4th annual online auction! We’re looking for local goods and services to populate this year’s catalog. Donations can include (but are not limited to) services, talents, household items, artsy items, attic treasures, historic memorabilia, rustic crafts, etc. If you have anything you would like to donate, please email pictures and descriptions of your donation to:

[email protected].

Helpful descriptions include what the item is, how big it is, how old it is, who made it, any special stories behind it, and approximate value. Our deadline for accepting donations is September 14th at 8pm, but sooner is better!

The auction itself will begin at noon on October 9 and bidding will wrap up at 8pm on October 23. It will be entirely online, and all proceeds will go to the Library’s capital campaign to renovate the building and make it accessible.

The Friends are also accepting sponsorships this year for the first time! If you or your company would like to sponsor this year’s auction, the following tiers of sponsorship are available. Email the Friends at the address above to inquire:

Bronze: $500

Silver: $1,000

Gold: $3,000

Platinum: $5,000

Legendary: $500,000 (comes with a room named after you at the Library)

Upcoming Book Clubs:

September 7, 2023 -- Greatest Book Club Ever: The Stand by Stephen King.

September 12, 4:00pm -- Young Readers Club: Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson.

September 12, 6:30pm -- Intrepid Readers: The Cuban Affair by Nelson Demille.

September 14, 4:00pm -- Book Wizards: The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens.

September 19, 6:30pm -- SciFi Book Club: Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

September 26, 4:00pm -- Book Bunch: Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling.

See our calendar for more events and more details!

If you are a regular visitor and want to know about our book clubs for adults and kids, we now have a "book club" shelf right inside the door and to the left. Consider this the new one-stop shop for local social reading: