Thanks to all...

I would like to thank the many people in Bridgewater and beyond who supported the Bridgewater Public Library and its staff during the past couple of months, as the natural consequences of the override failure have fallen into place.

             We appreciate the efforts of those who attended the candlelight vigil on September 18th, and for the signs and wreaths that were laid at the foot of the old beech tree standing as a sentinel out front.  We are thankful to those who gave interviews to the press, attended town meetings to speak on our behalf, wrote letters to the editor to champion our services, sent us emails and personal notes, and brought us flowers and cookies.  We are strengthened and energized by your support and friendship.

              Our library staff is grateful for the warm wishes of the hundreds of library patrons who stopped in to say good-bye and sign our memory books when we thought we were closing our doors.   Thankfully, due to the joint efforts of our Board of Trustees, the Advisory Board and the Selectmen, the Bridgewater Public Library is still open for a limited number of hours each week.  Although our hours were reduced from 63 in 2005 to 52 in 2006 and now to 15, we are pleased that our doors remain open. 

            In January or early February the library will lose certification, eliminating the option of borrowing from other libraries, and preventing us from receiving state aid.  We are no longer able to offer children’s programming or adult lectures, and our meeting rooms and art gallery will go unused.  We are severely impacted by our reduced budget.

 The town of Bridgewater has offered a free public library for the past 128 years, and we plan to continue.  With the assistance of our allies – our Friends group, our Trustees, and other advocates of a strong public library – we plan to “keep on keepin’ on” as best we can, offering a selection of fiction and non-fiction, movies and music, reference assistance, with a small staff of dedicated employees whose mission is to insure that members of the Bridgewater community have the right and means to free and open access to information and ideas.

                                                         Mary O'Connell
                                                                    Associate Director/ 
                                                                    Public Services    

New Hours

We regret to inform you that the library has once again cut library hours, due to budgetary constraints.  Our new hours are:

New Procedures for Holds Notification

Due to reduced staff, the following procedure has been implemented:

Patrons will need to check for themselves when items they are waiting for become available.  There are three ways this can be done:
                            *E-mail notification by the system
                            *Check your account in iBistro
                            *Call the library several days after placing a hold

 Tote Bags for Sale 

The Friends of the Library are selling small tote bags in four different colors: pink with brown trim, black with white trim, light blue with dark blue trim, and brown with aqua blue trim.  The price is $15.

This has been a great fundraiser and only 17 bags are left -- stop in and buy one before they're gone.

Ink Jet Cartridges fundraiser ongoing 

Please continue to collect used ink jet cartridges for the Friends of the Library.  Bring empty inkjets to the Reference Desk in a plastic bag. The Friends receive cash for each HP, Lexmark, Compaq, Canon and Apple cartridge with a print head.  Please do not put tape over the print head--it must not be damaged.

Thank you.

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our colleagues.....Victims of Bridgewater's latest budget cutbacks.        

Deborah Adduci, Maria Bumpus, Patrick Connolly, Brenda DeSousa, Joanne Doherty, Laura McCoy, Jane Murphy, Kathleen Noyes, Susan Scott and Dale Sheehy.

We will miss these ten people and our custodian whose position will not be filled.

So who's left???

                        *Elizabeth Gregg, Director
                        *Diane Dugal, Technical Services
                        *Mary O'Connell, Reference
                        *Ann Gerald, Circulation
                        *Marie Plouffe, Administrative Assistant
                        *Peggy Moriello, Technical Services
                        *Cindy Davis, Children's and Circulation
                        *Emily Torpey, Children's and Circulation

                        (*Hours reduced to part-time)

FOL BOOK SALE

Saturday, December 1st, 9a.m.-12noon (9-10 FOL only)
Lower Level Library -- Name your own price
A fundraiser for the benefit of the library

This and That:

Thanks to Friends...               

We are grateful to the Friends of the Library for the recent purchase of a vacuum cleaner to replace the old, broken one, which finally died.  Thank you!

Upcoming Holidays            
                                            

The library will be closed on November 22 and December 25 in celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Newsletter Schedule              

Because of the cancellation of programming for children, teens and adults, and the cutback in staff hours, we will no longer publish a FOL newsletter every month.

Newsletters will be sent seasonally, or as need arises.

We apologize for this change.

Window of Opportunity             

At the present time, the library retains its certification status.  Our patrons may still borrow items from other libraries and place holds on items from the network. 

When certification is lost, which will take place in mid-winter, this privilege will disappear.

Therefore, if there are items you would like to borrow from another library, or research that you need to carry out using items not owned by Bridgewater --- now would be the time.

Gift Account Established           

If you would like to donate money directly to the library, a gift account has been established.

                            Checks should be made out to:
                            Town of Bridgewater/Bridgewater Public Library
                            Memo to: Gift Account

As another option, the Friends of the Library continue to accept monetary donations which will be used to purchase special items needed by the library, as well as books and other materials.

Historical Room Hours         

Bob Wood is our Historical Room volunteer.  He will be in our Historical Room on Tuesday evenings between 5 and 6:45 p.m.

Museum Passes -- limited availability      

Museum passes will continue to circulate.  However, because of our limited hours, you may have to plan well in advance to pick them up during our open hours.

If you would like to reserve a pass, you may call the Circulation Desk during our regular hours.

Because we are anticipating a reduction in their use, it is unlikely that the passes will be renewed when they expire.  The passes are very expensive.

Newsletter editor Mary O'Connell

Last modified 01/30/2008