About

The Board of Library Trustees is a group of nine Bridgewater citizens who are elected individually in the annual town election for three-year terms. The Board is one of three elected town Boards and each Trustee is a representative of the Bridgewater citizens, collectively. The Board volunteers to provide oversight and advisement to the Bridgewater Public Library and Library Director in the pursuit of their mission to educate, inform, enrich, and inspire.

The Board is active in supporting Library and Town events and outreach, in providing recommendations on Town Charter and other policies that govern the Library, and in advocating for resources to support the Library as it supports our community. Public attendance at the Trustees' meetings is both welcome and encouraged.

Trustee Reading Recommendations

A Statement from the Bridgewater Public Library Board of Trustees

Statement on Freedom to Read

Images from the Fall 2023 Library Book Sale

Trustee Tidbits

Board of Library Trustees Yearly Report for 2024

The year 2024 was once again one of productivity and engagement for the trustees. In January we joined library staff and patrons in saying good-bye to Ann Gerald, assistant library director, and thanking her for her many years of service. For many, Ann has been the face of the library and her contributions legion. The trustees gifted her with a lovely, cable knit afghan, acknowledging her Irish heritage and fondness for all things Irish.

The month of April always brings with it two important events: National Library Week and the Town Election. The former is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate all the ways libraries throughout the country enrich our lives despite the many challenges they face day to day. This year National Library Week was observed April 6-13
and National Library Worker's Day April 8. Our staff is a dedicated and hard working one that assist patrons in a myriad of ways. The trustees honored their work by
providing flowers to the staff lounge and coffee, sandwiches and other treats on their special day. Each staff member received a hand written note of appreciation. At the end of the month, Jen Anderson, Stacey DeCotis and Matt Gerritsen were re-elected to another three year term on the Board. Collectively we were happy to have their
continued, valued participation with our future endeavors.

Again this year, BCCR, who sponsors the event, asked us to participate in

Bridgewater's Juneteenth celebration held on June 22. To prepare the community and in particular library patrons, we established a Storybook Trail outside the library along the side of the driveway. This "trail" consisting of poster sized pages tells the story of the origins of Juneteenth and why it is important. It did catch the eye of patrons as they drove in or walked to the library. On the actual date of the celebration, the Storybook Trail was relocated to a lovely, winding pathway at University Park where the event was held. In addition, we set up a table and handed out a variety of Juneteenth activity sheets for children, each set tied together with a colorful ribbon color coded by age level. This was very popular with youngsters and their parents as something they could take and work on at home, thus learning more about the importance of Juneteenth.

An activity we look forward to each year is our participation in Christmas on the Common. For the last several years, we have passed out gently used, wrapped books given for free to children of all ages. Despite the bitter cold, four of our trustees braved the elements and distributed several hundred books to happy, delighted young
recipients. A week later, the library staff hosted a holiday open house at the library at which more books were handed out. Two of our trustees made additional contributions to this festive event: Nancy Donnelly who played the piano and led a song-a-long and Matt Gerritsen who was a terrific Santa.

For the last two years, the trustees along with Library Director Jed Philips have been desirous of establish a new Friends of the Bridgewater Public Library. It took some time before a suitable leader could be found. In the spring, however, Mark Linde agreed to spearhead this effort. The first meeting of the nascent group was held in July and attracted approximately 15 individuals interested in joining this effort. Later in the fall, the Friends ran a book sale which was quite successful and netted over $1,000. Several trustees have been especially involved with the Friends as they build their efforts to support the library financially.

Throughout the year, trustees continued to augment their webpage on the library website with monthly Trustee Tidbits. These submissions often focused on past and upcoming events. Also included on the web page is the most recent Library Trustee Yearly Report. This year we added book recommendations with each trustee offering a suggested book he/she found a worthwhile read. These recommendations are updated three times a year and provide a direct link so patrons can easily put them on hold to check out.

Overall, the trustee continue to carryout their mission as stated in the Town Charter to provide free access to the public library. In concert with our director Jed and his
talented staff, we continue to support the BPL's goal to educate, inform, enrich and inspire. We welcome attendance at our monthly meetings and also may be reached at trustees@sailsinc.org with any comments or questions.

Respectively submitted,

Constance H. Franciosi

Chair, Board of Bridgewater Public Library Trustees

Members of the Board

Jennifer Anderson Joan Carson

Nancy Donnelly Stacey DeCotis Janet Dye

Matthew Gerritsen Danielle Oliari

Nancy Sarno

Board Members

	Constance Franciosi BA Ohio Wesleyan University, MA Ohio State University, MAR Yale Divinity School, EdD Boston College Retired Special Education Department Head with Brockton Public Schools When not at the library: I like to travel the country and world vicariously through the magic of amateur radio.

	Danielle Oliari BA Boston College, MAT Boston College, MA New York University COO, Prinicipal CNT at CNT DEP, Director Little Brick Schoolhouse When not at the library: I enjoy (almost) anything with my family, reading, and dancing.

	Janet Dye BA Michigan State University, MS Northern Illinois University Retired teacher of children with Learning Differences, current tutor of elementary aged children, mother and grandmother. When not at the library: I can be found reading, gardening, quilting, enjoying physical activity, and volunteering for my community and church.

	Jennifer Anderson BA UMASS Lowell, MA Endicott College Special Education Teacher for Brockton Public Schools When not at the library: I like to go hiking and exploring new places with my son.

	Joan Carson BA UMASS Amherst, M. Ed. Fitchburg State University Retired Kindergarten Teacher When not at the library: I enjoy reading, knitting, sewing, traveling, fitness classes, and most of all, time with my children and grandchildren.

	Matthew Gerritsen BA University of Connecticut, Juris Doctor Suffolk University Attorney When not at the library: I can be found watching soccer games, loiter over coffee, and work on our old house.

	Nancy Donnelly BS Psychology M.A.T. BSU Semi-retired piano teacher When not at the library: I can be found playing as a church musician, literacy tutoring, choral singing, and playing piano for a group of singers at the Raynham Senior Center.

	Nancy Sarno BS Ed BSU, Graduate work at BSU and UMASS Boston Retired physical education teacher When not at the library: Retirement has meant more time for reading, gardening, traveling, community service and the grandchildren.

	Stacey DeCotis BA Ed Stonehill College, MA Special Education Lesley University Middle School English Teacher When not at the library: I am spending time with my family, especially outdoors, volunteering for community events, and writing.