Starting April 1, the Crotched Mountain Consortium between the Francestown and Greenfield libraries has been officially up and running.

This means that Greenfield cardholders can use their cards to check out physical materials (except for “Library of Things” items and devices) from Francestown and Francestown cardholders will be able to do likewise at George Holmes Bixby Memorial Library in Greenfield. Those items can be returned at either library and the staff will make sure they are brought back to their home library. Patrons will also be able to use their card numbers to login to both library catalogs and put items on reserve.

We look forward to serving our communities in this new venture and hope our patrons are as excited as we are.

 

Spring fun at the library

We’ve had a very busy fall and winter, and are looking towards the warmer weather of spring.

In February, we hosted our Puzzle Palooza, with the fastest time being one hour, 14 minutes to do a 513-piece puzzle of Noone Falls in Peterborough. We look forward to hosting another Puzzle Palooza in mid-July. We also hosted Ryan Richard for another cupcake decorating class; this time the theme was sharks. Both events were almost full, and we appreciate everyone who came out to have a good time.

Thanks to the Tewksbury, Ashland and Groton, Mass., public libraries, we have been able to add a lot of virtual programs to our activity calendars. We appreciate the generosity these libraries have shown towards New Hampshire to help us provide more program opportunities to our patrons.

We have a lot of great programs planned for this spring, including the annual Greenfield Spelling Bee and the annual Mother’s Day Tea. The spelling bee will be held on Saturday, May 3, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Greenfield Elementary School gym. This year, there will be a child and adult spelling bee. It is open to residents outside of Greenfield as well as Greenfield residents. Sign up at the library or online.

The Mother’s Day Tea will be in the Wensberg Room from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. Please register in advance for the tea party so we know the amount of supplies needed and if there are any allergies ahead of time.

IMLS funding cuts underway

In March, an executive order was signed to cut Institute of Museum and Library Services funding. We ask that you be patient as we wait for more information from the New Hampshire State Library, who are the ones in contact with IMLS about what could happen with this Executive Order in place.

Want to know what’s going on in town? The library has started a Greenfield Google calendar, which can be found on our home page under the “activity calendar” tab. You can also find out what’s going on at the library each week by signing up for our weekly email newsletter at eepurl.com/ihH0T5. 

Ella Cademartori is director of Stephenson Memorial Library in Greenfield.