Building Funds Now at $236,934.18

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The Library will close on December 25 and January 1. Thursday deliveries & Saturday hours will not be affected.

Just one week and three days to go until 2024, assuming we don't all wash down the Mumford river between now and then! This year's holiday miracle was undoubtedly emptying the book drop on Monday and managing to get everything in dry.

Next year might see some winds of big change at the Library. I just submitted our budget request for FY25, and it represents something new in the grand scheme of things. Instead of asking for funding that incrementally improves on what we've had in the past, we are asking for the average level of funding that libraries serving our population range receive from their towns based on FY22 data. I was surprised to find how far below the curve we are, but 2024 is going to be an opportunity to correct that.

If our budget request is approved, we will make our archivist full time and hire 2 new part time library assistants. With this staff, we can stay open from 9am to 8pm Monday through Thursday, adding 12 hours to our weekly schedule and bolstering our capacity to conduct staff-led programming significantly. We will also add $18,000 to our circulating materials budget, create a $14,400 budget specifically for meeting digital holds demand, and use a new repairs and maintenance budget to start keeping the building in better shape. If you are interested, you can read all about it in the budget presentation: Shooting for Average.

Happy Holidays. Come visit us. Renew you account if it is expired. Register for a card if you don't have one. Let us teach you how to listen to free audioboks in Libby, stream free movies in Kanopy, surf the catalog, place holds, or enroll in delivery. We're here to help!

Thanks for Reading,

Justin Snook

The new book on the SNETT is Old Rock (is not boring) by Deb Pilutti.

Old rock may not be the fastest thing in the woods. He can’t walk, buzz, or fly about. He certainly can’t see as far as tall pine tree. But old rock has been around for a bit longer than his friends. He’s seen and done some cool things, too…

More info at: https://mysfpl.org/storywalk/

Did you know that Christmas Trees were not a thing in Douglas prior to the 1860s? In the words of C.H.B. Fielitz, "those stern old Puritans had an idea it was something to do with the Catholic Church."

Read Mrs. Fielitz's full account of Douglas's First Chrsitmas Tree in this month's Bit's and Pieces with Rebecca Lavallee.

Douglas Winter Walk:

The Douglas Winter Walk was magical. The Library was packed for most of the evening, and a lot of visitors were people we had never seen before (and hope to see again). We made paper-craft dreidels and ornaments, painted faces, created powdered doughnut snowmen, renewed library cards, and cheerily mingled!

December 9 in Douglas was a lovely evening of bustling sidewalks, busy storefronts, and holiday cheer. In numbers: We had 263 visitors at the Library who drank 2 gallons of hot cocoa (we obviously should have gotten twice that much). Roughly 200 Hershey’s kisses were either consumed or wrapped up in ornaments to take home.

Despite not really being “open,” we registered 5 brand new patrons, reactivated 7 expired accounts, and checked out 29 books. There’s no way we’re not doing this again!

Winter Storytime

Jan. 2 - Feb. 14

Monday, 10am - ages 18 mos - 2

Monday, 1pm - ages 3 - 5

Monday, 3pm - ages 4 - 7

Wednesday, 10am - ages 2-4

Contact Debbie at the Library for more information. Space is limited and registration is required. Call 508-476-2695 or email [email protected].

Covid Tests & Annual Town Reports

We are well stocked on COVID tests if you need to pick up some before the holidays.

We also finally have annual town reports! They are also free for the taking. If it turns out you have COVID and can't with your family, you can read up on 2022 municipal data instead!

Upcoming Book Clubs:
December 26, 6:30pm - SciFi Book Club: Crooked Kingdom.
January 2, 4:00pm - Book Bunch: The Lemonade War.
January 4, 6:30pm - Greatest Book Club Ever: The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas.
January 9, 4:00pm - Young Reader's Club: The Princess and the Pizza.
January 9, 6:30pm - Intrepid Readers: There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe.
January 11, 4:00pm - Book Wizards: Planet Earth is Blue.

Given the amount of interest teens have expressed in joining the SciFi book club, we are planing to start another young adult science fiction and fantasy book club. The day will be Thursday. Which Thursday of the month and exactly what time is yet to be determined, and we would like your input! If you are interested, please email Rebecca Lavallee at [email protected].

See our calendar for more events and more details!

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