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Friends of the J.V. Fletcher Library, Inc. October Drive Through Grab Bag Book Sale: Sunday, Oct. 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. Books will be separated by genre, preselected, and placed into bags for customers to pay, grab, and go from the comfort of their car. There will be mystery, romance, popular fiction, biography, history, and more, 6-8 books per bag for adults. Kids & YA separated by age/grade, 10 books per bag. All bags $5, cash only.
New! Registration for Mother Goose – Join us on Tuesday or Thursday mornings at 10:30 a.m. until New England weather tells us no MORE. Due to increased interest and being mindful of the Governor’s guidelines for no gatherings over 50 people, and the need for contact tracing, Mother Goose has been changed to an in-person, weekly, REGISTRATION story time for babies and pre-schoolers. Register through our Events Calendar.
EACH PERSON MUST REGISTER INDIVIDUALLY – BABIES AND ADULTS.
Each child, baby, and adult must be registered individually and have individual tickets (ie. mom + two kids = three attendees, three tickets).
For now, this program is open to Westford library card holders only. We are so hopeful that Mother Goose can come back in some larger format in the spring but for now, this is what we have to do in order to keep everyone safe and to abide by the state guidelines. Thank you for your understanding.
If the weather permits (no snow, no rain, no gale force winds, no temperatures under 55 degrees), we will be OUTDOORS and SOCIALLY-DISTANCED on the grass between the library and the church. We will set out markers to socially distance families – since the ground may be damp from dew, please bring a blanket or portable chairs.
Youth Services staff will be masked and performing for you live on the lawn. Masks are required for all who attend except for children age two and under. Please help your children maintain social distance from other families.
Virtual Story Time and Book Club Online Registration:. Online registration for these programs is now available! We are using virtual meeting software for live story times and book club meetings – links to these events will be sent to registered users. Please see the website for descriptions of our selection of story times. Book clubs are open to Westford residents and non-resident Friends of the J.V. Fletcher Library. Book clubs are for grades kindergarten, 1, 2 , 3, and 4 and 5 (combined) and meet once a month from 4 to 4:45 p.m. The Non-Fiction Book Club is for kids in grades 3 and 4 and meets once a month on Monday afternoon.
Virtual Monday Mystery Book Club: Monday, Sept. 28 at 2:30 p.m. (note new time) Wake up your week with a stimulating book discussion. We meet on the fourth Monday of the month at 2:30 p.m. On Sept. 28 we’ll discuss A Dark-Adapted Eye by Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine. Email Sarah Regan at sregan@westfordma.gov for the Zoom link.
Job Seekers Virtual Meeting: Join us on Sept. 30 from 3-4:30 p.m. for “Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job” with Thomas B. Dowd III. To attend a WJS Meeting, please email Dina Kanabar at dkanabar@westfordma.gov. Attendees will receive a link to access the Zoom Meeting via email. Weekly topics may be found on our job seekers web page.
ADHD in the Family: Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. A one-hour virtual presentation that helps people understand more about ADHD, including its effects on both children and adults. Certified ADHD coach Linda King, PCC, ACCG, presents current research, effective treatments, and concrete suggestions for family members who either have or are affected by ADHD. Email sregan@westfordma.gov to get the Zoom link.
Virtual Adult Nonfiction Book Club: Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. Is truth stranger than fiction? Is it more entertaining? Find out in the Adult Nonfiction Book Club. We meet on the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m., on Zoom for the time being. On Oct. 6 we’ll discuss A World Lit Only By Fire by William Manchester. Copies are available on Hoopla and Overdrive. We are currently meeting online. Email Charles Schweppe at cschweppe@westfordma.gov for details.
Virtual Adult Book Club: Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. Interested in joining a lively book discussion group? Consider the J.V. Fletcher Library’s Adult Book Club. Our selections alternate from Fiction to Nonfiction each month. New members are always welcome! At our October 8th Zoom meeting, we’ll discuss Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. Email Kristina Leedberg at kleedberg@westfordma.gov for details.
LIVE IN PERSON Flying High Dogs: Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 3:30pm. Mike Piazza and four of the most athletic Border Collies on the planet will perform a variety of Frisbee and other amazing tricks on the Town Common. Mike is a multiple world finalist and world record holder in K-9 Frisbee and the current #1 Professional K-9 Frisbee performer in the world. Please sign up online to reserve a spot at this outdoor, socially distanced program starting Mon,. Sept. 28. This program is for all ages and again, takes place on the Town Common. Rain date Fri., Oct. 16.
Virtual Fake News with Kyle Moody: Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. Feeling overwhelmed with the surplus of conflicting information from multiple news outlets? Meet Kyle Moody, Fitchburg State University Assistant Professor in Communications Media. His program will show you how to determine what is trustworthy news and how knowing the difference can make you a more educated consumer. Email Sarah Regan at sregan@westfordma.gov for the Zoom link.
ComCat Returns!: After a six-month hiatus do to the shut-down in March, the Commonwealth Catalog (ComCat) is once again available for item requests. What is the Commonwealth Catalog? ComCat is a service of the state which allows residents of Massachusetts to request books, cds, and DVDs from public libraries throughout the state, including public colleges and universities. These items will be delivered to the resident’s home library. While some academic libraries, notably UMass Amherst and UMass Dartmouth, are still closed and their collections are still not available, the public libraries of the commonwealth are once again open to you via this service! ComCat can be reached through our website (www.westfordlibrary.org), go to the “Research” drop down menu, and click on “Commonwealth Catalog”) or our catalog (look to the right hand column for the link). If you have any questions about using ComCat, or want to know how to get a book not available from our consortium, please contact Charles at cschweppe@westfordma.gov or (978) 399-2309.
Limited Reopening: The J. V. Fletcher Library is open to the public on a limited basis. The soft opening is for limited browsing, per the Governor’s Re-Opening guidelines under Phase 3. In addition to CURBSIDE PICKUP, BOOK THE BROWSE TENT, LAPTOP ON THE LAWN, and reference phone assistance, a portion of the Library is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. The 11 a.m. hour is reserved for seniors and our high risk population. Each reservation is for one person. Only the middle floor of the Library is open, with displays throughout for browsing – please “JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER!” as items handled but not checked out must be placed in quarantine. At this time, patrons under the age of 18 will be referred to the Browsing Tent for an outside appointment. Only 10 patrons at a time will be in the library, with patrons exiting and new appointments entering on the hour; make an appointment via our Events Calendar. For more details and a list of available services, please visit our website or call us at 978-399-2300.
Curbside During Covid: Please place your selections on hold through the online catalog. You will be notified when your order is ready and you may come any time during our pick up hours. Inter-library delivery is now available, please expect longer delays than usual. Items received from other libraries will be quarantined for one week. Curbside Pickup is available Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Monday – Thursday 6:30-8:30 p.m. Please do not come until you receive a notification that your order is ready. When you arrive, please call 978-399-2300 (due to heavy call usage, we have updated the number to one that rings at multiple desks) and a masked staff member will place your order under the rear portico. Please wear a mask to pick up your items. If you have questions or need assistance placing your holds, please call us at 978-399-2300 or send us an email at westfordlibrary@westfordma.gov.
“Book the Browsing Tent”: Are you looking for new titles for you and/or your family? Do you miss browsing the stacks of the Library? Look for the form on our website and submit it to schedule a time to come and browse the selections personally picked for you by our staff. The form will inquire about your reading tastes or you can simply have us “surprise you” with some staff recommendations. We will also offer “Book Bundles” for children and adults. Choose a category and we will supply with a “bundle” of books. One of our Library staff will meet you in the tent with personally curated titles just for you! Check the website for the form, submit it, and then a staff member will reach out to schedule your appointed time. Fifteen minute appointments will be available for individuals and thirty minute appointments for families. To comply with Covid-19 safety re-opening guidelines, only one individual or one family will be scheduled at a time in the tent. This service is available Monday – Friday from 10-4. We can’t wait to see you under the tent! Per Governor Baker, masks are required.
“Laptop Loan on the Lawn”: Need to check your email or do some research? Perhaps you just want to spend some time catching up with friends and family on social media. You are now able to book up to thirty minutes on a laptop under a tent on our back lawn. Simply fill out the form on our website and a member of our Information Services staff will contact you to schedule a time. This service is available Monday – Friday from 10-4. We can’t wait to see you under the tent! Per Governor Baker, masks are required.
CLICK! CALL! CHAT! CONNECT!
- CLICK on ebooks, audiobooks, music, streaming video, and more at westfordlibrary.org
- CALL us at 978-399-2300
- CHAT with Reference at 978-399-2304
- CONNECT with us on FACEBOOK, TWITTER and INSTAGRAM
- CONNECT & sign up for the Friends eNewsletter to receive updates!
- EMAIL us at westfordlibrary@westfordma.gov
The J.V. Fletcher Library is located at 50 Main St., Westford. For more information, visit http://www.westfordlibrary.org or email us at westfordlibrary@westfordma.gov.
