9 Takeaways From the Friends of the Library Meeting

A $25,500 fundraising goal for 2024 will pay for hundreds of programs for adults, teens and children

The Friends of the Tewksbury Public Library met last night on Zoom.  

App flap Library Director Diane Giarrusso reported that the MVLC Mobile App will be unavailable for the foreseeable future due to a vendor dispute outside the library’s control. Patrons should use the website to request books or check the status of their accounts. If you have any questions or concerns, you can call the library at 978-640-4490 or check the MVLC status page to learn about efforts to launch a new mobile app.

Holiday hours The Library will open late, at 11 a.m., on Thursday, Dec. 21 to allow for staff training. The Library will be closed Dec. 23 – 25 and Dec. 30 – Jan. 1, 2024, in celebration of the holidays.

Reading Rivals celebration After 7+ weeks of fierce competition and with a team of 598 readers, Tewksbury took home the win this year. The final score was 1,923,838 minutes to 1,898,106 minutes for Wilmington. To celebrate, residents are invited to stop by the library’s lobby for refreshments on Friday, Dec. 8 from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Reading Champ stickers will be available to the first 100 visitors. 

Tree walk The library is again participating in the Open Space and Recreation Committee’s Winter Tree Walk. The library’s Barbie tree is on the Pinnacle St. trail, while the Friends are at the Chandler Well Fields.

Tiny art show Community members of all ages are invited to express their creativity with TPL’s first Tiny Art Show, modeled on Wilmington’s event. In Wilmington, all ages worked in all mediums: Paint a tiny — 3 x 3 inch — canvas, draw a tiny picture, create a tiny sculpture, make a tiny felted or knitted creation, the tiny sky’s the limit.  Residents are asked to create their art for submission in January. Judging will be in February. Watch for more details soon. 

Ongoing fundraisers The 2024 Friends calendars, with original photography, are for sale now at the Open Space Gift Shop. The Friends’ annual Mystery Gift Card Raffle is ongoing. Residents can purchase raffle tickets now for $5. Each day through Dec. 24, someone will win a gift card worth at least $10. Winning tickets go back in the mix, so you can win more than once. Tickets are available online.

Funny money The recent Comedy Night was a success, according to organizer Sue Pedersen. Ticket sales totaled $2,800, the 50/50 raffle earned $225 and resident Christian Panusek made a $100 donation, for a grand total of $3,225. And, an anonymous donor covered the cost of the Elks hall. The Friends cleared a total of $2,775. 

Reason for the raising All Friends fundraising is to cover the costs of programming that’s not covered by the town. Giarrusso went over the library’s 2024 programming funding requests, which total $25,500, an increase of $4,250 from last year’s request. That covers adult, teen and children’s programming. There will be more in-person programming in 2024, though virtual programs are popular and will continue. 

In special programming, watch for  a “Living History” presenter on the first Monday, a concert on the second Monday, an author visit on the third Monday, and a craft night on the fourth Monday of each month. In addition, $5,000 from a $10,000 grant provided by the 100 People Who Care Tewksbury group will fund special in-person programs on the first and third Tuesday nights of each month, often hands-on workshops. The Library recently used that grant to bring in Sourdough Brandon, in photo, for a lesson on baking with sourdough, which was very well attended.

Giarrusso noted that TPL is currently benefiting from two grants from the Tewksbury Police Department. There will also be more inter-generational programming, like the poetry contest and Reading Rivals. The 20s and 30s programming is well attended — that group has grown to 220 people. Some attendees travel from Cambridge or further because Tewksbury is the only library that offers free, consistent 20s and 30s programming where people can socialize with their peers.

Clear the stacks Looking ahead, there will be a book donation drive on Saturday, Jan. 13 from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

The next Friends meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m., also via Zoom. Residents can donate or learn more at any time at the FoTPL website.