Page 51 - Middleborough 2024 Town Report

M I D D L E B O R O U G H
PUBLIC LIBRARY DONORS
The Wilfred M. Silvia Library Trust continued to support the
indexing of the Middleboro Gazette, the purchase of e-book
titles, and Pressreader. The Silvia Trustees funded
generously in our Wonderbooks, Young Adult, Children’s,
Overdrive, and Adult Collections.
Other major donors included the Kramer family, the Peirce
Trustees, the Middleborough Cultural Council, Sylvia
Camandona, the Oak Point Book Club, and the
Massachusetts Cultural Council.
The Friends of the Middleborough Public Library were
active fundraisers in 2024, with concerts, aternoon teas, a
two-day mini-golf event, a Taste of Middleborough event,
and a murder mystery dinner. All the events were successful
and well attended.
VOLUNTEERS
Between January 2024 and December 2024, the
Middleborough Public Library benefited from 813 hours of
volunteer assistance.
Our volunteers assisted with shelving books, retrieving
book requests, maintaining the Library, and performing
many other invaluable duties. It is partly due to their eforts
that the Middleborough Public Library is such a
tremendous asset to our Community.
Volunteers are an essential part of the operations
of the Library, and we would like to thank and recognize
the following:
James Baldwin, Peg Chace, Andrea Chartof, Mary Ann
Cunningham, Sebastian Glaspey, Joan Guertin, Maddie
Landers, Kathleen Lynch, Grace Lynch, Diane Maddigan,
Belynda McCarthy, Joshua McCray, Linda Merritt, Melissa
Miller, Emmett Perkins, Betsy Pottey, Kathy Schofield, Gina
Smith, Mia Stevens, Jenna Sylvia, Marilyn Thayer, Jennifer
Tinkham, Boy Scouts Troop 64, and students from the AIMS
program at Middleborough High School.
The Library held a volunteer recognition event on April 6,
2025, to recognize our great volunteers for their time and
commitment to the Library.
CHILDREN’S SERVICES
The Children’s Department continued to provide the
community with free family programming throughout the
year, supporting schools and promoting youth literacy.
Homeschool programs continued to thrive this year,
including art programs, crats, music, and a play performed
at the Middleborough Council on Aging.
Leading up to the total solar eclipse in April, the Library
gave away 1400 pairs of free eclipse glasses. Nasa
Ambassador, author, and teacher Jana Grcevich led an
informative and engaging program on eclipses. On the day
of the eclipse, 100 Homeschool participants came to the
Library for hands-on activities related to the celestial event.
Summer Reading’s “Read, Renew, Repeat” challenge had
363 participants log over 5,600 hours of reading time, a
steady increase over the last few years. Families enjoyed
the Wild About Books photo challenge, where they sent in
pictures of their young readers with pets or stufed animals,
the Bruce Bear scavenger hunts, and the Downtown
Scavenger hunt made possible with the help of local
businesses. 44 programs were ofered this summer,
including a visit with Pine Meadow Farm’s animals at Battis
Field, NECWA’s shark activities, and a crat supply swap.
The Friends of the Middleborough Public Library and the
Middleborough Cultural Council provided funds for many
summer programs, including the event with
Grammy-nominated musician Divi Roxx Kids, which was
moved indoors due to rain but still drew 160 people.
Teachers from Mary K Goode Elementary and Henry B.
Burkland Elementary Schools helped run a summer book
swap. Toe Jam Puppet Band is an annual favorite that saw
200 people on the Town Hall lawn. Smokey Bear visited in
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