January 2025

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Looking back on 2024, the trustees and the town have much to be pleased about. It was a busy year at the library from the reinstatement of adult programming to the stellar summer reading program for the children. Our director, Adam Shlager has seen to it that the Weeks Public Library is indeed becoming the community center of Greenland. With the expansion of hours and Adam’s dedication to providing services to the community, the library is now a place that hosts many
town committees and community events beyond those sponsored by the library.

To name a few, the Recreation Department meets in the library regularly and the school is using the meeting rooms and is even scheduling parent teacher conferences. The Democratic Party meets regularly in the library as does the Book Group for the Greenland Women’s Club. 
For programming, there is a cookbook club that meets on the third Saturday of the month where they sample delicious recipes prepared by the attendees. There’s also a Monday evening book club and Movie Night is a favorite activity at the library. In addition, there is Mahjong, Cribbage, and a support group that meets regularly. All of these activities provide post-pandemic social support for our Greenland community.

While we’ve had a few glitches in our beautiful new building – a failed HVAC system and a broken sprinkler head – there was no challenge too great for our director to manage. When we hired a library director, we didn’t realize that we were also getting a facilities manager. That has been the happiest of events! While the repair to the HVAC system was costly, we are already seeing benefits in our utility bills. The broken sprinkler head certainly could have been catastrophic as we have seen at another library and in our own school.

Having now been in the building for a few years, Adam examined the teen and children’s space and decided with the staff that a few tweaks would make both spaces more user friendly. Due to the generosity of Kate White (a devoted patron of the library) , a renovation of the children’s space is underway and we look forward to its completion in early spring. The teen space has been reorganized as well. 

The library is staffed with a talented group of dedicated employees. The children’s programs are well attended and the library also regularly hosts groups of middle schoolers after Greenland Central School dismisses each day and provides a variety of programs for this age group. 
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the Friends as it is once again time for the annual Friends of the Library membership drive. The Friends certainly deserve the support of our community given the hard work that they did to ensure the completion of the library renovation. Without their Capital Campaign and its success, the library would certainly not be the town asset that it is today. Please consider becoming a Friend and supporting the group which meets monthly. It is a welcoming group that is always looking for new members with new ideas. There are enrollment forms at the circulation desk. Checks can be made out to Friends of Weeks Public Library and dropped off at the front desk or mailed to PO Box 184, Greenland, NH 02840.