Nancy Hahn, Sheffield, Retires

The Friends and Trustees of the Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield honored retiring librarian Nancy Hahn at a reception at the library on Friday, December 15, 2012.  The festivities and remarks were warm and informal led by Patrick Burns of the Friends.  Approximately 150 people attended the reception including several librarians from throughout the region:  John Campbell (Nancy’s predecessor), Kate Deviny (Gt. Barrington), Sharon Hawkes (Lenox), Anne Just (formerly Gt. Barrington), Chris Lindquist (Westfield), Shirley Keech (formerly WMRLS), Mary King (Massachusetts Library System - MLS), Mary Kronholm (Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners - MBLC),  Mark Makuc (Monterey), Georgia Massucco (formerly of Lee), Katie O’Neil (Stockbridge), Dan Paquette (Lee), John Ramsay (Springfield), Jan Resnick (MBLC), and Rosie Schneyer (formerly Stockbridge.)  Representative Smitty Pignatelli commended Nancy’s service as did Sheffield officials, Friends, library users and Trustees.  Chris Lindquist, President of the Western Massachusetts Library Advocates (WMLA), presented Nancy with a bouquet of flowers and a certificate thanking her for her contributions to the library community.  It was an evening of good company, great food, and an opportunity to honor Nancy’s 11 years of dedicated service to the town of Sheffield.

Take Action: Build Community Support

The MLS and MBLC, partnering MLA, MLTA, MFOL, MSLA, WMLA and CCILA, know how important advocacy is to our libraries.  Through formal and informal presentations, you will learn the tools, skills, and the stories that create an easy 3-level approach to building support for your library.  Nancy Rea will provide the formal tools and guide you through practical exercises that will develop your message and advocacy plan.  Next John Ramsay and Eric Poulin will provide the real-life successes and challenges they have faced while building advocacy in their communities.  We also want to hear your stories.

You too, can take action and bring a buddy!   Two are always better than one!  This program is appropriate for library administration and staff, trustees and other governing boards, Friends groups and local community members.

• Saturday October 27, MFOL/MLTA Joint Annual Conference at Worcester Technical High School (Go to mlta-online.org to find out more and register.)
• Thursday, November 1, from 3 - 5p.m. at the Osterville Public Library, Osterville MA
• Thursday, November 15, from 6 - 8p.m. at the Bushnell-Sage Memorial Library, Sheffield MA

Register for the Osterville and Sheffield events through the MLS website:  masslibsystem.org

Contact Deb Hoadley at 866-927-7228 ext 309
Or email dhoadley@masslibsystem.org for more information

Friends of WMRLS Annual meeting

Hello everyone:

As has been announced, the annual meeting of the Friends of WMRLS will be on Oct. 9, 2009 at the Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield. Coffee will be offered at 9:30, meeting is scheduled for 10 am - 12 pm.  Complete information, directions, and an online registration form are available on the WMRLS Continuing Education website.
Hope to see you there!

We are hoping to make a change in Article 111-Membership, Dues, and Meetings Sect. 2 Dues. Please see below for the change in membership year. For the last few years the membership year has been Jan-Dec. We are petitioning the members to change that to October 1 - September 30.


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Changes to BY-LAWS: the Governing Document of Friends of the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System Inc. to be voted on at the Annual Meeting, Bushnell-Sage Library, Sheffield, MA on October 9, 2009 , 10 am to noon.

ARTICLE 111-Membership, Dues, and Meetings

Section 2. DUES: Annual dues of members shall be fixed from time to time by the Board of Directors. Dues to run from October 1 through September 30 of each year.
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For your information, the Friends' bylaws are posted on the Friends' website at http://friends.wmrls.org/pdf/bylaws-10-15-05.pdf

Cordially,
Lynn

Local Authors Day at the Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield

On the first Saturday of November for the past 6 years, the Trustees and Friends of the Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield, MA, have hosted a Local Authors Day to celebrate local talent. Due to the space limitations at our library, we are able to host only the first 50 who accept from our database of over 230 local authors. Those 50 include authors and illustrators of children’s books, poets, cookbook writers, historians, writers of self-help books, sociologists, philosophers, and sports and mystery writers. It is a social event, not a fundraiser, for the authors and illustrators, whose profession is often a solitary one.

We are most fortunate in our corner of the tri-state area in western Massachusetts to have as much literary talent as we do. Our authors include a Peabody Award winner, an Emmy winner, and two Caldecott medal winners.

The authors and illustrators bring their books to display, sell, and autograph. The public often brings in books they already own for the authors and illustrators to sign, or they come to chat with the participants, or they bring their children to meet “real” writers. There is a coffee hour for the writers just before the public arrives and a luncheon for the participants after the morning’s event.

A group of volunteers prepare all the refreshments, the Selectmen and Town Administrator take part, the police direct the traffic, and the Friends of the Bushnell-Sage Library host the coffee hour and the luncheon. Those who work on the event feel privileged to celebrate our local talent at this popular annual event.

~ Nancy Hahn, Director, Bushnell-Sage Library, Sheffield