Former Administrative Assistant Alleged to Have Stolen $800,000 from Saugus Library

Ex-Saugus library employee accused of stealing over $800K: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Donations to library feared lost. Former worker charged in $800,000 theft. (Boston Globe, 12/18/2011)

Excerpt: Duffy, 65, is alleged to have diverted fees for overdue books and videos, and charitable donations, including more than $450,000 from the GE Foundation, into an account she controlled at Eastern Bank. She used the money to pay the mortgage on her Saugus home, dental bills, car repairs, jewelry, hotel stays, and other personal expenses, according to the indictment.

The alleged theft stunned Saugus, a town often in fiscal trouble. In 2007, the library was closed temporarily after residents rejected a trash fee to generate more revenue. After town funding slipped below state standards, the library lost its certification, as well as the chance to apply for state matching funds in 2008. Certification was restored a year later, after money was trimmed from other town departments for funding.

Ebooks, Netflix, and Library Building Projects (Part 127: Millis Public Library)

Progress on town’s ‘new living room’. (Boston Globe, 12/15/2011)

Excerpt: More than 10 years in the making, the new Millis Public Library is about to become a reality.

With construction slated to begin later this month on the $7.8 million project, the library’s board of trustees is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday morning at the site of the new building, a vacant lot at Exchange and Main streets.

State Representative David Linsky will speak, and representatives of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the state agency that oversees and supports public libraries, will also be present.

“We have come a long way from people thinking libraries are just a warehouse for books,’’ said Beverly Temple, chairwoman of the Millis library board. The new library is being thought of as a community center, she said. “ ‘The town’s living room’ sort of became its tagline.’’

The current Millis Public Library, built on Auburn Road in the late 1960s, is filled to capacity. Books line the top shelves of nearly every stack. The young adult section is composed of two beanbag chairs squeezed behind the stacks in an upstairs loft. Five staffers share one small office. And children’s story time, held three times per week, takes place between another set of collection stacks.

The library’s single meeting room accommodates 15 to 20 people comfortably, which recently proved to be a challenge when 75 youngsters and their parents showed up for a talk by “Diary of a Wimpy Kid’’ author Jeff Kinney. A leaky roof left the room mold-filled and unusable for most of last winter.

Ebooks, Netflix, and Library Building Projects (Part 121: Granby Free Public Library)

Current facility

Granby voters OK funds for new public library at special Town Meeting. (Springfield Republican, 10/25/2011)

Excerpt: In a special Town Meeting on Monday night, voters approved the transfer of $861,304 from the town’s Municipal Building Stabilization Fund to help build a new Granby Free Public Library.

The decision was met with applause, whoops and cheers in the gymnasium of Granby High School, where the meeting was held. Approval of the motion was so overwhelming that the moderator did not need to ask for a count.

Afterwards, an official estimated that, out of the 262 people present, the dissenting votes were in the single digits.

Renderings of new library

West Springfield Public Library Trustees Promote New Library at Open House

Current facility

West Springfield Public Library open house highlights new project. (Springfield Republican, 11/23/2011)

Excerpt: The West Springfield Public Library trustees hosted an open house and walk-through of the library on Oct. 26.

The event provided an opportunity for interested residents of all ages to meet library trustees, tour the current facility, ask questions and discuss the proposed $13.4 million new library project.

The event also allowed residents to see the conditions and space issues the library currently faces as staff members work to provide services to the public, according to director Antonia Golinski-Foisy.