Becket & Washington's Community Library

Staff and trustees have been FOCUSED the last couple of months, organizing for spring and summer programming, as well as a huge library yard beautification project!

You may have noticed that we recently began installation of our new "Purr McEwen Educational Garden" on the front lawn of the library!  Already, we have the new native pollinator bed prepped, two raised beds installed and awaiting planting, along with garden-related programming in the works.

The wheelchair-accessible elevated bed will be constructed Saturday, June 4th by the local Girl Scout Troop, with guidance from Ron DeFoe, Cathy DeFoe, and Sam Harding. Mid-June, Gardens of the Goddess (Pat Parkins) will dig & prep a new perennial garden bed along the entire north side of the library.  The Scouts and the Becket Washington School students will help with planting the vegetable and herb gardens once the garden beds are prepped and ready!

We are working with the Becket Washington School staff to ensure the students and teachers will have access to the educational garden, scheduling garden/nature programming to supplement their curriculum needs, throughout each school year, from now on.

I invite you to stop by to stay up-to-date on the garden installation progress over the few months!  We are looking for volunteers to help with the perennial plantings, vegetable garden upkeep, as well as brainstorming additional gardening, nature, environmentalism related workshops.

Email me at: [email protected], if you are ready to volunteer with us!

Looking forward to your visits this spring and summer!

Covid and Community

We are aware that Covid case numbers increased substantially this spring, and while we are not, for now, requiring masks in the building, we ask that everyone take their health and the community's health into consideration and consider masking when indoors.  Staff has chosen to mask again, to minimize our own exposure, but also to protect our patrons.

Hopefully, the increased numbers will begin to drop soon, but in the meantime, please stay healthy and safe out there!

Book Donations Being Accepted Again!

Our Book Sale Committee will be available for Book/Audiobook/DVD donation drop offs on the following dates:

Tuesday, May 31st, 4-6pm
Saturday, June 4th, 9-11am
Tuesday, June 7th, 5-7pm
Saturday, June 11th, 10am-noon

We are unable to take encyclopaedias, dictionaries, or books with mildew/mold damage.  Thank you for keeping this in mind when you drop off!

Local author, Todd Norian, is working with West Stockbridge LIbrary, the Becket Athenaeum, and the Lee Library, to present his free virtual workshop on the benefits of Tantra Yoga.  All ages welcome.  Attendees do not need to reside in these three towns, so please share the workshop information with anyone you believe will be interested!

Our Fundraising Committee is looking for volunteers for each of the book sale dates!  We need help with sorting books prior to the sales; setting up tents, tables, and materials; watching over the sales and donations; and breaking down the tents, tables, and materials at the end of the day.  Plenty of tasks for everyone, whether you are able to lift book boxes, unload the materials onto tables, or oversee donations.

To volunteer, email here: [email protected]

Other Upcoming Events:
- Pre-School STEAM: Tuesdays, 1pm
- Storytime & Craft: Wednesdays, 10:30am
- Cookbook Club: TBD: July 11, 6pm
- CactusHead Puppets: Magnificent Monster Circus, July 23, 11am
- Herbal Tinctures: August 2nd, 6-8pm
- New England Birds of Prey by Wingmasters, August 20, 11am
- Storyteller, Eshu Bumpus, August 20, 2pm
- Wild Edibles Ethical Foraging: TBD
- Herbal Salves & More: TBD
- Pollinator Gardens: TBD

The Becket Athenaeum offers e-books, digital audiobooks, magazines, and video content! Our patrons have access to eight different library network collections: Boston, CLAMS, C/W Mars, Merrimack Valley, Minuteman, NOBLE, Old Colony, and SAILS.

Like regular library materials, electronic resources are checked out for a period of time and when they are due back, they simply leave your device and become available for the next interested patron. Also like other library materials, there are a limited number of digital copies of any given item at a time.
To get started, see below!

NEED HELP?
If you're new to e-books and need help, bring your device with you to the library and we'll help you get set up to take advantage of our vast collection!

*IMPORTANT*   To proceed, you will need to know your library card number and password associated with your account. The password is set to the last four digits of your library card number unless you have changed it when accessing our catalog on MassCat. If you don't know your card number or are having issues, contact us.?

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT:
BecketAthenaeum.org/ecatalog
Or stop by the Athenaeum for assistance from our helpful library staff!