What's Your Library Story?

National Library Celebrate National Library Week with us! We invite you to share your library story with us this April. How has the Ventress Memorial Library played a role in your life this past year? You can also calculate the value your library use saves you with this library value calculator. Share your story to be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

• Share your library story with our online form by clicking the above button.
• Fill out a story in person to display on our Marshfield Library Stories Board (during in-person hours in April).
• Post why you love your library on Facebook (@Ventress Memorial Library) or Instagram (@ventresslibrary). Be sure to tag us and use the hashtag #MyLibraryMyStory. Please note entries that do not tag the library and include the hashtag will not be counted.

You are welcome to share your library story in more than one way, but please note each individual only gets one entry.

Ventress Memorial Library Over the Past Year

Our mission as the local public library of Marshfield is to bring people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community, and we do all of this free of charge. Throughout the pandemic, need for library materials and services has been as strong as ever, and the Ventress Memorial Library has continued to serve our community safely through new and creative programs and services.

We have prioritized making high-interest digital materials available for patrons, including ebooks, audiobooks, and more, in addition to all the physical items patrons can checkout, from books and DVDs to video games, board games, kindles, and more.

• 209,800 Overdrive checkouts across the Old Colony Library Network in 2021
• 12,000 Hoopla checkouts by 500 Ventress patrons in the past year
• 67,882 physical items checked out via curbside pickup, limited in-person browsing hours, and after-hours locker pickups since July of last year

Over the past year, we’ve also engaged people of all ages through our innovative and high-interest programming. We have also helped many adult community members access 2020 tax forms and sign up for their COVID-19 vaccinations. Below are some highlights:

• 178 kids, teens, and adults have participated in our seasonal virtual reading challenges. 
• 1,000 Take & Make craft kits, 150 coloring kits, and 40 early learning resource bags were given out to Marshfield families.
• 160 hours of fully virtual Dungeons & Dragons gaming sessions have served over 40 individual teens with a total attendance of more than 300.
• 145 homebound delivery visits have brought books, DVDs, and more to individuals who cannot physically get to the library.
• 783 sign-ons to library computers, totalling over 300 hours have helped adults print, file taxes, apply for jobs, and more since September of last year.
• 11 more mobile wi-fi hotspots have been added to our circulating collection to help Marshfield families get online.

And that doesn’t include the more than 300 reference questions and book recommendations we help patrons with each month. And we are continuously seeking even more ways to expand our ability to serve Marshfield as we recover from the ongoing pandemic.