Are you interested in learning more about the Library’s plan to build a new McAuliffe Branch Library in the Nobscot village area? How the project will benefit the community as a whole? What you can do to help?

Come to one of the open houses the Library is holding for this purpose.

The events will be held on Sunday, April 21, at 2 p.m., at the existing McAuliffe Branch at 10 Nicholas Road, and Sunday, April 28, at 2 p.m., at the Main Library at 49 Lexington Street. See preliminary architectural drawings of the new building’s design, and pick up materials that explain the project in detail. Library officials will give a brief presentation about the project, and be available to answer questions. Refreshments will be served. There will also be an opportunity to go on a guided tour of the proposed new branch library site on Water Street.

On May 1, Library trustees will ask a Special Town Meeting to fund the town’s share of the project, which will be accomplished through a twenty year bond. The Framingham Public Library Foundation has raised nearly two-thirds of its fundraising goal of $600,000. These funds will be used to reduce the town contribution. Last year, Framingham was awarded a state grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners of $4.2 million for the project.

We are pleased to announce that the MutualOne Charitable Foundation of Framingham has pledged $50,000 towards the project to build the new McAuliffe Branch Library in Nobscot. This Foundation was established in 1998 by the Framingham Co-operative Bank, now MutualOne Bank, to primarily support charitable, educational, and civic purposes within the greater Framingham area.

This pledge pushes the Framingham Public Library Foundation’s fundraising total for the project to more than $370,000, over halfway to the target of $600,000.

Library trustees will be asking a Special Town Meeting for $3.8 million on May 1 to fund the town’s share of the project. The Foundation’s fundraising dollars will be used to reduce the town contribution. Last year, Framingham was awarded a state grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners of $4.2 million for the project.

The Foundation wishes to express its deep gratitude to Petrini & Associates, P.C., Counselors at Public Law, and the Friends of the Framingham Library, for the generosity of their recent contributions.

Petrini & Associates, P.C. donated $10,000 in support of the new McAuliffe Branch library project, to demonstrate their support for what they believe is an important project.

The Friends of the Framingham Library have pledged $25,000 in support of the construction of the new McAuliffe Library, contingent upon Town Meeting approval of the project.

The Foundation is well over halfway to its goal of raising $600,000 to reduce the town’s share of the new McAuliffe Branch project. A grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners will pay for approximately half the cost of the project.

Award-winning Framingham craft brewery Jack’s Abby Brewing teamed up with the Framingham Public Library Foundation for a sold-out fermentable fundraiser for 128 library supporters and craft beer lovers.

On Saturday, December 1 from 7 to 9 p.m., the brewery, located at 81 Morton Street, hosted a guided tasting of its beers and a private tour of the facility. The event helped the Foundation raise money to offset the cost of building a new McAuliffe Branch Library and create an endowment fund for other library projects.

The evening featured talks about beer styles and the brewing process by head brewer and co-owner Jack Hendler and MetroWest Daily News beer columnist Norman Miller, author of the book Beer Lover’s New England. A portion of the proceeds from brewery products sold the night of the event were donated to the Foundation.

Jack’s Abby Brewing was opened in Framingham in 2011 by brothers Eric, Jack, and Sam Hendler, pictured in the photo above, and has rapidly grown and won acclaim for both its beers and community involvement.

Author Dennis Lehane

You’ve read the books and seen the movies. Mystic River. Gone, Baby, Gone. Shutter Island. And The Given Day, one of his most recent books, has been hailed as a classic Great American Novel.

On Saturday, October 6, from 7-9 p.m., the Framingham Public Library Foundation presented “An Evening With Dennis Lehane”. A coffee and dessert reception was followed by a talk and a book signing by Mr. Lehane, a passionate supporter of public libraries. The New England Mobile Book Fair was on site selling Mr. Lehane’s books, and all attendees were entered in a drawing for a signed copy of his novel Moonlight Mile.

Admission to this fund raising event for the Framingham Public Library Foundation was $30 per ticket.

For more information about the FPL Foundation or to volunteer on behalf of the Foundation, contact Ruth Winett, Foundation Chairperson, at 508-877-1938, or Library Director, Mark Contois, 508-532-5570, ext. 4358, mcontois@minlib.net.

View an American Library Association video on YouTube in which Dennis Lehane talks about the impact of libraries on his career:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03yZZs_fFTE

More information about Dennis Lehane:

http://www.dennislehanebooks.com/

The foundation is going to have a table at the Friday night Framingham Concerts on the Green on Edgell Road this summer, to promote our overall goals and in particular our upcoming fundraiser featuring best-selling author Dennis Lehane.

We will have a free (FREE!) raffle each week for a Dennis Lehane book or DVD. Stop by and say hello and enter the raffle – and you don’t have to be present to win!

Note: The June 29 concert will be held at Bowditch Field on Union Ave.