Saturday May 19, 9:30 – 4:30

Sunday May 20, 12:00 – 3:00

Morse Institute Library

14 E. Central St., Natick

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Boston Children’s Museum
Boston by Foot
Danforth Museum of Art
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park
Discovery Museums
Ecotarium
Garden in the Woods
Institute of Comtemporary Art
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Massachusetts Public Parks D.C.R.
Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Science / Computer Museum
New England Aquarium
New England Quilt Museum
PawSox
Peabody Essex Museum
Plimoth Plantation / Mayflower II
Roger Williams Park Zoo
Tower Hill
USS Constitution
Worcester Art Museum
Zoo New England

Become a card-carrying member of the Morse Institute Library today.  A whole new world awaits you.

In 2011 the Friends hosted the Library’s mini-golf event during Natick Days for the 9th consecutive year.  Natick Days is 5 hours of  fun for the whole family.  Over 100 non-profit groups participate selling all kinds of games, activities, goods, and plenty of food and drink.  Read more about the history of Natick Days in the Friends October 2011 Newsletter posted elsewhere on this website.

 

 

I’ve lived in Natick since 1980. Immediately after the closing on our house my husband and I walked across the street to get library cards, using the paperwork from the closing to prove our residency. The Library has been a part of my life and near and dear to my heart ever since.

One day in 1992 I stopped by a book sale being held by the young Friends group and I knew I wanted to become part of the organization — not just as a member, but as an active participant. I volunteered to help at the next sale and was there recruited to stand for election to the Steering Committee and become its second Treasurer.

I am currently serving my 4th two-year term as a Steering Committee member and as Treasurer. The first two terms were from 1993-1997. Then, in 2001 and 2003, I was asked to stand for re-election, each time for two-year terms. Only my friend Pat Thomas has been on the Committee as long as I have and, interestingly, our terms have been concurrent.

I love the book sales. I think I have worked most of the day at nearly every book sale since 1993, including setup and breakdown — before, during and after the construction of the new library. The book sales were an adventure back then, especially during the time when the library was in a temporary location and the book sales were held at the Cole School. I remember dragging my cousin, who was visiting from California at the time, to the Cole School one afternoon since we needed all the help we could get.

My book sale day begins the day before by visiting the bank for cash and ends the day after with counting and recounting thousands of dollars from the sale.

I am perhaps well suited for this job since I’m an accountant by profession with my own bookkeeping/accounting practice since 1992.

I volunteer to help with as many activities as I can from staffing the adult summer programs, the staff appreciation luncheon, Natick Days, the Antique Appraisal Days; the Wine and Cheese event; Author Readings; the Bookmobile dedication, labeling newsletters and other mailings, etc. In my spare time I enjoy reading classic novels, good mysteries and my husband’s poetry. For exercise I enjoy swimming, jogging and walking my dog.

Terri and Bruce Evans have been incredibly dedicated Friends members and volunteers for more than ten years. They have helped the Library with many events and projects during that time and have been especially visible as a team over the past three years working on book sorting functions for the Book Sales.

When they moved to Natick in 1995, Terri and Bruce knew they wanted to become involved in their new community. A town mailing from the Friends the following year sparked their interest and Terri became a member of Friends. With a new library under construction that was creating a lot of interest and activity at the time, Bruce sensed a need for additional help and soon joined Terri as a member and volunteer. Both of them worked on setting up the first Book Sale for the new Library in 1996 and have been contributing their time to helping with book sales in some capacity ever since.

Terri’s love of books developed early in life because her father’s first job out of college was for the Library of Congress. She was impressed by the commitment the Town of Natick had made to building this new library that would be such an important resource to the community. In 1998 she responded to a notice that the Friends were looking for someone to manage the member database, so she added that to her list of volunteer activities. Terri joined the Friends Steering Committee in 1999 as a General Committee Member and assumed the role of President from 2000 to 2003.

In 2002 when the previous Steering Committee President stepped down from her role of coordinating all Book Sale functions, the responsibilities were divided among several volunteers. Terri took over the sorting functions and Bruce joined her shortly afterwards to help sort, pack and prepare for setting up and breaking down the Book Sales. They have been working as a team on this project ever since. Terri has also recently taken on the role of point person for working with the online book dealers. Terri and Bruce are the first to acknowledge that their role is only part of a collaborative effort that contributes to the success of the Book Sales. They want to be sure that credit is given to Sheila Cram, Shirley Lowe and Sally McCoubrey who help sort books on a regular basis, as well as the many other volunteers who help staff the event three times a year.

In addition to her job as Political Press and Public Affairs Officer at the British Consulate and the work she does for the Library, Terri is a Town Meeting member and volunteers at the Center for Arts in Natick and for Boston by Foot. In her rare spare time, she enjoys cooking. Bruce is a Program Manager at Hewlett Packard and has been coaching youth basketball (7th and 8th graders) for the past eight years. He divides his volunteer time between the Library and TCAN and enjoys playing golf.

It is evident by their enthusiasm how passionate Terri and Bruce are about helping the Library and the community. The Friends greatly appreciate Terri and Bruce sharing their skills and energy with our organization. Their efforts help so much to make our Library an extraordinary resource for our community!