The well-known and much-loved purple beech tree, planted on the common in 1892, was taken down in November 2012. Present on that day was local photographer Steve Hardwood, who chronicled the process of bringing the tree down.

He donated his series of photographs to the library, to commemorate the event and the life of the tree. Steve's photographs were supplemented by additional photos from the collections of Fred Merriam and the Chelmsford Historical Society, and Library staff also researched news articles about the tree.

This entire collection was then framed and hung in the Group Study Room, on the lower level of the Library, near the Library's other historical resources. Please check out this tribute the next time you're in the Library.

The Library would like to thank Steve Hardwood for getting the ball rolling, and also Fred Merriam and the Chelmsford Historical Society for contributing to the project. The generosity of community members like this helps preserve Chelmsford for future generations.

There are more requests than ever before to have volunteers read in the classrooms. Please consider taking a few moments to participate in this community wide program. The teachers and the students so appreciate it!

This year's community read-in is the week of April 8-12, 2013.

If you're interested in encouraging literacy by taking some time out of your day on and reading to school kids, please print, complete, and return the 2013 Chelmsford Community Read-In interest form to:

Tara Trainor
25 Middlesex Street
North Chelmsford, MA 01863

For more information, contact chelsmfordreadin@gmail.com.

The Chelmsford Library launched a new service last week - Print From Anywhere.

This allows patrons to print directly from their home computers, laptops, or smartphones (any device with an internet connection), and pick up their print job at the library.

To get started, go to http://www.chelmsfordlibrary.org/webprint and follow the steps. These printing options are available:

• B&W printing: $0.15 per page
• Color printing: $0.25 per page
• Single- or double-sided printing

You can upload a file from your computer, or paste the address of a webpage to print. During the print process you'll name your print job and get a job reference number. After the job is sent, you can pick up your print job at the Reference Desk on the lower level of the main library (print jobs are automatically deleted after 72 hours).

The whole process is easy, but we also have an instructional booklet available [pdf]. If you have any questions about this service, or anything the library offers, please contact the Reference Desk at askus@mvlc.org or 978-256-5521 x211.

Are you looking for interesting volunteer work?

Do you represent an organization that needs volunteers?

The annual "This is Chelmsford" Volunteer Fair is this Saturday!

Saturday, March 16, 2013
10 a.m. - noon
at the Chelmsford Senior Center
75 Groton Road, North Chelmsford (map)

Any teens or adults looking to volunteer in the community, or for activities to add to your resume, are encouraged to attend and connect with local organizations and agencies that need help. Over 30 groups will be exhibiting this year, and a complete list, with links to their websites, is available on the Volunteer Fair webpage.

Organizations or individuals looking for more information on the Fair should contact the Library's Community Services Department (kcryanhic@mvlc.org or 978-256-5521, x109).

ChelmsfordVolunteers.org
For more information on volunteer opportunities and organizations, check out ChelmsfordVolunteers.org - it offers a calendar of events, a searchable database of organizations, and links to other online volunteering resources.

Library staff took an unscientific snow depth measurement on one of the granite benches in the library courtyard after the snow storm of Friday, March 8th, 2013:

13.5 inches!