The Scituate Library Foundation is proud to announce that it has received a donation of over $150,000 from the Estate of Gloria Negri. The gift marks the largest donation in the Foundation’s history. “This incredibly generous gift ensures the Scituate Town Library will be a vital and vibrant community resource for years to come,” says Joe McNally, President of the Scituate Library Foundation. “We are honored to memorialize Gloria and recognize her lifelong passion for sharing knowledge and information with the world.”

Negri, a Scituate resident, was a pioneer for women in journalism, reporting for The Boston Globe for 53 years. Over five decades, her byline was a staple of The Boston Globe where she covered the Apollo moon shots, political conventions, the civil rights tumult of the 1960s, and spent a year covering South Africa then still in the grip of apartheid.

Gloria Negri’s gift to the Scituate Library Foundation will assist in funding future capital projects and improvements to the Scituate Town Library.

After many years in the making, the Thoreau’s Way outdoor space project at the library officially kicked off in November with a groundbreaking ceremony. The project was the inspiration of the Goulding Family as a tribute to their son Michael Goulding, and through the efforts of many involved, the Library Foundation led a successful CPC-funded grant application for the hardscape portion of the project in 2021. The groundbreaking is an exciting step that will allow the library to expand its outdoor offerings with an attractive and accessible space, featuring sustainable native plantings, eco-education opportunities, and a peaceful, reflective space that can be utilized by the whole community.

The Foundation donated Wifi hot spots to the library during the COVID-19 pandemic to help support an increased need for wifi as community members needed to learn and work from home. The hot spots continue to be used for new purposes, including by the Garden Club to operate a check-out system at the annual plant sale.

Outdoor space has become more important than ever this year! The Scituate Library Foundation is proud to have funded new umbrellas for use on the library’s lower patio tables to help create a more functional outdoor space that community members can use for work and play during the warm weather months.

Thank you to Liberty Bay for their generous sponsorship of the Scituate Library Foundation Mini Golf Fundraiser! And a big thank you to the many patrons who donated and attended the Mini Golf event to help raise funds for the Scituate Town Library Children’s Room improvements!