We had our “thank you” volunteer tea here yesterday.  One of our great volunteers, Vicki, wrote a poem about the library and librarians.  I wanted to share it here. Thanks, Vicki!

Enjoy everyone,

Nancy

“The Loving Job of a Librarian”

The loving job of a librarian

is to make a person want to

come again.

 

The laughter of a child

the smile on a face

can make the library a special and fun

place.

 

With books, CD’s & DVD’s

galore.  There are always

more.

 

From children to teen,

to senior citizen the

library can make both

a librarian and patron

happpy again.

by,

Victoria

April is National Volunteer Month and I want to do a gigantic shout out “Thank You” to all of our volunteers here at the branch.  They contribute so much to our every day happenings and are an important part of our library family. National Volunteer Month was created in 1974 to recognize the efforts of dedicated community volunteers.  More than 100 million volunteers working in their comunities contribute their time and talents daily. That’s pretty impressive.

Believe it or not I’m already thinking about our fall programming and I’d like to invite  more volunteers to help us.  As you know libraries are places were learning, information gathering and finding that perfect read, movie, or music cd takes place everyday.  We’d like to fill our library with ideas, discoveries, and ah-ha moments.  We can do this with our great collections but we can also do this by tapping into our wonderful talented citizens.  I’m looking for volunteers who can teach a class, entertain a group, inspire an audience and garner great satisfaction in doing it.  We are looking for artists, computer geeks, environmentalists, gardeners, cooks, quilters, movie makers, dancers…you get the picture. The library becomes a place that merges imagination, curiousity, and quite moments. It’s filled with a satisfying buzz.  It becomes “the” place to be.

 Let me know if you’re interested or if you know someone else who might be.  This could be a one shot deal (class) or an ongoing series (3 weeks or more).  We could have one person or several involved together. One idea could be a mind, body, spirit series.  A yoga instructor, a natural foods enthusiast, and a psychologist.  We could have a laugh club, there’s nothing better than a hearty laugh out loud or a class on videography, oh, we could do a class on…. I think I should stop here because the possiblilites are endless. 

Volunteers are key to making this successful.  Won’t you help us? Give the library a call or email me.  We can make this happen with some great volunteers.

Nancy

Last night we met a man who is responsible for transforming the lives of hundreds of people.  A man who consistently speaks to sold-out crowds of 1600 or more; a man who is influential enough to have raised millions of dollars world-wide for his cause.  He didn’t come with an entourage, he didn’t make demands of us for special treatment, and he went out of his way to make sure that he thanked each and every person who was responsible for bringing him to Fairfield.

We couldn’t have been more honored to have Greg Mortenson, the man behind the book “Three Cups of Tea,” to begin Fairfield’s month-long “One Book, One Town” celebration.  Admittedly, this event, perhaps more than any other event in the Library’s history, was the cause of much concern for the staff.  Right from the start, when all of the 600 plus tickets were gone in one day, we knew that we were in for something both exciting and challenging.  We also knew that “One Book, One Town” couldn’t have gone forward without Greg Mortenson.  He is the man responsible, after all, for the story that has brought the message of hope to so many of us at a time when hope is needed most desperately.

Thank goodness Greg’s book and his message found us, mostly through the persistence of our dear friend and colleague, Anne Marie.   She was so moved by Greg’s mission that it became her mission to have this book reach as many people as possible.  How we all wish she could have been there last night to meet Greg.  Her wonderful family was there, and Greg made very sure to remember them in a special way. 

And we are all extremely proud to work with someone like Susan Z, the Librarian who is the tour de force behind all of the “One Book, One Town” events.  She has been working tirelessly for months and deserves endless amounts of praise.  In her commitment to the success of this program and in shying away a bit from the spotlight, Susan reminds me of Greg.

And Greg Mortenson is so deserving of the spotlight.  He is, in fact, a superstar.  He just doesn’t know it. 

I’ve just gotten back from a CT Health Access Training session. This was a two day workshop on developing current Health Information for you, our patrons. It gave us the tools to assess the needs of our community as well as ideas to implement programming, books, media etc. related to health topics. The program is sponsored by the Connecticut State Library and Libraries for the Future. 

I have learned about so many great websites that I wanted to share them with you asap!  Bookmark them so that you can have easy access.

#1. MedlinePlus:  http://medlineplus.gov.  Created by the National Library of Medicine, this is the first place to go with ANY consumer health related question.  It includes an encyclopedia, dictionary, drug database, several directories, and current news items.

#2. Dirline: dirline.nlm.nig.gov.  Looking for a support group or research organization? DIRLINE (Directory of Information Resources Online) is an online directory of over 8,400 health-related organizations and other resources.  As an example look up “two different types of shoes” click on the first entry and see the organization it brings up!

#3. Familydoctor.org: familydoctor.org. From the American Academy of Family Physicians, a national medical organization representing more than 93,000 physicians, family practice residents and medical students, this site provides information written and reviewed by physicians and patient education professionals.

#4. DrugDigest.org: drugdigest.org. One of the best Internet sites for information on pharmaceuticals, interactions and herbals.  Includes photographs of drugs and information for the physician and patient.

These are just a few of some really great choices about health.  I’ll share some more websites and books with you in another post.  Hey, take a break from google and explore great websites you can trust.

Nancy

I was recently reading Nancy Pearl’s “under the radar” picks from NPR’s morning edition.  She talked about a book by Dodie Smith called “I Capture the Castle.”  Dodie Smith’s name may not be familiar to you but she wrote the great 1956 classic “Hundred and One Dalmations.” She was inspired to write Hundred and One by her own dalmation Pongo. A friend, who was visiting her,  suggested that Pongo would make a great coat! I didn‘t really remember that Ms. Smith wrote anything except “Hundred and One Dalmations”, but I do remember reading that book,  so I was motivated to pick up another book by her and try it.  Once I read the first few sentences, “I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. That is, my feet are in it;” I knew I was going to enjoy this story.

Dodie Smith wanted to be an actress when she was in her teens but soon realized that at five feet tall ” and to short and not very attractive”, she probably would never become famous.  She took to writing instead and wrote several noted plays.  Dodie grew up in England and married Alec Beesley, a man she met while working at Heal’s in London.  During WWII they moved to the U.S., as her husband was a pacifist and wanted to avoid the British draft.  They lived in the U.S. for many years after the war, mainly because they didn’t want to leave their dalmations in quarantine for 6 months.

It was here in 1948 that she wrote her first novel, “I Capture the Castle.”  This is a well plotted, witty book and in some ways like a Jane Austen novel.  Even though the story was set in the 1930’s it still felt fresh and alive.  Cassandra Mortmain is a 17 year old girl who lives with her eccentric family (father, sister, brother, and bohemian step-mother) in a decaying English castle.  They have just about used up all the money their father received from a book he wrote, many, many years earlier and are struggling to survive.  Cassandra, who is an enchanting narrator, (she writes first person entries in her journal) gives the reader a great peek into the trial and tribulations of her life as well as her family.  Even though this book is told through the eyes of a seventeen year old, I was still enamoured by Cassandra and her family.

This is a great book to pick up on those cozy, warm nights, sitting by the fire, with a hot cup of tea and a book.  Let me know what you think.

Nancy

The Assistant Director, Karen Ronald, and I have now visited 5 bookclubs to talk about “Three Cups of Tea”, our One Book, One Town selection.  Each group has offered different perspectives on how the book has touched them.  We’ve talked about religion, education, how we live our lives in the United States, and the challenges of mountain climbing!  All of us have agreed that we have a greater understanding of Pakistan and Afghanistan.  It’s amazing to me that everytime Karen and I go off to visit one of these groups we come away with new ideas and insights into this book.  With Pakistan having it’s election this week, we discussed women voting there and generally about the elections in these countries.  In one meeting we went to, we had a great discussion about raising the funds to build a school, with money donated by the people of Fairfield.  In another meeting the club members were treated to Middle Eastern foods as we talked about education and the plight of  girls in these countries. We’ve talked about failures, in Greg’s life and our own.

  Karen and I feel honored to be able to go out into our community, as Fairfield Public Library librarians, and talk, share ideas and become acquainted with our informed citizens.  We’ve got about eight more bookclubs to visit and we are looking forward to furthering our discussions on this great book.

Nancy

Susan B. Anthony, a champion of women’s rights, would surely be knee deep in today’s elections and the campaigns.  She spent a good part of her life struggling to gain voting rights for women and equal rights for all.  In 1869 she attended the first woman suffrage convention in Washington, D.C. In 1872 she was arrested for voting and is indicated in Albany.  In 1905 Anthony meets with President Theodore Roosevelt in Washington, D.C. about submitting a suffrage amendment to Congress.  In 1920 the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, grants the right to vote to all U.S. women over 21. 

We’ve come a ways since the 1920’s.  Women are Senators, Governors, Legislatures, and maybe even a President?

The Library of Congress has a great website where you can view some great pictures of Susan B. Anthony, get a look at the notes from her trial, and have the opportunity to see what an outstanding woman she was. (Use the search box and type in Susan B. Anthony)

This Sunday, at our library, Susan Matson will, for a little while, become Susan B. Anthony.  Letters, speeches and diaries will be used in her one woman show, to reveal Miss Anthony’s wit and fury.  Her works transport the audience to the time of the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, fights over Constitutional Amendments, and Westward expansion.

This great presentation will inspire woman and their daughters and will remind us all how precious our vote in the upcoming election can be.  Join us at 2:00, February 3rd.  We will be also showing the movie “Iron Jawed Angels”, a true story about the brilliant young activists Alice Paul, and Lucy Burns, on Wednesday, February 13th at 2:00.  Hope you can join us.

Nancy

We had the best time Saturday here at the Branch.  Our Victorian Tea Party was a smashing success!  Rachel, Sophia, Hannah, and Maggie, four middleschoolers from Fairfield Woods, along with Bobbie Schlig a part of our staff, performed a fantastic play about having tea in Victorian times.  The play was based on the “American Girl” series and Samantha in particular.  They were all very professional actors and the young lady’s participating in the tea party loved the performance!  The older girls were great role models for this younger group to watch. (check out the pictures)

We also had Jean from “Where in the World” store, in Fairfield center, here to help.  She brought a lot of great American Girl products to display and lent us two of her American Girl dolls for our own Victorian Tea Party display we put together here at the branch. 

I love offering programs like this for our younger patrons.  The program was based on some great historical fiction books, that girls really enjoy reading and by “pulling a page, or chapter, or idea” from the books let’s us experience that time period for just awhile.  No TV, no cell phones, no computers!! What’s a girl to do? Well, they enjoyed each other’s company talking and giggling, made some beautiful items, and enjoyed a cup of tea.

Nancy

Karen (Assistant Deputy Director) and I had a wonderful experience last night.  We got to visit our first “One Book One Town” book club meeting.  We put the word out that we would love to come and visit book clubs in Fairfield to join in their conversations about ”Three Cups of Tea”.   The Hadassah Club of Fairfield invited us to meet with them last night (our first one) and we had a wonderful time.  What a smart, thoughtful, compassionate group of women!! 

 Karen and I are using the theme of failure, fate and the impact one person can make in the world.  We had a great discussion about being passionate (am I as passionate as Greg?), about failure (do Americans like to recognize failure?) and about fate (Greg’s incredible turn of events that led him and his family to Pakistan and it’s people).  Thank you Lila for opening your home to us, and thank you Hadassah women for allowing us to participate in such a stimulating conversation.

Karen and I will be visiting about 11 more book clubs throughout the next two months so stay tuned for more great thoughts and conversations.  Oh, and check out our Flickr account to see our “first” book club snapshot - we hope to get one from each group we visit.

Nancy

I think the senior deadline for college applications is coming up quickly, that means that Juniors and even Sophomores are prepping for the SAT’s, PSAT’s and ACT’s.  1.6 million students take the SAT’s annually. That’s a staggering amount.  How do you prepare yourself to stand out, to get that edge on other students?  There are so many teens who are qualified for the Ivy League and Big Ten colleges, and you know there are so few spots available.  What’s a teen to do?  We have an on-line database program called PrepMewhich I think may be the answer. It’s improved SAT scores by an average of 305 points! Wow, that’s pretty impressive. If a teen can’t afford the time or money for a private tutor or regular class, this could be a very useful alternative. 

PreMe was founded by University of Chicago MBA Grad, Karan Goel, and a former Google product manager, Avichal Garg.  PreMe was founded in 2001, and Goel states “It’s not about 30 people sitting in a classroom - this is about helping you individually.” How great is that, the full attention of a tutor - no distractions - no worries about other people in a big room who might not want to be there - no time restrictions.   Many of the tutors are from Stanford and the University of Chicago.  They are paid not by the hour but by how well their students do.  That’s a motivator for students.  It’s a great way for a tutor to respond to individual needs.

Students can access the training tools and tutor from anywhere a computer is available.  That could mean late night, in their bedrooms, during a study hall at school, or on a family trip to Disney World. 

I hope there will be many teens who take advantage of this great service.  The cost, if you are a Fairfield resident and have a library card is zip. Yep, you read that right, we have the course in our Free Databases.  This course would normally cost you over $300.00! Public Libraries are such gems, aren’t they!  There are so many different types of opportunities for learning.  How do you access PrepMe? You’re on our webpage right now, click on on-line resources, click on test preparation, and then click on PreMe.  At this point you’ll have to enter your library card number.  If you want to know more about this fantastic database, we are having a program on Thursday, January 24th @ 7:00 here at Fairfield Woods Branch.  Registration is required so visit our calendar of events section on our website and sign up today.

Nancy