More than Just Pretty Faces

What a pleasure it was to work with volunteer Anne Goodrich at the Circulation Desk last Saturday. She's an amazing person, and I always learn something from her. (She's also lots of fun, but that's another story.)

As we checked people in and out, I noticed how frequently Anne encouraged patrons to get the new library cards. I have been pretty laid back on their promotion, but I noticed that by promoting them, she was raising patrons' awareness on what we actually offer now. Talk about a marketing natural! Anne, you could sell me my own car, and I'd see it as new!

You don't actually have to trade in your old  library card to get some of our new offerings, but the new card is emblematic of what has some with it: new software that empowers the patron. So why not make it a package deal?

Once you come in to perform the old card switcheroo, you can sign up for some of our new services. By giving yourself a log-in name and password, you will be able to search the catalog for the item you want and place a hold on it. Once you've checked the item out, you will be able to renew it online. If you give your account additional settings, the software will even send you an email of its due date in advance. 

As my Uncle Al used to say, about the only thing this software doesn't do is fluff up your hair and tell you how pretty you are.

As you can see here, we offer two new designs, the I Read, Therefore I Am motif by Ken Davis, and the glowing facade of the library by Libby Tolman. They come with an additional key tag for people who are weary of rummaging through their bags for their cards, but who always have their keys at the ready.

Are you sentimental about your old purple card? Some people are, and you can still access the opportunities described above. Just ask to set up your account so that you can conduct library business from your home computer.

Next time you're in, avail yourself of the account, if not the new card. Better yet, make it both.

Under a Spell of Sorts

How do you spell dumbbell?

That was the first challenge for the teams among which the Buns of Steel competed this year. In that Mulligan round the Buns alone provided the correct number of Bs, but Mulligan rounds being what they are, we went on to bomb out in the Regular round on moiety. (Moral of the story: never forsake an honest diphthong.)

The Buns this year were made up of Captain Lisa Milchman, Friends Treasurer Kenneth Cracknell, and buck-private Stephanie Smith. Kenneth's ducky-chapeau created the fashion statement of the evening, and he delighted in  pressing a button near his temple that resulted in a resounding series of quacks. He was publicizing the upcoming Friends' Rubber Duckie Race May 1.  (Be there or be square!)

"K.C.," observed Buck Private Smith, "You seem to have found your voice." He did not disagree. 

As usual, victory eluded us, and above you can see Nancy Dean, Priscilla Vincent, and Sandra Dell savoring their win. The Spell Chicks of the Norwich Women's Club were delighted, as were we. That organization does so much for the community.

Here we are, performing the 2010 version of our signature "Shh!" cheer, which was accompanied by a sort of seated choreography.

The Spelling Bee has become one of my favorite events. It has just the right balance of silliness and stimulation to capture my heart. 

Maybe we'll study next year. Who knows?

TTBOOK Explores the Fascinating Nooks and Crannies of Living and Thinking

This post isn't about the library.

I'm breaking form to sing the praises of a most stimulating new show on Vermont Public Radio, To the Best of Our Knowledge. It's the creation of a team of very bright people in Wisconsin, one of which is the daughter of our patrons Edmond and Susan Strainchamps, interesting people in and of themselves, as so many NPL patrons are. That's the lovely, lively, and very bright Anne Strainchamps in the photo.

You can catch To the Best of Our Knowledge, (shortened to TTBOOK for acronymic convenience)at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoons. If you find yourself away from the radio on Saturday afternoon, you can catch the podcast at your convenience through ITunes.

TTBOOK, which features Jim Fleming as the anchor and Anne Strainchamps and husband Steve Paulson as principal interviewers, organizes episodes around themes. Yesterday I did my quilting to a show organized around physics, and another on the hive mind. This morning I listened to a podcast on writers and writing.

The physics show focused on physics in all directions--the necessity of physics knowledge for the President of the US, a profile of the family of High Everett, who hatched the theory of parallel universes, a discussion of eccentric physicists, and physics-based literature, including a novel on Newton and physics poetry.

The Hive Mind featured everything from an expert on honeybees to swarm intelligence to a critique of the hive mind in a culture impacted by communications technology. An episode on the writing life featured an interview with John Cheever's biographer, an interview with novelists Elizabeth Strout and Marilynne Robinson, and one with writing workshop diva Natalie Goldberg. Great stuff!

I've subscribed to TTBOOK's podcasts. They're wonderfully enriching and energizing. Anne, Steve, and Jim are able interviewers, and I both admire their skill and envy them the opportunities they create for themselves in pursuing such fascinating topics.

Susan and Edmond, you must be terribly proud. As for me--I'm addicted.

Embracing Hannah-Mania

Don't ever mistake us bookish types as being indifferent to Olympic glory, especially when it's rooted in our community.

Like Hannah Kearney fans everywhere in the Upper Valley, we were excited about her triumphant parade through the towns that claim her. Lisa very graciously agreed to tend the fort while Lucinda, Wendy, and I went in shifts to celebrate with the rest of the town.

I took the early shift, and in came Hannah, in a blaze of VW Bug glory, waving while the children (I count myself among these) yelled and waved. Hannah did us one better--taking pictures of the crowd on her own camera. She hopped out of the car and walked down the street, high-fiving the children who reached out to her, accepted a hat in the shape of a Seuss-like birthday cake, and headed for the bandstand while she graciously listened to everybody older than she say nice things about her. I hopped around with the library's digital camera, firing away, reveling in the beauty of the community and the talent, spunk, and tenacity of the young woman we were celebrating.

At that point my shift was up, and sighing, I returned to my library duties. I handed off the camera to the arriving Lucinda and came back, delighted by the very warm and delightful Olympic champion who knew just how to connect with kids, who quickly donned the signed tee shirt that Dan Frasier gave her, and who seemed the very ideal of the hometown girl who knows where she came from. I went home and raved about what a wonderful person she seemed to be, how like the good-hearted community she came from.

A few days rolled by, and as I was working the desk, a young woman came in with a poster rolled up under her arm. She waited patiently while I checked out a book. I thought she was one of the many people who come in seeking bulletin board space for posters. "May I help you?" I asked.

"I just wanted to leave this poster for the library," she said, handing it to me, along with an envelope that said, "For NPL from Hannah Kearney."

That magic name! I asked, "Oh, Hannah Kearney! How is she? Where is she?" hoping for a little news.

"Uh, right here. I'm Hannah," she said.

Great visual memory, Lulu. I'd only watched her perfect moguls run a dozen times on the Internet. Maybe if she'd come in in helmet and goggles... Hannah grinned at my gaffe and shook my hand and asked my name. Very personable, as lovely up close as she was from the bandstand the week before.

The poster I'd assumed was for the bulletin board turned out to be a signed and suitable for framing picture of Hannah; the envelope contained the proceeds of the Hannah bumper sticker sale at Dan & Whit's.

WOW!

We will be framing the poster. We are most grateful for the donation. Most of all, we are warmed by the down-to-earth spirit of our town's young champion.

If you needed to create a perfect Olympic champion, full of heart and mind, of agile and disciplined body, you couldn't do better than the young woman we already have.

Thanks, Hannah. All your stars are out, and it couldn't happen to a nicer person.

The Food-Fine-Forgive Connection

This is the week of the Norwich Lions' food drive on behalf of the Haven, and NPL is playing a modest role as drop-off point for contributions of comestibles.

We're kicking up our commitment to the drive with this offer: in return for an item of food from the Lions' recommended list, we'll waive a fine on an individual item.

What items are recommended? Juices top the list as most-needed. Also on the list:
cereal
jelly
pasta
Mac&Cheese
rice side dishes
canned fruit
canned vegetables
baked beans
canned beef stew
canned chili
peanut butter
instant mashed potatoes
tuna
canned tomatoes
baking mixes
baby formula

So drop by with your items. The donation box is set up by the circulation desk. Give us a heads-up, and we'll remove a fine on an item for you. Bring in two recommended items, and we'll remove two fines, three and we'll remove three fines, and so on.

Thanks in advance. In these times your generosity is especially appreciated.

The New Year's Must-Have Accessory

It's great to have a secret pal, especially one with special powers.

Ours has the power to send sweet-faced people bearing tidy little sums of money into the library.

The Norwitch, as s/he signs on the local list serve, has launched a campaign of unity and good will that includes the library. Request one of the keen bumper stickers, and the Norwitch will slip over to the main post office at White River Junction, someone told me, the better to keep his/her identity secret. The request? Walk into the library and give 'em five bucks for each sticker.

We have nothing to do with the production and distribution of the sticker, but we seem to be beneficiaries. How nice is that?

And so this week we have have the pleasure of a variety of patrons walking up to the Circulation Desk, bearing the cash that corresponds to the number of bumper stickers sent their way.

The Norwitch is a sort of post-holiday Secret Angel. Someone out in the vast tracts of Norwich's lovely and lively acres has figured out a way to bring a smile to our little librarians' lips.

Who is our benefactor? It's as much fun to guess as it is not to know. After all, not knowing makes everyone a potential library supporter. I do have my suspicions, but they are all I have.

The generosity of the Norwitch and the willingness of holders of the bumper sticker to carry the kindness forward certainly send us into 2010 with a spring in our step.

Just another reason that this non-resident holds this community close to her heart.

A One-of-a-Kind Gift

At the risk of sounding a little "too, too--" I have to say that for those of us of modest means, it's a challenge to find a one-of-a-kind gift for a special someone.

Here's a great opportunity for the bookish person in your life: the raffling off of an altered book in the form of a handbag.

Nothing says Christmas like Dickens, and here he is in a stylish purse, ready to make any number of fashion statements. Dickens, of course, made many statements, fashionable and otherwise, in the course of his rich, creative life.

This little number will be raffled off tonight at Norwich Night, that frisky celebration of the frolics and foibles of one of the Upper Valley's most interesting towns.

Chances are a dollar apiece, or 6 for five dollars.

Who will win this wonderful bag?