The Day of the Pelican: Dive Right In

As a transplanted coastal person, my affection for pelicans goes 'way back. I worried about their survival in the 1960s, when they were on the Endangered Species list. I rejoiced at the regeneration of their numbers when I visited the Oregon Coast last year and saw them flocked in the hundreds everywhere we went.

I've spent many happy hours watching pelicans dive; their dive is the oddest combination of clumsiness and grace. You can't feel bad when you are watching pelicans dive.

I know that Katherine Paterson's Day of the Pelican is more about refugees than birds, but I can't help but take pleasure in the title. It's my read for this weekend, and perhaps it's yours, too. In the last week 75 copies have flown out of here, all for free, all simply taken rather than checked out, with the understanding that they might well find their way into many homes rather than simply one, as the community reads this novel as a shared experience.

It's pretty common knowledge hereabouts that Katherine Paterson is a Vermont author, a Barre resident. She also is a wonderful storyteller. 

Long ago and in another country I watched groups of otherwise well mannered elementary teachers come almost to blows as they sparred to add her Bridge to Terabithia to a district's core reading list. Would it be assigned to grade 4, grade 5, or grade 6? I listened to teacher after teacher argue for its placement in her grade, her classroom, so passionate was each to have the pleasure of sharing Paterson's little masterpiece with her students.

And so it's off I go to my weekend encounter with another Paterson gift. If you should have one of the Pelicans, I urge you to enjoy, then to pass on to a friend, neighbor, or family member. If you haven't gotten a copy and a neighbor has, ask to be next on the list. 

Let's send these books throughout the delightful community that is Norwich, and then, when the frost is on the pumpkin, let's get together and share our impressions. Beth Reynolds will be gathering with our kids, and Stephanie Smith will be conducting a discussion with adults, sometime around or just after Halloween. 

No tricks; just treats.

Happy to Share

For some time I have been noticing people parked in their cars and bent over their laptops and PDAs early in the morning before we open. It's a sight that makes me smile, because our wireless signal transcends our ordinary schedule. 

Our latest public survey tells us that many people would like it if the library were open (check each that applies) earlier, later, and on Sundays. We'd like that too, in the better world that lies out there in the vapors. (Vapors are notoriously short on cold, hard cash).

So it surprised us to learn of a library in Alaska that actually encourages the police to arrest those who access its wi-fi when it's closed. Where's the harm?

Concerned that I was missing some subtle library point, I asked Lucinda. After all, I'm not a Real Librarian, and I wondered if I was being loose with resources, rather like a kid who works in an ice cream parlor and wants to give free cones to all her pals.

The boss was puzzled. "Why would they do that?" she asked. "I like knowing that there's something we can offer the public 24-7."

She went on to tell me that some libraries do turn off their wi-fi when they close, because they don't want the public "using" their signals, as if they could somehow wear them out.

They can't.

So come ahead, Norwich. The boss says it's all right. If we could be open more hours, we'd be delighted. In the meantime, if a cup of joe in a travel mug and an email check-in in our parking lot is helpful, we are more than happy to share.

Chief Robinson, it's cool.

Dive Right In!

Those Friends of ours.

They're Friends with  a capital F, to be sure, as in the Friends of the Norwich Public Library, and on Friday and Saturday of this week they'll be selling quality used books at bargain basement prizes in the Community Room here at the library.

Hours for the sale are 3-8 p.m. on Friday, June 25, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, June 26. Everything is half price after 1 p.m. on Saturday.


As is so often the case, we've been inundated by quality donations, so you can count on a great selection.

On Friday I'm sure I'll see a line of buyers trailing from the top of the stairs to the door of the Community Room. We see a lot of book sellers come through who are eager to re-stock their inventory.

You come, too. We like to see the best bargains go to our wonderful patrons.

Surf's up!

No Secret Handshake Required

It's really simple, our new adult summer reading club. You just sign up, toss down a bit of chocolate to seal the deal (not required, but yummy), and go about your business.

There'll be weekly drawings for prizes--a gift certificate from a local business, a pretty plant, a product from a local crafts person. Something grand at the end of the season (September 3, just before Labor Day weekend, to be exact.

There'll even be a couple of small, tasteful get-togethers to chat with one another about what we're reading and what we might read in the future, and a discussion group around the novel Look at Me, by Jennifer Egan, featured in our newest book bag.

Yes, yes--very nice. But how does this prize business work?

Just drop a slip into the jar at the desk each week with your name and the name of the book you've read, and we'll have a Friday drawing. We'll keep the undrawn slips from each week and apply them toward the grand prize drawing on September 3.

The more you read, of course, the greater the number of little slips to be drawn for the various prizes.

Do join us! It's going to be fun. And we'll keep our word about the no deadlines, no pop quizzes, and no secret handshakes.

Just pleasant and stress-free summer reading.

Ahhh!

Feel the Power!

As I pore over the comments from the surveys so many of you took the time to fill out, I can't help but notice that we have work to do when it comes to communicating the existence of services we already offer.                                

I learned, for example, that many patrons wish that we'd provide services like online notification of impending due dates and electronic notifications that books on hold have come in. Patrons also want to be able to place items on hold and renew them online.

Guess what! We already do offer these options. They are some of our well-kept secrets, not that we mean them to be.

Follow these guidelines, and you'll feel as empowered as this hunk of burning love (although perhaps not as fortified by symbolic back-up. We're the library, and we can do only so much.)

Your first item of business has to be to come into the library, (or if you're feeling cavalier about revealing your log-in and password, to give us a call. We can help you over the phone.) We need to modify your record to establish our online relationship.

(Oh, dear. That sounds like e-dating, doesn't it? Fraught with potential disappointment!)

This option is much more promising than e-compatibles. Once you've set up your account, then you can Exercise Your Options. Do you want to be forewarned and forearmed about due dates for your books and DVDs? Just check the box asking for an email that will do so. 

Taking to the Skies

Kites and children have so much in common.


For one thing, there's their beauty. Both are inherently gorgeous. For another, both are capable of soaring, one physically, the other spiritually.


We're having a delightful spring as we get together with our Norwich children for a series of kite-making workshops.


We worked with about 20 children on Saturday at the Rubber Duckie Race, and what a thrill it was to see them color and build their kites, then take them for test flights across Huntley Meadow! We couldn't help but cheer.


On Wednesday, the 5th of May, we will meet with children after school for another round of kite building workshops. We'll be making sled kites, bird kites, and delta kites.


We'll invite the kids to join us at Huntley Meadow on Wednesday, May 12, to send them aloft. This get-together isn't to be confused with the kite days formerly held by Marion Cross School. We haven't the resources to walk everyone to Huntley Meadow, as the entire school used to do. The sixth graders won't be passing out popsicles to the entire student body. (It gives me no pleasure to note this last fact.) This will be a smaller group, and we ask that children under 8 be accompanied by a parent or otherwise responsible adult.


We'll be there from 12:30 to 2 p.m., (it's an early release day) and then, alas, we library types must return to our library duties. Older students may want to stay on, weather permitting. Children will otherwise need transportation home or to their next adventure of the day.


Speaking of weather, we haven't scheduled a rain date, should Mother Nature withhold the necessary support for good flight. If we must cancel, we'll be in touch with Marion Cross staff by 11 a.m.


Let's hope that we're greeted with blue skies and sweet breezes. Those kites fly pretty nicely with just a little encouragement.

The Lord Loves a Duck, and So Should You

What a thrill it must be to back a champion.


Since Hannah Kearney already has sponsors, those of you looking for a little vicarious local sporting glory might consider sponsoring a promising young quacker in the upcoming Rubber Ducky Race, brought to you by the Friends of the Norwich Public Library.


Their first-ever Great Rubber Ducky Race, to be held Saturday, May 1, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. offers you a shot at the spotlight, however reflected.Meet us on the Blood Brook side of Huntley Meadow to join in the fun.


Claim bragging rights (and a hundred bucks) when the ducky you've sponsored crosses the finish line first! Or enjoy the comfy Red Sox Rocker that currently graces our lobby. (That's second prize, but I have a patron who would happily take it over first prize, so obsessed is he with the Red Sox.) You can whip up a batch of goodies from one of the several cookbooks provided by King Arthur's Baking Store, or you can win a $25 gift certificate for the Friends' upcoming Mother's Day plant sale.

Of course, champions are made, not born. I suggest that you sponsor a duck for $5 (or six for $25) and then do what all good coaches do these days: focus on the fundamentals, and supply affirmations and winning visualizations to psyche your ducky up.

You can sign up to sponsor a duck at the circulation desk of the library, and then the mental work will be up to you. 


Race day ought to be hilarious. Do take an hour or two off from the Nearly New Sale and head down to Huntley Meadow to cheer on your favorite.


And may the best duck win!