Happy Holidays!

You probably did not need the foot or so of snow that fell the other day to remind you, but it is now the holiday season. I have actually heard people say that this new supply of white stuff puts them in the holiday spirit. I have to say, unequivocally, that I DID NOT need piles of snow to put me in the holiday mood. I DO NOT need freezing temperatures or long winter nights. I don't need chestnuts roasting on an open fire either, although I am not sure where I would get the chestnuts and an open fire sounds dangerous.

I think it is the traditions of the holiday season that bring back happy memories and create the glow of the holidays. At the library, it starts when the children's holiday books come out of storage in late November. Then the decorations go up. People notice and comment on how nice everything looks. Everyone starts to say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas. Randy shows up in a Santa hat or elf ears. Then the food starts to arrive! A box of candy from Florence, cookies from Janet or JoAnne and shortbread from Sandy arrive every year! Such a pleasure for us. Now I am in the holiday spirit!

Happy Holidays from all of us at the Ledyard Public Libraries.

Busy Times at the Library

You have probably seen the statistics in the news. Library use is up all over the country. Computer use especially has grown exponentially over the last few years. It seems that when we purchase an additional computer that just causes computer use to rise even more. Just think a few years back it was predicted that computers would mean the death of libraries. The opposite has occurred. Or maybe the library has just evolved.

The library has always been able to change with the times. Remember the day when all you could find at the library was books? Have you checked any records out lately? Even the cassette tapes have become compact discs have become downloadable audio books. The times of waiting weeks to get a book not available on your home library shelves are long gone. So are the times of going to the library and filling out request slips for books not available on the shelf. Now you just go on line from home, request a book, get an e-mail and stop by the library to pick it up. The it could be a book, a cd, a dvd or even a magazine. You even get an e-mail from the library a few days before your items are due, so you can get them back on time or go on line and renew them.

Yes, it is busy these days at the library. We are busy doing the old fashioned things like checking books in and out for the many people who take advantage of the real value of a library and we are busy being here to serve a myriad of needs created by our ever changing society. For we know, if we add another computer...they will come.

Data Bases

The library has become so much more than books on the shelf. You know about the movies, cds, audio books and magazines, but do you know about the data bases? In a town that has two libraries, both full to capacity, we are constantly searching for a way to bring more to our patrons without taking up more space. With our growing collection of data bases, we have not only discovered a way to add to our collection without stuffing our shelves, we have found a way to clear space.

Now many volumes you once found on the shelf are available on your computer. If you are looking for a job, try JobNow! If you want to tackle repairing your own car or finding out about recalls, check out Chiltons. If you are preparing to make a purchase, look into Consumer Reports. If you need college information, the place to look is the Testing & Education Reference Center. The best part of all these data bases is you can find them all in one place. Check out all of them at www.lioninc.org/ledyard.

What's With this Weather?

I may have to break my resolve to leave the heat off until November 1st! I break it every year anyway, but this year is particuliarly annoying. I remember well into July people were wondering when summer was truly going to arrive. Everyone was saying this better mean we have a nice long autumn with warm weather. Wrong! Here we are in the middle of October and it feels like early December. I am afraid the next time I look out the window little white things will be floating through the air. I know there is some saying about "weather in New England always changing." It certainly seems to be true this year.

I guess I will have to go check The Old Farmer's Almanac to see what we have coming up. Did you know we have a copy at each library? If you are looking for a more authoritative book, Channel 8's Dr. Mel Goldstein, has a new book Dr. Mel's Connecticut Climate Book. I expect Dr. Mel would tell us that this weather is perfectly normal, at least once in every ten or fifteen years!

Summer Reading Assemblies

Every year Mrs. Brewer gives the kids in each elementary school a challenge. Whoever reads the most minutes gets to do something to her. This year our theme was Be Creative @ Your Library. The winners got a choice of painting a picture on a canvas...or using Mrs. Brewer as a canvas! Of course, you can guess which they chose...


Mrs. Brewer getting the "Jackson Pollock" treatment from Hannah in Gallup Hill School. Hannah was our top reader this year with 11,400 minutes read.

Lauren and Kaileen from Gales Ferry School spraying paint on the canvas of Mrs. Brewer.

Lauren and Kaileen tied for 1st place at Gales Ferry School with 2280 minutes read.

Rebecca's creation at Juliet W. Long School. Rebecca came in first at JWL and 2nd overall with 5760 minutes read.

Mrs. Brewer had the kids use "washable paint" but it took soaking in bleach and washing several times before all the paint came out!! Next year our theme is water...hmmm... what should be done to the crazy library lady then? Got any suggestions??

A Season of Change

Although fall doesn't officially arrive until September 22, I think we all are feeling a change in seasons. Children have returned to school, the little ones are starting nursery school and the older ones are off to college. Summer, possibily still our lazy season, is over. I say possibily because many people seem busy year around.

Now, just before the leaves start to turn color, the libraries are changing too. The Gales Ferry Library returns to regular hours on Saturday from 9-5. The Bill Library will be closed this Saturday due to the Ledyard Fair and the great Bill Book Sale. Another important change will come the following weekend, as Bill Library returns to regular hours of 9-5 on Saturday and 1-5 on Sunday. The Gales Ferry Library, unfortunately will remain closed on Sunday. In these challenging economic times, the library commission was forced to deal with a reduced budget. Sunday opening at Gales Ferry Library became a casualty. While we are sorry that both libraries will not be available to serve you on Sunday, we know you will receive excellent service at the Bill Library for all your Sunday library needs. Although we are very lucky to have two libraries in our town, remember they are both here to serve everyone in our town.

Change is Good

Change is good. Repeat after me. Change is good. And keep repeating it, as you see the changes that your Ledyard Libraries are making.

We do think change is good, especially when we are able to take advantage of grants to benefit library users who may have been overlooked. The new teen area at Bill Library will not only be a great addition for the after school and summer crowd, but also available to daytime users and has the added benefit of being close to Henry's Cafe. The popular children's area is also getting a lift with new shelves and added space with the exit of young adult books. Change is good.

The libraries are also making another change to benefit our patrons. With the wide growth of information on the internet, we have found many of our reference books sitting unused on the shelves, despite being a wealth of information. We are now going to make many of those reference books available for check out. This will give you the opportunity to actually read them rather than just looking at one section when you are in the library. We are also interfiling the remaining reference books with regular nonfiction, so you will have only one section to check for information.

Stay tuned for more changes. And remember--Change Is Good!

One Book, One Region

Have you read this year's OBOR book yet? The pick this year is City of Thieves by David Benioff. Benioff, a successful author and screenwriter, has adapted his previous novel The 25th Hour for the feature film and also written or adapted screenplays for The Kite Runner and Wolverine. He will be visiting the area on September 10 & 11 to speak in several locations, so stay tuned for that information. City of Thieves, tells the story of two young men during the brutal Nazi siege of Leningrad.

Each summer, the Ledyard Public Libraries, present a series of programs in conjunction with the OBOR book. The first program is tonight at Bill Library at 7 p.m. We will be showing the movie St. Petersburg:A Tribute. This travel dvd, lasts for approximately 54 minutes and talks about many cultural and geographic aspects of Russia.

Next Wednesday, August 5, Sara DeBeer, a storyteller, will be appearing at Bill Library at 7 p.m. to share international folktales with a Russian flair. Please call 464-9912 to register for all programs.

The movie Blockade will be shown at Bill Library at 7 p.m. on August 12. This Russian film from 2006 shows actual footage of scenes from the Nazi siege.

On Saturday, August 15, at 2:00 p.m., join Andrea Buka and Jen Finlayson for "Spend Lke a Peasant, Eat Like a Tzar! They will be preparing great peasant cuisine using inexpensive but nutritious and delicious local foods. Seating at the Bill Library is limited to reserve your space today.

After reading the book and being steeped in Russian history and cultural, come to a discussion of City of Thieves, led by Susan Topping from Three Rivers Community College, on August 19 at 7 p.m., at Bill Library. No registration is required for this event, just come and discuss the book everyone has been reading this summer.

Summertime and the Living is "Crazy"

We certainly know it is summertime at the library. The weather may not be typical summer for Connecticut, (not that I am complaining) but the libraries are still buzzing with activity.

We are a week into summer reading. We have renewed friendships with families we usually only see in the summer and seen the many children we see year around. In fact, it feels like we have seen every child in Ledyard, but I am sure there are a few yet to show up. The popular lunch and a movie was so crowded it was standing room only and the concession stand was bare. The teens have learned to knit and made very creative items with duct tape. The sidewalk chalk drawing contest was even able to avoid the rain drops. All that and Family Game Night and it's only the first week!

Before the library is closed for the holiday weekend, we will have another lunch and movie (Tale of Despereaux), a collection of lego buildings and art displays and teens will be designing altered art projects.

The summer is crammed with amazing activities. Be sure to check them out and keep us going "crazy."

Twitter, Facebook and beyond

Social networking seems to be the buzz word these days. If you are not on facebook, my space, twitter, linkedin, flickr or any other of the multitude of social networking sites, you are behind the times.

Your library certainly doesn't want to be out of the loop. We have been fighting that image of the prim lady with the bun, sitting in her dark, stodgy room with her finger to her lips for way too many years. So we are all about social networking. It started with this blog, nearly two years ago. Although we probably haven't acquired too many followers, part of that being my fault, since the blogs don't flow on a regular schedule. We will continue to blog, however, we are also moving on to Twitter. The library now has a twitter account at www.twitter.com/ledyardpublib. If you are currently on twitter, just choose to follow us. If you have yet to discover the joy of tweeting, check us out. If you are our 100th follower, you will win a library totebag.

Teen coordinator, Andrea Buka, has also set up a facebook account to keep teens informed of the programs at the libraries. If you have a facebook account, sign up for Ledyard Libraries Teen Program.

Since we hear that everyone is social networking, we assume you will be following us soon!

Did You See Us in the Memorial Day Parade?

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the command performance by the Ledyard Public Libraries ensemble in the Ledyard Memorial Day parade. It was a lovely day, much enjoyed by a large contingent of library staff members and friends of the library. Thank you to the Ledyard Lions Club for continuing to organize the parade every year.

I hope you didn't miss the yellow bin ladies, as they strutted their stuff, in an original routine designed by Sheila Jordan. Stop by the libraries to see the pictures if you weren't able to attend or want to be reminded. Staff participating in the parade included Sheila, Marilyn Baseler, Marty Hubbard, Nancy Brewer, Kathy Bruckner, Mary Ellen Osborne, Andrea Buka, Jackie Bacon, Kim Pendleton and Adam Strickland. Family members Butch Jordan, Bob Harris, Kayla and Tyler Pendleton, as well as, Jennifer, Sharon, Anna and Rachael Finlayson and Sharon Butler also marched.

The Ledyard Public Libraries were happy to be part of this community effort and look forward to next year.

Summer is Almost Here!

How did this happen? I missed May altogether. Actually I have been loving this spring weather and the increased activity at the library. Two sure signs that it is June, however, have arrived at the Gales Ferry Library. The Yale rowers have arrived (with Harvard soon to follow I assume) and it is time for the Gales Ferry Book Sale.

We all enjoy the two weeks or so that the library is full of tall young men from the Ivy League colleges. For those of you that are unfamiliar with a long standing Gales Ferry tradition, the Yale/Harvard Regatta takes place on the Thames River on the second Saturday of June. In years gone by, it was a time for viewing by train and the banks of the Thames crowded with spectators. Crowds have dwindled, but there is always time to start a new tradition and enjoy the race.

Starting this Thursday, June 4, stop by the Gales Ferry Library for the Ledyard Library Friends Book Sale. This annual event, is a great time to stock your shelves with inexpensive finds. There is a great selection of fiction, non-fiction, paperbacks, and miscellaneous media items for both adults and children. Prices start at $2 for hardcover and $1 for paperback and go down over the weekend. Even better bargains will be available the week after. Every book you buy benefits the libraries and you!

Summer reading is almost here, so stay tuned.

Life In A Free World

On April 22nd the Ledyard Bill Library had a presentation conducted by Wendy Limauge. Wendy explained how to save money using both tried and true methods as well as new methods. She discussed the use of store and internet coupons to obtain free samples of products, how to guard your privacy on the internet, and how to be successful entering sweepstakes.
Wendy touted public libraries as a great resource for providing free things such as internet access, DVDs and CDs, downloadable audio books, and museum passes.
We had a large, lively, interested group of attendees. There were people who were curious to learn about Wendy's plan. There also were people who already regularly utilized coupons and other savings methods. They were interested in learning more and in sharing their successes. Lots of questions were asked and information shared at this warm, interesting, and informative evening.
Wendy is very knowledgeable. This is a passion she has pursued successfully for many years. She generously shared her knowledge with all attendees. Wendy has her own website and blog. She shares daily updates about ways to save. Wendy's website is: sweetiessweeps.com
Wendy also has created: sweetiesswag.com with information about receiving free "stuff".
Her website is very informative. She also offers other websites who have different specialties such as information about mystery shopping and deeply discounted travel.
It was a great presentation!

Hurray for Volunteers!

This is volunteer appreciation week. Volunteers are so important to the library. We hope we show how much we appreciate them year around, but it is nice to have a special opportunity to demonstrate our appreciation. All week, we have been offering refreshments at both library branches for our volunteers. One of our volunteers commented that food was the perfect gift. You don't have to store it or dust it!

Volunteers perform valuable services at the libraries. We have book menders who spend several hours a week bringing slightly worn books back to life. We have book coverers, who help with the processing of new books. Ledyard Library Friends spend many hours preparing and holding the annual and on going book sales at each library. The Mad Hatters are a library service group who donate knitted and crocheted items to various charitable organizations. Volunteers also maintain the historical room at the Bill Library. Behind the scene are the members of the library commission, who help in the administration of the libraries.

We treasure all of these volunteers and thank them for their many hours of dedication to the Ledyard Public Libraries.

Is This Your Library?

Are the Ledyard Public Libraries your library? We want them to be your library, whether you use the Bill Library or the Gales Ferry Library or even both. How do we make them your library?

That is the question the library commission survey is asking. Now is your chance to tell us what makes or will make Ledyard Public Libraries your library. Go on line to our website www.lioninc.org/ledyard and look for the survey. It only takes a few minutes to complete and gives you the power to tell us what you would like or let us know what we are doing right.

A library is many things to many people. Please tell us what we can be for you.

Red Sox Nation

We recently concluded our winter reading program, Spring Training@ your library. This six week program, with raffles every week and interesting programs along the way, was all about baseball. In an effort to determine team loyalty in Ledyard, we asked everyone who filled out a raffle entry to put down their favorite baseball team. After counting nearly 200 entries, I now know by a margin of more than 2 to 1, that the Boston Red Sox are Ledyard's favorite baseball team.

I probably knew that all along and was just in denial. After all, we are east of the Connecticut River, the supposed dividing line for Yankee/Red Sox loyalty. I was just hoping, however, that with all the transplants in this area, including myself, that the Yankees would come out on top.

At last the Yankees got a respectable 39 votes. The New York Mets, supposedly a quasi-local team, didn't even fare as well as the Phillies, Pirates and Tigers.

To Market, To Market

To market, to market to find a fat pig! You probably remember that nursery rhyme line from your childhood. In that happy story, you are off to the store. Today, market means many different things, hardly ever the place to buy groceries. We worry constantly about the ups and downs of the stock market. In the library world, however, to market or marketing has become a very popular buzzword.

How do we tell people that we are the best deal in town? In other words, how do we market the library, so people will know all the great and diverse things a library has to offer. Our library commission recently held focus groups at both the Bill and Gales Ferry Libraries. People from the community were invited to share their ideas for library services. The library welcomes their input and will use some of the suggestions to improve our service. The greatest information that came from the focus groups, however, was how little people knew about the services we already offer. People suggested we do a newsletter. We have been doing a newsletter quarterly for over twenty years. An e-mail newsletter was suggested. We also have one of those. We should do workshops to showcase our on line data bases. We scheduled four a year ago and no one came.

Maybe our problem is we market in the newsletter or on the web site that people don't know we have. Although all of our programs are also published in the local Thames River Times. They are also advertised in the library and in The Day and Norwich Bulletin.

I know we could do a better job of marketing. I also know that people don't look for things until they need them. That is why library circulation is up in these troubled economic times. Do you look for a new job when you have a good one? Do you look for internet access when you have a blackberry? Right now, I think the economy is doing our marketing for us. Hopefully the people who need us now will realize what a good deal they have and continue to use the library when they no longer "need" us.

Haunted Baseball Rescheduled

Winter is really giving me a problem this year. I have been scheduling programs for the adult winter reading program for eight years. I have never had to reschedule a program because of bad weather and the winter reading program usually starts the last week of January. This year I moved it up to better coincide with actual spring training since the program is called Spring Training@ your library. I never imagined we would have a weather problem with programs in March. Silly me! Although the weather forecast for this coming Sunday is not for a foot of snow, it is saying we will get snow, sleet, freezing rain etc. I doubt many people will want to come out to a program at the library in that weather, therefore, we are rescheduling to Sunday, March 15 at 2:00 at Bill Library.

And I really think this is a program worth coming out for! Dan Gordon is the co-author of the book, Haunted Baseball:Ghosts, Legends & Eerie Events. It sounds like a lot of fun. What could be better than a mix of baseball and ghosts? Maybe by March 15, we will have weather much more worthy of baseball. I am not sure what kind of weather ghosts prefer.

Please mark it on your calendars to join us at Bill Library on March 15 at 2:00 p.m. for baseball, ghosts and, hopefully, good weather.

Surprise "guest" at book discussion

We were having a great discussion last night at Bill Library on the book Dirty Water by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and Jere Smith. It was a lively discourse by Red Sox fans, a Yankee fan and a few nonbaseball folks. The book, if you haven't read it, is a Red Sox mystery, using current Red Sox players and a Boston locale. Speaking as the only Yankee fan present, it was very interesting to see the different take on the book by Red Sox fans. The biggest surprise of the night, however, was when we were interrupted by a phone call. Laverne came in to tell us the author of the book was on the phone. You can imagine our surprise. I know authors are now offering to "attend" book club meetings by phone, but I have never tried to make that arrangement. This time the author tracked us down. I had a lovely chat with Mary-Ann Tirone Smith. She said her son and co-author had discovered our book discussion on line and e-mailed her and she just decided to give us a call. I asked her several questions that had come up in our discussion, but didn't think to ask if the Red Sox bars in New York City in the book are actual bars. That was what one participant wanted to know. After visiting Jere Smith's blog last night, I now know how to find out. Since he responded to my post last night in under fifteen minutes, I am sure I can get a quick answer from him. If you would like to check out his blog, it can be reached at letsgosox.blogspot.com.

I don't know if the next book discussion will be as exciting, but now I know there is always that possibility.

Spring Training @ your library

Although you may not have noticed, we have had an adult winter reading program at the Ledyard Public Libraries since 2002. I should know, because I have been coming up with "great" themes for this program since its inception. If you are new to the library or have somehow managed to miss our wonderful six week program until now, you are in luck. This year's entry, starts on February 15.

Even though I am a dedicated sports (Yankee, Giant) fan, I have avoided a sports related theme up until now. Starting on the 15th, however, it is Spring Training @ your library. Coinciding with the arrival of pitchers and catchers in Florida and Arizona, will be our own six week spring training in cold and snowy Connecticut. Every week we have a raffle drawing at each of the libraries. Entering the drawing couldn't be easier. All you have to do is drop in at either library and fill out a favorite team baseball. All the baseballs go in the jar ( I promise not to throw away any Red Sox entries) and on Saturday we draw a winner. Prizes will follow the baseball theme.

We are also going to have an exciting series of events during Spring Training @ your library. The regular third Wednesday book discussion at Bill Library will get in the act with Dirty Water by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and Jere Smith. This first entry in a presumed series of Boston Red Sox mysteries, uses real people and places to create a great mystery read. Copies of the book will be available at the libraries.

Mark your calendars for three interesting (and at least one tasty) programs to be held on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The first will be held on February 22 at Bill Library. Dr. Lewis Randall will discuss how baseball has changed over the years. Dr. Randall is a Norwich native who was in the Cleveland Indian and Washington Senator systems.

We are very pleased to have co-author Dan Gordon discuss his book, Haunted Baseball: Ghosts, Legends & Eerie Events, on March 1 at Bill Library. Bank Square Books will be on hand to sell copies of this entertaining book. Dan, despite being a Red Sox fan, promises he will have great stories to tell for Red Sox and Yankee fans alike.

The final program of our Sunday Series will be held at the Ledyard Congregational Church fellowship hall on March 22. This location is ideal for Apple Pie and Baseball, a culinary event, presented by winter reading program veterans, Andrea Buka and Jennifer Finlayson. If you have attended their programs in the past, you know you are in for a gourmet experience. Registration is required. Call the Bill Library at 464-9912 to get on the list. This is a treat you don't want to miss.

Stay tuned for more information.

It's Cold Outside

This has certainly been an interesting winter. Interesting seems like the best word to use. I am sure several of you could think of a more colorful term. It seems more like an old fashioned winter to me. Having lived my first twenty two years in very northern New York, also known as the Canadian border, I remember snow on the ground and sub zero temperatures from November to April. I know I have been spoiled, however, by the many more years I have spent in sunny southeastern Connecticut.

This doesn't seem like global warming. More like global freezing! I am sure it is part of the "what goes around, comes around" theory of remembering history. If it happened in 1994 or 1894, it can happen again in 2009.

With the cold weather and approaching inauguration, I am reminded of a history lesson Barack Obama does not want to repeat. In 1841, inauguration day was apparently cold and wet. In coming President William Henry Harrison wanted to show his strength and did not wear an overcoat. He also gave the longest inaugural address in history, nearly two hours, and then sat outside for the parade. His time in office barely lasted a month. And his inauguration was in March! I am sure our incoming president will be more prudent.

And you can watch the inauguration on the big screen in comfort at the Bill Library from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.