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.