OLYMPICS 2016

Many books have been written, and films created, about the Olympics over the years.   Come visit the library to check out some of those that are waiting for YOU.   On Tuesday, August 2, WGBH (Channel 2) will be airing a documentary about the 1936 Olympic rowing team.  This is based on the #1 best-seller book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown.  If you are interested in this one, you will have to place a hold as it is still a very popular title even though we have many copies of the book, the audiobook, e-book, and a children's version.  Other book titles available include:  
The Nazi Olympics, After Olympic glory: the lives of ten outstanding medalists:
Something in the air: American passion and defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics:
Breaking the surface;
The dream team: how Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the greatest team of all time conquered the world and changed the game of basketball forever,;
Never stop pushing: my life from a Wyoming farm to the Olympic medals stand;
Going for the gold: how the U.S. won at Lake Placid; and many more. 
Come visit and the librarians will help you find something for you to read, or watch.

HOURS NEWS

The Library will be closed Saturday-Monday, August 30-September 1, for the Labor Day Weekend.  We reopen on Tuesday at 10:00.  The big news is:  beginning on Wednesday, September 3, we will be open from 10-8 Monday-Thursday, Friday 10-5 and Saturday 10-4.  No more trying to remember if "today" is a 10:00 opening or a noon opening.

A New Face

 

Introducing…..Nicole Irvin.  Miss Nikki is the Children’s Librarian.  Come to a story hour or one of the remaining summer programs and meet her.  We were sad when Miss Jerry retired, but she is having so much fun that we can’t feel too badly.  Now that Miss Nikki has begun we are happy once again.  She is excited to be here!  Help us make her feel welcome.

Thursday, August 8

Knit and Crochet from 1-3 

LEGO Club from 3:30-4:30

Alex the Jester with Medieval fun from at 5:30-7:30 p.m. (Sponsored by Children’s Aid and Family Service)

Monday, August 12—Beginner’s Origami Class with Walter.  Limited to 10 people ages 10 and up, so pre-registration is required.

Tuesday, August 14—Story-time at 10:30 a.m.

Thursday, August 15—Science Magic with the Boston Museum of Science Traveling Show at 2:00 p.m.

Monday August 19—Hands on Nature with “The Secret World of Animals that Live Underground” at 3:00 p.m.  Pre-registration is required for this program as well.

Tuesday, August 20—Story-time at 10:30 a.m.

Tuesday August 20—Toe Jam Puppet Band celebrates the end of Summer Reading.  Join us for the finale!  Bring the whole family.  

Miss Nikki will be here for these events so come say, “Hi!” and have fun.  Don’t forget your reading logs.

Pay it Forward - Library Style

We love donations! We covet them! We do happy dances when great things are gifted to us! We all gather round and ooh and ahh like a baby shower! We whisk them off to be added to our library collection for others to use ASAP!

However, these times are so exciting partially due to their infrequency. Similar to Christmas or birthdays, we don’t get to celebrate them as often as we’d like. We know you love to give us things, so here’s a quick guide to helping us to do more happy dances!

Things we do like – Bright, shiny, new things (hey, we’re all ladies here at FPL). Books that have been very gently used and have been published within the last 5 years are snatched up like great shoes on sale!

Things we don’t like – the messy or the ancient. If they have an odor about them, we usually don’t add them because it’s hard to make a book smell different without airing out every single page of the book. This is very time consuming and doesn’t always work (i.e. pet odors, mildew smell), so we have to really need the book in order to add it. Dirt on the cover can usually be dealt with, dirt on pages is worse, and food is virtually impossible, so those don’t end up in our collection.

The ancient – this encompasses things that are just very old, and mold. Mold on books can look like mildew, but it can also look like little brown or black spots on the top of the pages. This mold can be passed to the next book on the shelf, so we have to be very careful of books that have any sort of mold. These, we just won’t add, period. Some old books can be cool, most probably aren’t, and right now, we don’t have the staff or the volunteers to search records and the internet to see if all the old books we get are valuable, so most of those get passed over, too.

We know you love to give, and we like to get, so we can turn around and give to someone else, therefore, think of donations to the library as a classic pay-it-forward, and don’t give anything you wouldn’t want to get.

Travel!

Do you want to plan a vacation, or do some armchair traveling?  The library has recently purchased many travel guides for places in the United States as well as in other countries.  Come in and check them out!
Who knows where you may go next?!

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY NEWS

• Are you buying “Local” this year? Visit the Nancy Project sale of handmade (knitted or crocheted by your friends and neighbors) scarves, hats, mittens and more in the Adult Library during all open hours through Dec. 15. Many people have been busy this year creating items for our sale.
  
• Take a chance on our Bicycle Raffle—Your choice of a spiffy DK brand BMX bicycle or a Giant brand Mountain bike, or a $300 voucher for O’Neill’s Bike Shop in Gardner. Raffle tickets are $1.00 per chance. Come to the library before December 15 and fill out a chance. The winner will be drawn at the end of the day on the 15^th.
• Visit the Friends Book Store on Dec. 8, 15, and 22 from 4:00-8:00 p.m. to purchase like new books and other items.
• Please consider becoming a member of the Friends and giving an hour of your time once a month to assist with the F1rst Thursday Booksales or the redemption of bottles and cans. All proceeds from the Friends' activities directly benefit the library.

Hours

The Library Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that the library is now open six days a week! Come see us on Mondays and Tuesdays 10-8, Wednesdays and Thursdays 12-8, Fridays 10-5, and Saturdays 10-3. We are excited to be open 48 hours.

Emergencey Alert System Test

On Wednesday, November 9th at 2:00 p.m., EST, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will conduct the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System. The test will last approximately 30 seconds and will be transmitted via television and radio stations across the U.S.

Needlepont Rug Mystery

Needlepoint rug

This needlepoint rug has been at the Fitchburg Public Library for many years.  Long enough ago that no one remembers how it came to be here.

Can you help?  Do you know who may have stitched this, or who gave it to the library?  It has long been rumored to have come from the Crocker family but we have not been able to substantiate that.  If you have any information, please email the library at fplref@cwmars.org!  Thanks.

Detail of needlepoint rug.

  

River Journey

Come in out of the rain on Sunday, May 15, and be inspired by the remarkable story of one woman's amazing journey. 2:00-3:30 p.m. Film screening and discussion with Marion Stoddart and others.

The Work of 1000 is a documentary about the parallel journey of two characters, one a young woman discouraged at her future as a suburban housewife, the other a river-once beautiful and teeming with wildlife-now a hopeless, toxic sludge pit.

Chronicling an important episode in U.S. environmental history, this inspirational story examines the humann side of acclaimed environmental pioneer Marion Stoddart.

Marion Stoddart proved that with vision and commitment, an 'ordinary' person can accomplish extraordinary things. This film reveals the secrets of her success and her methods for inspiring change. http://www.workof1000.com/

Exhibits and displays by Nashua River Watershed Association, Trustees of Reservation, Oxbow Wildlife Refuge, Fitchburg Greenway Committee, Fitchburg Cultural Alliance Nashua River Paint-in and more. Light refreshments will be served.

Photo by Stephen J. Twining

The Work of 1000

Screening and Panel Discussion

The Fitchburg Public Library presents The Collaborative History of the Clean-up and the Evolution of Urban Environmentalism on Sunday, May 15 at 2:00 p.m. in the Library Auditorium. This screening of the documentary “Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000” will be followed by a panel discussion with Marion Stoddart, Bill Flynn (Fitchburg’s mayor at the start of the clean-up) and Mayor Wong. Come see this inspiring film that tells the story of one woman’s dedication to making the world a better place by cleaning the Nashua River. Refreshments will be served.

On display will be art works created during the “Along the Nashua River” Paint-In sponsored by Fitchburg Cultural Alliance in June, 2010, and displays by the Nashua River Watershed Association, the Fitchburg Greenway Committee, Growing Spaces Garden Project, the Fitchburg Farmers’ Market and more. The Friends of the Library will have copies of Lynne Cherry’s book, A River Ran Wild: an Environmental History, (Harcourt, 1992) for sale. This history of the Nashua River is an important lesson about just how fragile the natural world around us is.

This event is funded by a grant from the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, the Fitchburg Public Library Trustees, and the Friends of the Library.

Come and be Counted on Snapshot* Day, Wednesday, April 13!

Come to the library and be counted! Libraries across the nation are celebrating National Library Week by documenting a day in the life of libraries. You can help make our day a success by visiting the library anytime noon-7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13. We have many activities for you to participate in and displays to view. ACTIVITIES The Book Club will be discussing Nathaniel Philbrick's "Mayflower" at 1:00. From 5:30-6:30 the evening group will talk about "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer. Come join us if you've read either book or just want to experience a book club. The discussions are always lively. New members are always welcome. One of our genealogy volunteers, Tom Reilly, will be here from noon-4 in the Willis Room to assist you in researching your family history. Come find out who you are! "Yoga for Kids" will be presented by Paula Magee in the Youth Library from 3:30-4:15. Bring your young children (under third grade) and s-t-r-e-t-c-h. At 6:30 p.m. John Root will introduce you to the variety of delicious vegetables, fruits and nuts that can be grown in your backyard. "Edible Perennial Gardening & Landscaping" will help you go green. ON DISPLAY In the Adult Library is a display to commemmorate the start of the Civil War. Come see a private's uniform including brogans, a "housewife" and a "possibles" bag. Outside the Youth Library in the display case on Newton Place are a collection of kites from the Top Fun Aviation Toy Museum in Fitchburg. Anyone can take some paper, a bit of wood and some string and make a kite. Come see these kites and read a some of the history included in the display. COME IN AND BE COUNTED! Help make Snapshot Day a success. *We may take your picture and ask you to sign a release form to allow us to publish the photo.

Interesting Library News

There have been several articles recently published about libraries. This is a link to an article written by Scott Turow the author of "Presumed Innocent" and its sequel, "Innocent." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-turow/letthemeatcakeattitude-th_b_823609.html He expresses his views regarding the value of our nation's libraries.

NPR has been running stories regarding the library situation in England. This story describes how the residents of one small town took part in a public uprising by checking out all 16,000 books from their library as a show of support. http://www.npr.org/2011/02/10/133656983/britain-faces-closing-the-book-on-libraries.

Have you visited your library lately? Go on it and check it out. You will be pleasantly surprised at what it available for you. The library probably has books, and lots of them, but there will also be DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, Internet computers for you to use, magazines, and so much more. Some libraries have Electric Usage Meters for you to test the efficiency of your appliances. Others may have a GPS device you can borrow for your next trip. Fitchburg Public Library has art work, mostly originals, that you can borrow for two months at a time. Come in and check us out and change your point of view!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

This is the time of year when we sit back and review what has happened and plan for the future. We also need to take time to see where we are.

The Fitchburg Public Library is pleased to say that we are here, ready and willing to help you achieve your goals for the coming days, months, years or lifetime. Are you taking any classes in the coming semester and need to do some research? Do you want to try out a new hobby? Maybe you want to read that mystery series you've been putting off? The librarians in the adult and children's libraries are here to assist you. Come on down and see what we have to offer.

Over the next 5-6 months we have several programs planned for you. Storytime continues to be offered every Tuesday at 10:00. Beginning in April or May, there will be a series of movies sponsored by the Farmers' Market. On February 23, Sara Carlisle from ShelterMe, Inc. (a program for abandoned dogs and cats), in Medford, will bring her talented dog, Luna, to present her humane education program.

We are very excited to be hosting a screening and panel discussion of the documentary "Marion Stoddard: The Work of 1000" on Sunday, May 15, at 2:00 p.m. The Fitchburg Greenways Committee and the Mayor's office will join us in presenting this exciting story. Come see how one ordinary woman's vision, dedication and hard work literally changed the world.

Watch our website calendar and "like" us on Facebook to receive updates on what is happening at your Fitchburg Public Library.

LEGO CLUB IS A YEAR OLD!

WHO: You! All kids and their families welcome. Come build neat stuff 
with our 1.987,321 lego pieces!  Free!

WHAT: LEGO CLUB BIRTHDAY PARTY
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 9, 4 pm
WHERE: Fitchburg Public Library

WHY: Because we've been doing Lego Club for one year!
 

Holiday Gift Idea

Give a gift that will last a lifetime and be shared by many. Make a donation to the Fitchburg Public Library Fund in honor of a loved one, friend, or colleague for the holidays, and make the World of Information possible for others. Your holiday tribute gift, the Gift of Knowledge, is the perfect present for the hard-to-buy-for person on your gift-giving list

When you make a donation to the Library Fund you will receive a gift card suitable for letting that special someone know that he or she was remembered by you. The item(s) purchased will be embellished with a bookplate or label with his or her name.

Suggested donation amounts—$10 for a paperback, $15 for a children’s book, $25 for an adult book, $50 for a DVD, $100 for an Audiobook, $200 for a Reference Book, $500 for a Shelf of Books or $1,000 for Stack of Books.

All donations to the Fitchburg Public Library Fund are tax deductible as allowed by law.

Knit and Purl for the Friends of the Library

Cast on your stitches, check your gauge...Knit, Purl with Friends of the FPL. Come and join "The Nancy Project." It's a fund raising effort by the Friends to knit or crochet scarves to sell during holiday shopping season with the proceeds to benefit the library. Why not start knitting a scarf today? Not a knitter...consider a donation of yarn or money.

Last year we raised over $1,800. Local knitters donated an amazing array of beautiful, colorful scarves, hats, mittens and one very cool (wood!) birdhouse. How about scarves knit in local school spirit colors--red and gray for FHS, blue and gold for STB, or purple and gold for MT? Or maybe doll clothes for the popular American girl dolls? Scarves can be lovely accessory on a special outfit not just a neck warmer under your winter coat. The possibilities are endless!

Contact Mary Willoughby at 978-345-1214 or at thenancyproject@gmail.com

Completed items can be left at the library. Please leave your contact information (name, address or email).

Penny Drive

In 1947 Mrs. George R. Wallace, Jr., involved the children of Fitchburg in the fundraising for the planned Youth Library. The children from all the schools in the city organized and decided to raise one million pennies. Children did chores for a few cents, they made and sold earrings and other crafts, they spoke before civic groups and gave up chewing gum and other treats. In less than six months they raised $10,381.75. Three years later, on September 28, 1950, the Youth Library was dedicated. It was the first of its kind in the country and was written about in international magazines and journals for its concept and its architecture.

On Sept. 29, 2010, Mayor Lisa Wong kicked off a new "Penny Drive" to raise funds for materials and programming for the Youth Library. Along with other city officials, trustees and friends of the library the Mayor unveiled a red meter outside the Youth Library entrance on Newton Place. This meter will accept your change--one coin at a time. You can bring larger quantities into the library. Worker's Credit Union will kindly allow us to bring the loose coins you donate to them for counting.

Remember, "Pennies add up to dollars."

It's a Hardbop Life

Broadway Musician to Conduct Program on Lack of Instrumental Musicians in Youth Music Culture

Gregory Charles Royal to Present Version of Jazz Play It’s a Hardbop Life Before Discussion

Wednesday, September 29 at 4:00 P.M.

Broadway trombonist and America’s Hot Musician judge Gregory Charles Royal is touring a nationwide program to hold an open discussion on the lack of instrumental musicians in the fore of youth music culture. The program, offered free to the public, will be held at the Fitchburg Public Library on Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

Royal, who is also Artistic Director of American Youth Symphony (AYS) and co-producer of the tour along with the American Federation of Musicians’ Music Performance Fund (MPF), believes the advent of electronic sound, pop vocals and rap jeopardize the future and careers of young instrumental musicians.

“The overuse of computer samples coupled with a spoken word art form- rap- now defined by the MTV-Hip Hop culture as music performance, posses a real problem on several levels. The obvious is the future survival of traditional music forms which actually require live musicianship such as the symphony, jazz or rock and roll. But even more nuanced is the limitation popular music places on creative youth who are considering popular music as a career. Everyone cannot be a rapper or singer and the possibility of playing an instrument in hip hop for example, is not even on the youth’s radar screen. This is despite the efforts of some conscientious hip hop artists whose music is shut out by popular radio stations and video outlets.”

AYS encourages students and parents alike to attend the program and engage in what it hopes will be a lively discussion.

The program will begin with a scale down version of the jazz play, It’s a Hardbop Life, which is the story of a rapper who in a fantasy is brought back to 1964 in the life of his father, a jazz musician.

It’s a Hardbop Life is the first play to feature an entire cast of jazz musicians and debuted at the New York JVC Jazz Festival in 2004. It was recently featured in Jazz Times Magazine at http://jazztimes.com/articles/26143-gregory-charles-royal-s-hardbop-life and reviewed at http://fsunews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100322/FSVIEW01/100321012

NOTE: For this tour, this play has been condensed to a one-actor presentation with pre-recorded sound.

About Gregory Charles Royal

In addition to serving as AYS artistic director, Royal enjoyed a long career as a trombonist both on Broadway as an onstage musician in the musical Five Guys Named Moe and as a soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Read his complete bio at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Charles_Royal

About American Youth Symphony and its Plight of American Music Initiative

American Youth Symphony (AYS) was founded in Washington, DC in 1982. Its mission is to promote instrumental music within the MTV-Hip Hop Generation. The Plight of American Music Program is a nationwide discussion in schools and other educational settings to advance awareness among youth about instrumental performance and musicians within the popular culture. For more information please visit www.americanyouthsymphony.org

What is the Library Worth to You?

Have you ever thought about the value of the services and materials you and your family receive at the Fitchburg Public Library? Use the Value of Library Service Calculator to figure it out. Count the number of uses for each category during a period of time and put the numbers in the left hand column. When you click on calculate at the bottom of the form the value of those items will be calculated. Share your findings (including whether you used a monthly or yearly figure) with us.

Farmers' Market / Cooks' Books

July 1 the Farmer's Market at Crocker Field opens at 3:00. Are you looking for new ways to prepare your favorite vegetables, or what to do with that odd looking, or strangely named, vegetable you have never heard of?

The Library has many cookbooks full of recipes for you to try. They include Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook and her book Salad People And More Real Recipes…For Preschoolers And Up. The Harvest Eating Cookbook: More Than 200 Recipes for Cooking with Seasonal Local Ingredients, by Keith Snow, promotes health and sustainable living. Barbara Kingsolver and her family tell their story of eating locally in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. There are many general cookbooks that have recipes from soup to nuts. Jim Denevan's Outstanding in the Field: a Farm to Table Cookbook is one example. Check the index in the back of one and find a recipe for the vegetable you have.

If you are interested in saving time or money there are books for you as well. Erin Chase wrote The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook. The Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith, has The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American. To save time, Express lane meals: what to keep on hand, what to buy fresh for the easiest-ever 30-minute meals is just one of the Rachael Ray titles available.

Come to the library Tuesdays 10-5, or Wednesdays and Thursdays Noon-7:00 to browse the collection and check out your favorite. You can also visit us on line at www.fitchburgpubliclibrary.org. View the catalog and request a particular book if you have a valid library card. We will pull it from the shelf (or if it is out put it on hold it for you) and have it for you at the circulation desk. If you do not have a card come visit us with two forms of ID with your mailing address on them and apply.

Come in and discover new worlds of preparing vegetables.

Begin your Independence Day celebrations at the Library on Thursday, July 1, 6:15-7:00 p.m. In the auditorium listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence by Fitchburg's Veterans' Service Agent Ken Jones and Stephen Twining followed by "Songs of America" sung by the New Players Theater Guild.

Friends of the Library Notecards

The Friends of the Library recently held an art contest for the Library's 151st birthday celebration.  The judges chose five designs from the thirteen works of art that were submitted.  These have been made into notecards for the Friends to sell to you!  They are $2.00 each or $8.00 for the collection of five plus $2.25 shipping and handling if you want them mailed to you.  Send your order to and make checks payable to Friends of the Fitchburg Public Library, 610 Main Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420.   Please allow 7-10 days for delivery.  You may also pick up your order at the Library on Tues. 10-12, Wed. & Thurs. 12-7.

World Next Door--Len Haug
                                                   Photo credit: Charles Sternaimolo
Reading Comes Alive--Rachel Armington
                                    Photo credit: Charles Sternaimolo
Fairy Tales--Ruth Page Casey
                                                   Photo credit: Charles Sternaimolo
An Oasis--Sharon Koski
                                                   Photo credit: Charles Sternaimolo
Bookmingo--Don Featherstone
                                         Photo credit: Charles Sternaimolo

151st Birthday Party--Celebrate the next 150 years of library service to the City of Fitchburg with the Friends of the Library. Get your returns in by Thursday, June 10. Mail your check and the names of those attending, Today!

On Friday, June 18, 2010, at the Library, beginning at 6:00 p.m., there will be an hors d’oeuvres reception, music and a cash wine and beer bar, followed at 7:00 by entertainment and a short program in the auditorium. We will have birthday cake and coffee and additional music to end the evening. Among the musical talent will be Adam Willoughby, Rosemary Reynolds, Wil Darcangelo, Frank Bonnano and Div Slomin. The price for this celebration/fundraiser is $40 per person/$75 per couple. Proceeds will benefit the library. Reservations and payment are due by June 10. Please make your check payable to and mail to the Friends of the Fitchburg Public Library, P.O. Box 7485, Fitchburg, MA 01420-0022. If you would like to attend and did not receive an invitation by mail, please stop by the library and pick up one.



For more information about this event, please call Jim Walsh at 978-345-4526.

Message from the past.

LIBRARY AND SENIOR CENTER HOST STORYTELLER FOR THOSE CARING FOR AGED PARENTS

FITCHBURG: Sharon Kennedy, Grammy-nominated storyteller & performance artist, will present her program “Which one of us is the mother now? Tales from the nursing home: A daughter’s story of love, laughter, and lessons learned; trials, tears and advocacy.” on June 16, 2010, at 7:00 p.m., in O’Neil Hall at the Fitchburg Senior Center hosted by the Fitchburg Public Library and the Fitchburg Senior Center. Ms. Kennedy’s show is for everyone, but especially for those who are facing the task of caring for an elderly parent or those who are doing so and trying to do the best they can. It is for adult children who have parents who are getting a little confused as they grow older, or who have parents with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or who are mildly delusional, angry, paranoid, or living in a nursing home or living on their own. It is for the son or daughter who is the chief caretaker or advocate in charge of quality of life and dignity for his/her parent. It is for everyone.

This story includes lots of humor (there are many times when the audience will laugh out loud), plenty of very sweet moments, lovely interactions between a mother and a daughter, moments which may bring tears, and a comforting ending. Come prepared to laugh and cry. Bring a friend, a sibling and/or your parent(s). This may be the just opportunity you need to discuss the difficult topics surrounding end-of-life issues. We will all be there someday. Admission to benefit both the Library and the Senior Center is $7.00 per person or $12 for two. Mail reservations and your payment to Friends of the Library, 610 Main Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420. Your ticket will be waiting for you at the door. Additional tickets will be available at the door.

"Sharon [Kennedy] weaves a tale of truth...we were spell-bound and left with sustaining images of the endurance of our conections to one another"--Susan Hotchkiss, Middleborough. “Storyteller Sharon Kennedy delights and mesmerizes her audience.”— The Milwaukee Sentinel. “Kennedy has abundant stage charms and spell-binding narrative skills.”— The Boston Globe

For more information about this program, please call the library at 345-9639.

Literacy Fair!

The Fitchburg Public Library will be participating in the Family Fun Literacy Fair sponsored by a Title I Department/McKinney Vento Grant and MOC Community Partnership for Children on March 27th, 2010 from 9-12 am at South Street Elementary School. We'll be doing a planting project and a craft project! Join us for fun activities, food, and, of course, books! Come support the library - and reading! We look forward to seeing you there!

Where are the new DVD's?

In response to many patron's question "Where are the new DVD's?", we have implemented a new system for you to know the answer! Since we frequently add DVDs to our collection, whether they are new releases, new releases of older films, or just new to us! Now there is a way for you to tell which are the newest additons - look for a small pink sticker near the label on new DVDs. Come check them out (literally and figuratively!)

Happenings at the Library

On January 27, 2010, at 6:30, David S. Brody will speak about his new best seller, "Cabal of the WEstford Knight: Templars at the Newport Tower." This exciting book is a fictional account based on much research about the "600-year old secrets behind the carvings and artifacts left by Templar Knights during their secret mission to North America." Library Journal says: "The plot will keep readers guessing right up to the end." Free, no registration.

January 28, 2010, brings Ken Gloss, proprietor of the Brattle Book Shop. He will give an entertaining and interesting talk on the topic of old and rare books. He is a regular on the PBS program "Antiques Road Show." You never know what treasures might be in your own attic! Individuals are encouraged to bring old books or documents for evaluation. Free, no registration.

LIBRARY DIRECTOR

The library has a new acting Director, Sharon Bernard. She returns to us after a short hiatus. With over thirty years experience at the Fitchburg Public Library, she is excited to be leading the library into the future. Stop in and say hello.

Change in the hours.

To accommodate families with young children on Tuesdays the hours of the Library have been changed to 10 a.m.-5 p.m. This allows for a story time or other activity for pre-schoolers.

Changes at FPL

As we embark on a new phase in the life of the Fitchburg Public Library the staff begs the indulgence of its faithful customers. The library's days of operation have been diminished to only 3 days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and our hours greatly decreased (12 noon - 7pm on these 3 days only). The staff has also been cut drastically, and consequently, there are just not enough people to ensure that the level of service in the library is as time efficient as it has been in the past.

Know that we are doing all we can to fill your holds, check out your books, put things back in their rightful place, get new books out to you, and answer your important questions. We will continue to service out public to the best of our ability, but please take into consideration that our best may take a few more minutes of your time.

We realize that we are not able to provide the public with a working book drop at this time, and that is due to safety issues as well as monetary ones. Please be patient with us as we also adjust to the volume of customers and materials in a shorter amount of time.

We still have many things to offer you - Come and see! Browse our impressive DVD collection. We have hundreds of popular titles, many recent releases, TV shows and series such as the the Sopranos, Upstairs/Downstairs, the Sandbaggers, Slings and Arrows, the Black Adder, Monty Python, and James Herriot. We also boast a large amount of international DVDs, and a great set of Documentaries including travel, History Channel specials, and work out programs.

Our other media collections are also worth checking out. We have over 1000 music CDs in genres such as Classical (works of Bach, Beethoven, Gershwin, Glass, etc.), Popular (everything from Enya to Springsteen), Jazz, Musical Shows, Folk Music, and International.

Books on CD have been increasing in popularity, and we have stayed up with the times. We now own over 900! These come and go all the time, so if you see something that you want to listen to, take it out now, don't wait until next time, because it may not be here!

As always, our new book room is a favorite place to browse. Come look through our regular fiction, new Mystery, Western, and Science Fiction sections. We have added a special Paperback section to this room as well, so come over and take a look at these popular titles in beach bag size. Our new Non-fiction area is a big hit, too, and the new oversize books now have their own spot! Finally, we now have a new Spanish section on the back wall of the New Book Room. This area is one of the most popular spots in the library and things don't stay on the shelves for long!

The Fitchburg Youth Library has often been praised for its family-friendly atmosphere. That has not changed at all! There are more great kids books than ever, whether you want a picture book, a how-to book, a history book, or a really cool adventure story. The DVD collection is growing, and the CDs are always popular. Small children love to play with the Thomas the Train set in the middle of the library, while the older kids search to find special hidden pictures for a prize. Stop by with your family to enjoy all the fun!

We thank you for being loyal patrons of the Fitchburg Public library and thank each and every person who has lobbied for us, attended open meetings, supported us in City Council meetings, called your Representative, waited patiently in line, and given out words of encouragement. You are the reason that we are still here - and we will continue to serve the city of Fitchburg for as long as we can!

Fresh look

Have you visited the library lately? If so, you may have noticed some cosmetic changes. There is a new information/reference desk--some customers call it command central! The periodicals and newspapers have been moved to the back of the library on new shelving to allow older issues to remain on the first floor for a period of time. There are new shelves for the DVD collection with room for growth. In the New Book Room the books actually have room to breathe! New shelving in the fiction room has opened up the fiction and large type collections.

Some other changes include circulating periodicals. Most of the magazines now circulate. You can learn about science, politics, nature, hobbies and crafts. In the fiction room the mystery, science fiction and western collections have been interfiled with the fiction. This allows you to browse the entire fiction collection and find some new authors, or discover that your favorite author has written in a different genre.

Come visit and see what you've been missing.

One little, two little, three little skunkies

Three adorable little baby skunks, a.k.a. Mephitis mephitis (DDC 599.74), were wandering around the lawns next to the library this evening, and one waddled along the sidewalk and right up to the front door and looked in. He had forgotten his library card, so couldn't check out any books, alas.

Library funding in jeopardy

You may have seen articles about the library’s budget hearing before the City Council in the newspapers or on FATV on Wednesday night, but you may not realize how important your support for the library is for you.

A loss of certification due to budget cuts means:

·You will not be able to go into any library in Massachusetts to borrow materials,
·You will not be able to borrow materials through Interlibrary Loan and
·Grant supported programs, such as FLASH, a family literacy program, will be cut.

The library budget discussion was tabled until Wednesday, June 20 at 2:30 pm. Please show support for your public library by attending this important hearing at City Hall. You do not have to say or do anything. Your presence would send a positive message to the city council. If you cannot attend, please call your councilor and express your concern.

Thank you.
Fitchburg Public Library Staff

All you need is a little imagination

Cutest library catalog evah.

Be a Superpatron

From the web: Ten ways for superpatrons to build better libraries. Good advice all around!

It's National Poetry Month...

Do you know where your daffodils are?

You can find them at the above link, or in the Fitchburg Public Library stacks at 821.71 Word. Or you can see a slightly different version here:

Inventing English

For all language lovers, there was a wonderful episode today of the NPR program "On Point" called "Inventing English: From Beowulf to Eminem." It's available for listening online.

Fitchburg Public Library is a HOTSPOT!

Thanks to City Hall and Comcast the library is now offering wireless Internet access for all of you who have laptops with wireless capability. You do need a username and password available from the information and reference librarians.

Poem-of-the-Week: "Then we will fight in the shade"

A good line can last forever. (Well, for 2500 years, at least.) And it can appear in different media, in different languages, and in both classic literature and popular culture.

Here's a scene from pop culture that's hitting it big at the box office this month, with a famous 2500-year-old line at the end:



Here's another version of the very same scene from about 100 years ago, and even then it was “news that men have heard before”:

The King with half the East at heel is marched from lands of morning;
His fighters drink the rivers up, their shafts benight the air,
And he that stands will die for nought, and home there's no returning.

A prize can go to anyone who finds on the Library's shelves the next and final line of this verse, or identifies its author. (Or perhaps identifies "The King with half the East at heel.")

Silent Cops and Sleeping Policemen

A colloquial term for speed bumps placed across a road to slow down traffic is "sleeping policemen." This is apparently a variant of the term "silent cop" used to designate upright posts often set in the middle of intersections to channel traffic and prevent car jams. When was the term "silent cop" first used for these structures? According to one linguistic researcher, the term "silent cop" first appeared in 1914 in the Fitchburg Sentinel.

Have any other English words or expressions originated in Fitchburg? There's a good research question for someone.

A visitors map for us

I've added a visitors map to the blog sidebar so we can see where people are coming from who visit the FPL blog. Click on it to get a bigger view. (Once a page appears on the web, people from all over the world find it.) These little additions are called "blog widgets" and there are lots of them out there, from visitors maps to weather stickers to clocks and much more.

Poem-of-the-Week

[Here's an example of the kind of thing that could appear in the FPL blog as a regular feature. It would require keeping a bag of candy in the reference desk so appropriate rewards could be given out. Feel free to edit or delete as you see fit.]

Here's a timely poem for us in the month of March. The first ten people who come to the information desk with with the name of the author (maybe shown in a book) will get a piece of chocolate (to be eaten outside), so start searching! You can't leave the answer as a comment; you have to come to the desk in person to receive your reward.

TOSSING his mane of snows in wildest eddies and tangles,
Lion-like March cometh in, hoarse, with tempestuous breath,
Through all the moaning chimneys, and 'thwart all the hollows and angles
Round the shuddering house, threating of winter and death.

But in my heart I feel the life of the wood and the meadow
Thrilling the pulses that own kindred with fibres that lift
Bud and blade to the sunward, within the inscrutable shadow,
Deep in the oak's chill core, under the gathering drift.

Nay, to earth's life in mine some prescience, or dream, or desire
(How shall I name it aright?) comes for a moment and goes—
Rapture of life ineffable, perfect—as if in the brier,
Leafless there by my door, trembled a sense of the rose.

The New York Times on LibraryThing

The New York Times has a story today about LibraryThing.com, the online cataloging system for personal libraries that some people from FPL participate in.

Words of Wisdom

Are you interested in words, phrases, slang expressions and colloquialisms? Check out Michael Quinion's website to learn the definition and origins for words such as cockamamie, eleemosynary, and floccinaucinihilipilification or from where the phrase "push the envelope" comes.

104 years

February 27th is an important anniversary for the Wallace Library, as the picture above illustrates. Thank you, Rodney!
Wallace Library and Arts Building, Built 1884. Photograph June 1, 1959. See comment for more information.

Mimus polyglottos

In the swirl of snow in the courtyard today, our own Library Mockingbird still guards his hedges (but the musical shuttle in his throat is still until spring).

Book blogs

One of the most elegant book blogs on the web is BibliOdyssey (which has links to many other interesting book blogs on its blogroll). We'll start making a list of interesting book and library blogs for people to browse -- watch for them to appear on the sidebar.

Word of the Week

Beclown: v., to make into a clown, as in "He has beclowned himself."

(This is an example of the sort of thing that could be a regular feature of the Fitchburg Public Library blog: a word of the week, an author of the day, a map of the month, a seasonal poem, a book of the month; many such possibilities are open to us.)

(How about a call number of the week?)