Books, Soup and Pie

Every year the Lincoln Library holds a “Books, Soup and Pie Sale” either on Columbus Day weekend or in November. People buy their Thanksgiving pies and freeze them. Last year librarian Debi Gray reported making $700 solely on pie sales. Check out the event at the library website.

The Grafton Library also holds an annual booksale the Saturday of the Columbus weekend– when people are in town for the foliage and other nonprofit fundraisers.

SAT Prep at Libraries

Burnham Memorial Library offers an informal SAT prep course to area HS students. Here’s youth services Gizelle Guyette (gguyette@colchestervt.gov): Princeton Review was willing to work with us. They provide the tests, which are actual SATs with current sections, scoring, rules and regs. We provide the venue and the proctor (me). We set the room and test conditions up as specified by SAT testing rules… we recreate as closely as possible the environment they will encounter with the real test, including timing and specific regulations regarding allowed utensils and equipment. After the exam, the tests are sent by FedEx to be scored by Princeton Review, and on the following Saturday, one of their instructors brings their scores and teaches a strategy session for individual sections, and then specific questions.

If the library is interested, talk to the Princeton Review. Gizelle’s contact is Shannon Shepardson, SShepardson@Review.com; phone: (800) 447.0254 x5630; mail: The Princeton Review 1340 Centre Street l Suite 104 l Newton, MA 02459

Paint the picture clearly– the library budget, opportunities for Young Adults, likelihood that students will be able to purchase courses. Burnham paid $500 in the initial year for the service and books, no charge to the students of course. The second year Princeton Review provided the course pro bono.

Gizelle again: Students who participated and gave us feedback told me that their scores between the Practice SAT and the official one improved 100-150 points, and that they went into the real SAT “feeling like they knew what they were doing.”