Library Card Sign-Up Month

September is coming fast, and the Martha Canfield Library in Arlington has planned many programs to tie in with the national library card signup month. The month begins with a reception for area select boards and moves on through a host of Vermont authors and book panels. Area residents can hear Sue Halpern, Bill McKibben, Frankie Bailey, Linda Furiya, Reeve Lindbergh and poet laureate Sydney Lea. Four programs feature the Internet– social networks, LibraryThing, Facebook, and Linked In. Three more highlight area history: Arlington & the Revolutionary War, Collecting Sandgate Memories, and stories from the Memoir Group.

Two years ago Brooks Memorial Library joined forces with area bookstores in their “Smartest Card” promotion. Card holders could get a 15% discount by showing their library card during September. The campaign also featured local card holders:

“The library is your ticket for liberating the mind” (Marie, Brattleboro)

“Here’s my library card, the most important card in my wallet next to my license,” (overheard at the main desk.)

“You can’t imagine what a gift this library card is!” (Jenny in Whitingham).

ALA has plenty of information to tie local events to the national campaign. Check out audio public service announcements, a Flickr slide show, letter to the editor and more at the ALA Library Card link. This year’s spokesperson is Super Bowl champion Troy Polamalu.

Need new trustees? ADVERTISE!

Brooks Memorial Library advertises for new trustees in their weekly e-newsletter. Specifics include the term length (3 years), qualifications (residency, “interest in maintaining a strong and visionary library,” and expectations: monthly meetings and service on one or more ad hoc committees.

“Applicants should sent a letter, or email, describing their interest in serving on the Library Board no later than Monday, January 3. Interviews will be arranged later that week.”

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.”

Food brings people together

McCullough Free Library in North Bennington partnered with Bennington College to create “The Jubilee Library Series.” The series kicked off with an afternoon meeting that included recipe exchanges, stories, and professionals demonstrating food preparation. Needless to add, people came, brought their favorite foods to share, and ate well.

Some of the questions setting the theme included: Deconstruct your absolute favorite breakfast
Have you ever cooked on a date?
Describe the best birthday cake you’ve ever eaten

Chris Danzo, chef and owner of Marigold Kitchen, showed how to make pizza dough and Carol Adonolfi created multi-grain pancakes.

Two Bennington College students, Rachel Sherk and Faith Griffiths, worked with the Library to create the series, which totaled four events on Saturday afternoons.
The four themes for the events were Food, Reading, Listening, and Making. Sherk and Griffiths planned to document the events and compile responses into a bound book to be given to the McCullough Free Library at the end of the series.