Beach library offers online magazine tutorial Sept. 10
Weekly Activities
nPreschool Story hour on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 10:30 a.m.
nKnitting session Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m.
nGetting to Heaven/Living on Earth presentation Thursday, Sept. 3, at 10:30 a.m.
nClosed Monday, Labor Day, Sept. 7.
Activity Details
Knitters, both beginning and experienced, gather to share time and ideas on Aug. 2. Aspiring knitters are encouraged to participate as the smaller group lends itself to an easy atmosphere for getting the basics.
Getting to Heaven/Living on Earth brings author Will Bronson for a presentation on a theological and humanitarian topic. He blends some views about what it takes to get to heaven along with addressing environmental and people issues. If you want to prepare for the discussion, consider reading his “How to Get to Heaven” (234 BRO).
Upcoming Activities
If you want better command and ease in searching online magazines, consider signing up for Magazines Galore, a 30-minute tutorial that guides you in locating topics and related articles in the magazine database. This is a resource that offers a wealth of information and unless you take a little time to become familiar with it, will be a resource that evades your repertoire of skills. Session is scheduled for Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. Pre-registration is necessary.
Historical Fiction
In “Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III” (on order), Flora Fraser gives us a fascinating, intimate portrait of the royal household of George III. She focuses on the six princesses rather than their nine princely brothers. This point of view becomes a revealing lens through which readers can appreciate the complexity, closeness, dysfunctionality, and self-sufficiency of the royal family.
In the ninety-one years that elapsed between the first princess’s birth (1766) and the death of the last surviving princess (1857), tremendous political upheavals shook the world: the American and French revolutions and the Napoleonic wars, among others. Fraser, however, has chosen to take us inside the royal family’s palaces and castles and show us their life of royal duties, holiday visits, lessons, gift exchanges, letter-writing, and the companionship they created among themselves. They seem especially insulated during their childhood from much of the turbulence the rest of the world endured during. Later, much intrigue centered around royal marriages, but King George, whose mental and physical health became increasingly unstable, stubbornly rejected the royal and aristocratic suitors who sought his daughters’ hands in marriage. Intrigue took many forms and was everywhere. Though keeping the six princesses, their nine brothers, and various cousins and aunts and uncles AND suitors straight can pose a challenge to the reader, this is informative and insightful history, offered from an original perspective. The genealogical chart at the front of the volume helps to clarify the intricacies of this large and historically significant family.
Library is a Busy Place
I’ve mentioned previously that we’ve had a busy summer with more people using the library and more items being checked out. You may notice that there are more users in the facility as we experienced 5 percent increase in attendance in July. Last month these users spent 1695 hours on the Internet, and 7,827 items were checked out from the collection.
We are also busy behind the scenes. We added 297 new books and 218 new audio-visual titles to the collection. This takes a lot of work as reviews, articles, and reports must be evaluated to ascertain what we should order, and then the actual ordering and processing takes place.
When library users take excellent care of materials, they do themselves a favor as well as other users. The more time staff has to spend cleaning, repairing or replacing damaged items, less time is available for other services.
So often, the little things make such a difference: when checking out and using a DVD, always handle the DVD only on its edges and please avoid eating when handling the DVD. If adults did this, we would end up with 100 more DVDs still in the collection each year. If parents teach children to do the same, we also gain.
While it’s tempting to eat/drink while reading, try to avoid having sticky hands when turning pages.
Format
We still appreciate the experience of print in many ways. The paper book is a symbol of deep, undistracted thought, a vacation to a place without cell phones or e-mail. Paper books ask for (or help us develop) our undivided attention.
We ask library users to please turn their cell phones off when they enter or at least put them on vibration. Should a call arrive and it’s necessary, please step outside. Last week an Internet user got a call and then took the call in the bathroom instead of the courtesy of going outdoors. The call was so loud it could be heard in other areas of the library. One wonders at times where courtesy is. Clearly undistracted thought was not that user’s experience, nor did he permit it for others.
Library Hours
Don’t remember library hours? Call for information. When we are closed, a recorder gives the hours of operation, either on 765-8162 or on 765-8163. Except for holidays, which would be mentioned on the recorder, we are open Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. We look forward to seeing you.