Springfield Town Library

Newsletter
Winter 2011

Springfield Town
Library
From the Director Russell Moore

43 Main St Springfield Town Library enjoys lets people calculate an estimated

Springfield, VT tremendous support from our
05156 community, financially as well as in
the extensive use of its services. In
802-885-3108 the last Fiscal Year, July 1, 2009 –
June 30, 2010, we counted 37,211
Library Hours people as they entered the Library.
Monday - Thursday
9:00 - 8:00 With 4,871 active registered
Friday borrowers, nearly 60% of Springfield
9:00 - 5:00
Saturday residents used the Library. They
10:00 - 3:00 borrowed 64,448 books and other
Closed Sunday
www.springfieldtownlibrary.org Library materials, attended 174
programs for children and adults, and
logged in on one of six public access
computers 12,555 times.
And yet, people may sometimes
Inside this issue: take their Library for granted, happy
that it’s here but not fully aware of
everything it offers and overlooking
its enormous economic contribution
Children’s Corner
2 to the community. At an average cost
of about $20 each, those 64.448 items
Adult Program
Calendar 3 borrowed from the Library in FY10
would have cost the borrowers over
$1,250,000 if purchased rather than
New Materials
4 borrowed for free.
Aside from all the other benefits
FOSTL News
5 you get in using the Library, what is
the actual cash value of the Library to
you? The ―Library Value Calculator‖
6 on our website
(www.springfieldtownlibrary.org)
value of the Library services they use.
As an example, if a parent brings a
child to the Library just once and
checks out one adult book, one chil-
dren’s book, an audiobook, a music
CD, a DVD and a museum pass,
browses through a magazine and a
newspaper and uses a public access
computer for information from the
Internet while their child is attending a
program, the value of that one visit is
about $125. Add in an Inter-Library
Loan and an adult program for another
$40. Try it yourself – just click on the
Library Value Calculator tab on our
website and enter the number for each
of the services that you use. You
might be surprised at what you find.
AARP Tax-Aide
Tax preparation assistance will
be available at the library
starting February 9, 2011.
Sign up for appointments
will begin the end of January.

Children’s Corner by Cheryl Cox, Children’s Librarian
Winter has arrived, and, along with it, the
Winter Calendar of Children’s Programs! Story
Times have already begun and we are looking
forward to hosting programs on Early Release
Days and during February Vacation. Included in
the fun is a ―Feed the Birds‖ craft making session
on February 3 at 2:00 and a live animal
presentation on February 23 at 10:00 am. A
special program for families is scheduled for
Saturday, February 12 at 10:30 am. Lynn Levine,
forester and author of Mammal Scat and Tracks
and Snow Secrets will present a wildlife tracking
workshop. Everyone is welcome to attend. She
will also have books for purchase for those who
desire a copy.
Teens, tweens and adults who are in need of
drowning their Valentine’s Day sorrows are in-
vited to attend the Love Stinks Chocolate Fest on
Friday, February 11 at 6:30 pm. Chocolate and a
Upcoming Children’s Programs
“Miles of Smiles”
Story Time for 3 - 5 year olds
Tuesdays @ 10:00 am
January 18 - March 8
Be sure to check the Winter Calendar of
Children’s Programs for other
scheduled events!
Winter 2011
movie will soothe the soul.
The Children’s Room is declaring March to be
Mystery Month! Kids in grades 2-5 are invited to
join the Super Sleuths Mystery Club. Four ses-
sions will be held on Wednesdays at 3:45 pm from
March 9 - 30 with The Mad Scientist presenting a
―Sleuths on the Scene‖ program on the 23rd. Kids
may come to one or all of the meetings. Pick up
the first mystery anytime after February 21.
As always, our children’s programs are free and
open to all thanks to the generosity of the Friends
of the Springfield Town Library. We look forward
to seeing YOU!!
“Wiggles and Giggles”
Story Time for 2 year olds
Wednesdays @ 10:30 am
January 19 - February 16
March 2 - 9
Other programs
February 3 @ 2:00 pm
Feed the Birds craft session
February 11 @ 6:30 pm
Love Stinks! Chocolate Fest
February 12 @ 10:30 am
Wildlife Tracking w/ Lynn Levine
February 23 @ 10:00 am
Live Animal Presentation
Page 2
 Winter 2011
Adult Programs @ the library
Adult Programs Adult Programs
Springfield Town Library Springfield Town Library
43 Main Street 43 Main Street
Springfield, VT Springfield, VT

January February

5 Wednesday - First Wednesday Adult Book 2 Wednesday - First Wednesday Adult Book
Discussion, My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, Discussion, Hunting Mister Heartbreak by
5:30-6:30pm. Copies of the book are available at Jonathan Raban, 5:30 pm. Copies of the book
the library. are available at the library.

14 Friday – Friday Morning Pageturners , a short 11 Friday - Pageturners 10:30-11:30am.

story discussion group meets from 10:30 - 11:30
am. Copies of each story are available at the Main 11 Friday – Love Stinks! Movie night with
Desk. Join in anytime! chocolate...more details to come.
12 Saturday – Animal Tracking Program for
24 Monday – The Springfield Writer’s Group families…more details to come.
meets the fourth Monday of each month at 6:30
pm. This group is open to all writers and
would-be writers age 18 and up. 22 Tuesday – Tea & Titles Book Discussion at
the Springfield Senior Center 11:00 am to 12
noon.
25 Tuesday – Tea & Titles Book Discussion at
23 Wednesday – The Iditarod: The Last Great
the Springfield Senior Center 11:00 am to 12 Race, 6:30 – 7:30 pm. Join Dr Ron Svec of the
noon. This month we will be discussing, The
VT-NH Veterinary Clinic in Dummerston, VT as he
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by gives us a rare glimpse into the Iditarod Sled Dog
Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows. Copies of
Race. Dr Svec has been a staff veterinarian on
the book are available at the Senior Center. the race for many years and will share with us an
insider’s view with pictures and stories from the
27 Thursday – Black Bears: Their Habitats and trail. Co-sponsored by the Library, The Nature Museum and
Ascutney Mountain Audubon and partially funded by the Wellborn
Habits at 6:30 pm. Forrest Hammond from the Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Service will present this
25 Friday - Pageturners 10:30-11:30am
program about Black Bears in Vermont. Forrest
will discuss the role that the public can play in 28 Monday - Writer’s Group, 6:30 pm
protecting bear habitat and in determining how Be sure to pick up your copy of the 2011
many bears we have in the future. Co-sponsored by the Vermont READS title and
Library, The Nature Museum of Grafton and Ascutney Mountain
Audubon Society and partially funded by the Wellborn Ecology Fund watch for special pro-
of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
grams coming this spring!

28 Friday – Pageturners 10:30 – 11:30am

Page 3
 Your library has partnered with DearReader.com to offer
STL monthly newsletters featuring our newest books, CDs and
Newsletter
DVDS and online book clubs allowing you to read books in
your email or on your phone!
New Materials
Fiction
Dead or Alive
by Tom Clancy

The Confession Visit the library home page and click on the ―Book News‖ tab where you
by John Grisham can subscribe to our monthly newsletters featuring descriptions, reviews
and links to our catalog of award winning books, bestsellers and new
Full Dark, No Stars authors. Read in your email, via RSS or on your mobile phone. And/or
by Stephen King
subscribe to online book clubs where you sample 2-3 chapters of a new
book each week. Meet the authors, discuss the wide variety of books.
Port Mortuary
by Patricia Cornwell Library users can also access our new monthly newsletter and
online book clubs, our catalog and
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
more at the Springfield Town Library’s
by David Sedaris
Facebook page. Just click on Book News!
An Object of Beauty
by Steve Martin

Non-Fiction Do you love a horse?

Springfield Town Library visitors are invited to take a photo of a horse close
Unbroken
to their heart and bring a copy to the library. The library will be having a photo
by Laura Hillenbrand
contest that will accompany a 25 piece photo exhibit titled: The Literary Horse:
Cleopatra When Legends come to life. The exhibit pairs photos of today’s horses and riders
by Stacy Schiff with family-friendly, quotations from the world’s great books.
Showcasing first-time riders through Special Olympics and Olympic
I Remember Nothing champions, and equestrian disciplines ranging from carriage driving and
by Nora Ephron show-jumping to jousting and vaulting (gymnastics on horseback), The Literary
Horse provides visitors with a real-life tour of the classics, such as the Iliad,
Autobiography of Mark
Richard III, and Jane Eyre, as well as beloved children’s tales, such as Black
Twain, Vol. 1
Beauty, Cinderella, and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
by Mark Twain
―I hoped these images would help people see themselves in the great books and
Life inspire them to live their own legends,‖ said Vanessa Wright the artist and creator
by Keith Richards of the exhibit. ―Heroes aren’t just people who lived long ago-they are our
neighbors, our friends, our family members, and ourselves.‖
Barefoot Contessa: How The exhibit opens on March 15, 2011 and continues until Saturday, April 16,
Easy is That? 2011 concluding with a program with the artist Vanessa Wright and a visit from
By Ina Garten Becky the miniature horse from Baymare Farm, Springfield.

Page
Page 4
4
 Friends of the Springfield Town Library (FOSTL) News

Now that we have resigned ourselves about the things that did not get done last year and have our new
resolutions for 2011, it is a good time to think about what was accomplished.
FOSTL had a very good 2010. The annual book sale was better than expected. We had many
wonderful donations and people came out and bought. Also our matching grant appeal to the community
for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s ―On-Line Opportunity‖ Grant will mean there will be at least
four new laptop computers available for public use at the library. This will cut down dramatically the
current waiting time. We also purchased two new lockable cabinets to expand the storage space for the
historical collection. This year we had so many wonderful donations for the holiday basket at the Holiday
Open House, we were able to do two baskets plus our usual free drawing for the children’s basket. We
want to thank everyone who donated items and also those who purchased raffle tickets for their kind
generosity and support of the library.
This year we have Bert Willard coming for the Annual Meeting, April 6 th, to talk about Russell Porter
and he will demonstrate Porter’s Garden Telescope—made in Springfield and one of only 16 known to
exist. In anticipation of the 250th anniversary of Springfield, the Friends have sponsored the publication of
―Images of America—Springfield‖ by Arcadia Publishing. It is a 128 page book containing 215 vintage
pictures of Springfield. It is written along the lines of the ―Picture the Past‖ newspaper articles. It should
be available in June at the Library (as a library fund raiser) and from other local distributors. And again
we will hold our annual book sale at the Armory in July—watch for the date. If you have books you
would like to donate just bring them to the library.
Bunni Putnam, President
Friends of the Springfield Town Library

February is Membership Month

I would like to become a FOSTL Individual $15.00
Once again it is time for our Friends
of the Springfield Town Library member for 2010 Family 25.00
membership appeal. If you have Name Student/Senior 7.00
made a recent end of the year Benefactor 50.00
Address
membership renewal, consider it Patron 100.00
done. If you are not a member, we
Phone
urge you to become one. It is not a
* I’d like to help with FOSTL fundraising
requirement to use the library, but __ Annual Book Sale (Summer)
makes a large impact on the extras __ December Open House
that are available there. These funds __ Other fundraising Please mail or drop off to the
go directly to programs and * Optional library at:
improvements that would not Springfield Town Library
otherwise be funded by town taxes. 43 Main St
(See the FOSTL article above for Springfield, VT 056156
information regarding our
activities.) Please join us and help Page 5
keep our library one of the best in
the area.
 Springfield Town Library
43 Main St
Springfield, VT 05156-2997

Russell Porter (1871 – 1949) and his Wednesday, April 6

7:00 pm

Garden Telescope

In keeping with the 250th Anniversary of the town, we are

pleased to have Bert Willard, a Russell Porter biographer, as
our guest speaker. Bert is a long time member of the
Springfield Telescope Makers and is also the curator of the
Hartness-Porter Museum of Amateur Telescope Making at the
Hartness House Inn.
Bert will discuss, one of Springfield’s more interesting citizens,
using photograph’s of Porter’s work. He will also display the
Porter Garden Telescope, one of only 16 known to exist today.

Please join us for this program on the evening of the annual

meeting of the Friend’s of the Springfield Town Library.
Everyone is invited!
Photo courtesy
Springfield Telescope Makers