Knitters Unite!

The Children's Department has always welcomed readers ... and now ... knitters! Our Learn to Knit club for kids in grades 1 to 6 is one of our favorite activities of the week. We meet Mondays at 3:30 p.m. in the Carol Pieper Book Nook in the Children's Department. Last week we had 17 participants, mostly beginners, and 2 wonderful volunteers. As we learn about yarn, needles, and basic knitting stitches, we're also seeing the children develop coordination, motor skills, and problem solving. We're still looking for a few more adult volunteers to teach basic knitting skills. Please call the Children's Department at 385-4165 if you are interested in joining us on Mondays.

US News and World Report likes our job. So do we.

U.S. News and World Report just ran an article saying that the career of "librarian" is worthwhile, interesting, and underrated. That's what we've always thought! If you've ever wondered what we do in our beloved building full of books and computers, Marty Nemko's article is gives a pretty realistic picture of a reference librarian's day-to-day work.

If you're a person who likes to work with information and people, data and young people, computers and the elderly... then come talk to us about librarianship. It's personally rewarding and often fun. Besides, librarians always do really well on Jeopardy! Here are some of the Nemko's best observations:

Forget about that image of librarians as a mousy bookworms.... Librarians (are) high-tech information sleuths, helping patrons plumb the oceans of information available in books and digital records... Most librarians love helping patrons solve their problems and, in the process, learning new things. Librarians may also go on shopping sprees, deciding which books and online resources to buy. They may even get to put on performances, like children's puppet shows, and run other programs, like book discussion groups for elders.... (Librarians) love the idea of helping people dig up information, are committed to being objective—helping people gain multiple perspectives on issues—and will remain inspired by the awareness that librarians are among our society's most empowering people.

You can read his full article, including advice on how to get into the profession, at: http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/best-careers/2008/12/11/best-careers-2009-librarian.html

Pres. Obama's thoughts on libraries

In 2005, President Barack Obama was the keynote speaker at the American Libraries Association annual conference in Chicago. His words were inspiring and insightful.

More than a building that houses books and data, the library represents a window to a larger world, the place where we’ve always come to discover big ideas and profound concepts that help move the American story forward and the human story forward. That’s the reason why, since ancient antiquity, whenever those who seek power would want to control the human spirit, they have gone after libraries and books.

He suggests that our world would be a better place if McDonalds gave out a books with Happy Meals, and if a baby's first doctor's visit included a new library card and a new book. We think he's right!

His complete speech can be read at:

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/resources/selectedarticles/obama05.cfm

Nutmeg Book Award Voting

It's time to vote for Connecticut's Nutmeg Book Award! During the month of January, children and teens in grades 4-8 have the chance to vote for their favorite Nutmeg Book Award nominee. Vote in the Stratford Library's Children's Department for your favorite book!

The Nutmeg Book Award encourages children in grades 4-8 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of ten nominated titles. Our state's children's choice award is jointly sponsored by the Connecticut Library Association (CLA) and the Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL). Winners of this award are announced on February 14. Nominees for next year's award will be revealed on February 1. Stop by the Children's Department on or after February 1, 2009 for a peek at next year's books! Or visit http://www.nutmegaward.org/ for a list of the new titles.

The historic Presidential Inauguration will be shown in the Lovell Room and and the library lobby beginning at 10:00 am on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

The Library will be closed for Martin Luther King Day, Monday January 19, 2009. We will re-open on Tuesday January 20th at 10:00 am.

Join us for Bluford High Night~~ "That's What I'm Talking About" Thursday, January 29, 2009--6:30 pm--Board Room Teens are welcome to come in and talk about the popular Bluford High series and other great contemporary books! Refreshments and a Raffle! Bring a friend! Call 385-4167 or stop Teen Services for more information.

A taxing time of year

Yes, it is that time of year, when "doing your taxes" hangs over all of our heads!

Starting in February, there will be a couple of volunteer programs in Stratford offering free help in preparing the individual (not business) income tax forms for low or moderate income individuals of all ages.

If none of those times is convenient for you, drop in (or call) the library and we'll tell you about volunteer programs in neighboring towns that are also free and are open to Stratford residents.

And yes, we have tax forms at the library. We have all of the common tax forms in the lobby to pick up. If you need an unusual form, come talk to the reference librarians and we can print out the form you need from the IRS or state web site. Free Tax Prep Help BY APPOINTMENT ONLY: 377-0689 South End Community Center 19 Bates St, Stratford Feb. 5 – April 18, 2009 Thursdays, 5:30 pm – 8 pm Saturdays, 9:30 am – 12 pm

Free Tax Prep Help BY APPOINTMENT ONLY: 377-0689 Franklin Elementary School 1895 Barnum Avenue, Stratford Feb. 2 – April 13, 2009 Mondays, 4 pm – 8 pm

Poet who teaches in Connecticut asked to read her work at Inauguration

Elizabeth Alexander, an award-winning poet and Yale professor of African American studies and English literature, has been selected to compose and read an original poem at the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

“I'm completely thrilled to have been chosen for this honor,” Alexander said. “Barack Obama is a man who understands the power and integrity of language. To be asked to turn my own words to this occasion and for this person is all but overwhelming.”

Alexander is only the fourth poet in modern American history to read at a presidential swearing-in ceremony. Her predecessors are Robert Frost, who recited “The Gift Outright” at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy, and Maya Angelou and Miller Williams, who read poems they had created for the occasion at President Clinton's inaugurations. (The above paragraphs were originally reported in the Yale Daily News, 12/19/08)

This is the poem that Robert Frost recited at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, "The Gift Outright." Some accounts of the inauguration say that he intended to read a different poem that he had written especially for the event, but that he found he could not read the words on the page that day, and so recited this poem, which he knew by heart.

The land was ours before we were the land’s She was our land more than a hundred years Before we were her people. She was ours In Massachusetts, in Virginia, But we were England’s, still colonials, Possessing what we still were unpossessed by, Possessed by what we now no more possessed. Something we were withholding made us weak Until we found out that it was ourselves We were withholding from our land of living, And forthwith found salvation in surrender. Such as we were we gave ourselves outright (The deed of gift was many deeds of war) To the land vaguely realizing westward, But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced, Such as she was, such as she will become.

Great Minds Think Alike

When we saw Rolling Stone's list of "top 50 CDs of 2008," it turned out the library had already ordered more than thirty of them earlier in the year. We ordered most of the others right away. So if there's a CD on this list that intrigues you, you can put a hold on it through our online catalog. Or just call the library at 385-4164 and we'll place the hold for you. If it's checked out to someone else, we call you and tell you when it's back and waiting here for you. That's a pretty nice service! And if you don't have a library card yet... what are you waiting for? It's free, it's available to anyone who lives in Stratford, and it's your passport to loads of free music, books and DVDs. Rolling Stone's Albums of the Year Click on the title to read why Rolling Stone singled out these as the best of the year, and view video clips from the best songs. TV on the Radio: Dear Science Bob Dylan: Tell Tale Signs — The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges John Mellencamp: Life, Death, Love and Freedom Santogold: Santogold Coldplay: Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends Beck: Modern Guilt Metallica: Death Magnetic Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes Ryan Adams and the Cardinals: Cardinology The Black Keys: Attack & Release Randy Newman: Harps and Angels B.B. King: One Kind Favor Lucinda Williams: Little Honey Erykah Badu: New Amerykah: Part 1 (4th World War) Kings of Leon: Only by the Night Kaiser Chiefs: Off With Their Heads Jackson Browne: Time the Conquerer Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst The Magnetic Fields: Distortion Mudcrutch: Mudcrutch Brian Wilson: That Lucky Old Sun Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago Duffy: Rockferry MGMT: Oracular Spectacular Jamey Johnson: The Lonesome Song Stephen Malkmus: Real Emotional Trash Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! The Hold Steady: Stay Positive Taylor Swift: Fearless Jonas Brothers: A Little Bit Longer David Byrne and Brian Eno: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely Be Your Own Pet: Get Awkward The Academy Is...: Fast Times at Barrington High Of Montreal: Skeletal Lamping Raphael Saadiq: The Way I See It

The Reader

Did you miss reading this book initially? Perhaps the movie version has inspired you to check out the book which was an "Oprah's Book Club" selection! Kirkus Reviews gave the following details about the popular book. "A compact portrayal of a teenaged German boy's love affair with an emotionally remote older woman.... Seven years after their intimacy, university student Michael Berg accidentally learns that (now) 40ish Hannah Schmitz had concealed from him a past that reaches back to Auschwitz.... Toward its climax, the novel becomes, fitfully, frustratingly abstract, but on balance this is a gripping psychological study that moves skillfully toward its surprising and moving conclusion.”