What Happens to Poems?

Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Suburbia (shelved at JFic TAN) is a beautiful book full of astonishing, whimsical stories and illustrations. One of the stories, Distant Rain, talks about the fate of all the little poems people write but don't let others read.

This tiny excerpt (p. 28) should give you a taste of his extraordinary style. Come by and check the book out! While you're in, have a look at our poetry month displays in the lobby and the Bragdon Reading Room.

New Items to While Away a Rainy Day

New Fiction - March 2010
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Here's a sample of the latest batch of new books. Feel free to pop in and browse our new books shelves for some rainy day entertainment. Note also that we have a brand new section for new DVD movies. You can find it at the end of the entertainment DVD section, just above the audio books. (Look for the brightly colored signs!)

Poetry Month

800s - March 2010
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

April is the National Poetry Month.

Pictured is a brand new book of poetry in our collection. Naobi Shihab Nye collected poems from young authors - under 25, as she defines it - into a cool project. She says:

"Reading the poems for Time You Let Me In reminded me of the sensation of vast horizontal breathing. The voices of these wonderful writers open up into whole worlds of roots and humor, and snazzy intelligence. No matter what age we are, we need those voices." (Introduction, p. xvi)

Book Reviews in a Catalog Near You

You may know that our virtual library at LibraryThing links to book reviews. They have been written both by our users and other LibraryThing users. Did you know that our online catalog also has reviews? You can find them on the Comments tab under the book title.

Future of Publishing, Future of Books?

Every now and then, the media carries stories claiming that teenagers today don't read books. It's said that they're dependent on their cell phones and the Internet for communication, which makes for fractured attention span, poor literacy skills, and even behavior issues.

Doubtless these issues occur. They are not, however, the whole truth. The Internet and various social media offer teenagers invaluable opportunities to develop critical thinking and argumentation skills, among others; even detailed technology skills and literacy can be learned by interacting online.

This video, prepared by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley Books and produced by Khaki Films, takes a stand in a creative way.

(Turn your speakers on if they're not by default - the voice over is worth hearing, too.)

Maintenance Crew cleans up our storage area

Maintenance Crew cleans up our storage area
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Today was a rainy day so, while students were huddling trying to stay warm and dry, the maintenance department did some indoor cleanup in the library, moving items that had been in storage to a place where they would be put to good use.

Civics classes

Civics classes
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Freshman civics students are in the library this month, learning to research using notecards, parenthetical citation, and MLA formatted works cited pages. They've chosen some very interesting topics including the death penalty, affirmative action, work-to-welfare, health care reform, stem cell research, and illegal drug use, to name a few. We look forward to helping them each step of the way so they'll have a great experience with their first formal research paper.

Antartctica Display

Antartctica Display
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Tuesday was Museum Day. The Frosh visit to the Museum of Science inspired us to gather together materials about the Antarctic and Polar regions, and people studying them.

Earth Quake Display

Earth Quake Display
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

The January earth quake in Haiti and the more recent one in Chile prompted us to build a mini-display. We're concentrating on the mechanisms of quakes. Did you know that there's almost constant seismic activity here in Massachusetts as well?

Founder's Day Display

Founder's Day Display
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Here is a glimpse of the Founder's Day display, created by our archivist Laurie DiModica. The display includes many fascinating photos from the 1800s. One shows the little red schoolhouse in its original location, right here where the Pescosolido Library currently stands.

Two other new displays are also up in the library - come in to enjoy before heading off to spring break!

Founder's Day

Founder's Day
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Today we celebrate the opening of our school, first known as the Dummer Charity School. On March 1, 1763, Reverend Moses Parsons of the Byfield Parish Church opened with a prayer and and spoke on Isaiah 32:8 - "But the liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand." On March 1, 2010 we watched images of our past history. Headmaster Doggett led us in a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday and we were treated to cake as we left Morning Meeting. Archivist Laurie DiModica created a display in the library's foyer and had major school documents on display for students.