So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh

"I've sung this song, but I'll sing it again,
Of the place that I lived since way back when,
It's the month of May, and you're going away,

So long, it's been good to know yuh

This dusty old dust is a-chokin my song,
And I got to be driftin' along.

So long, it's been good to know yuh."

These are the varied lyrics of the Woody Guthrie song that we sang when graduating from my alma mater, Buckingham and Browne and Nichols. I sometimes reminisce how singing these words made the whole affair light hearted and easier to say farewell to friends and teachers. Saying goodbye is never an easy thing and we have begun to bid some Govs seniors well, even though they mostly respond, "I'll be back! I'm not leaving right NOW!" But having lived a few decades more, we know that you might not be. We hope you will, but know you may not. And a great life lesson is knowing how to say goodbye, even though you think you cannot. I must confess, I am terrible at it. People generally think that I hang up on them whenever I am on the phone because I refuse to utter the 8 letters. Goodbye. 

I am comfortable with, "see ya", "ciao", and "Take care". I am learning though, and seeing you all walk in and out the library door this week has been like watching a sad film strip in slow motion. And when you do stop to chat I cannot help to quote Mother Theresa or Shakespeare or Rumi. I want to give you any last bit of reference help to life that I can, including any shortcuts I know to wisdom and happiness! Forgive me, I have watched you grow and I cannot help but wonder how you will continue to do so, outside of the Byfield biosphere, away from our nurturing eyes and ears. Just remember that if you get lost along the way, that time spent in the wilderness is not lost. That is when you find authenticity and beauty within your self.  I leave you with F. Scott Fitzgerald, for the efficacy of his words will always outdo my own...

So long, it really has been GOOD to know you!

Thank You Tech Connectors!

This week, I wanted to give a shout out to our awesome team of tech connectors! These students have been such a wonderful addition to the library and the school in general this year. We are so grateful to have you near us to avert a technological crisis! You can often find the tech connectors sitting behind the Mac at the end of the circulation desk, handling inquiries or more likely unlocking the secrets of the universe with their own developed software. This year the team has created a web site and blog that reviews apps, answers tech problems and highlights tips and tricks for students and faculty. You can see more at http://blogs.govsacademy.org/techteam/ or better yet, come in for a visit!
I can't tell you how many times one of the tech connectors has helped me out of a jam, so I wanted to give a sincere thank you to all.
This year's team was comprised of :

Chester, Wil, David, Tyler, Taha, Simon - 17
Tianyun, Nicolas - 16
Spencer - 15

We look forward to strengthening our bond with you in years to come!

Prom in the Library

Although prom might not be an association you make with your school library, we at the Pesky Library like to shake things up and always keep it real for the Govs' student body. And let's be real, Prom is this Sunday!! So what could we possibly be offering here that could totally enhance the prom experience, you might be wondering?  A professional makeup demonstration and offering by yours truly here. Jill of many eclectic trades I am, from teacher librarian to makeup artist to the stars. (I tell you, if anyone ever tells you you can't be whatever you want to be in life, send them my way, please.) This Sunday, May 17, from 11-1:30, I will offer a free makeup demonstration to complete your prom look for the evening festivities. I will select 2 guests to serve as my models and even if you are not one of the lucky two, I promise you will leave with enough tips and tricks to get you looking fab for pictures and beyond. Truth be told is that you are all such beautiful darlings of the universe and do not need an iota of paint on your face. It just so happens that this is a skill set I have and would love to share with you, and if it in any way makes you feel more glamorous for the event, then fantastic! Please email nmasterson@govsacademy.org if you plan on attending the session and we will begin promptly at 11:00. Hope to see your fresh faces!

In addition to offering glitz and glam in the library we also have a fun display of prom themed reads and films on the display tree in front of the circ desk.We have your prom topics covered - from romance to horror, the classics to the downright weird! (i.e. Girl Gives Birth to Own Prom Date)

Have a safe, fun prom and take care of each other!

How Do You Bookface?

For those of you not familiar with the new, quirky and bookish art trend called bookfacing, check out the New York Times article on it here.

NYTimes Bookface

Bookface entails aligning parts of the body with the cover of  a book so that reality becomes art and art, reality. It is very fun and addictive once you get going and there is plenty of evidence on social media to prove it. Librarians and other fun, bibliophile folks are posting their creations using #bookface on Instagram. Check out theirs and check out ours!

Take a Peep at this Year's Winners!

The winners of the 2015 Peep diorama contest are as follows:

Best Class Diorama: The Principles of Physics

Best Student Group Diorama: Barbie and Ken Get Married

Best Faculty/Staff Diorama: The Amazing Graced

Best Governor's Family Diorama: The Lord of the Peeps

If you did not get a chance to see the dioramas, they are on display in the library.  Thank you to all who voted and participated in this year’s Peep Contest!

Deep Librarian Thoughts

Deep Library Thoughts that I am finally putting into print....

- The book you seek is seeking you.

- "You had me at Chapter 1, Gabriel" (Garcia Marquez)

- "Indifference kills the soul. Reading can restore it."
                                                     -me (and hopefully humanity)

- "The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library."
                                                                           -Einstein

- Books and Led Zeppelin will teach you "there's still time to change the road you're on"

- Treat yourself like you would treat a child. Feed yourself good food, play outside a lot, get to bed early, and always read before sleep.


- Librarians are, you know, such a dangerous group. They are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution man. I wouldn't mess with them.

                                                                                            -Michael Moore 

- If you are looking for the answer, open any Rainer Maria Rilke book to page 22.

- You might be heartbroken, destitute and hard out of luck, but at least you can get a library card.

National Poetry Month in the Pesky Library

In honor of national poetry month, we are showcasing some new arrivals on the poetry scene alongside some of our long time favorite poets and collections. Our poetry display is set up right in front of the circulation desk for ease of browsing and all of the books are available to be checked out. At this time of year, when everyone seems to be putting final touches on papers or studying endlessly for AP exams, the comfort of poetry can make all the difference. Sometimes just knowing that someone else has experienced a feeling or moment that we too have experienced can make the world seem a bit smaller and much more connected.

The National Poetry Month official website has a lot of great resources as well, including a poem a day, Dear Poet project, poem in your pocket day, and more!

A Night in Brooklyn, Poems by D. Nurkse

Dizzy in Your Eyes, Poems by Pat Mora

The Complete Poems, Edgar Allen Poe

 

Marbles in the Cookie Jar, Poems by Tony Marino

Bicycles, Poems by Nikki Giovanni

 

 

Also, don't forget to keep working on those Peeps dioramas!

 

 

Submissions are due on Monday, April 27

 





Calling all our PEEPS!

The Library is holding a Peep Diorama Contest !

Your Mission: Use Peeps to create a diorama inspired by your favorite book. 

Details:

·         Visit the library to pick up your Peeps.

·         Submissions will be accepted until April 24th.

·         Winners will be decided by popular vote on April 27th.

·         We will give away $25 gift cards to the:

Best Class Diorama (example, English class or Art class)
Best Student Group (advisee group, groups of friends)
Best Faculty/Staff Diorama
Best Govs Family Diorama 

·         All students will receive a prize for participating!

Check out the Prezi featuring peep dioramas from last year's competition.  

Questions?  Come ask the librarians!

Wastewater Facility at Govs

Did you know that Govs has its own Wastewater Treatment Plant right here on campus? 

This month in the library, we are highlighting the Treatment Plant in our display case as part of our ongoing community theme of WATER. I have to admit that I was skeptical of how fascinating a water plant could be, but it really is worth a closer look. 

The following description of our Wastewater Treatment Plant is courtesy of Wendy Reed, who oversees the facility. Pictures courtesy of Amy Custance.  

The original plant that served the campus was constructed in the 1960s. It was upgraded in the 1990s but despite these efforts, the system was consistently failing to meet the quality standards required. In 2000, the unit was replaced with membrane-based waste treatment technology which was able to increase the capacity of the system without increasing the physical size of the plant. The results have been a success with the facilities 99% compliancy rating. Richard Savage, the CFO at the time put it best, “Our treatment facility represents the Academy’s commitment to environmental stewardship, which is part of our legacy which began in 1763."

Water used in school activities flows through underground pipes to six pumping stations on campus before being pumped to the treatment plant. As it enters the plant, it flows through a grinder which breaks up large solids that can’t be treated by the system like sticks or rags. These pieces are caught on a screen and removed from the influent flow with this auger assembly. They are deposited into the

catch bag and removed daily.

The wastewater coming into the treatment plant is more than 99.9% water. Of the less than 0.1 % solids remaining, about half are organic in nature and can be broken down by the biological treatment process the plant (and most municipal treatment plants) uses. The remaining inorganic solids like sand settle out in this tank. The wastewater is aerated to keep it mixed and oxygen rich before flowing into the biological treatment tank. 

In the membrane biological reactor (MBR), the wastewater is mixed with air and an enhanced mix of bacteria which is called activated sludge and looks and smells like watery mud.  The bacteria use oxygen to decompose the organic material in the wastewater and convert it to carbon dioxide and water. The cleaned water is then drawn out of the tanks through microscopic pores in membrane strands that look like angel hair pasta and into these hoses. The activated sludge remains in the MBR to continue to treat incoming wastewater.

Before being discharged, the treated wastewater must be disinfected to remove any bacteria which may have passed through the membranes and into the MBR hoses. While many traditional treatment plants use chlorine for this step, the Governor’s plant uses ultraviolet light. It is safer than chlorine and extremely effective. It also does not leave a residual level of disinfection agent in the wastewater that might require further treatment or impact the discharge watershed.

The entire system is monitored and controlled by a programmable computer system. This continuously monitors all equipment at the plant and wastewater pumping stations and collects data about tan levels, equipment operation and flow. The data is maintained for EPA reporting purposes and displayed graphically to assist in process control and operation of the plant. The system also alerts the operator if conditions deviate from normal so that the situation can be quickly rectified. 

 

While most of the water quality testing that is required by the plant’s EPA permit is sent to an outside laboratory, the daily process control testing of the wastewater is done in a laboratory in the plant. This centrifuge is used to measure the amount of solids in the MBR. This is an indication of how well the biological process is working and whether excess solids need to be removed from the tank. The laboratory is also used to monitor pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia nitrogen and temperature at various points in the treatment process.

Samples are collected daily from different points in the system and analyzed in the laboratory to make sure that the process is operating properly. The one on the left is the wastewater before it enters the MBR treatment tank. The jar in the middle has a sample of the activated sludge in the MBR. The jar on the right contains a sample of the final treated wastewater which will be discharged into the salt marsh.  Because salt water organisms are extremely sensitive to water quality, the effluent from the treatment plant has to be of higher quality than if it was discharged to a lake or freshwater stream. 

Thank you to Mrs. Case and Amy Custance for shedding light on our Water Treatment Plant with this amazing display. Inside the case, you can also find plenty of resources to research water treatment in general. Don't be afraid to ask if you have further questions. While me might not know all of the scientific answers, we can generally point you in the right direction to further your research!

Coming of Age

 

I swear it has not been an intentional and premeditated undertaking on my behalf, but it has come to my attention that I have been consuming only coming of age stories for the last few months. Not just in terms of books either, but film and music as well. I'm sure Carl Jung would tell me that in fact there is no such thing as coincidence and of course this is my conscience speaking in a very deliberate way to my psyche. Now as I conjure the list of books recently read, the movies watched and the music downloaded, I am in accord with Carl.

What can I say? My first born is almost 14 and I swear he is growing every single second of every single day. As a mom, you know what is coming down the pike, but there are no words to prepare you for the non-fiction reality of your first born 's metamorphosis.  No. Words.

When I was little, I was obsessed with Greek myths, especially the ones with fantastical transformations, like Daphne turning into a tree and Io becoming a cow and Scylla a sea bird. These stories fascinated me for much of my youth...now I am obsessed with my son's micro-evolution. I am not checking him for feathers or roots, but I am often caught staring. It's amazing and beautiful and heartbreaking and...inevitable. I just can't seem to get enough of the coming of age genre recently, so here are a few titles that I have had on my personal input.

Books

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell


"Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book."--John Green, The New York Times Book Review

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.

So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Spellbinding, haunting, The Age of Miracles is a beautiful novel of catastrophe and survival, growth and change. --Amazon

The Goldfinch by Donna Tart

The Goldfinch is a mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate. --NY Times Book Review

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (my son is reading this so I picked up an older copy to re-read)

A heroic story of friendship and belonging.

No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit

Just Kids by Patti Smith

An honest and moving story of youth and friendship, Smith brings the same unique, lyrical quality to Just Kids as she has to the rest of her formidable body of work—from her influential 1975 album Horses to her visual art and poetry. 


Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.

Movies

Boyhood -  Mr. Linklater’s inspired idea of showing the very thing that most movies either ignore or awkwardly elide — the passage of time — is its impressive, headline-making conceit. One of the most extraordinary movies so far this century! -- Manhola Dargas, New York Times Movie Review


Stand By Me - Stand by Me is a rare and special film about friendship and the indelible experiences of growing up. Filled with humor and suspense, Stand by Me is based on the novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. -- Amazon

Music

Cool Kids 

She sees them walking in a straight line,
That's not really her style
And they all got the same heartbeat
But hers is falling behind.
Nothing in this world could
Ever bring them down
Yeah, they're invincible, and she's just in the background
And she says

I wish that I could be like the cool kids

So there you have it! My coming of age year in a nutshell. As much as I can pinpoint this infatuation of mine to watching my son grow up, I think these types of stories also help adults navigate the lives we suddenly wake up and find ourselves in. And although we all know there is no guide book for living this life, sometimes it makes all the difference to have an artist comfort our heart.

Shelfies!!!