Bear Pond Mystery Group

Well, it's been a while...

For the past few months, we've had a Mystery Book Group going at Bear Pond Books [my other place of semi-gainful employment] and it's been a load of fun: good books, good discussions, and stuff I wouldn't ordinarily have read. I think particularly of the very first Georges Simenon Maigret novel - A Man's Head, if you're wondering. Man, it was terrific: short, really powerful, and an interesting portrait of Paris in the 1930's. And it didn't feel even slightly dated despite being published in 1931. Yowza. We have a bunch of other Simenons here in the library - libraries are so good for that - & I'm looking forward to plowing through them.

We're doing one newish & one 'classic' book each month, by the way; our books for June are A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George & Edwin of the Iron Shoes by Marcia Muller. The Muller book - the first modern private eye novel featuring a woman, way predating Sue Grafton - is, sadly, out of print. Again, nice thing about libraries. Other books we've read recently are The Collaborator of Bethlehem by Rees & The Janissary Tree by Goodwin [newbies] and Whose Body? by Sayers & The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Christie. And raving about Christie [or Goodwin] can be a whole different post. Our next meeting is Monday, June 30 at 7:00p at Bear Pond. I'd take suggestions for books & authors, too. Feel free to throw 'em on, below.

Rosie's Girls Summer Program

SUMMER CAMP OPENINGS
A program by Vermont Works for Women

Rosie's Girls Summer Program 2008, a three-week summer day camp for girls entering
6th – 8th grades, has camper openings for the Central, VT sessions.

The 2008 dates and times are:
BARRE: July 21 - August 8, 2008
Monday - Friday, 8:45 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Rosie's Girls is a unique and exciting program for middle school girls combining hands-on instruction in the skilled trades with a rich array of expressive arts activities. The camp gives girls a chance to develop their own strength, power, and confidence in an atmosphere that is fun, encouraging, positive, and empowering as they do things like:
• build a toolbox
• design and wire their own lamp
• weld a metal sculpture
• get under the hood of a car
• Paint a mural
• learn self-defense
• construct a gift for a local community service project
• silkscreen t-shirts
• swim for fun
• practice yoga
• voice their opinions in a constructive setting

Financial aid is available.

For more information, or to request an application, call (802)655-8900/toll free 1-800-639-1472 or email rosiesgirls@vtworksforwomen.org. More information is also available at our website: http://www.vtworksforwomen.org

Gardeners wanted for Library Gardens

The Kellogg-Hubbard Library has beautiful gardens thanks to the Central Vermont Master Gardeners.They are looking for a few people who love to play in the dirt to help make the gardens extra special this year. Actually, they are beautiful every year.

On Saturday (or Sunday, if it rains on Saturday), we'll officially begin the Kellogg-Hubbard gardening season with a Spring Clean-Up and Get Acquainted. If you can work, please bring gloves, tools (trowels, weeders, shears, edgers, buckets (to carry debris to the trash/compost)), water and a hat (it can get hot!). If you don't have time to work, please stop by and say hello and get acquainted with the other volunteers and the garden itself.

We'll loosen up the soil, transplant as needed, apply mulch, do some pruning and generally tidy up. We'll try to have some photos from last year so we can begin to label the plants and also see what we might want to add (or subtract). I'll also have a summer sign-up sheet; as many of you know, we ask one or two people to sign up for one - or more - weeks during the season during which they will take care of the necessary chores: weeding, watering, dead-heading, staking, pest control, etc. That generally works better than trying to schedule work days. Work done or needing to be done is recorded in a notebook by the circulation desk, so the next week's workers know where to start.


The K-H garden continues to be a commitment of the Central Vermont Master Gardeners, but we welcome and appreciate other volunteers from the community. If you know someone else who would be interested, bring, or send, them along. The K-H garden is a wonderful meeting place and gives great pleasure to patrons, staff and the many who just pass by, enjoy the color, play with their children, or even have their wedding photos taken.

Georgia Valentine and Jane Lendway

Photography Exhibit by Jamie Cope

We have been fortunate to convince noted local photographer (and dedicated library volunteer) Jamie Cope, to display her stunning black and white portraits of people in our community. Accompanied by statements from those who were photographed, both the portraits and the statements form a moving portrait of people whom we might see every day in cafes, on the street, or in the library. I took time away from my desk today to give the exhibit the time it deserves, and came away hugely impressed. Have a look in the main reading room and in the Frances Holmes Room on the first floor, next time you're in the library. We are lucky to have so much talent in our community!