How Green is Our Valley?

Only You Can Say...
Owing to a grant from the Middlesex County Community Foundation and the efforts of the Connecticut Library Consortium, 17 Middlesex County libraries will collaborate to host a series of 'green' programs this year. Your local library, the EHPL, is one of the 17.

If you would, please take a minute or two to participate in the survey, shown right, and let all of us know about your green programming interests.

Poet of the Month

May's Featured Poet
Robert Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Francisco and lived there until 11, moving east to Massachusetts and then New Hampshire, the state where his father was born. He carefully cultivated his image as a farmer. A canny marketer, he got his first book published and reviewed in England, and afterward in the U.S., making him an instant poet on two continents. His personal life was dark (he sacrificed all relationships to his career) as are many of his poems, though these are not widely read. Here’s one:

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Further Reading: Frost, Robert, Collected Poems of Robert Frost, 1874‑1963 (1986) and seven other volumes in our library.

Coming in June: William Carlos Williams

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson

Town Budget Vote: Tuesday May 6th

Voting Matters
Many of you have spent more than a few moments examining town budget documents located at our main circulation desk. Thanks for your thanks on making budget information, in paper form, available for browsing.

Cast your vote on the budget tomorrow, May 6th. Polling place is located at the East Hampton High School. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If your are reading this post, you may link to the town budget, last updated on April 23, 2008.

Wikipedia vs. Databases

What's a Wiki?

From the Hawaiian, wiki wiki means quick; a wiki is a web site that is easy to update quickly. The largest and most visible wiki on the web is Wikipedia which is an open source encyclopedia. Anyone can write or edit a Wikipedia entry. Anyone can edit, change or revert the article to its previous version. Sound messy? Well it is messy at times and it's not always apparent if the people who contribute to Wikipedia know of what they speak. Simply put, you take your chances using Wikipedia but it's not a bad place to get a quickie-wiki overview on a particular topic. Just be sure to check the facts using more than one reliable source.

Databases: Trustworthy, Kid Safe, Free, 24/7

Your state tax dollars support ICONN, which includes a collection of databases for children and adults. Databases feature articles from magazines, journals and newswire services; health and science information; national newspaper archives; history and genealogy resources... and much, much more. Moreover, the only thing you need to access this wealth of high-quality and reliable information is your public library card. It takes about 5 wiki wiki minutes to get one of these.

National Poetry Month: Poet of the Week

Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), a contemporary of Walt Whitman, was not an admirer of his work. She liked short lines and deep thought. She was so shy and lived such an isolated life in her father’s house that the reader wonders how she could come up with anything to write about. The answer is she went into her heart and her imagination. The two short poems that follow shows us an extraordinary wisdom she found there:

288 (I'm nobody! Who are you?)

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

435 (Much Madness is divinest Sense)

Much Madness is divinest Sense—
To a discerning Eye—
Much Sense—the starkest Madness—
'Tis the Majority
In this, as All, prevail—
Assent—and you are sane—
Demur—you're straightway dangerous—
And handled with a Chain—

Further Reading: Alfred Habegger’s My wars are laid away in books : the life of Emily Dickinson; Helen Vendler’s Poets thinking : Pope, Whitman, Dickinson, Yeats -- both in our library.

Coming next: Robert Frost

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson

Someone Had to Write It...

Local Author S. Perry Mallory
S. (Shane) Perry Mallory, an East Hampton resident, recently released his book The Divorce Manual for Men. Not a pretty subject and let's hope you never need the book. But if you do, this is a sensitively-written manual.

Jacket Notes
"While divorce is undoubtedly a difficult process, by following what is outlined here, you can possibly minimize any negative impact it will have on all parties involved, save some money, and still learn to enjoy life."

This is definitely not a women-bashing book. Rather the book advocates men taking responsibility and making good decisions in the interest of everyone involved, particularly children. The book is based on countless discussions with professionals in the field and 'Average Joe' men who have have made it through a trying time.

"Third Rock from the Sun"

Earth Day
The first Earth Day was held in 1970 and was celebrated by a reported 20 million Americans. Today, Earth Day is celebrated annually and worldwide.

To mark Earth Day in our little corner of the planet, click here for an abbreviated list of new titles in our "going green" book collection. Start small. It can make all the difference in the world.

National Poetry Month: Poet of the Week

James Dickey
James Dickey (1923-1997) was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and is widely known as the author of the novel Deliverance. Less well known is his poetry, driven also by a surreal and archetypal sense of violence rather than by graceful subtlety or wit. (He served in both WWII and the Korean War, and was no stranger to violence.) In this, one of his few shorter poems, the reader can feel it just beneath the surface:

A Morning

A dog surroundingly howls.
Painfully he is changing
His voice from a voice for the moon

To the voice he has for the sun.
I stoop, and my hands are shining;
I have picked up a piece of the sea

To feel how a tall girl has swum
Yesterday in it too deeply,
And, below the light, has become

More naked than Eve in the garden.
I drop her strange body on the cobbles.
My hands are shining with fever,

And I understand
The long, changing word of the dog
With the moon dying out in his voice,

And the pain when the sun came up
For the first time on angel‑shut gates,
In its rays set closer than teeth.

Further Reading: To the white sea / James Dickey. ; 1993. ; Houghton Mifflin, and Deliverance /James Dickey. ; 1970. ; Houghton Mifflin. Both novels are available at our library.

Coming next week: Emily Dickinson

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson

Coming This Summer to the Library

Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero
Owing to generous support from the Friends of the East Hampton Public Library, the library will soon be the proud owner of a Nintendo PlayStation 2 game system and two of its more popular games: DDR and Guitar Hero.

Expect summer surprises as we launch a series of pilot game day programs with intention to offer a regular game day program beginning in Fall 2008. Your smooth DDR attack or Guitar Hero rock star moves are all you'll need to participate in any season.

About the Friends of the Library
The Friends are an all-volunteer, non-profit group who raise money to fund programs the library would not otherwise offer using taxpayer support. You can support the Friends efforts to support the library by shopping or volunteering at their used bookstore located in the Community Center complex, by becoming a member, or by making a tax-deductible donation.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Cool Crafts for Kids
Saturday, May 3 @ 11 a.m.
Join us by crafting your own spectacular flowers (sample shown left) and a decorative vase to show off your gardening skills. There is nothing like pretty flowers in spring time!

Cool Crafts programs are open to children ages 3-7; parent participation is required.

Use your 'springy' fingers to access our online events calendar or phone 267-6621 to reserve your place for May's Cool Craft. Registration is limited to 15 children.

Horror Stories

Real, Personal, Deadly
Author David Sheff discussed his memoir Beautiful Boy: a Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction with Oprah on yesterday's (April 10) broadcast. Sheff's book started as a 2005 article for the New York Times Magazine and is now a full-length book which graces a number of national best-seller lists. Beautiful Boy tells the story of Sheff's son Nic's decent into methamphetamine addiction. Make no mistake, the book is a heartbreaking read. It is also and in all ways a wake-up call.

To learn more about the history of methamphetamine use and abuse in our country, from WWII to present, there's Frank Owen's No Speed Limit: the Highs and Lows of Meth. Owen's book, which clearly has a point of view, has been acclaimed for many reasons and reviled for many others. No weak spine here but we do understand why on both counts. We'll let you decide.

National Poetry Month: Poet of the Week

Dame Judith Sitwell
Edith Sitwell (1887-1964), a Brit and contemporary of T.S. Eliot, admired him warmly because he saw the world with different eyes. Her first book of note, Façade,(1922) and her last, The Canticle of the Rose (1949), reflect her own changing way of looking at the world. One would have to describe her as a dark poet of eccentric interests with an exceptionally keen musical ear and discerning mind keenly attuned to the senses. She denied being eccentric, but described herself an “electric eel in a pond of goldfish.”

Came the Great Popinjay

CAME the great Popinjay

Smelling his nosegay:
In cages like grots
The birds sang gavottes.
'Herodiade's flea
Was named sweet Amanda,
She danced like a lady
From here to Uganda.
Oh, what a dance was there!
Long‑haired, the candle
Salome‑like tossed her hair
To a dance tune by Handel.' . . .
Dance they still? Then came
Courtier Death,
Blew out the candle flame
With civet breath.

Further Reading: Victoria of England / Edith Sitwell ; with illlustrations. ; Sitwell, Edith, Dame, 1887‑1964. ; c1936. ; Houghton Mifflin Company.

Coming next week: James Dickey

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson

East Hampton's Early Childhood Council

Welcome to the Web of Caring
Last Saturday, April 5th, the East Hampton Early Childhood Council (EHECC) hosted it's first Preschool Expo at the library. The Expo offered opportunity for local families to converse and gather information about early childhood resources available to our community.

A range of presenters were on tap to answer parent resource questions, including representatives from state agencies; Birth-to-Three, elementary school, preschool and nursery school programs; recreation organizations and others. Over 80 people attended the EHECC's first Expo and by all accounts, an extraordinary time was had by all.

About the EHECC
The EHECC is an independent group of volunteers, parents and professionals who have come together to create opportunities, share resources, and implement strategies to prepare East Hampton's young children for school success. Check out the EHECC's new web site to learn more about Early Links, Second Step and a host of other collaborative, community-based programs that intend to weave a bright future for East Hampton's littlest people!

Sum, Sum, Summertime at Sears Park

Purchase Sears Park Stickers @ your library
Sears Park stickers for the 2008 season go on sale Monday, April 7th. As a convenience to town residents, park stickers are available for purchase at the library, Parks & Recreation offices, the Police Department, and the Town Clerk's office.

Hours of each Sears Park sticker sales outlet vary. Library hours are:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What You Need to Purchase a Sticker
Proof of residency and vehicle and/or watercraft registrations showing same must be presented in order to purchase a sticker. Regardless of where you make your sticker purchase, please be sure to bring these documents with you.

Applicable Fees/Sticker Cost
$10.00 per Vehicle
$5.00 Senior Citizen's first Vehicle
$50.00 Watercraft/Boat *
$5.00 Day Pass, available at the Gatehouse in Sears Park (residents only)
* 50% of this revenue goes to the Sears Park Boat Launch Improvement Fund

Learn More About Sears Park
For additional information about Sears Park and the rules and regulations governing its use, visit the Parks & Recreation Department's Sears Park web page.

It's Back! No Child Left Inside State Park Pass

So Many State Parks... Ready to Be Explored
The No Child Left Inside state park pass is back for its third season. The pass program is a special initiative of Governor Rell and is coordinated by the Connecticut DEP. The program's purpose is to encourage Connecticut families and visitors alike to enjoy all the recreational resources and outdoor activities available in Connecticut's state parks, forests and waterways.

The pass is available for checkout at the library and is valid at CT State Park & Forest recreation areas from April 19, 2008 through October 6, 2008. The pass waives vehicle entrance fees for private passenger vehicles carrying fewer than 12 passengers.

National Poetry Month: Poet of the Week

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland, and briefly studied art in his father’s footsteps. But at 21 he threw that over for poetry — and a richly complex life committed to it as well as to a study of eastern symbolism, to Irish drama (he helped found the Abbey Theatre in 1904), and to deep involvement in Irish politics. In 1899 he published The Wind Among the Reeds, which brought him “downstage center” as the figure in Irish literature comparable to Wordsworth’s stature in England. In the short poem below Yeats comments on poets who imitated him:

A Coat

I made my song a coat
Covered with embroideries
Out of old mythologies
From heel to throat;
But the fools caught it,
Wore it in the world's eyes
As though they'd wrought it.
Song, let them take it,
For there's more enterprise
In walking naked.

Further Reading:
The Yeats Reader : a portable compendium of poetry, drama, and prose / edited by Richard J. Finneran, 1997 and The Autobiography of William Butler Yeats, 1978. Both are in our library’s collection.

Coming next week: Edith Sitwell

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson

Fact or Fiction?

He/She Said What?????
During any political season -- and we know this may be very, very hard to believe -- things get said that may or may not be true. FactCheck may help you cut through the spin.

FactCheck's mission? "We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding."

Funny Bunny on the Run!!

Cool Crafts for Kids
Saturday, April 5 @ 11 a.m.
When we made a sample of one of April's featured crafts (treat/treasure box shown left), we knew we had a winner. What we did not anticipate was Mr. Bunny's escape and search for a yummy carrot treat of his own!

Children ages 3-7 may participate in our Cool Crafts program. In addition to the "bunny box", participants will also craft a dazzling tropical fish.

Registration is limited to 15 so hop, hop, hop over to our online events calendar or phone the library to reserve your place.

The Information Superhighway

Fast, Easy but Beware of the Potholes...
American culture critic Lee Siegel offers up a compelling critique of the Internet and all of the services we use every day (websites, blogs, wikis, email) in Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob.

In short form, Siegel skillfully argues that the Internet is not a virtual world paradise that connects us to each other in real world terms. Rather, the Internet has an underbelly that promotes isolation, anonymous bullying, invasions of privacy, and mainstream acceptance of unsavory, if not illegal practices (plagiarism, pornography).

Siegel's is a short and very readable book but don't expect any punches to be pulled -- not even with Comedy Central's John Stewart. Siegel's book is available at our library.

National Medal of Honor Day: March 25th, 2008

Beyond the Call of Duty
"Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty" is a New York Times bestseller with over 250,000 copies in print. One of the many copies is available for checkout at our library. Browse our copy but do keep the title in mind as one worth purchasing as a Memorial Day gift for your family's veteran.

From Publishers Weekly
"This group portrait of most of the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor has an entry for each recipient, including a photo portrait at the time of the award, a summary of the medal-winning action and sometimes (though not often enough) the later career. The variety of actions documented by [Peter] Collier (The Rockefellers) will impress even fairly seasoned students of military history, as will the 250 duotone portraits. They range from thumbnail period snapshots to full page close-ups of the lions in winter."

"Book Sense" Announces Books of the Year

What's Book Sense?
"BookSense.com is a family of independent-bookseller websites and is the e-commerce arm of the American Booksellers Association's Book Sense program." Independent bookstores (and we hope you know who and where they are in Connecticut) are those who just like public libraries, "share their love of books with their customers and their communities".

Award Winners: All Available at Our Library
Fiction: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Nonfiction: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
Children’s Literature: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Children’s Illustrated: Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems

The awards will be presented at the ABA’s annual Celebration of Bookselling, May 29, during BookExpo America.

Complementary Care, Complementary Caring...

Complementary Care Panelists

Pictured Left to Right:
Michael Smithwick (Hypnotherapy), Natalia Seguro-Wright (Acupuncture),
Sherry Russenberger (Reiki Energy Healing), Susan Fielding (Massage Therapy),
Dr. Patrick Connelly (Chiropractic), Joseph Belanger (Holistic Physical Therapy),
Dr. Bret Lieberman (Naturopathic Medicine)

The library extends it sincere thanks to our panelists, all of whom took time out of their weekend schedules to participate in a complementary care program on Saturday, March 15th. If you are interested in complementary care -- which includes a very broad spectrum of interventions, aids, counselling and approaches -- please consider these folks, as well as many others in our local area.

Network early and often! It can be a good way to develop your personalized list of contacts, credentialled in their field, and to find complementary care that meets your care-plan needs.

American History: Yours, Mine, and Ours

John Adams Meets HBO
Actor/producer Tom Hanks continues his endeavors to breathe life into our interest in American history with his TV mini-series adaptation of David McCullough's Pultizer Prize-winning biography of John Adams.

The seven-part mini-series premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on HBO. Paul Giamatti stars as Adams and Laura Linney as his wife Abigail. David Morse portrays George Washington. Watch the YouTube video "John Adams: A Closer Look (HBO)" which includes interview comments from David McCullough.

If you are an HBO subscriber, enjoy -- but don't resist the chance to read McCullough's extraordinary book (available at our library) about a brilliant politician who helped shape our country.

Great Books

From Phil Carr's Recommended Reading List

For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure to meet him, Phil Carr is the most recent addition to our Adult Services staff. Here's a pick from Phil's recommended reading list.

Goya by Robert Hughes

Hughes' biography of Francisco Goya puts forth the theory that Goya was the first journalist to record in pictures the events of his day. (Note the cover of the book.) Goya was in essence a photojournalist at large before the advent of the camera. Goya's etchings, many of which were mass produced and sold to the general public, recorded the tribulations of the Inquisition and the Spanish War against the invading French. From this war, the term "guerrilla warfare" was coined. Goya recorded the whole show and Hughes puts forth a very readable record of the artist's ventures.

Hughes sees Goya as what the artist himself would have regarded as his most important roles: visual chronicler of his society, creator of images, interpreter of history. Goya's large-scale church commissions, his portraits of public figures and the royal court are at worst competent and at best triumphant examples of public art. Even public art has its secrets and Hughes reveals many of them -- warts and all.

Web-Crawling for Recipes

Not Much in the "Fridge"?
We all face those days when the contents of our refrigerator doesn't appear to hold much promise. With SuperCook, help is on the way.

Use SuperCook to type in the recipe components you have on hand, including leftovers from that scrumptious meal your family enjoyed yesterday. Follow the "My Kitchen" links and an equally fabulous meal will be on your table in no time!

SuperCook is one of most practical applications of web-crawler technology we've seen in a while. Click here and give SuperCook a try.

Poet of the Month

March's Featured Poet

Amy Clampitt (1920-1994) , was born in New Providence, Iowa, and after Grinnell College she settled in New York City, working by turns at the Oxford University Press, in the Audubon Society’s Library, and as a freelance editor. The Kingfisher, from which the acutely observed poem below comes, appeared in 1983 and was followed by four more: What the Light was Like, Archaic Figure, Westward, and A Silence Opens.

The Cormorant in its Element

"That bony potbellied arrow, wing‑pumping along
implacably, with a ramrod's rigid adherence,
airborne, to the horizontal, discloses talents
one would never have guessed at. Plummeting

waterward, big black feet splayed for a landing
gear, slim head turning and turning, vermilion‑
strapped, this way and that, with a lightning glance
over the shoulder, the cormorant astounding‑

ly, in one sleek involuted arabesque, a vertical
turn on a dime, goes into the inimitable
vanishing‑and‑emerging‑from‑under‑the‑briny‑

deep act which, unlike the works of Homo Houdini,
is performed for reasons having nothing at all
to do with ego, guilt, ambition, or even money."

Further Reading: The Collected Poems of Amy Clampitt, 1994, in our library’s collection.

Coming in April: National Poetry Month, a month-long celebration of both poets and poems.

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson

Visit Lee's blog

"An Elephant's Faithful One Hundred Percent"

Books to Film
Horton Hears a Who! opens on the big screen next week (March 14) and buzz has it that the film will delight both children and adults.

The Dr. Seuss books, of course, are already delightful and have been for the past 50+ years. Both of the "Horton" books offer people of all ages lessons about courage, responsibility, and respecting each other. “After all, a person is a person, no matter how small.”

Make new friends with any or all of the characters in our library's complete collection of Seusseriffic books by checking out the Dr. Seuss book display in the Children's Services Department.

WonderLab: Simple Science for Little People

The Wonderful, Wonders of Simple Science
Meet Tessa, our library's Wonderlab program leader. Though Tessa's goofy 3-D glasses are the envy of mad scientists near and far, Tessa is and uses a more gentle approach.

Each Wonderlab program employs a combination of standard science experiments plus amazingly inventive add-ons. All Wonderlab programs are geared to the developmental skills and interests of children ages 4-5.

Register for the March 15th Wonderlab program, all about Marvelous Mixtures.

Complementary Health Care

Panel Discussion on Tap @ your library
Complementary health care includes a very broad spectrum of interventions, aids, counselling and approaches. Join us from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, for a panel discussion featuring complementary care practictioners with offices in our local area.

Our current line-up of panelists includes:
Joseph Belanger, Holistic Physical Therapist
Dr. Patrick Connelly, Chiropractor
Susan Fielding, Massage Therapist
Dr. Bret Lieberman, Naturopathic Physician
Sherry Russenberger & Mary Ann Dayton-Fitzgerald, Reiki Energy Healing
Natalia Seguro-Wright, Acupuncturist
Michael Smithwick, Hypnotherapist

Reserve your seat by registering online or phoning the library at 860.267.6621.

The Great Outdoors: Connecticut Style

CT Adventures
The Connecticut Explorer's Guide is a clearinghouse website featuring a wealth of information on how to choose, plan, and undertake your next outdoor adventure in our home state. Organized by type of outdoor undertaking (hiking, paddling, biking, etc.) the site integrates National GeographicTM topographical maps to help you pinpoint the "where" in your next CT-based adventure.

The site also includes a link to adventure forums through which you may read or post news articles; share your personal adventure stories; or "Ask the Pro" for tips on a specific type of outdoor skill.

Though there is plenty of commercial content on the site, the .com content is not overwhelming and doesn't seriously detract from what you may learn about Connecticut's outdoor assets. Surf's up!

A Turn of the Friendly Page

Molly Maturo: Teen Reader
Molly Maturo is well-known to our library's staff and to legions of our community's teen readers. (She's the kid with a locker full of books and ready recommendations on books you might like to read, too.)

Molly has also and more recently made her mark in the CT Nutmeg Book award world; she's a teen book reviewer for Nutmeg 2010. Congratulations, Molly!

We'll be working with Molly to launch a YA book review section on the library's MySpace page this March and in May, a downloadable book review newsletter for and written by teens -- just in time for summer reading season.

If you would like to volunteer to help Molly and the library start up web services that are for and about what you like to read, make a friend and send us a MySpace comment, contact us, or stop by the library to chat with Jondahl or Sue.

In Like a Lion...

And Roaring All Month Long!
Upcoming Programs @ your library
Our March 2008 schedule of public programs offers a blend of information and entertainment. All of our programs are free and held in the Community Room. Browse our online events calendar for details and make plans to join us!

Community Drum Circle: Drop in, Tuesday, March 4, 6:30 p.m.
Adult Book Discussion: Wednesday, March 5, 7 p.m.
Consumer Prescription Information: Thursday, March 6, 1 p.m.
Contemporary Photojournalism: Wednesday, March 12, 7 p.m.
Complementary Health Care Panel: Saturday, March 15, 2 p.m.
Identifying/Selling Antiques: Thursday, March 20, 1 p.m.
Water Gardens, Start to Finish: Wednesday, March 26, 7 p.m.
'Too Human' in Concert: Saturday, March 29, 2 p.m.

2008 Nutmeg Book Award Winner: It's Official

Lightning Thief Wins Top Honors
Rick Riordan's adventure story about 12 year-old Percius "Percy" Jackson's quest for Zeus's master lightning bolt won the 2008 Nutmeg Book Award in both intermediate (grades 4-6) and teen reader categories (grade 7-8).

The book has everything a discriminating reader could want: a main character faced with many challenges, a quest against all odds, and a goal to prevent World War III. Percy, plus friends Grover and Annabeth, are believable characters (Percy is the wisecracking narrator) who also happen to visit the Underworld and Mount Olympus. Many of the classic Greek myths blend nicely into the first part of a continuing story.

If you were not one of the almost 9,000 Connecticut kids who voted Lightning Thief the hands-down Nutmeg winner, catch the buzz at the library. Other nominated Nutmeg books are also available for checkout.

Museum Pass Update

Discovery Room Now Open for Exploration
If you haven't recently visited the Children's Museum of Southeastern CT, you're in for a treat. The new Discovery Room opened in January and features numerous sensory experiences for children of all abilities. Try an Interactive Bubble Column, a Tongue Drum, a Tactile Panel, or a Musical Wall.

You can save yourself some money if you visit the museum using our circulating museum pass. The pass may be reserved up to 24 hours in advance of the day you plan to check it out/use it and circulates for 2 days. The pass admits up to 4 people free against the regular, individual admission price of $5.

Our pass program is funded by the Friends of the East Hampton Public Library and provides free or discounted admission to 13 area attractions. The Friends' annual membership drive is now underway. Become a Friend for as little as $5! You'll save that and more by using our pass program.

Summer and Twilight

Stephenie Meyer's Series Continues
Love, love, love this young adult series. Intelligently written with very believable characters (a vampire and a werewolf, so?), these books sound and feel authentic to teen readers and from what we can see, to many of their moms, too! Can't wait to find out what happens to Bella, Jake, and Edward.

Breaking Dawn is scheduled for release on August 2.

What's New?

Our Online Catalog: Using the Recent Item Search
If we had to pick a winner FAQ (frequently asked question), it would be "How can I find what's new?" The question comes to us in different forms, depending on your material type preferences: new books, DVDs, audio in varied formats.

If you're a fan of online browsing, the quickest way to find out about additions to our collections is to use the Recent Item Search. This search may be limited by time period (last week, 2 weeks, up to 3 months) and may also be limited by material type. This search also comes with benefits. You will learn about on-order/forthcoming books as much as 3 months in advance of publication, as well as additions to our DVD and audio collections (new release or must-see/listen).

If your style is online, give the Recent Item Search a try. If you would prefer that we facilitate the online part for you -- stop by or give us call. We offer several programs to keep you informed about new, classic, and in-demand additions to your library's collections.

Rethinking the Picture Book

2008 Caldecott Medal Winner
Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic) won the Caldecott medal late last month, much to the surprise of many who know their way around a picture book. The book weighs in at a hefty 533 pages (very unusual for a picture book); is a novel (first novel to win the Caldecott); and is not a book for 4 and 5 year-olds (the usual picture book audience).

This being said, Hugo Cabret uses pictures in a highly inventive and carefully-crafted way to convey the story of a boy in a 1930's vintage Paris train station and his friendship with a very mysterious toymaker. The detailed drawings are spectacular and add layer after layer to the entertaining and well-written story.

About the Caldecott
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

Poet of the Month

February's Featured Poet
Langston Hughes (1902-67) received his B.A. in 1929 from Lincoln University and wrote operettas and poems in the spirit of jazz, spirituals, and blues. “The mood of the blues is almost always despondency, but when they are sung people laugh,” Hughes said. (He was perhaps the first person to grasp Lucille Clifton’s gifts, extolling her work in an anthology of African‑American poetry.) Here is a blues poem:

Morning After
I was so sick last night I
Didn't hardly know my mind.
So sick last night I
Didn't know my mind.
I drunk some bad licker that
Almost made me blind.

Had a dream last night I
Thought I was in hell.
I drempt last night I
Thought I was in hell.
Woke up and looked around me‑‑
Babe, your mouth was open like a well.

I said, Baby! Baby!
Please don't snore so loud.
Baby! Please!
Please don't snore so loud.
You jest a little bit o' woman but you
Sound like a great big crowd.

Further Reading: Langston Hughes, Collected Poems, and Langston Hughes, I wonder as I wander : an autobiographical journey, with an introduction by Arnold Rampersad.

Coming in March: Emily Dickinson

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson

TR Packs the House

Bully!
Theodore Roosevelt historical interpreter, Ted Zalewski (pictured left), attracted a standing room only crowd to the library today, leaving no doubt that TR's remarkable life continues to inspire and enlighten.

Welcomed by the familiar strains of Hail to the Chief, Zalewski led off with one of TR's more comedic lines, "My son Kermit said I wanted to be the bride at every wedding, and the corpse at every funeral." Using TR's words, Zalewski then led the audience through Roosevelt's life as a rugged cowboy, Governor of New York, historian, naturalist, explorer, author, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and 26th President of the United States.

Zalewski looked no worse for the wear after his stunning performance, offering gracious comments while closing the event with a presidential receiving line.

YA's Read

YA Reads
"Gossip Girl" set in 1899 Manhattan? Try Anna Godbersen's Luxe -- all 448 pages of this first in a planned four-part series with next installment due in June. Into Project Runway or Tyra's America's Next Top Model? Try Rachel Maude's Poseur. Of course, there's the Stephenie Meyer books -- Twilight, New Moon, and Meyer's latest, Eclipse. Or try Jeff Kinney's Diary of Wimpy Kid, a "novel" take-off on Kinney's popular web comic.

There are series books galore at the library (Pendragon, Gossip Girl, Alex Rider, Darren Shan and Meg Cabot books) not to mention our growing collection of great "regular books" and graphic novels.

Hope to see you soon and just as we ask everyone else in our community, let us know how we can better serve your needs. Comment here or make us a friend on MySpace.

Fountain of Youth

Puddles of Shame?
Or so we have discussed after eating one too many low food chain sweets over the holidays...

A number of heath and fitness books have peppered the hardcover bestseller non-fiction lists of late. What better time to dream of spring and plan for a healthier you? These plus others are available at the library.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen
Pollen offers deceptively simple advice: "Eat food, not too much, and mostly plants."

The 12 Second Sequence by Jorge Cruise
Cruise is a spokesperson for Bally Fitness Centers and 'ballyhoos" his success stories online and in TV interviews. First in series of three planned books.

You: Staying Young by Michael F. Roizen, M.D., & Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.
The Roizen/OZ health and fitness franchise continues with an offering geared to those a little older than those (ahem) a little younger.

Living Well by Montel Williams
Popular talk show host Montel, who lives with MS day-to-day, describes his diet regimen. Briefly: "no white flour, white sugar, salt, anything bleached" and a preference for yams over potatoes. Sounds smart and yammy-yummy.

Who Knew?

Ukuleles Can Be Cool

Yes, they can. An inter-generational audience of near 80 people enjoyed the smooth sounds of the Jim Rosokoff Trio this afternoon at the library. The trio delighted the audience with familiar jazz standards and pop songs from the 30s though the 70's, as well as tunes that every child (or the child within you) knows by heart.

Rosokoff is a Glastonbury-based dermatologist who as Dr. Uke also leads the Glastonbury Ukulele Club. If you're a lapsed guitar player or a 'youngster' of any age who's looking to enjoy music and the camaraderie of others like you, give the club a try.

Special thanks to Jo Ann Ewing and the Senior Center crowd for coordinating a potluck luncheon to coincide with concert, which produced the "inter" in inter-generational enjoyment.

Laughing Out Loud

Colbert

Regardless of your point of view (we've got some whopper but always friendly differences on our staff), Stephen Colbert is good for a laugh.

Colbert's looney-funny book, I Am America (and So Can You) and his Best of the Colbert Report DVD, are both available at the library.

But we must weigh in on one particular Colbert DVD routine. To any of us in the credible information business, Wikilaity/Truthiness is a hoot and we librarians remain unafraid...

The Capital of Happiness

Finding Bliss on a Map
In The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World, former NPR foreign correspondent Eric Weiner takes us on a world tour with a twist. Off to Iceland, Bhutan, Qatar, Holland, Switzerland, Thailand and India he goes to try to figure out why residents say they're happy. The answers end up being simple (you might not be happy in Bhutan but the Bhutanese sure are) and this read is also simply well worth it.

Taking Home a Starbucks

...Cup of Inspiration, Two Creams, One Sugar
Starbucks ranked 16th on Fortune's 2007 "Top 100 Companies to Work For" list. Little wonder according to the latest in our library's Starbucks book corner.

How Starbucks Saved My Life
Michael Gill explains how he was born into privilege, was "downsized" out of his upscale career, divorced by his wife after the woman with whom he was having an affair became pregnant, and learned that he had a slow-growing brain tumor—all of which eventually led him to an entry-level job at Starbucks at the age of 64. A quick read about the healing power of a java job well done.

The Starbucks Experience
Joseph Michelle touts Starbuck's success, boiling company practices down to a portable canon of essential business advice. A hot cup of mocha frappuccino for your inner MBA.

Poet of the Month

January's Featured Poet
Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1969) was born in Worcester, MA, and grew up in New England and Nova Scotia. She lived also in Key West and Brazil. Each locale furnished vivid landscapes for her work. She taught at Harvard late in her life. She is an astute observer of the physical world, and finds in it metaphors for feeling she does not, without them, express in her poetry. “Late Air” is a good example of this:

Late Air

From a magician’s midnight sleeve

the radio-singers

distribute all their love-songs

over the dew-wet lawns.

And like a fortune-teller’s

their marrow-piercing guesses are whatever you

believe.

But on the Navy Yard aerial I find

better witnesses

for love on summer nights.

Five remote red lights

keep their nests there; Phoenixes

burning quietly, where the dew cannot climb.

Further Reading: Elizabeth Bishop, The Complete Poems, 1927-1979; available at our library.

Coming in February: Langston Hughes

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson

Farewell Flashman

George MacDonald Fraser, 1926-2008
George MacDonald Fraser, creator of Harry Paget Flashman, that infamous swashbuckler of the 19th century British Empire, died of cancer on January 2. If you enjoy first-rate historical novels -- though politically incorrect by today's standards -- set aside some lounge chair reading time for the Flashman.

The Reavers, Fraser's last novel, will be published posthumously in April of this year.

Happy New Year East Hampton!

New Year's at Noon
Who says libraries don't draw crowds anymore?

Over 100 local residents today left us with little doubt that if we want to welcome the New Year, the best time to so is noon at the library!

Our 7th annual New Year's at Noon celebration featured oh so edible or made to be noisy crafts, plus group sing-alongs, dancing, and of course -- our signature balloon drop. Par-taay!