Wilton Library Association Newsletter
April 2005
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in this issue
-- Annual Book Sale: Saturday, April 16th - Tuesday, April 19th
-- Computer Clinics Resume!
-- Selling on eBay
-- LWV Presents: Iron Jawed Angels
-- Norwalk Symphony Strings - (Not) Just for Kids
-- Circus Follies Fun-Raiser for the Library - Saturday, April
30th
-- Take Your Business to the Next Step
-- Memoir as Witness
-- For Sale - For the Library (new items!)
-- Book Discussions in April
-- Read to Rover!
-- Wishlist: The Oxford History of Western Music
-- Expansion News
Spring is upon us! As I looked at the calendar, I was reminded of the vernal
equinox and the fabled egg standing ritual that occurs at this time each year.
According to Phil Plait, author of Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses
Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax", the feat can be performed
at any time of year and has little to do with the crossing of the Sun from
the northern to the southern hemisphere of the sky. Still, as he recounts, "Every
year, all across the United States and around the world, this ritual is performed
at the beginning of the spring season. On or about March 21, schoolchildren,
newspeople, and ordinary citizens take a chicken egg and try to stand it on
end." Were you among them this year?To read more about the ritual, see Phil's online
article. To learn more about good and bad astronomy, spring and much, much
more, stop by and visit us - online or
on Old Ridgefield Road. We're waiting with information, inspiration and entertainment
- just for you.
Sincerely,
Kathy Leeds, Director
Annual
Book Sale: Saturday, April 16th - Tuesday, April 19th
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Every
year, thousands and thousands of new and gently used books, videos
and audiobooks are donated to the Wilton Library. Some are added
to our collection, but many more are offered up for sale at extremely
reasonable prices during our Annual Book Sale - one of the best
sales in our region. Join us to take part in the exceptional
silent auction (Saturday and Sunday only), browse through over
25,000 items in 40 different categories and get some great bargains.
Proceeds from the book sale help to fund the Library's operating
budget.
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Computer
Clinics Resume!
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Roger Giler, columnist for the Wilton Bulletin and longtime lecturer
on computer hardware, software and connections, will resume his popular "computer
clinics" at the Library this month on Saturday, April 2nd, from 10-11:30
am. Roger will spend this session talking about how to choose and
purchase a computer based on what you need. His presentation will be followed
by a question and answer segment, so bring your problems to this Wilton computer
whiz - you'll find Roger a knowledgeable and "user-friendly" guide! Please register
online or call the Library at 762-3950 to reserve a space.
Sample Roger's recent Bulletin columns...
Selling
on eBay
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Last
month Tom Greenbaum of Con$ignNet gave
more than 50 of us a primer on eBay buying. This month, on Tuesday,
April 5th from 12:30 to 2 pm, he will lead a second
fascinating session on the ins and outs of selling on eBay. If
you have been wondering how to convert your attic treasures into
more liquid assets, please join us and learn from a professional.
Tom will give us helpful tips on how to be a successful seller
on the tremendously popular Internet auction site. Participants
are invited to bring in an item to sell and we will use one or
two to demonstrate!
Please register soon, as this class is already filling up. You can do so online, in person, or by phone (762-3950). |
LWV
Presents: Iron Jawed Angels
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| On Sunday,
April 3rd, from 3-5 pm, the Wilton
League of Women Voters and the Library will co-sponsor
a showing of a powerful HBO production (starring Oscar winner
Hilary Swank!) about the history of the women's suffrage movement.
The League has donated a copy of the film to the Library for
future borrowing, but those who join us on the 3rd will be
able to join in a discussion and refreshments following the
showing.
There is little more valuable to us than the right to vote - come see how the battle to secure this right was waged by committed and courageous leaders. Please register online or call the Library at 762-3950 to reserve a space. |
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Norwalk
Symphony Strings - (Not) Just for Kids
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On Saturday, April 2nd, from 2-3 pm, the Wilton
Bank will sponsor the third in a very special series of programs "conducted" by
the Norwalk Symphony. Performers
from the Symphony's string section will entertain and enlighten kids AND their
families in a hands-on session that is sure to delight - and be filled to capacity!
Advance registration is strongly suggested by phone (762-3950) or online. This program will be held in the Picture Book Room so that we may provide additional seating, but arrive early to secure a place.
Circus
Follies "Fun-Raiser" for the Library - Saturday, April 30th
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 |
Come
one! Come all! The Circus Follies are coming to town. Wilton High School's Little Theater will be the place for shows for the whole family on Saturday, April 30th at 11 am and 1:30 pm. Tickets will be available at the Library and the price of $10 per seat per show will benefit the Library's collection and technology funds. Have a great time and do a good thing in the process. A limited number of tickets may be available at the door, but we suggest you stop by the Library soon to make sure you have a seat for the performance of your choice! |
Take
Your Business to the Next Step
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In a continuing series of seminars for business people, the Wilton
Chamber of Commerce and the Library will co-sponsor a session on business
growth Wednesday morning, April 20th, from 9 am-noon in the
Community Room. Business managers and owners won't want to miss this informative
seminar presented by Catherine Cassidy of Applied Alloy and Angela Briante
of Spirit Marketing Services.
Advance registration and payment of a seminar fee ($49.95 for Chamber Members, $69.95 all others) is required. Call the Chamber office (762-0567) for more information; call the Library (762-3950) or the Chamber to register or register online.
Memoir as Witness
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Norwalk Community College and the Wilton Library are proud to present a wonderful seminar entitled Memoir as Witness on Wednesday, April 20th from 6:30-8 pm in the Community Room. Gail Hall Howard, Helen and Jules Wallerstein and Ilse Zimmerman will read from their memoirs and discuss their experiences in Nazi Germany, the Bronx during World War II and in Chicago during the 1960s. Attendees will be moved - and engaged - by these four articulate and perceptive speakers, eyewitnesses to some of recent history's most important events. Advance registration is suggested by phone (762-3950) or online.
For Sale - For the Library (new items!)
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| Last
month we sold a couple of the items we advertised here in the
newsletter, and thanks to generous donors Matthew and Howard
Greene, the Library gained $1,000 for technology and collections.
More than one hundred readers visited the new "sale page" to
check it out!
This month we have expanded our offerings with a number of "pieces of history," including a hair from the head of our late President, John F. Kennedy, and a pipe and wine bottle that belonged to the Duke of Windsor! Check our special sale page for more information and to make a purchase. |
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Book Discussions in April
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On Wednesday,
April 6th from noon-1 pm, Susan Boyar will discuss
Alice Munro's Hateship, Friendship, Courtship,
Loveship, Marriage with the Wilton Library Readers.
There is no need to register and you may feel free to bring
your lunch to this always-invigorating discussion group.
On Tuesday, April 26th, at 11 am, Ben VanVechten will lead a discussion of Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust by Nathanael West at the Senior Center at 180 School Road (Comstock Community Center). Call the Senior Center to reserve a place at 834-6240. On Thursday, April 28th, from 7-8:30 pm our International Book Discussion Group will enjoy the literature of other lands with a discussion of Spring Snow (The Sea of Fertility) by Yukio Mishima. Miwako Ogasawara will be our guest leader and refreshments including a Japanese dessert will be served. |
Read to Rover!
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| We'll
be offering another of those wonderful Read to Rover sessions
on Saturday, April 23rd from 2-3 pm for kids
in grades 1-6 who want to brush up on their reading skills before
a great canine audience. Therapy certified dogs will be on hand
with their handlers to listen attentively for each 20-minute
session.
Advance registration and scheduling is required and dogs and space are very limited, so call Children's Services immediately to make your appointment at 762-3950, extension 217. |
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Wishlist: The Oxford History of Western Music
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The
Library has long been known for its excellent classical and jazz
recording collection. Under the management of Audiovisual Department
Head Heather Collier and with funding partially derived from
Wilton's Candlelight Concert Series each year, the music collection
is exemplary and draws users from around the region. We are indebted
not only to Heather's management, but also to the purchase suggestions
made by our all-volunteer Music Committee whose members currently
include music composers, performers and those who simply appreciate
fine music: Allen Brings, Chris Brubeck, Harold Byrdy, Elizabeth
Lauer, John Mucci and David Schuster.
This month the Committee has asked that we put a special appeal in our newsletter for the donation of a very special resource that would serve the community well for years to come. Beyond the purchase power of either our Library budget or that afforded by Candlelight Concert funds, The Oxford History of Western Music is an outstanding reference work whose purchase would be a gift to our entire town - and could prove a fitting way to honor or memorialize a loved with an interest or talent in the field. With 4,560 pages in six volumes, The Oxford History of Western Music is "sweepingly ambitious" and illuminates a representative sampling of masterworks "whose themes, styles, and currents give shape and direction to each musical age." We have our fingers crossed that a generous family, business, organization or individual will come forward to make the $475 donation that would allow us to add this significant set to our holdings. Anyone interested in being a donor or in obtaining more information about The Oxford History of Western Music should call me directly at 762-7196, extension 215 or send me an email at kathy_leeds@wiltonlibrary.org. Your donation would be fully tax-deductible, of course. |
Expansion News
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I
hardly know where to start! So very much has happened in the
past month and so many more things are to come soon.
Visitors to the Library have seen those bright yellow walls envelop the two-story addition, watched the entire structure become weather-proof, and now are seeing the brick applied to the outer walls. The brick will remain untreated for about a month before being painted to match the original building - soon it will be difficult to tell where the old leaves off and the new begins as the two parts are "knitted together." |
Inside the addition, stairs, framing, wiring, ductwork and plumbing are all going on at a breakneck pace, and while the work is not quite as visible as it once was when there were no walls in the way, the sounds of progress are music to our ears (what will we ever do when the Library is quiet once again?)! We expect the addition and new entrance to open in June, with full access to an all-new children's library, Wilton History Room, meeting rooms, offices and public restrooms. In the meantime, we plan to start work on the Brubeck Community Room and the northeast addition that will provide us with an entirely new and renovated northern side of the existing building. We may need to close all or part of the Library for brief periods of time during certain phases of the renovations (particularly when books and other materials are being moved), but we will let you all know via the local papers when any such temporary interruptions in service are going to occur. We'll also keep these to a minimum - we know how important access to the Library's services, programs and collections is to our community. Stay tuned... the end is in sight!
Contact Information
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email: library@wiltonlibrary.org
voice: 203-762-3950
web: http://www.wiltonlibrary.org
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