Wilton Library Association Newsletter
December 2006
in this issue Hello! As a member of the Wilton Library "family," and as a reader of this newsletter, you are aware of the transformation that's taken place at the Wilton Library over the last couple of years. We are bigger, certainly, with wonderful new spaces and furnishings that provide a much needed refurbishing and expansion. But more than that, we are revitalized by the potential afforded by those spaces, now able to house collections, offer services and hold programs that serve our community far better than ever before. You can be part of the exciting promise of our future holds as the lifelong learning and cultural center for our community. As a private organization serving the public, we rely on contributions as well as a grant from taxpayers to meet our goals. In fact, donations pay for almost one quarter of our annual budget, funding all of our collection purchases and a significant portion of our technology and program expenditures. Our annual appeal is in the mail. We hope you will help us continue to open minds, inspire discourse and learning, and provide an exceptional venue for cultural events by becoming a Friend of the Wilton Library. If you are already a Friend, I urge you to increase your level of giving. You can make a difference - an important and in some cases, life-changing difference - for our community. Please send in your check today. If your appeal letter was lost in the mail, or you have questions about the ways you may choose to donate, don't hesitate to call or email me. Sincerely, |
Make sure you drop by our very special Giving Tree that evening or throughout the month. You’ll be able to purchase something for the Library to honor or memorialize a loved one, friend, relative, teacher, or associate. The tree will be adorned with suggested books, DVDs, CDs and programs to enhance our offerings and round out your shopping list. We’ll give you a handsome personalized gift card on the spot to share – and remember that your gift is tax deductible. We look forward to seeing you! |
Come and see how much fun learning can be! Please register in person, by phone (762-3950) or online. |
I can personally attest to the fun and fabulous creations that will emerge during this session as Ms. Lauricella has taught me to make my own gorgeous live wreath in the past! There is no charge for the program as it is made possible by the John and Pat Curran Teen Fund. Please register in person, by phone (762-3950), or online, as space and supplies are limited. |
Just go to Your Account by clicking on the link at the top right of our home page. Insert your library card number and the last four digits of your phone number. Click on the Search tab and find the item you’d like to request. Important tip: to avoid waiting unnecessarily, make sure you choose the “next available copy” button rather than the “request this copy” button for those titles that have multiple copies! This will insure that you are next in line for any copy of the title, not just the one that is selected at the time you place your request. And remember – you may pick reserved items up (we’ll call to let you know when they are ready) at either the Circulation Desk or the Drive-Up Window on Godfrey Place. If you have difficulty getting to the Library because of illness or infirmity, we’ll even mail your reserved items to you and provide postage for you to send them back – just call our Head of Circulation, Melissa Friedman (762-3950), to let us know you need this service. |
The Library trustees are most grateful to those who help us to fund the collections, technology and programs each year. Your donations allow us to provide outstanding service to our community. Although the Town grant underwrites about 78% of our budget, it is your support that both makes up and makes the difference, funding our outstanding collection of books, CDs and DVDs, our exceptionally broad and frequent program offerings, and the updated technology that keeps information flowing for both patrons and staff. This party is our favorite way to celebrate you and we hope to see you that evening. Although reservations are not absolutely necessary, we’d love for you to call 762-3950 extension 270 to let us know you’re coming. |
Please come and hear her talk about her business, those she’s met, and her new book, The Book that Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books that Mattered Most to Them. Roxanne will have books to sell and sign – this title is the perfect holiday gift, so come and get yours personalized that night! Seating is limited, so please reserve your seat in person, by phone, or online immediately. |
In the shallow waters of Aboukir Bay off the coast of Egypt, the ruins of three ancient cities—-Alexandria, Heraklion, and Canopus lie along with valuable clues to the way their citizens lived and worshiped. Founder and president of the European Institute for Underwater Archeology in Paris, Franck Goddio, discovered these relics, which include statuary, jewelry, pediments, stone tablets and fragments of buildings, all lost for nearly two thousand years. In addition to remarkable photographs of the excavation process, this illuminating volume connects the artifacts to the lives of Helen of Troy, Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. It discusses the interactions among the three cities, between Egyptians and ancient Greeks, and the influences each civilization had on the other. A tax-deductible donation of $50 will add this item to our collection for everyone to enjoy. If you are interested in making the gift in honor or memory of a loved one, or simply want it to appear on our shelves, please email me immediately. I am anxious to check it out myself, and I know it will prove a popular addition to our collection. |
I tip my hat to the terrific Children’s Library staff for this lineup of activities! Laura Schwemm, Lesley Keogh, Barbara Jones and Pat Bergin are a terrific team whose creativity and enthusiasm benefit so many. |
Poetry will be showcased in two poetry and arts events centered on themes of diversity and tolerance in the Brubeck Room in March, 2007. Poetry in Motion is sponsored by the Library with funding from Fairfield County Foundation, the Connecticut Humanities Council and the John & Patricia Curran Teen Fund. I’ve been so impressed by the quality of the work submitted and look forward to the March program. I know that everyone involved in this highly imaginative, thoughtful and artistic effort will find it a rewarding experience. |
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Don't be stressed by indecision or overspend on your purchases Please register in advance to make sure we have enough supplies on hand and come prepared to both learn and have a wonderfully festive time. |
This month, we'll take a look at "collection development," or how we choose to add to and delete from the books, audios and videos we put on our shelves. Electronic resources and other information provided via our website are an increasingly important segment of the collection and I'll save them for another month's Spotlight. As you might hope and expect, those who use our collection are the single most important determinant of what we buy. Our selection committees at the Wilton Library (and there are five of them: books for adults, books for children, all materials for teens, audio visual materials for adults, audio visual materials for children) choose based on not only the quality of new items available, but also on past borrowing history for items on various topics and by specific authors. We use statistical information gathered to analyze borrowing patterns and determine where the strengths and weaknesses of the collection may lie. We rely as well on your requests for items about which you've read or heard and purchase all within our budgetary constraints that are well-reviewed. We encourage you to stop by any of our service desks to request a purchase or interlibrary loan of books and other materials you don't find on the shelves. You can request items for purchase online, as well. Because we want to provide books, CDs and DVDs that are not only responsive to community needs but also of high quality, our selection committees read more than a dozen professional review journals each month, basing each purchase decision on informed industry opinion as well as their own knowledge of our users' preferences. The entire process is one we take very seriously, as you might imagine, and we review policies for collection development periodically to make sure they continue to align with our strategic goals and objectives. |
Contact Information email: kathy_leeds@wiltonlibrary.org phone: 203-762-3950 web: http://www.wiltonlibrary.org |
On Friday, December 1st, the Wilton Library will join businesses throughout Wilton Center as they usher in the holiday spirit. Refreshments and a warm fire will welcome those who make us a stop on the Wilton Holiday Walk sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. From 5-7 pm, families can stop by for holiday treats and to visit with their friends and neighbors in the heart of Wilton Center. Our Brubeck Room will be aglow with good cheer, food and drink.
On Saturday, December 2nd, from 11-noon, high school science teacher and author Mary K. Corcoran will teach kids 8-10 years old about the digestion process. Hands-on experiments will be the highlight of this entertaining and enlightening hour based on her book, The Quest to Digest.
Teens can create their own designer holiday wreaths under the direction of Teen Librarian, Susan Lauricella, on Monday, December 4th, from 4-6 pm. Kids need to register in advance and space is limited. Participants should bring a bag full of greens to use and share, gardening gloves, and clippers.
Did you know that you can reserve books, CDs and DVDs online? Many of you are used to telling us in person or calling 762-3950 when the Library is open to ask that we put you on the waiting list for those titles not currently checked in and available. You may not know that you can log in to your own account on our website to do the very same thing!
Please join us at the Library on Sunday, December 3rd, from 5:30-7:30 pm for our annual Wilton Library Friends holiday gathering. We’ll have all sorts of refreshments, music, a fireplace or two blazing and lots of good cheer on tap. 
We are so delighted to host an amazing evening in the Brubeck Room on Thursday, December 7th, at 7 pm – and I personally invite you to join me to welcome the incredibly successful owner of the nation’s most successful independent book store, R. J. Julia’s own Roxanne Coady. Roxanne has played host herself to some of the most famous authors in the business and her new book features dozens of their stories. 
The Book Selection Committee has alerted me to the fact that we would very much like, with your special help, to purchase Egypt’s Sunken Treasures, by Franck Goddio. The book is remarkable for its photographs and images from a landmark underwater excavation that changed the maps of history.
December is a busy month in the Children’s Library and you'll want to be part of the holiday action! 
On Tuesday, December 5th and Wednesday, December 6th, from 6-8 pm, Heather Candels, English teacher and published poet, will conduct editing workshops for teens in grades 7-12 who submitted poems for the Poetry in Motion initiative at the Library. Students will be contacted in advance so that they know which session to attend.
The holidays are not always a joyful time. Those who must deal at this time of year with the loss of a loved one often find them fraught with stress and sadness. We are proud to present a seminar sponsored by Mid-Fairfield Hospice as part of their In the Midst of Winter series entitled Coping with Loss on Wednesday, December 6th, from 10:30 am to noon. Please join us to learn from Rev. Karen S. Judd, LCSW, about the normal stages of grief and discover proven strategies and resources for getting through this difficult time. Please register in person, by phone or 
Tina Waring Ackerman will display her show entitled Wilton Landscapes and More through the end of December 29th and we invite you to the opening artist’s reception on Sunday, December 10th, from 11:30 am-1 pm. Many of the works will be offered for sale and your purchase will benefit the Library’s Art Fund, so bring along your credit card or checkbook to get that perfect present! 
On Thursday, December 14th from 7-8 pm, Dave Helman, a wine industry expert for the past 25 years, will discuss wine pairing tips to help guide people through the wines to serve at a cocktail party, to pair with your holiday meal, and to give as a gift. Dave learned about wine from his restaurant work in Oregon. He says, "I'm a big believer that wine should be fun and not snobbish."
Most of us have used libraries all our lives and have a fair idea of how they work from the “user perspective.” Few have been behind the scenes at a library to see all that contributes to the library user’s experience. This new regular segment of librarEmail will give you a peek behind the scenes to see how your library brings the world of learning and culture to the center of our community. Taken together with the Did You Know feature, Spotlight On, will fill you in on the way we provide service and how we are striving to keep that service updated, responsive, effective and efficient, making the most of your tax and donation dollars while providing an exemplary resource for our community.