From the Vermont State Librarian 

This month the Department of Libraries hosted James Lonergan, Senior Program Officer for State Library Programs at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), who was in Vermont to do a site visit. IMLS is the federal agency that administers LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) funds to state library agencies and our department works closely with James Lonergan and others throughout the year. Program Officers make these site visits on a 5-year rotation, and the major purpose of this visit was to review our department's LSTA program to make sure that we adhere to all program requirements and have good accounting and reporting procedures in place, but a second purpose is for IMLS to see firsthand the impact of LSTA funding in local libraries.

We spent the first day of the three-day visit reviewing financial records and in meetings with DOL staff, but the best part of the visit followed with a two-day tour of libraries. Even though we were travelling during the hottest week (so far) of the summer, we enjoyed watching children's programs, touring library buildings, talking with librarians and hearing first-hand how libraries benefit from LSTA funding. Seeing Vermont libraries through the eyes of an IMLS program officer gave me some new perspective on the work that we do here in Vermont and I want to thank the librarians who spent time with us: Robin Sales and Rachel Senechal (Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier); Dee Palmer (Pope Memorial Library, Danville); Cindy Karasinski, Mary Kenny and Cheryl McMahon(Cobleigh Public Library, Lyndonville); Janet Thorne (Samuel Read Hall Library, Lyndon State College); Lisa von Kann (St. Johnsbury Athenaeum); Mara Siegel (UVM interlibrary loan office) and Robin Katz, Sibyl Schaefer, and Chris Burns at the Center for Digital Initiatives (Bailey Howe Library, UVM), and Barbara Shatara and Robert Resnik (Fletcher Free Library, Burlington).  Both James and I came away impressed with the richness of library programs and cultural offerings, the dedication of library staff, the strong connections to local communities, and the innovative services designed to reach citizens of all ages. We may be a small state but I learned that our libraries here in Vermont rival those in other states that boast larger populations and budgets. LSTA funding plays an important role in this success, but equally important are the librarians and library staff who design and execute the wealth of services and programs that take place everyday in our 183 public libraries.

In Vermont, we use federal LSTA funds for:

• Partial salaries for 20 DOL employees
• Vermont Automated Library System
• Vermont Online Library information databases
• Summer reading program for children and teens
• Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• Purchase of library materials at six state institutions
• Resource Sharing Grants
• Support of the Vermont Humanities Council's 1st Wednesday programs in nine public libraries
• Public performance movie license for public libraries
• UVM Access Office that handles interlibrary loan of UVM materials to Vermont libraries

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In the Woods by Tana French offers the Dublin murder squad, trying to solve a murder. The catch? The detective, Rob Ryan, was the only survivor twenty years earlier when three children went missing in the same woods. Readers can follow Ryan's partner Cassie Maddox in another stunning and original Irish mystery, The Likeness. Maddox takes the place of a murdered woman to infiltrate a close band of friends. One more? Faithful Place has just been released.

Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg gives the reader a character who is similar to Larrson's Salander, albeit older (37) and without her interest in technology. Smilla Qaavigaaq Jaspersen is determined to find out what happened to a small boy, and the investigation takes her deep into the menacing politics of Greenland and Denmark. Heat getting to you? Learn plenty of words for snow in Greenland.

A penetrating chill colors the world of Norwegian novelist Karin Fossum. When the Devil Holds the Candle features Inspector Konrad Sejer and his police colleague Jacob Skarre, trying to locate two punks who drink too much and frighten children and mothers. The threat in the little town by the sea comes from rather ordinary people pushed too far.

Arnaldur Indridason has created a grim Icelandic series, beginning with Jar City. These ripping police procedurals feature the cynical inspector Erlendur Sveinsson, age 50. His daughter, a drug addict, adds to the complexity of the story. "Jar City" is the old forensics lab, which helps illuminate the crime scene.

Henning Mankell sets his Kurt and Linda Wallander mysteries in Sweden. Kurt is the experienced cop and Linda is about to begin her career in Before the Frost. A religious fanatic is targeting Sweden's cathedrals, leaving burnt swans and other curious clues to his plans. The last words of the novel are a fitting end to these icy Scandinavian tales: "It was -3 C. Winter had arrived in Skane."

Librarians: feel free to reprint all or part of this article in your newsletter or local paper. (Please credit the Vermont Department of Libraries.)

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