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March 2013 Newsletter

Domes Frame Compressed
The Domes of Yosemite is beautiful but so is its immense frame!  Look at the intricate details in the carving.
Support the Appropriation or Send Your Donation Today!
The appropriation from the Town of St. Johnsbury ($115,000) provides 18% of the revenue needed for operations.  The per capita town tax support, about $15 per person (per year) is well below the state per capita average of $26 and far below libraries of our size which average $30 per capita.  St. Johnsbury registered voters, please vote "yes" for our appropriation on Town Meeting Day, March 5th and help us to continue our mission to inspire lifelong learning.  For a summary of the value provided by the appropriation, click here.

We invite everyone to come and experience the valuable programs and services made possible through the generous support of those who care for this treasured institution.  Please donate today and allow us to thrive for another 142 years!  To make a donation online, visit our home page.

In the News and Upcoming Events
Staff Update
Alex Lent
MacKenzie Ross
Alex Lent, Librarian
Alex brings more than five years of library experience, training in Library and Information Science, and a passion for community libraries. He is currently completing his PhD from McGill University in Information Studies.  For the full press release, click here 
MacKenzie Ross, Youth Services Librarian
MacKenzie has extensive experience in library services and educational programs for young children and adults.  She has a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh. For the full press release, click here.

Song of the Vikings
Arts and Culture Series 
We wish to extend our appreciation to Bill Darling for his terrific presentation on the art of Intaglio Printmaking.  A photo album of the event is on our Facebook page.  Our next lecture is:

"The Song of the Vikings, Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths" 
Nancy Marie Brown 
Wednesday, March 20 at 7 p.m.

"With wry wit and graceful prose Nancy Marie Brown takes us back to medieval Iceland and introduces us to perhaps the greatest storyteller of the period, Snorri Sturluson.  Her depth of knowledge of the era, the rugged landscape, the Vikings, and their lifestyle is impressive."  Pat Shipman, author of To the Heart of the Nile.

For the complete schedule of the 2013 Arts and Culture Series, click here
Peggy, Michelle and Jutta
Civil War Book Discussion
Jutta Scott, the President of the Peacham Historical Association and Peggy Pearl, the Director of the St. Johnsbury History and Heritage Center discussed the roles of Peacham and St. Johnsbury during the Civil War.  Jutta introduced the newly published book A Vermont Hill Town in the Civil War:  Peacham's Story.  Jutta (right) is pictured with Peggy Pearl (left), Director of the St. Johnsbury History and Heritage Center and Michelle Arnosky Sherburne , the co-editor of the book.
First Wed. March 2013
First Wednesdays 
Early Photographs of Native North Americans
Wednesday, March 6 at 7 p.m.

Richly illustrated with nineteenth - and early twentieth-century photos of Native peoples, this talk by UNH Vice Provost and professor Lisa MacFarlane explores the stories behind the iconic and often stereotypical images, providing a glimpse into the history of clashing cultures.

First Wednesdays is a program sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council with additional support from the Friends of the Athenaeum.  For the complete 2013 First Wednesdays schedule, click here.
 
Teen Tech Week Logo
Celebrate Teen Tech Week at the Athenaeum

Sponsored by the American Library Association, Teen Tech Week encourages libraries to showcase the technology they offer, from services and digital literacy-focused programs to resources like e-books, films, music, and more. Although most teens go online everyday, many are unaware of all the resources the library offers or how librarians can help them with research or using the resources ethically. This free event is open to local teenagers and anyone who wishes to learn more about these growing technologies.

Tuesday, March 12 from 4 - 6 p.m.
Learn how to download e-books! Your St. Johnsbury Athenaeum library cards gives you free access to over 1,800 e-books! Virgil Fuller, the former Listen Up Vermont coordinator, will walk you through the Listen Up Vermont service. Learn how to sign into your account, check out items, place items on hold and more! Different e-readers will be on hand (Nook, Sony reader, Kindle).

 

Wednesday, March 13 from 4-6 p.m.

Our Library Services team will be joined by Jonathan Potter, a member of the St. Johnsbury Academy IT department, and several Academy students to discuss the use of the iPad and other Apple technologies. iPads will be on hand for students to get hands-on experience.  Join us for an afternoon of discovery and fun and add to your app collection!

Library Notes
Interlibrary loan service has been reinstated.  Thank you for your patience as we trained new staff to support this important service.

Our new Library Services Team is busy planning for an exciting 2013.  Our in-service day held on February 19 allowed time for our new staff to be trained on the KOHA open-source interlibrary system and interlibrary loans.  Plans are underway to celebrate National Library Week in April and they will be announced shortly. 
Acorn Club Bear
Acorn Club 
The Acorn Club is the children's literacy outreach program at the Athenaeum. We are getting ready to kick-off an exciting year!  In addition to delivering storytime and free books to children in daycare centers, the Acorn Club features several programs and events held throughout the year at the Athenaeum. Sarah Broome, our children's literacy coordinator has been busy visiting over 80 children per week at daycare centers.  Our official kickoff event is in early March at the AOL/LOL Daycare center in St. Johnsbury.  Our plans are to welcome 100 additional children into the program this year.  Thank you to our sponsors:  TD Charitable Foundation, Community National Bank, Passumpsic Savings Bank, Union Bank and the Vermont Community Foundation.

Children's Storytime - Now expanded to Tuesdays and Saturdays!

Children's storytime is every TUESDAY at 10:30 a.m. beginning March 5 and every first and third Saturday, also starting at 10:30 a.m., beginning March 2.   Join us for stories, songs, activities, games and a small snack. 


Book Reviews From Our Library Services Team

The Violinist's Thumb and other Lost Tales of Love, War and Genius, as Written by our Genetic Code

by Sam Kean. 

Sam Kean makes science reading fun as well as educational. This is not a book filled with pages and pages of strings of genomes and genetic sequencing but rather a collection of witty anecdotes and stories that string together the various genetic twists and turns that link all of us to the human story. When Kean made the analogies within the first pages of the book that a gene is like a story, DNA like the language that the story is written in, and chromosomes are like the DNA-rich volumes of a nuclear library, he had our attention. Learn why there are people better suited to play the violin and how far the DNA in the human body can stretch. Unravel the many mysteries about humans that have been solved from DNA and how DNA will shape our future. This book is not just for the science enthusiast but for any curious reader willing to be entertained.    

 

Seventh Heaven by Alice Hoffman

An earlier book by Hoffman delivering a charming story of life in an idealic suburban NYC neighborhood.  The year is 1959 where a divorced, young mother of two is not always a welcome sight!  Nora Silk shares her quirky flair for unconventional motherhood and friendship to a town on the brink of something liberating, the 60's!!

 

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

If you're just itchin' for winter to end and summer to arrive, you might consider reading Jeanne Birdsall's The Penderwicks, which can be found in the Children's Library. Mr. Penderwick, his four daughters, and their troublesome dog go on summer vacation in Massachusetts' Berkshire Mountains, and it seems as if trouble not only follows Hound, but also all four girls. Cookies are burnt to a crisp, rabbits are set loose, and the youngest Penderwick-Batty-is nearly attacked by a bull. However, perhaps the most tragic part is when the Penderwick sisters make friends with Jeffrey, a local boy, only to make enemies with his mother. How will the summer end for everyone: for better or for worse?

   

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Daniel's father, a used bookshop owner, takes him to the Cemetery of Lost Books in Barcelona, where Daniel is instructed to adopt a book and protect it for life. Daniel reads the book he selects - The Shadow of the Wind - in one night, completely engrossed, and tries in vain to find other books by the same author. When Daniel discovers that a mysterious man has been buying and destroying the author's books for decades, he sets off on a mission to find the author and stop the stranger who has set out to destroy his legacy. 

News from the Collection
Darling Print
Snowman Compressed
Artwork Donation
Bill Darling Donates Print to the Athenaeum

Bill has donated one of his original prints of "Bee Sanguine" to the permanent collection of the Atheaneum.   The print is currently on display in the Reference Room. 
Second Floor Gallery Exhibit
2nd Annual Exhibit of  Artwork from
St. J Middle School Students

Even though spring is fast approaching, we still celebrate snowflakes and snowmen!  The exhibit will be on display through April 30 in the upstairs gallery.  A gallery of photos is on Facebook. 
Friends of the Athenaeum
The Friends of the Athenaeum Annual Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13.  Dessert and conversation starts at 1 p.m. with the meeting beginning at 1:30.  The Friends consist of people, such as you, who value the Athenaeum's Library and Art Gallery as a rich community resource.  By becoming a Friend, you join a great group of people who help with fundraising, event planning, volunteering at Second Hand Prose, help with our children's library and SO MUCH MORE.  To become a Friend, click here to obtain a sign-up form and send in your membership payment.  Thank you! All donations are tax deductible.
Second Hand Prose
Second Hand Prose
Our used book shop located at 922 Main Street is brimming with mysteries and fantasy/science fiction paperbacks!  In addition, the volunteers at SHP have revamped the children's book section and there are many great deals!

Please stop by and meet our dedicated group of volunteers who help to manage the bookstore. They maintain the bookshelves and guide shoppers to our best deals!   Tell your friends!  Hours of Operation:   Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat 11-3; Wed 1-5; Fri 11-5.  Phone:  748-9222
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The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum
A National Historic Landmark Library and Art Gallery
Established 1871 

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