Adult Summer Reading Challenge 2009

The new summer reading list will be available in a week, so be sure to stop by and pick up your copy or print one from the website. The theme this year is "Maine Reads" and will feature fiction and nonfiction books about Maine. Most are also written by Maine authors and include writers from the past and present. Read as many as you can from the list between June 15 and August 21, and for each book you read, enter a drawing for a gift certificate. Check out the Summer Reading Blog at http://bflsummerreading.blogspot.com/ to participate in discussion of the books, Maine writers, or Maine in general. I'm really looking forward to a great summer of reading - in fact, I'm already reading one of the books on the list, "Water Dogs" by Lewis Robinson.

A Photo From the Garden

New Library Website

We've updated our website and hope you will find that it gives you easier access to our online services. Though we are still working on the content for the site, here are some of the functions that are available now.

From the tool bar on the left, you can:

• Search the BFL , Minerva and MaineCat on-line catalogs.
• Check your own record and see the status of your ILL requests or renew items
• Search the MARVEL databases for journal and newspaper articles, encyclopedia and dictionary entries, and literary, biographical, scientific and historical information.
• Access this blog to read and comment on the various postings by library staff members.

From the Genealogy page (under Services) you can:

• Connect to various on-line genealogical resources
• Search HeritageQuestOnline, a premium genealogy site that includes U. S. Census records, Revolutionary War pension records and a large collection of digitized local and family history books (requires a valid BFL card to access).

Look for the calendar, gallery news and upcoming Friday Night Flix, on the Events & Exhibits page and look for finding aids to some of our Special Collections by clicking on the Services button.

Soon, you will be able to download audiobooks from the website to listen to on your home computer or ipod/MP3 player. Watch for this feature to be available in the next week or two.

So, please take a few minutes to try out these features, explore the pages and let us know what you think.

Betsy Paradis, Reference Librarian

http://www.belfastlibrary.org/

Happy New Year!

Your friends at the Belfast Free Library wish you all a bright and joy-filled 2009.

The Thanksgiving Holiday

The library will be closed November 27-28 in observance of Thanksgiving. We wish all of our library friends a warm and happy holiday celebrated with family and friends.

Here is an early Thanksgiving Proclamation issued by Governor Edwin Chick Burleigh, in 1889. This image is from the Maine Memory Network website. If you would like to see an enlarged version of this image visit the MMN website at http://www.mainememory.net and search for Thanksgiving.

Governor Burleigh was the father of Vallie Burleigh Williamson, wife of Belfast native Joseph Williamson, Jr. Robert Williamson Jr, the grandson of Vallie and and Joseph Jr., donated family papers to the library in 2000 and some of the family letters were published in 2003 in The Williamson Family Papers Volume I: The College Years, 1844-1852. Copies of this publication are available to be checked out (or purchased) at the library.

Wawenoc News

The Wawenoc Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society, which is sponsored by the BFL, is working on recording early Waldo and Knox County families for inclusion in the Maine Families in 1790 project. Here you see Joyce Julian, and group president, Roger Sprague, using BFL resources to gather information for their entries. The purpose of this book project, being produced by the MGS, is to record all Maine families that were included in the first federal census of 1790. 9 volumes have been produced thus far (available in the Special Collections area) and #10 is in the works. Entries in the books must include complete vital information (with documented proof) of each listed person their parents and their children, thus providing 3 generations of accurate, proven family information. The result is a great source of reliable information for people doing research of early Maine families. In order to prove information included in an entry, group members must find primary vital record documents such as birth, marriage, or death certificates, or reliable records kept in town or county offices, many of which have been published and are available in the library. Other primary resources that provide information include deeds, probate records, military records, cemetery and funeral home records and personal records, such as diaries and family bibles. If you are interested in becoming involved in this project, feel free to join us at our next meeting on Wednesday, November 19, at 2:00 p.m. on the third floor. For more information, contact me at bparadis@belfastlibrary.org or 338-3884 ext. 25 or go to the MGS site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs/families.htm.

Adult Summer Reading Program Comes to an End

The 2008 Adult Summer Reading Challenge finished up on August 22nd. The winners of the two gift certificates to The Fertile Mind Bookshop are Larry Abbott and Steven Garrand. Congratulations!

Thanks to all who participated. The theme for this summer was The Great American Novel and reading lists are still available at the circulation desk, if you'd like to check out the recommended books. Participants were asked if the book they read was, in their opinion, a great American novel and to rate each book from 1 (not even close) to 10 (Yes!). Here are some of the comments and ratings submitted:

Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
rating 6 - " To Kill a Mockingbird it ain't, but very honest and vivid none the less."
rating 4 - "HARSH!"

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
rating 10 - no comment

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
rating 4 - "Good story, I love Morrison - but not the Great American Novel."

Washington Square by Henry James
rating 4 - "Excellent book, but definitely not the Great American Novel."

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
rating 8 - "Profound for all."
rating 10 - no comment

Caretakers by Tabitha King
rating 7 - " A great look at the conflict between summer visitors and the natives in Maine communities - very enjoyable read."

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

rating 6 - "Not his best, but insightful."

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
rating 7 - "So close! Such imagery, but not quite."

Spoonhandle by Ruth Moore
rating 8 - "Moore paints a picture of Maine coastal life that is harsh and yet warm at the same time. Thanks for including some Maine authors on the list."

Native Son by Richard Wright
rating 9 - "Everyone needs to read this to understand race relations and themselves."

I hope everyone who participated enjoyed the books we selected. If you have any thoughts or suggestions about the Summer 2009 Challenge, please let me know.

Betsy