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

Congratulations Brenda!

Brenda Harrington, Adult Programming Coordinator for the BFL, recently completed a graduate program in Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina.

For the past four years, Brenda has been juggling classes, papers, and projects AND a busy family life AND a demanding job. Well done, Brenda.

A Community Loss

Our friend and co-worker, Ruth MacIntosh, passed away on July 25th. We feel a great sense of loss and sadness because of it and we know that all of you feel the same way. Ruth was a presence in the Belfast community and many of us will miss that presence. All of us who work here at the Belfast Free Library have been guided and shaped by Ruth. She taught us not only the variety of tasks needed to make the library function and serve the community, but also how to work together as a staff and get along as colleagues.
She was filled with good humor, integrity, and a tremendous amount of heart and she willingly shared all of those things with those of us who were lucky enough to know and work with her.

Three Cheers for the Belfast Garden Club

The beautiful gardens at the Belfast Free Library are maintained by the members of the Belfast Garden Club. They are also responsible for other gardens around town, including those at City Hall, the Post Office and the Belfast Museum. The presence of scaffolding that surrounded the library all winter and the necessity to place some of that structure in the middle of the gardens has added some challenges for the gardeners this year, but they, and the gardens, have rebounded beautifully.During three seasons of the year. entering the building each day, either through the front entrance or the back door, is a joyful experience. On Wednesday mornings, the group of workers are usually busy doing the things they do to make this all happen and I enjoy chatting with them for a minute before I go inside to get to my own work. I'm not a gardener, and haven't yet felt the pull to gardening that they obviously have, but I do appreciate the all-season beauty that club members make available to our visitors and the Belfast community , through their hard work and dedication. They not only maintain the gardens, they also raise funds to make them better and more beautiful each year.

Many club members are also making their own gardens available to visitors as part of Open Garden Days . Look for the schedule by the post office or pick one up at the library and check out some of these beautiful gardens. The dates run through September, so there are still plenty of fabulous gardens to see. While you are there, don't forget to put a little something in the donation box to ensure the clubs ability to continue this work in the future. For more information visit the Garden Club website.

The library has a large collection of gardening books for those inspired by the creations of local gardeners. Or, if you are interested in Belfast history, you might like to look at the Belfast Garden Club Records which are held in the Special Collections Department of the library. The collection includes minute books, scrapbooks and photographs dating from 1929 to 1982.

The photographs here were taken a couple of weeks ago, and already the garden has changed and filled out. There is always something new and colorful to look at, so be sure visit often to fully appreciate the magic that has been created here. And while you're in the neighborhood, you might as well come on inside and experience some library magic.

SUMMER READING KICK OFF AT THE BELFAST FREE LIBRARY

The 2008 Summer Reading Program at the Belfast Free Library, “Catch the Reading Bug”, begins June 28th at 11:00 with a concert by Dennis McGuire’s One Man Band. McGuire, a summer visitor to the area, plays acoustic guitar, harmonica, bass drum, tambourine and kazoo. He also does the vocals for a variety of foot stompin’, hand clappin’ favorites. Youngster and oldsters will be dancing in the aisles!
This year’s reading program has something for everyone and incorporates several events going on in town this summer, including the Celtic Festival and the Co-Motion program.
Story Hours for young children will be held Thursday at 10:00 (infants) and Friday at 11:00(preschoolers). Craft and game afternoons for elementary school children will be held Wednesdays at 2:00, beginning July 2. Book Discussion Groups for grades 4 – 6 and 7-9 will be held Mondays from 6:30 – 7:30. Check at the library for a schedule and books. Family entertainment will be featured throughout the summer. Check the library website, http://www.belfastlibrary.org/, or pick up a schedule at the library.
All youngsters will be encouraged to meet a summer reading challenge by charting their reading. Free books will be awarded to youngsters completing their goals. Charts, book bags, instructions, and schedules will all be available at the Dennis McGuire Concert.
For more information, contact the library at 338-3884 x 24.

RENEWABLES: ALTERED BOOKS

What happens when a book outlives its purpose on the shelf?

If it falls into the right hands, it is transformed into an art object that may or may not resemble its original form as a book. An “altered book” is any book, old or new that has been recycled by creative means into a work of art.

Coming this fall...Renewables: Altered Books - a community wide art project co-sponsored by Waterfall Arts, The Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) and the Belfast Free Library.

If you want to find out more and learn about this project please come to the Fear No Art: Altered Books presentation at the Belfast Free Library on Wednesday June 25th at 6:30 pm. Cathy Melio, Education Director at CMCA in Rockport will present this slide show, which is the kick off event for this exciting community-wide altered books project coming this September to the midcoast area. There are several free altered book workshops, a panel discussion and an artist lecture scheduled for the fall. We hope to engage people of all ages and levels of art experience (or inexperience) in transforming books into works of art- an altered book- and then exhibit them in November at the Belfast Free Library, Waterfall Arts and CMCA.

Just Imagine What You Could Do With A Discarded Book....

"Stop in for a Show" - A Family Program