Greenwich Free Library
March Newsletter
Back to Basics
You may not know it but many of the books I purchase are chosen on the basis of about a paragraph of review. Several volunteers and I go through a couple hundred of these a month and try to pick the winners. Some choices are easy: the Times best sellers, requests by patrons, the next in a popular series or by a "must have" author but some, frankly, are a bit of a shot in the dark. More than once, I have put down a book that I purchased on the basis of rave reviews and thought, "Really? This is what great looks like?."
But not last week. Last week I unpacked Cockatoo, Too. The Kirkus review was encouraging and I had hopes for a nice read. What I got was delight and perfection. It is clever and funny and charming and wonderfully illustrated. I have showed it and read it to lots of (more or less willing) people and everyone has laughed out loud.
We leave picture books behind with childhood. We rediscover them for a while when we have children ourselves. But the end of bedtime stories usually means we abandon them again. Reading Cockatoo, Too reminded me that one of the great things about being a librarian is that I never have to grow out of picture books again.
Find Your Next Favorite
Thanks for Coming!
The Gill Room overflowed with history buffs
Howard Romack's Sunday STEAM microscope session was a hit
Vinnie Mark delighted a full house with his comedy and magic show.
What's Coming Up
Herding Cats
Those included TV shows with with 20+ DVD's in the set, audio books with up to 30 disks (Thank you Ken Follet), book/cd combinations, tiny board books, giant art books and more.
Sometimes things are returned with parts missing, broken or in the wrong container. Sometimes things are returned slightly damaged or completely ruined. Sometimes things are returned to us that belong to libraries we have never heard of or to no library at all. Sometimes things someone swears were returned . . . weren't.
In the course of all this, things sometimes get misplaced, checked out to the wrong person, improperly checked in or just plain lost into the void that eats socks and earbuds. Mostly, though, we managed to sort out the 74,249 comings and goings pretty smoothly.
To help us get it right all the time, please do the following simple things:
- Put all returns in the indoor or outdoor drop boxes. Even if a staff member is standing there, please use the drop box. Books left on the counter can lead to confusion.
- Check containers before you put them in the book drop to make sure they have all the right things in them. (I usually have to go back to my car to get that last CD.)
- Look over your new checkouts before you leave the library so we can sort out any mistakes right away.
- Let us know about skipping, broken or missing disks, torn, missing or defaced pages when you return things.
Our goal is to do it right every time. With your help, we have a fighting chance.
Kids Get Books And . . . .
Shadow Theater performers
Story Time music maker
Little Learners painter
Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes
Greenwich Free Library
Email: amiller@sals.edu
Website: www.greenwichfreelibrary.org
Location: 148 Main Street, Greenwich, NY, United States
Phone: (518) 692-7157
Facebook: facebook.com/greenwichfreelibrary