May 8, 2012

Planet Huntington We would like to thank Rebecca and Terry Ryan for coordinating Planet Huntington, our popular travel slide show series. We would also like to thank this years’ presenters: Pam Steeg and Bruce Jamieson (Burning Man Festival); Rob and Jeanne Zimmerman ( Netherlands); Peggy and Marc Faucher ( Antartica); Bonnie Gordon (Colombia); Don Dresser and Barb Winters ( Turkey) and Rebecca and Terry Ryan (Patagonia). The series will take a break during the warm months but will resume in the fall.  If you have images from a trip that you have taken, and would be willing to share them with your neighbors contact the Ryans at 434-3640 and they will reserve a night for you next fall or winter.

 Swing Peepers  “Ever inventive, spontaneous and responsive to kids, the Swing Peepers perform interactive songs and stories.  John Hadden and Mathew Witten take families on a fun and participatory journey through the world of nature and universal human experience.”  Join us for this fun, local favorite on Thursday, June 28 at 7 pm.

 Children’s Art Work We will be having an exhibit of local children’s art work during the months of June and July.  If you have a piece of framed artwork by a local youngster age three to eighteen that you would like to have included call the library.  There is plenty of time to plan ahead and have your child create something to be included.  For more information contact Wendy at the library.

Summer Book Club Don’t let your children take a complete vacation from reading this summer.  Enroll them in the Summer Book Club, a joint initiative of the Huntington Library and Brewster Pierce Memorial School.   Watch for details.

 Storytime Guest Readers This opportunity is open to any students in first through eighth grade who would like to keep their reading skills extra sharp this summer by making an appearance as a Summer Guest Reader at Storytime on a Friday morning.  Guest readers are asked to read their favorite picture book aloud to the younger children. Sign up by calling or stopping by the Library.

Raffle for Montshire Museum Passes  We are holding a raffle for a free visit for five people to the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont valid through March of 2013. Raffle tickets are $ 1 for one ticket, $ 5 for six tickets, $ 10 for fifteen tickets and are available at the Library. There will be two winners, each winning five free passes to the Museum. When you visit Montshire's 100-acre Museum, you enter an exciting world of science, nature, and technology. The spacious and light-filled building easily holds both permanent exhibits and featured exhibitions. The exploration continues outside in Science Park, the Woodland Garden, and along the nature trails bordering the beautiful Connecticut River. Whether you are experiencing the Museum for the first time or the hundredth, every visit is a new experience. Thanks to the Christiansen Family for donating the museum passes to the Library.

 Maple Bank Fundraiser The Friends of the Library is wrapping up its maple bank fundraiser.  Please turn in your bank at the library.  Thank you to all who participated this year. 

 Bird’s of VT Pass  We have a pass for free admission for a family to the Bird’s of Vermont Museum on Sherman Hollow Road in Huntington.  The pass is valid May through October and may be signed out on your library card during this time period.  Don’t forget we also have passes to the Echo Center and Shelburne Farms.

 Periodical Racks We are grateful to Dave Ruscitto of Camel’s Hump Woodworking for designing and building new periodical racks to match our existing book cases. Dave generously donated his time and talent to complete this project.

 Grant Success! Thanks to Trustee, Harvey Schugar for writing a successful grant to Ashgate Publishing Company of Burlington which has covered most of the materials cost of the new periodical racks. After receiving an overwhelming number of grant proposals, Ashgate’s Library Grants Committee funded 100% of our request of $250, stating that, “This project really captured the hearts of our staff…”.

 Magazine Subscriptions  We are currently accepting gift subscriptions to magazines.  Before throwing away those extra frequent flyer miles check with us to see if there is a magazine we aren’t already getting that would be a big hit with the Huntington public.  You might also consider adopting a favorite magazine or newspaper subscription and making it available to the public at the Library.  Call or email the Library to learn how. 434-4583 hpl@gmavt.net.

 Electronic books now available Library patrons may now take advantage of eBooks download through the service Listenup Vermont.  The collection is small but growing and is available to patrons with a valid Huntington Library card.  Ask at the Library to get started.

 Huntington Seed Library  We’ve sprouted a seed library! Thanks to a generous donation from the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, the Huntington Seed Library offers a wide variety of vegetable seeds.  There are various ways to participate including experimenting with a new variety; taking several seed packets and making a donation toward future seed purchases; and saving seeds and returning some to the Seed Library for the following season.  Drop by to see what’s up.

 Access your Library account Patrons of the Huntington Library can now take a look at what they have borrowed; their borrowing history; and they can reserve and renew items from home by logging into their patron account.   Find out how by stopping by or emailing the Library.

 Download Audio Books We subscribe to listenupvermont.org a service which allows library patrons to download audio books for free and listen to them on their home computer, a portable device or burn them to CD.  The service is easy to use and can be accessed anytime from anywhere with your library card.  Call or stop by the library and we’ll get you started. (eBooks also now available).

 Shelburne Farms Pass As the weather turns warmer you might consider a field trip to Shelburne Farms.  Check out the library’s membership card, and entry to the Farm is free.

Koha We joined twenty-eight other libraries in the surrounding area on February 13 when we “went live” with Koha, our new library software.  We believe that this change will enable us to better serve patrons, especially those using multiple libraries. Patrons will gain access to information from all participating libraries and will be able to renew books and place holds from home.  Pick up a flyer at the Library to learn more.

Thank You We are indebted to Nancy Stoddard for helping us transition to our new software program, Koha.

Seated Yoga for Seniors From March 2 until April 20 we will be offering a gentle, seated yoga class for senior citizens every Friday from 1-2 pm.  The class will be taught by staff from the Champlain Valley Agency on the Aging.  Call the Library for more information or to register.

 Art Gallery Space is available to showcase the art and photographs of area artists and local citizens.  If you have eight or more framed pieces and you would like to make them available for display contact the Library.

 Overdue Books Please make an extra effort to return your library materials on time this month as it will help with a smooth transition to our new check-out system.

Museum and Park Passes  We have passes for free or reduced admission
to the following places: Vermont State Parks (day use only), Vermont Historic Sites, Echo Center,
Shelburne Farms and Birds of Vermont Museum. 
Passes are available for three-day periods on a first come basis.

Computer Rules We ask that patrons sign in to use the computers and thereby agree to a few rules.  Minors require a parent’s permission.   Parents should be aware that computer use at the library is unsupervised. 

Thank You We would like to thank those of you who have responded to our annual fundraising appeal.  Giving to the library is one way to keep your donation dollars close to home, and support a town resource that enriches our community in many ways. 

Storytime Early Literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write.  Children get ready to read years before they start school.  Helping them learn important skills early on lays the solid foundation they need to become good readers.  Every Friday morning at Storytime we target the six specific early literacy skills as defined by the American Library Association in its Early Literacy Initiative.  Young children and their parents are invited to join us for books, rhymes, music and fun on Fridays at 10 am.

Day Care Visits We are offering monthly visits to day care homes operating in Huntington.  If you would like to have library staff come to your home to read to the children and/or you would like to have a box of books delivered, call the library and we will make arrangements

Adopt an Author We are always looking for author and book sponsors.  This is one important way that we are able to keep new books on the shelves.  Let us know if you have a book in mind or if you would like to choose one from our wish list.

Recycled Ink Cartridges We have a recycle bin for your used ink and toner cartridges.  Bring them to us and we can send them in for a rebate.  Thanks.

Money for the Library  The Huntington Public Library can receive a penny every time you search the Internet. When you need to search go to www.goodsearch.com and money from Yahoo advertisers will go to the Huntington Public Library.