Upcoming Local Author Events!

"BOOKport" Local Author Celebration in Newport

The Richards Free Library is having a local author celebration this Saturday, March 16th, 2024 from 10-2:00 pm. They will be hosting 11 authors from around the Newport, NH area and throughout NH. The featured authors write everything from poetry to children's books, and more!

Derry Author Fest
1 2 3 Grow!

Saturday, April 6, 2024 from 10 am to 4 pm at the Derry Public Library 

Derry Author Fest is a day of writing workshops, panels and networking for aspiring authors, dreamers and dabblers alike. As an attendee, you can stay all day, half day, or just drop in for a session. Book sales and signings are interspersed in between workshops, so you will have time to buy books, support local artists and get some face time with teachers.

This year’s keynote speaker is Virginia Macgregor: Virginia was brought up in Germany, France, and England by a mother who never stopped telling stories. Her early years were those of a story-scribbling, rain-loving child. Her debut novel What Milo Saw was published to great acclaim and has so far been translated into 12 languages. She is also the author of The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells, Before I Was Yours, Wishbones, You Found Me, As Far As the Stars, and The Children’s Secret.

See the schedule and register to attend at: www.derryauthorfest.wordpress.com

3 on a Theme: The Book in Fiction

  

Summer Hours at the Robbers Library: A Novel by Sue Halpern

Uncatalogued: A Booklovers Mystery by Julie Kaewert 

Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett 

Diverse Readers' Advisory Program Resources

Thank you to everyone who attended today’s Diverse Readers’ Advisory Program with Becky Spratford which was hosted by the Center for the Book at the NH State Library and was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. 

Here is the link to the slides which are full of resources and information to help you build a truly inclusive library community:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SFdN6M1Km86yAe6roHIKBqNSHQOVlrWfuRM_v_ALG0o/edit?usp=sharing

Please note that this program was NOT recorded.

The Green Book for Libraries,  a Black/Indigenous/People Of Color-only crowd-sourced rating and review system for library, information, and archival workplaces, came up in the discussion. Here is a link to that: librarygreenbook.com

 

Diverse Readers' Advisory Program with Becky Spratford

Becky Spratford

The Center for the Book at the NH State Library invites staff at New Hampshire libraries to join us on Tuesday, January 25, 2022 (1-3pm) for an online program with Becky Spratford to help you move your library toward an actionable plan to incorporate equity, diversity, and inclusion values into your normal readers' advisory practices. 

Registration is required for this free program.

Program Details

Increasing the collection and circulation of titles written by underrepresented authors is not a trend, rather, providing robust readers’ advisory service (RA) that values equity, diversity and inclusion principles (EDI) is essential to all library service. But moving from being a neutral, well-meaning library where systemic racism is acknowledged to an actively anti-racist organization involves work, some of which is uncomfortable at first. In this program you will begin that work, learning tangible skills to help build enthusiasm for reading and discovering "diverse" books, to deepen RA service through thoughtful inclusion of EDI principles in all interactions with leisure readers, and to be a steward of the anti-racist mindset for your organization. We will move your team from merely discussing "why" putting EDI concerns at the forefront of all of your work with leisure readers is important to the "how," including an honest look at action steps for all staff. While it may seem uncomfortable at first, we will help you shift your focus allowing your entire organization to craft an actionable plan to incorporate EDI values into your normal RA practices. All you need is a little nudge in the right direction and a commitment to begin the march forward. The program will include a live Q&A session.

About Becky Spratford

Becky Spratford [MLIS] is a Readers' Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist and a horror review column for Library Journal. Becky is a 20 year locally elected Library Trustee [still serving] and a Board member for the Reaching Across Illinois Library System. Known for her work with horror readers, Becky is the author of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror, Second Edition [ALA Editions, 2012] and recently completed the 3rd Edition which is available for pre-order now and will be released in Summer 2021. She is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association and currently serves as the Association’s Secretary and organizer of their annual Librarians’ Day. You can follow Becky on Twitter @RAforAll. 

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

NH Poetry: Devotional

Photograph by Felicia Martin

Poet  Lesley Kimball of Portsmouth, NH is the library director at the Wiggin Memorial Library.

Today's Poem is "Devotional"

Book of the Week (5/28/2018)

Summer Hours at the Robbers Library: A Novel by Sue Halpern (New York : Harper Perennial, 2018).

From journalist and author Sue Halpern comes a wry, observant look at contemporary life and its refugees.  Halpern’s novel is an unforgettable tale of family…the kind you come from and the kind you create.

People are drawn to libraries for all kinds of reasons. Most come for the books themselves, of course; some come to borrow companionship. For head librarian Kit, the public library in Riverton, New Hampshire, offers what she craves most: peace. Here, no one expects Kit to talk about the calamitous events that catapulted her out of what she thought was a settled, suburban life. She can simply submerge herself in her beloved books and try to forget her problems.
But that changes when fifteen-year-old, home-schooled Sunny gets arrested for shoplifting a dictionary. The judge throws the book at Sunny—literally—assigning her to do community service at the library for the summer. Bright, curious, and eager to connect with someone other than her off-the-grid hippie parents, Sunny coaxes Kit out of her self-imposed isolation. They’re joined by Rusty, a Wall Street high-flyer suddenly crashed to earth.

In this little library that has become the heart of this small town, Kit, Sunny, and Rusty are drawn to each other, and to a cast of other offbeat regulars. As they come to terms with how their lives have unraveled, they also discover how they might knit them together again and finally reclaim their stories. --Author's website

Letters About Literature - The Video

In NH Letters About Literature is coordinated by the NH Center for the Book.
The NH deadline is December 9, 2017.

This awesome video was created by the Texas State Library which is working with the Texas Library Association to help Texans recover from recent hurricanes.

Do you have a library card?

September is Library Card Sign-up Month. Visit your local public library!
Books (in paper and pixels), DVDs, magazines, fun events, genealogical databases and experts to help you answer your questions are just a few of the things you will find there.

An Historic Nominee for Librarian of Congress

NH Library Profile

This installment in our NH Library Profiles series was contributed by Deborah Longo, Library Director at the Somersworth Public Library, Somersworth, NH. 

Somersworth Public Library, 2015

Somersworth community leaders founded the Manufacturers & Village Library in 1841 to further the education of the 1,500 factory girls working for the Great Falls Manufacturing Company. The first printed catalog listed 1,627 books acquired after five years. By 1887, the library’s directors had leased the second floor of the newly built Chandler Building, moving the library from the mill’s counting house during a time when town and mill relations soured. The library remained in the Chandler Building for 78 years. But in 1899, the library’s name changed when the Manufacturers & Village Library became the newly established and tax-supported Somersworth Public Library.

Chandler Building, Somersworth, NH

By the mid-1960s, the Chandler Building was slated for demolition with the wave of urban renewal sweeping New England. A new site was found on Main Street and the new library held their open house in December 1969. Recent renovations have included air conditioning, carpeting, as well as new furniture provided by the Friends of the Library. New entrances and landscaping have given the library a wonderful facelift to fit in with the City’s multi-million dollar downtown renovation project completed this summer.

Currently the Somersworth Public Library houses a vibrant collection of over 43,000 books, movies, magazines and audiobooks to meet the needs of our community. The library belongs to the NH Downloadable Book Service to bring eBooks, audiobooks and magazines directly to our patrons’ electronic devices. Other services include book discussions, public computers, 24/7 WiFi, and museum passes. The dedicated staff assists each person who enters the library with care, personal attention and professional service, using all resources available both locally and state-wide, To learn more about the Somersworth Public Library, visit our city website at http://www.somersworth.com/departments-services/library and our online catalog at http://somersworth.nhais.bywatersolutions.com/

NH Library Profile

This is the first in what we hope will be a semi-regular series of guest blog posts about the many wonderful libraries in our state. This post on the Amherst Town Library was contributed by Jane Martina. Jane is currently a library assistant and local history collection intern at the Amherst Town Library. She is a junior at Colby-Sawyer College.

Amherst Town Library, ca. 1911-1925

The origins of the Amherst Town Library date back to 1797, when a group of citizens founded the Amherst Library Society. After 32 years, the Amherst Library Society disbanded and their book collection was sold at auction. By 1859, a voluntary group known as the Amherst Library Association created a 300 book collection that resided at Librarian, George K. Walker’s store. In 1871 it was moved to the petit jury room at Town Hall. Twenty-One years later, in 1892, the town of Amherst built their first Library building. At the dedication of the Library on April 30, 1892, the famous artist Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of Amherst’s prominent lawyer and politician, Charles Humphrey Atherton, was presented to the Library. His portrait can still be seen today behind the circulation desk.  By 1907, the Library had outgrown their original building prompting the first renovation.  Upon completion of the renovation on March 9, 1911, the Library had tripled in size and was officially recognized as the Amherst Town Library. Since then the Library has undergone two more renovations in 1971, 1987.  In 2014, new paint and carpet and some different shelving and furniture freshened the library’s interior and make the arrangement better suited for current use.

 

Amherst Town Library, ca. 2013

 

Today the Amherst Town Library’s collection has grown exponentially from its early beginnings to 65,630 items, ranging from books/eBooks and magazines to DVDs and audiobooks. Not only has the collection grown in size, but also as the town has grown so has the number of library patrons. Currently, the Amherst Town Library has 5,565 active cards holders. The Amherst Town Library is a member of GMILCS, Inc. a nonprofit corporation of 12 public and academic New Hampshire libraries that share an integrated system. Along with sharing materials, the Amherst Town Library provides a number of services ranging from programs and meeting rooms to public computers/laptops, 3D printing and research assistance.  As the Library changes one thing has remained the same, our commitment to “[providing] all community residents with materials and services for their information, education, and entertainment needs.” Each of our staff members and trustees uphold this mission by providing caring, innovative, quality, and professional services to each individual patron and the community at large.

To find out more about our history, services, collection, and events happening at the Amherst Town Library visit our website www.amherstlibrary.org

 

Celebrating National Library Week

Libraries across New Hampshire will be holding special programs as part of National Library Week, April 14 - 20. This year’s theme, “Communities Matter @ Your Library,” highlights the important role New Hampshire’s libraries play in communities throughout the state.

New Hampshire libraries provide a wide variety of services to their patrons. Internet access, downloadable audio books and eBooks, genealogy information, newspaper and magazine databases, displays by local artists, lectures, children’s programs, discounted passed to museums and public meeting spaces are just some of the ways that New Hampshire’s libraries serve the needs of our communities. Books, magazines, newspapers, movies, and music are available as well.

“New Hampshire has known since its earliest days what important resources libraries are as centers of both knowledge and community,” said Michael York, state librarian. “Libraries continue to be vibrant – and vital – parts of our towns, cities and villages.”

Here are some interesting facts about New Hampshire libraries:

• The New Hampshire State Library was founded in 1717, making it the oldest state library in the United States
• Peterborough Town Library, founded in 1833, is the oldest tax-supported library in the world
• 29 New Hampshire libraries and former library buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places
• In 2011, New Hampshire had 780,318 registered library patrons
• Also in 2011, New Hampshire public libraries held 38,392 public programs; 644,229 people attended them
• Portsmouth Public Library’s new building was the first LEED-certified building in New Hampshire and one of the first LEED-certified municipal buildings in New England
• Kilton Public Library in West Lebanon is the first gold LEED-certified library in New Hampshire

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association and libraries across the country each April. To find out about National Library Week events happening in your community, contact your local library.

From my inbox

A few interesting bits and pieces have turned up in my inbox recently:

• Nancy Cristiano, of the Family Resource Connection, sent me a recent article from Plymouth Magazine about Robert Frost.
• Back in December The Atlantic did an article on Writers and Their Books
• Gibson's Bookstore is having their annual February sale! Everything in the store (excluding previous special orders) will be 25% off this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, February 24-26, 2012.
• Jane Cleland is launching Dolled Up for Murder, the 7th book in the Josie Prescott series (set in NH) at the end of March.
• Manchester City Library will be having a $5 Bag Book Sale on 21 April 2012 (Saturday). 
• The Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library has been approved to continue as the official New Hampshire affiliate to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress for 2012-2014.

Do You Love Your Librarian?

Nominate your librarian for the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award!  Nominations for 2011 stay open through September 12, 2011.


There are more than 122,000 libraries nationwide, and librarians touch the lives of the people they serve every day. The award encourages library users (like you!) to recognize the accomplishments of exceptional public, school, college, community college, or university librarians. This is your chance to explain how you think your librarian is improving the lives of the people in your school, campus or community.

Up to ten winners will be selected this year and receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and $500 travel stipend to attend an awards reception in New York hosted by The New York Times. The award is administered by the American Library Association with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York and The New York Times.

Library of Congress Coming to Concord

On August 30 and 31, 2011 The Library of Congress Gateway to Knowledge Travelling Exhibition will be at the New Hampshire State House (107 North Main Street, Concord, NH) and will be open for visitors from 10am-6pm each day.

The exhibition outlines the history of the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson's role in re-establishing the Library after the burning of the U.S. Capitol in 1814, and his classification system of Memory, Reason, and Imagination. These three categories define the organization of the content inside the exhibition.

The visit is being co-hosted by the New Hampshire State Library and Concord Public Library.

Children's Book Week is May 2-8, 2011

Since 1919, Children's Book Week has been celebrated countrywide with author & illustrator appearances, parties, storytelling, and other book-related events in schools, libraries, bookstores, clubs -- anywhere where kids and books connect.

How can you celebrate Children's Book Week?

• Visit your local library -- story times, programs with special guests, games to play, movie showings, and LOTS of books and other great stuff you can check out are among the things kids (& their adults) will find at their public library.
• Visit your local bookstore -- or take a field trip to a store you haven't visited before. Check out our list of NH Booksellers for inspiration.
• Visit the Library of Congress's Read.gov Kids Page where you will find lots of info about books for kids and the latest installment of The Exquisite Corpse. Not a kid? Visit the Teens Page or the Adults Page instead.
• Monday, May 2 is the last day to vote in several NH book awards so if you haven't done so yet, get to the library and cast your vote for The Isinglass Award, The Flume Award, or the Great Stone Face Award (depending on your age).
• Pick up a book and read it with a child. Or have a child read a book to you. No children around? Really? Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Nobody? OK, read a children's book yourself and remember how much fun reading can be.

LAL 2011 New Hampshire Winners

New Hampshire's 2011 LAL winners have been selected from the 47 wonderful letters that were chosen as our state semi-finalists.


Drew L. Stetson, a fifth grader at Stratham Memorial School, wrote a letter to Robert Frost about his nature poems, which was the Granite State’s first place winner in the level I competition for students in grades 4 through 6. “When sunshine glistens through the green leaves of trees and white fluffy clouds hang in the sky,” Stetson wrote, “I feel upbeat. When the sky is a sheet of gray and it is cold, bleak, and desolate, I feel down and lazy. This must happen to you too, because your poems describe this feeling quite well.”

Erin Angel Choate, a seventh grader at Lisbon Regional, wrote to David Pelzer about A Child Called It. In her letter, Ms. Choate recounted a difficult time in her life similar to the situation depicted in Pelzer’s book, and thanked Pelzer for helping her to realize she wasn’t alone. “By writing this letter, I am chancing the public realizing that I have been abused, even though most people probably already know. I don’t care. Your book has made that possible.” Ms. Choate’s letter was the Granite State’s first place winner in the level II competition for students in grades 7 and 8.

Jake Tinkham, a twelfth grader at Gilford High School, wrote his letter, which was the Granite State’s level III first place winner, to Brian Jacques. “The Redwall Series inspired me to think imaginatively and also to express my creative side to others,” wrote Mr. Tinkham, who expressed a strong desire to follow in Jacques’s footsteps. “Some day I hope to write fantasy novels capable of capturing the reader in the same way that your work once captivated me.”

Many excellent letters were entered in Letters About Literature 2011 and the judges at each competition level had tough choices to make as they read and carefully considered each letter. The New Hampshire winning letters have been sent on as entries in the National Letters About Literature Competition.

The 2011 New Hampshire Letters About Literature judges were:

• Ann Hoey, Youth Services Coordinator, NH State Library
• Author Marty Kelley
• Poet, and NH Center for the Book Advisory Board member, Betsy Snider
• Maureen Brown, an English teacher at Goffstown High School
• Andrew L. Fersch, 8th Grade Language Arts Teacher, Epping Middle School
• Lesley Kimball, Library Director, Wiggin Memorial Library

Happy Birthday Talking Books!

Today the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)—the Library of Congress’ talking-book and braille program—will celebrate 80 years of helping visually impaired and physically handicapped individuals enjoy reading their favorite books and magazines.


This free library program brings reading materials in digital audio and braille formats straight to the homes of patrons from preschoolers to centenarians. Books on digital cartridge, digital talking-book players and braille books are sent to patrons via the U.S. mail at no cost to users. People who sign up with the program also have the option of downloading books and magazines over the Internet in audio or braille format.

“Talking books offer a wonderful opportunity for anyone who cannot use regular print materials because of blindness or a physical handicap,” says NLS Director Kurt Cylke. “For 80 years this service has been a priceless gift.”

The NLS collection of more than 400,000 titles of bestsellers, classics, biographies, romance, and other genres delights even the most selective readers. Magazine-lovers enjoy free subscriptions to more than 40 periodicals in audio format, including Consumer Reports, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated for Kids, and 30 periodicals in braille, such as Ladies Home Journal, ESPN: The Magazine and the New York Times Large-Print Weekly.

The NLS program also keeps pace with the latest book titles, adding 2,500 annually. Patrons learn of new releases through two bimonthly magazines, Talking Book Topics and Braille Book Review.

Patrons are served locally through a national network of cooperating libraries. Beginning with just 19 libraries in 1931, the NLS network today includes 113 libraries throughout the United States and its territories. Congress appropriates funds annually to the Library of Congress for the NLS program, while regional and sub-regional libraries receive financial support from federal, state, and local sources.

U.S. residents and citizens living abroad whose blindness or physical handicap makes reading regular printed matter difficult may be eligible to participate in the audio and braille books program. By law, priority is given to U.S. military veterans. Those interested in learning more or signing up may call 888-NLS-READ or visit www.loc.gov/nls/.

In New Hampshire this great program is administered by the Talking Books section of the New Hampshire State Library.

Happy Birthday Andrew Carnegie!

Today marks the 175th anniversary of the birth of Andrew Carnegie. There are 10 Carnegie Libraries in NH.

"One of the most tangible examples of Andrew Carnegie's philanthropy is the founding of 2,509 libraries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries throughout the English speaking world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Of these libraries, 1,679 of them were built here in the United States. Carnegie spent over $55 million of his wealth on libraries alone and he is often referred to as the "Patron Saint of Libraries."
It is said that Carnegie had two main reasons for donating money to the founding of libraries. First, he believed that libraries added to the meritocratic nature of America. Anyone with the desire to learn could educate themselves and be successful in America like he had been. Second, Carnegie believed that immigrants like himself needed to acquire cultural knowledge of America which a library would enable immigrants to do." (from the Carnegie Corporation web site)

161 years of supporting libraries

July 7, 2010 will mark the 161st anniversary of the passage by the State of New Hampshire of the first general free public library law in the United States. The passage of this law in 1849 marked a major milestone in the development of the American public library. The New Hampshire law said in part: "Every public library ... shall be opened to the free use of every inhabitant of the town or city ... for the general diffusion of intelligence among all classes of the community ...".

This law was by no means the start of libraries in New Hampshire however. In 1833 in Peterborough the first Free Public Library in the world to be supported by taxation was established and the New Hampshire State Library dates back to 1717.