Director of Adult Programs Lesley Lambton supplied the following:

The Ridgefield Library was the scene of much laughter, and a few tears, on Saturday mornings during September, as a group of aspiring writers took part in a memoir writing workshop. At each of the four sessions, English professor and author Joanne Dobson led participants deep into their past to reveal stories that more than proved Mark Twain’s observation that, “There was never yet an uninteresting life… Inside the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy and a tragedy.”

The group enjoyed the experience so much they decided to continue meeting and working together. The Memoir Writing Group now convenes on the first Saturday of each month from 10 to noon in the Library’s beautiful History Room. Each session includes writing prompts with twenty minutes of writing time, sharing and critique. If you are interested in joining, call 438-2282 (x1013) for more information, or just show up with a notebook and an open heart on Saturday, November 3.

In addition to the Memoir Writing Group the Library also hosts the Ridgefield Writers Guild, a networking group that meets on the third Tuesday evening of each month at 7 p.m. This group also welcomes new members keen on improving their craft and increasing the chances of seeing their work in print. The Guild recently had a very successful reading at Starbucks where members read from a diverse range of material including excerpts from hot-off-the-press novels to polished poems and passages of non-fiction. Their next meeting takes place in the History Room on Tuesday, November 20. Call Ellen at 438-1432 for more information.

Look for more writing workshops throughout 2008 as the Library celebrates the town’s 300th anniversary with a number of exciting programs fulfilling our mission to provide a place for Ridgefielders to “exchange ideas and grow.”

Don't Leave Any Child Behind!

As fall storytimes continue, we thought it was time for a reminder about our policies regarding leaving children alone in the Ridgefield Library.

For Mother Goose and Terrific Twos, the answer is easy- these programs are intended for the child and adult to participate together. However, we cannot accommodate siblings who don’t meet the age guidelines for any given program, so appropriate arrangements must be made for older or younger children.

Storytimes for 3 to 6 year olds are designed for the child alone, but we require that an adult remain in Children’s Services throughout the session. Youngsters often experience sudden problems requiring adult attention, from a need to use the restroom to a simple attack of shyness. Library staff cannot abandon a room full of children to attend to one who needs special care or has to leave the room. It is important for the safety and happiness of all concerned that an adult caregiver for each participating child be near at hand. Waiting adults may explore the handy parenting collection, use public computers in Children’s Services featuring the Internet, take advantage of our building-wide wireless access, chat with other parents or caregivers, or use this brief child-free period to consult with a librarian to find books about potty training, starting school, or the many other challenges of childhood.

Library policy prohibits leaving any child under 6 in the building unattended at any time. Library staff have many duties to perform and cannot be expected to watch out for a particular child. Responsibility for a child’s safety and well-being rests with the parent or caregiver. As a matter of fact, state regulation deems it a crime to “abandon” a child under age 12 in any public place. We hope that all parents and caregivers will exercise good judgment to ensure that the library experience remains a positive one for their children.

Parents Back to School Tour

Do you remember doing homework back when you were in grade school? If you have a school-aged youngster, you know that the landscape has changed considerably. What you may not know is all the ways the Ridgefield Library can help your child succeed in school. Parents of students in grades 3 through 8 are invited to come to the Library on Monday, October 22nd from 2:00 to 2:30 PM for a “Parents Back to School” tour.

· Remember the endless shelves of reference books like the Reader’s Guide to Periodicals, which required painstaking searching of the index in every volume to uncover information on a topic? At the Ridgefield Library, most of these have been replaced by electronic databases that search multiple indexes at once, search on keywords as well as esoteric approved subject headings and even offer full text of most articles.

· You probably relied on pen and lined paper, supplemented occasionally by poster board covered with photos cut out of old National Geographic magazines. Now kids are expected to submit their assignments neatly word processed or even organized into a PowerPoint presentation – easy to accomplish at the Library, where many available computers are equipped with Microsoft Office software and access to the Internet for pictures of that elusive mammal or celebrated author.

· In the old days, you could only get help from a reference librarian by going into your library during limited hours. Today, your children can get assistance from trained professionals on the phone, via e-mail and by logging onto InfoAnytime, a 24/7 virtual reference service – and, of course, they can spend time in person with our helpful staff 58 hours a week, including Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

Contact Children’s Services at 438-2282 x2002 or at rdgchild@biblio.org to sign up for this informative session - we promise to have you out in time to meet the bus!

LOL @ your Library during Teen Read Week

Here's a posting from Teen Services Librarian Geri Diorio.

We hope that local teens will be laughing and reading as the Ridgefield Library celebrates the tenth annual Teen Read Week (TM), October 14 – 20, 2007. We’ll join thousands of other libraries, schools and bookstores across the country who are encouraging teens to celebrate this year’s theme, "LOL @ your library®." Teen Read Week (TM) is the national adolescent literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest growing division of the American Library Association. This year’s theme encourages teens to read humorous books and graphic novels just for the fun of it. (For those who aren’t up on the jargon, LOL is text message shorthand for “laugh out loud.”)

Today’s teens seem to have less and less free time, and there are increasingly more activities for them to take part in during what little leisure time they do have. That is why it’s important to encourage teens to set aside some time to read. Studies show a regular reading habit increases reading proficiency, and one of the most important ways teens acquire the habit is by watching adults they respect.

Parents of teens are encouraged to celebrate Teen Read Week (TM) at home. You might give books or magazine subscriptions to your teen as a gift. You could share your favorite books with your teen. Perhaps you could set aside time each week for the family to read together. Teens are encouraged to come to the Ridgefield Library during Teen Read Week to check out the humorous books we’ll have on display, attend the laugh out loud Will Ferrell figure skating film screening on Friday, October 19 at 4 PM, or stop in any time during the week to tell Teen Services Librarian Geri a clean joke and thus “earn” a piece of candy. One joke per person per day, please! We always look forward to seeing Ridgefield teens at the Library, and we hope to see them all during Teen Read Week (TM).

Returning Media

Sometimes the smallest things can make a difference in our lives. Here’s one little change the Ridgefield Library has made that will save time and money for many of our patrons.

<>All materials, including media formats such as DVDs and CDs, may now be returned in the outside book drop near the main entrance to the Library. In the past, we did not allow borrowers to put these more fragile items in this slot because of the risk of expensive damage. The cost of repair or replacement of such items has steadily decreased, and we no longer feel it is necessary to require this special treatment. We do, however, ask that you secure the cases of DVDs, music recordings and books on CD and cassette with rubber bands or wrap them in a plastic grocery bag before dropping in the return slot, to reduce the likelihood of cases popping open and spewing discs hither and yon. <>

This change means that you no longer have to make a separate trip during Library hours or park the car to come into the building to return these items. We hope this will give you more scheduling flexibility and eliminate late fees if you can’t get here when we are open. <>

By the way, did you know that all items returned in the outside book drop are considered returned the previous day up until the time we open? So, something due on September 15^th and put in the return slot at 8 AM on the 16^th will not incur a fine. <>

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Fall storytimes and after school programs start this week, and the pace of homework assignments has picked up as well. This results in an increased population of children using the Library at all hours of the day, including in the darkening hours at the end of the day. Please moderate your speed as you drive into and through our parking lot and be especially alert to youngsters who may be partially hidden behind parked cars or preoccupied with friends, backpacks or skateboards. Thanks for your cooperation!

Banned Books Week 2007

Here's a contribution from Adutl Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski:

From September 29th through October 7th, the Ridgefield Library will join with other libraries and bookstores throughout the country in observing the 26^th annual Banned Books Week, which celebrates one of our most precious rights, the freedom to read.

<>During 2006 alone, a staggering 546 titles were challenged in this country, and the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom estimates that for each formal challenge, four or five go unreported. This year’s list of the “Top Ten” Most Challenged Books includes Beloved by Toni Morrison, Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, while titles in the Harry Potter series lay claim to being the most challenged books of the 21^st century. <>

We invite you to explore displays throughout the library of books that have been challenged or banned, and hope you’ll elect to read one. For anyone who is curious about why a particular title by authors such as John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut, or Mark Twain has been challenged, visit the Fiction Room for a look at the publication Banned Books, which spells out the exact nature of a request for a book’s removal. A resource list of publications on Intellectual Freedom is also available. And while supplies last, pick up a bookmark commemorating this year’s theme: “Get Hooked on a Banned Book.” <>

While not every book is intended for every reader, Banned Books Week celebrates our right to decide for ourselves what to read. So come to the Ridgefield Library and join us in celebrating this freedom. As the author of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, said, "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."

Hello, Columbus

Library Lines come to you this week from Columbus, OH, where I have had the opportunity to visit the main branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML), one of the most-used library systems in the country. Here are a few interesting things I observed.

<>CML uses a self-serve circulation model for almost all transactions, allowing patrons to check out their own items and even pick up reserves, without waiting for staff assistance. The traditional circulation desk is lined with self-check stations facing the public, but there is plenty of staff right at hand, where they are working on other tasks when not needed to help resolve issues of overdue or lost books or new card registrations.

<>“All adults must be accompanied by a child” reads the sign at the entrance to a special area in the children’s library outfitted with colorful, small-scale furnishings, toys, “games computers,” and picture books for the pre-school set and their parents. <>

The adult non-fiction collection does not run in straight sequential order by Dewey Decimal number. Instead, it is broken up into thematic groupings, such as “Fine Arts and Humanities” and “Genealogy, History and Travel.” In the fiction stacks, the alphabetical sequence is indicated by signs featuring pictures and quotations from authors whose last name situates their books in that row. <>

Self-contained computer “pods” on wheels allow reference librarians to move to high traffic areas as needed, concentrating service in the teen area after school or in the large print section when the senior van arrives. <>

A large lobby features not only a gift and used book store run by the Friends but also a coffee stand and even an ATM. <>

Not everything I saw at Columbus would be appropriate or desirable at the Ridgefield Library, and thankfully we have no need of the “No Weapons” signs displayed at their entrance. But I did gather some interesting food for thought.