Teen Advances Environmental Education @ the Library

Thanks to Ridgefield teen Samantha Holmes, the Library has recently enhanced its resources for children in the area of nature and the environment.  Headed off this fall to Duke University, Samantha was the recipient of a Keep America Beautiful grant from the Wrigley Foundation, which she dedicated to purchasing educational materials and recycling supplies for schools and libraries.  With the funds she donated to the Ridgefield Library, we were able to purchase 37 books and DVDs for children and teens, which are currently on display in the Lodewick Children’s Library. A hand-out listing the titles for future reference is available in print and on the Library’s website.

Among the books Samantha researched and recommended are “Children of the Earth: Remember” by Schim Schimmel, “Compost Stew: An Z to Z Recipe for the Earth” by Mary McKenna Siddals, “Composting: Nature’s Recyclers” by Robin Koontz and “Where Does the Garbage Go” by Paul Showers.  Geared to young people in elementary and middle school, other titles deal with nature-based crafts, climate change and global warming, recycling techniques and America’s national parks.

A message from Samantha in the front of each book says “We hope you find this book inspiring” – apt words from a young woman who is herself an inspiration.

E-mail Overdue Notices Now the Norm

Beginning July 1^st, the Ridgefield Library will be moving exclusively to e-mail instead of printed and mailed overdue notices. To make sure you are receiving these “courtesy reminders” (including advance notice of when items are coming due), please stop by the Circulation Desk at your earliest convenience to sign up your entire family.

We have a new, simplified procedure which allows you to register every card your family has without having to fill out duplicate forms. We will now be collecting e-mails for children’s cards, however we require the e-mail address of the responsible adult (i.e. parent or guardian) who should be receiving notices on behalf of their children.

You may also sign up for Library ELF, a service that allows you to customize the timing and delivery method of your reminders, plus allows you to get notices for your entire family in one convenient message. It is important that you also make sure the Ridgefield Library has all your appropriate e-mail addresses, as Library ELF is an independent product and we do not have access to the information they have on file.

Signing up for e-mail notices is easy, and it will save you and the Library time and money. Do it today!

National Everything Month

Welcome to National Everything Month! There are so many commemorations and occasions in April that we can hardly find time to observe them all. Here are a few highlights.

• National Library Week – We’re extending this one through the end of the month, with a special offer on Ridgefield Library signature items. Pick up a logo travel mug AND our colorful special edition library card – both for one low price of $5.00.
• National Poetry Month – Youngsters can visit the Poetry Wall in Children’s Services to share pocket poems and their own creations, plus sign up for Poetry Theater on April 30^th (for 2^nd – 5^th graders).
• Jazz Appreciation Month – Don’t miss the fun on April 23^rd when the David Morgan Trio will perform standard jazz repertoire while explaining the history and concepts behind the performance.
• Earth Day – We’re celebrating by eliminating printed overdue notices and expanding our recycling efforts, as described last week.
• National Volunteer Week – Actually, there is so much going on this month we are going to put off our volunteer recognition activities until the fall! Stay tuned for news of a special event honoring the hundreds of volunteers young and old who make the Ridgefield Library such a wonderful place.

Library Goes Green for Earth Day

The Ridgefield Library is celebrating Earth Day by making some changes to be a greener institution.

Starting this month, we will be phasing out the mailing of printed overdue notices. Borrowers will be enrolled instead in our electronic notice system which will send straight to your designated e-mail address overdue notices plus advance notice of items coming due. This will not only save paper but also postage expense and staff time and will get notification to you faster than through the mail. If you are not already receiving your notices by e-mail, stop by the Circulation Desk and sign up today. You can also sign up for the separate Library ELF service that can combine notices for multiple accounts (for several family members, for example) and send them all in one convenient e-mail.

While you are here, take advantage of our new recycling bins throughout the building, made possible by the generous commitment to environmental consciousness of several private donors.

Finally, you may notice one more energy-saving measure – automatic sensors on the lights in bathrooms and other rooms that are populated sporadically.

Happy Earth Day!

New Year's Library Resolutions

Happy New Year! May we suggest a few resolutions that will be easy to keep, with the help of the Ridgefield Library?

• Make sure every member of your family can enjoy the Library with his or her own card. Our colorful new card design by Jamison Odone makes having a library card even more special for kids and adults alike.

• Set aside quality time each week with your family at the Library, to read, attend a program or work on homework. With 58 open hours a week, including Tuesday and Thursday evenings, all day Saturday and Sunday afternoon, it is easy to find your special time.

• Enrich your reading experience by sharing your thoughts with others. The Library offers 4 regular book discussion groups for adults, 3 for teens, 3 for children and even one for families to enjoy together – plus more informal opportunities to share like the monthly Books & Breakfast meetings and summer Mystery Lovers Brown Bag Lunches.

• Go green, by signing up for e-mail notification of overdues and holds.

• Sign up for Library ELF and eliminate late books and overdue fees by receiving advance notice of when items are coming due.

• Add some art to your life by visiting our monthly exhibits of photography, paintings and more in the Dayton Program Room.

• Look to the stars with the Ridgefield Library during the International Year of Astronomy. Our Visions of the Universe exhibit (on display early April through early June) will be a central part of the townwide commemoration of 400 years of learning about space since Galileo first turned his telescope on the heavens. A full schedule of exciting activities at the Library and elsewhere will be coming soon.

• Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter so you won’t miss any of the fun @ the Ridgefield Library in 2009.

Practical Programs to Improve your Life

What comes to mind when you think of the Ridgefield Library? Somewhere to get great books for leisure reading. A resource for homework assignments. A spot for free magazines, movies and more. Perhaps a place to satisfy a long-held curiosity about history, foreign languages or great books.

But do you think of the Library as a center for useful instruction in the practicalities of modern life? In the month of January alone, the Library is offering a number of programs designed to help you cope in a busy and ever-changing professional, family and personal environment. Please check our website at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org for more details on these and upcoming programs.

Start on Saturday, January 10 from 9 AM to noon, when the Ridgefield Action Committee on the Environment (RACE) and Boy Scout Troop 432 team up with the Library to help you “Cut the Catalogs and your Carbon Footprint” by removing your name from all those pesky mailing lists.

On Thursday the 15^th at 8 AM, join Fred Rhines, president of On Track Staffing, for a seminar titled “Recharging your Job Search Plan for 2009,” co-sponsored by the Library and the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Rhines’s timely presentation will be informative and also allow you to assess the steps you are taking as you look for a new career opportunity. Library staff will demonstrate the many resources available to aid you in this process. Registration is required for this session by contacting the Chamber at (203) 438-5992 or jkouroupas@ridgefieldchamber.org.

Also on the 15^th, at 7 PM, a panel of experts from the National Association of Professional Organizers will share tips on how to get and stay organized. Who wouldn’t benefit from some help in this area?!

Future programs being considered include estate planning and life transitions like adoption and retirement; other suggestions are welcome!

Recycling Expands @ the Library

Long before the current “green revolution,” libraries were the original recycling centers. While some people do wish to own some printed materials for a variety of reasons, libraries make it possible for one or just a few copies of newspapers, magazines and books to be used by dozens or even hundreds of people over their lifetime. Building and sharing such a community resource has always made sense environmentally (less impact from production and disposal) and economically (requiring a minimal investment per person for access to a wide range of materials).

For some time, the Ridgefield Library has made extra efforts to dispose of such materials when they are no longer needed in an environmentally responsible way. Through an arrangement with Hudson Baylor Corporation, we are able to recycle at no cost to us most of our paper waste, from a tattered paperback book that is losing its pages to the cardboard packaging in which our new acquisitions are shipped to out-of-date newspapers.

Now we are expanding our recycling program to include additional materials, and we need your help. Visitors to the Library will notice new clusters of containers with separate sections for different types of trash: paper, glass, plastic, metal and “waste”, i.e. non-recyclable materials like candy wrappers. These are located at several convenient locations around the building to make it easy for library patrons to dispose of their own trash appropriately. Please feel free to ask staff for assistance in locating the nearest containers and with any questions about what should go in which bin.

And now for the best part – with a proper recycling system in place, we will be changing our policy as of January 1^st to allow visitors to bring in beverages in closed containers. Stay tuned for more on this in the coming weeks.

Knock Off Killowatts

Here's some news from Gretchen Bishop, a volunteer with the Library and with the Ridgefield Action Committee for the Environment.

The Ridgefield Library and the Ridgefield Action Committee for the Environment (RACE) want to help town residents “eliminate” their excess energy consumption. The two groups have partnered to provide six Kill A Watt energy meters that library patrons can borrow with a library card.

A Kill A Watt measures how much electricity an appliance consumes. Simply plug an appliance into the meter, leave it for twenty-four hours, and then check the LCD display to discover how many kilowatt-hours have been consumed. Instructions are included to help you figure out electrical expense by the hour, day, week, month, or year.

Do you wonder just how much your ten-year-old refrigerator costs to run? Or how much energy is wasted by leaving on the computer when it’s not in use? The Kill A Watt can provide this information so residents can make simple lifestyle changes that will result in energy savings. By running a Kill A Watt test before and after implementing new conservation-minded practices, families can track progress in reducing their carbon footprint.

Recently the Library implemented a number of energy saving measures in its own facility, such as programmable thermostats and motion sensors for lights in some areas. With RACE, we hope to continue to offer services and programs that patrons will find useful in these times when environmental issues are so pressing. Each Kill A Watt at the Library comes with a list of websites providing information on energy conservation and energy star appliances as well instructions on how to sign up for clean, renewable energy. They are located at the Reference Desk and may be borrowed for 14 days. Why not try one out and “knock off” some kilowatts on your energy bill?