A Very Busy Library

A barrage of media reports recently have highlighted the way people turn increasingly to libraries in tough economic times. In fact, the Ridgefield Library is slated to be featured in a New York Times article on the topic within the next few weeks. For the first half of the year, check-outs are up nearly 7%, and there are times when as many as 1,400 people come to the Library on a single day. As any visitor to the building can tell you, so much activity going on in such a cramped space can put a strain on resources and patience. From job seekers researching potential employers to parents seeking free and worthwhile activities for their youngsters, there are a lot of competing demands for space and attention. We could use your assistance to make sure everyone’s library experience is enjoyable and fulfilling.

• Use your “library voices,” and encourage children with you to do the same. We have very little isolated space for quiet study, and ask that you remain mindful of those around you trying to read or study.

• Do not leave children under the age of 6 unaccompanied anywhere in the Library. With so much traffic through the building, little ones can become frightened or lost if their adult companion is not near at hand. Further, Library policy requires that an adult caregiver remain in Children’s Services (NOT down the hallway or out at CVS) when their preschool child is in a storytime or other program, in case your child requires your attention.

• Save time and inconvenience by always bringing your library card with you and having it ready when you approach the Circulation Desk, either to use the self-service check-out station or for staff assistance.

Thanks for your help in keeping the Ridgefield Library a pleasant place for all.

Books for Babes

Do you have a new baby in your family, or know someone who does? The Ridgefield Library sends its congratulations and would like to give you a little gift to celebrate the occasion. Our new Books for Babes program provides newborns and their parents with a Ridgefield Library tote bag complete with a board book and a variety of information to introduce you to all the Library has to offer for even the youngest visitor.

Reading is closely associated with the path to success in school and life, and your Books for Babes bag is part of the foundation of your child’s lifelong love of reading and libraries. Enjoy the board book included in the bag, and then come to the Library to explore other offerings. Start by dropping in to Mother Goose, our popular program of music, movement and rhymes for newborns through age 2 and an adult. Material included in the bag tells you more about how our Children’s Services department will travel with you through the progressive stages of your child’s development.

The Library is also a great resource for parents and caregivers, with our special collection of parenting books and media, helpful staff and lots of opportunities for networking with other new parents.

Just contact me at 203-438-2282 x 1009 or MFRind@RidgefieldLibrary.org to request a Books for Babes bag for yourself or a friend. We know new parents’ schedules are full and unpredictable, so we have volunteers waiting to deliver a bag to your doorstep, or you can come in and pick one up if you wish.

Books for Babes was developed by the Library’s “Younger Set” community outreach committee and is sponsored by the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. Contact me anytime for more information about these dedicated volunteer groups and how you can get involved.

New Beverage Policy Introduced

In this wintry weather, nothing is more appealing than a cup of hot coffee or tea, and now you can bring your favorite beverage into the Ridgefield Library to enjoy as you study or browse. Effective immediately, we will be allowing beverages in the Library, as long as they are in a container with a top or lid to minimize potential spills (standard cans and bottles are okay under this rule). Have a drink with you but don’t have a proper container? Then you can purchase a Ridgefield Library travel mug at the Circulation Desk for just $3.00.

Beverages (non-alcoholic only, please) will be allowed throughout the building, except in the History Room on the 2^nd floor. Please check with staff before bringing drinks into programs, where they may be inappropriate.

To accommodate the wave of water bottles, soda cans and coffee cups, we have installed new trash containers around the building for different types of recyclables. Please note that cardboard coffee containers count as food waste and not paper. To avoid messy spills, it is helpful if you can pour out in a restroom sink any leftover liquid before discarding the container. Just ask the staff if you have any questions.

Food will continue to be prohibited in the Library. Food allergies, maintenance concerns and the potential distraction to nearby patrons make this impractical in our cramped quarters. We appreciate your understanding of this restriction and thank you for your help in making this new policy a success for all visitors to the Ridgefield Library.

*** Going to be out and about town on January 20^th? Stop by the Library’s Dayton Program Room between noon and 4 PM to take in coverage of the inauguration on our big screen. Coffee and cookies will be served. Don’t miss history being made!

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!

Holiday Time @ the Library

Things are hopping at the Ridgefield Library, but we’re taking a little break for the holidays. The Library will be closed on Wednesday the 24th, Thursday the 25th and Thursday, January 1st. We will also close early at 3:00 PM on New Year’s Eve. Do join us during our regular hours on Friday the 26th (10 AM to 6 PM), Saturday the 27th (9 AM to 5 PM) and Sunday the 28th (1 PM to 5 PM) and again starting January 2nd. There will be few activities on tap over the holiday period, but we welcome visitors to Monday and Saturday drop-in storytimes and Friday Flicks. There will also be a special winter program for ages 4 and up on Monday the 29th at 2 PM, featuring a marionette performance of “The Snow Maiden.”

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many visitors who have made the Ridgefield Library such a special and busy place throughout 2008. It hardly seems possible that it has been a whole year since we began the town’s 300th anniversary observance and the Library’s celebration of Ridgefield readers and writers. Although the official commemoration is over, you can still visit the Ridgefield Authors Blog on our website, attend one of our ongoing writing workshops and AuthorTalks or participate in our many book discussion groups. Ever-improving technologies may facilitate searching for a book in our catalog, researching an author in an online database or even checking out your selections at our self-check counter. But libraries such as ours continue at the core to be places where people come together to celebrate the written word. As we look to 2009, the Ridgefield Library’s mission remains as relevant and vital as ever: to be an intellectual and cultural center for Ridgefield, offering a supportive, welcoming environment that encourages all to read...to discover...to question...to exchange ideas...to grow.

Shop Ridgefield

“Shop Ridgefield – Your Purchase Makes a Difference” is the slogan for a new initiative launched by local merchants. One of the reasons they cite for the importance of supporting local businesses is the support they in turn provide back to the community, with many contributing substantially to various non-profit organizations in town. The Ridgefield Library has been the fortunate recipient of this generosity over many years, and we would like to echo the “Shop Ridgefield” sentiment.

Local businesses have made cash contributions to our annual appeal, supplied in-kind goods and services, sponsored programs, provided refreshments for events and much more. Here is a sampling of some of the most notable ways they have contributed in recent years.

• Books on the Common not only hosts Ridgefield Library Days each year and contributes a percentage of sales that weekend to the Library; it also partners with the Library to bring to town authors such as Frank McCourt and to make books available for purchase at our AuthorTalk series.
• The Toy Chest, Deborah Ann’s Sweet Shoppe and Piccolo Pizza have been long-time sponsors of the Summer Reading Program, providing treats that have tempted thousands of children and teens each year to keep on reading.
• Carnall Insurance and Chez Lenard are regular sponsors of the annual Camp Snooze 4th grade sleepover at the Library.
• Over 20 businesses contributed items for the fantastic raffle basket prizes for our adult Summer Reading Program last summer.

Nearly 50 local businesses are listed in our annual report of supporters for 2007-2008 (check our website for the full list). Their support is crucial to the Library’s ability to bring you the programs and services you enjoy. If you have benefited from this generosity, please visit these establishments this holiday season and show them how much you appreciate their involvement in the community.