2001: A Calligraphic Odyssey

Cindy Rudolph is a circulation assistant at Morrill Memorial Library. She also does graphic design and hand-lettered signage for the library. Read her entire column in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin this week.

Excerpt:

When I became interested in calligraphy around 1980, the first place I went to find out about it was the Norwood library. I found a few books on the subject and began practicing the Italic, Uncial, and Gothic alphabets. I learned about broad-tipped pens, pen angles and permanent inks. I soon realized I could add calligraphy to my offerings as a freelance artist, so I started addressing envelopes for brides, lettering personal poems, retirement citations and whatever else I was commissioned to do. I began teaching calligraphy and exhibiting my work with Masscribes, a calligraphers’guild, and with the Norwood Art Association. I’ve made friends with many other calligraphers, who inspire me and share so much of their knowledge. The art of calligraphy still intrigues me and there’s always something new going on in the field.

You can also read a great article about Steve Rudolph, Cindy's husband.

Fun of Two Wheelin'

Charlotte Canelli is the Library Director in Norwood. Read her entire column in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin this week.

Excerpt:

We vacationed on Cape Cod for a week in late June and early July. We had incredible weather and every lovely morning the fragrant breezes rustled our gauzy curtains in the two-story ocean-side home we rented.

Sunshine poured through them each morning at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. I’ve written before about my morning personality. When I’m on vacation I love to get up even earlier than normal to enjoy every minute of a beautiful place. I never want to miss a sunrise or a sunset.

Fortunately, we had rented bicycles for our entire week at the Cape. Everyone in the USA knows that this sandy, sunny strip of New England is a perfect place to take a bike ride.

My enthusiasm for early morning bike rides won over a few of my companions. Each day we were out riding shortly after the sun had risen a foot off the horizon.

We caught the biking bug on vacation and after we arrived home, we did some minimal research and decided to purchase simple, new road bikes.

A Summer of Summer Reading

Marie Lydon is head of Reference at the Morrill Memorial Library. Read her entire column in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin this week.

Excerpt:

I spent most of my younger summers sprawled on our screened-in porch reading Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew books. Then my mother promoted me to Gene Stratton-Porter’s “Girl of the Limberlost” and “The Five Little Peppers” series, not to mention “Maida” books which no one seems to remember reading but me, although I just Googled it and there is a website devoted to it. I don’t remember much after that until I was selecting my own books and reading things like “Marjorie Morningstar” and “Advise and Consent.”

Once I switched majors I had to read from a summer reading list, which most English majors had been doing since the summer after freshman year, containing such titles as “War and Peace,” “Crime and Punishment,” “My Antonia,” “Vanity Fair” and “David Copperfield,” to name a few.

The Not-So-Lost Art of Conversation

Margot Sullivan is a retired Adult Services Librarian who still works part-time as a Reference Librarian and leads two popular book discussion groups.

Read Margot Sullivan's entire column this week in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Excerpt:

As you can tell I am a people person. I must say it bothers me when I see people come to the library for hours and surf the net some with very valid reasons and others???? Who knows? But when one is sitting at a computer or on their phone or “friending” someone in Facebook there is no real “conversation” as we used to know it. At a recent event with many young teenagers I was sad to see how often the young people would interrupt the dancing to run back to their tables to check their cell phones! Why I ask! On our return boat ride from a brief vacation on a sunny day to savor a gentleman in front of me was on his cell phone for ten or fifteen minutes! Once I saw two couples hiking on a wooded trail one member of each couple was on their cell phone – for all I know they were talking to each other!

It's No Mystery

Charlotte Canelli is the Library Director in Norwood. Read her entire column in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin this week.

Excerpt:

Every year the library remains closed the first or second Friday in June. Our staff development day is very important for us. During it, our facilities crew shampoos rugs, repairs plumbing and paints ceilings. One of the most cumbersome tasks is setting up staging to replace light bulbs in ceiling fixtures. Closing during this week day is important to us.

So are you thinking that the rest of the library staff is sitting by a pool? That they are out shopping at the local outlets? Of course not! The staff is, in fact, hard at work offsite at another library.

In 2009 we spent the day nearby at the Norfolk Public Library. In 2010 we spent our day at the Morse Institute, the public library in Natick. The beauty of public libraries is that there is wonderful free meeting room space available and we, like you, take advantage of it.

This year’s staff development day included some great events. One was a panel discussion by five local New England mystery authors, all members of Sisters in Crime – New England.