Thanks During the Holidays - For a Job Well Done

Charlotte Canelli is the library director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Charlotte's column in the December 31, 2015 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

    Most pre- and elementary school teachers and children’s librarians receive bags of treats or handmade gifts from families who visit the classrooms or library's children’s room on a nearly daily basis. I still have some of those gifts and holiday cards from my days as the youth services librarian in Peterborough, New Hampshire. I have sweet memories of the care and gratitude that the families had for me just for doing my job: simply by helping to instill a love of reading and the library.

Cats and Christmas

Read Marg Corjay's column in the December 24, 2015 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. Marg is an Outreach and Circulation Assistant at the Morrill Memorial Library and a voracious reader.

"Deck the Halls with Catnip Mousies, FaLaLaLa LaLaLaLa, Wreck the Tree and Blame the Doggies." The Christmas season naturally lends itself to thoughts of warm, fuzzy things like sweaters, fireplaces, family, and cuddling with a cat. I am a covered-in-fur longtime cat enthusiast, as most people quickly find out because of my cat clothes, jewelry, reading habits, and home decor. I even dress as a cat for Halloween, complete with whiskers and a long fuzzy tail, so I'm the obvious person to write on this subject. Presently I only am owned by one cat, Nefertiti Isabella, but this year I am especially grateful because she just successfully came through a major health crisis. Christmas always brings back memories of the year that a neighbor "gifted" me a kitten.

Meet Me in St. Louis This Christmas

Charlotte Canelli is the library director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Charlotte's column in the December 17, 2015 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Apparently, the French are the only people who pronounce St. Louis without an s. Consider, for instance, the Louis kings of France. You most likely think Louis with a French accent. The folks who settled St. Louis in 1764, Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, may have assumed that the city (named after Louis IX) would have always kept its proper pronunciation.

Missourians, however, identify you as an outsider if you leave off the s in the name of their beloved St. Louis. It's St. Louis (“lou-is”), and that’s that.

Regrettably for me, I've visited St. Louis once only (other than the airport). That was over thirty years ago, yet the impression the city made on me has endured as if it were yesterday.

Brave New World: TV Without Cable

Read Kate Tigue's column in the December 10, 2015 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. Kate is a Children's Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library.

This may shock you:  librarians do more than read!  Or, at least, this librarian does. Reading is still my first love but visual media is becoming a close second! As I see it, America is in the Golden Age of television.  TV shows are beginning to rival films in terms of high quality acting and storytelling.  There’s almost a cinematic quality to many cable TV programs that is even trickling down to network-produced shows. Programs like AMC’s Mad Men and HBO’s The Wire have demonstrated that TV audiences are interested in following programs with extremely intricate plots over multiple seasons. Similarly, attitudes about TV acting have changed within the industry as well.  Actors considered television work to be decidedly less prestigious than movie roles.  Not so today!  Many movie stars like Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell, and Diane Kruger  are now taking on high-profile roles on TV shows.

Fun with NYRA

Read Jean Todesca's column in the December 3, 2015 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. Jean is the Head of Children's Services at the Morrill Memorial Library.

          What is it?  NYRA is the Norwood Young Readers Awards.  Every year 4^th and 5^th grade students in the Norwood Public Schools participate in this reading event.  From November 1^st until the end of January, students are encouraged to read from a list of preselected by the public school librarians.  There are twelve titles to choose from.  Each student who reads four books has the opportunity to vote for the book that they felt was the best.  The winning title is awarded the Norwood Young Reader’s Award.