Rappin' with Alexander Hamilton

Charlotte Canelli is the library director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Charlotte's column in the January 28, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

The name Hamilton is nearly a household word. One of my daughters lives one of the many Hamilton avenue, streets, and boulevards in our country. At least 28 of our 50 states boasts a city or town named Hamilton. Hamilton College is the third oldest college in New York. It was chartered in 1812 and is one of the oldest colleges in the United States.

Empty Nest - Full Basement

Librarian April Cushing is head of Adult and Information Services at the Morrill Memorial Library. Read her column published in the January 21, 2016 issue of the Norwood Transcript Bulletin.

You can tell a lot about a person by her basement. I’ve spent more time than usual below street-level lately, between putting away Christmas accoutrements and re-homing clutter in preparation for a proper house-cleaning. My basement has been filling up faster than a debutante’s dance card. As I made my way through the maze it struck me how much of the stuff belongs to my kids. I’m not talking about the remnants from childhood. I’m referring to the clothing, kitchenware, artwork, books, bikes, bedding, wedding miscellany and giant golf mat they left behind when they took off. And there’s the rub: I don’t mind having their belongings under my roof; I’d just rather have them.

I’m struggling with the fact that three of my four daughters now live far away, and probably getting farther. My youngest, in New York City, plans to study overseas, my 30-year-old recently moved back to London, and the newlyweds just drove 3,000 miles in the opposite direction to begin married life in San Francisco. I’m grateful to have one child who promises to stay put. The peripatetic nature of my progeny is particularly difficult for this Norwood resident whose neighbors all seem to live within shouting distance of their kin. Sure, I’m envious.

Inspiration at a Midwinter Meeting

Charlotte Canelli is the library director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Charlotte's column in the January 14, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. I belong to several professional organizations for librarians, and the largest of these is the American Library Association. ALA has been holding annual conferences in June since 1876. In fact, it held one of its first summer conferences right here in Boston in 1879 with its largest participation in its then five-year history – 162 members.

The numbers have grown, and currently, there are less than ten cities large* enough to host the annual ALA conference (held in June) with the highest number of attendees nearly 30,000 (Washington, DC in 2007). Other annual conferences destinations are Anaheim, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Chicago. (*Large conference cities are those who can house the attendees to area hotels and shuttle them back and forth between the event venues.)

The Selfish Knitter

Liz Reed is the Adult and Information Services Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Liz's column in the January 7, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Early January is a time to pause and take a breath. The holidays are over, the hustle and bustle of the past month has slowed, and winter is just getting started. As I recently mentioned to some friends, winter is the knitter’s natural habitat, especially if you’re a knitter who enjoys working with wool. I’ll go a step further here and say that if winter is the knitter’s natural habitat, January is our nesting time, the time when we can settle in, hunker down, and focus on projects that we want to do for ourselves.