Dealing with Canasta

Charlotte Canelli is the library director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Charlotte's column in the February 25, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Weather everywhere can be unpredictable, and Florida is no exception. Freezing temperatures in the winter have killed orange crops as far south as Miami. Oppressive heat in the summer scares off most tourists all over the southernmost state.

Our recent vacation on the Floridian west coast last month was planned with only relaxation in mind. Oh, yes, of course we hoped to leave the frigid temperatures behind. However, we longed to visit with friends even more. They had recently moved to the Cape after living in Norwood for more than 40 years. As retired New Englanders often do, our friends now “snowbird” in Florida for the winter months.

New Technology Comes to the Library

Bonnie Wyler is a Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the library. Read Bonnie's column in the February 18, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

In early January, the power-adjusted table arrived at the library.  Within a week, it had been assembled and placed in the Reference Department, awaiting the remaining hardware and software that will make it a dedicated accessible workstation.   When the workstation is complete, it will provide the most up-to-date assistive technology available for library patrons who have vision loss or other disabilities.  Because we know that age-related eye diseases are a leading cause of vision impairment, meeting the needs of older patrons and others with vision loss is a growing priority for the library.

Man in the Wilderness: Hugh Glass

Charlotte Canelli is the library director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Charlotte's column in the February 11, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Each year I promise myself that I will see most of the Oscar-nominated films. My hope is always simply that I can watch the presentation program with enough meaningful attention to the awards to ignore all the bad jokes. Unfortunately, that quest hasn’t been exactly fruitful lately. I actually don’t believe I’ve tuned into the Academy Awards telecast for the past several years.

This year, though, I’ve totally surprised myself. Or let’s say, my husband, Gerry, has surprised me.  And he’s surprised himself. He’s not a go-to-the-movies kind of guy, but this year he made it his goal to make me one happy wife.  Over the holiday vacation and beyond, we’ve managed to see eight of the top 2015 movies together.  Add to that the three I managed to see on my own. I’ve topped every goal I could hope for.

A Picture Book is Worth a Thousand Words

Read Alli Palmgren's column in the February 4, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. Alli is the Technology Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library.

In the past few months, I have begun reading books that I would not normally read. While I am still tearing through my usual mysteries and non-fiction best sellers, I have added a number of books with very unconventional plots to my “read” list.