Nicole Guerra-Coon is the Assistant Children’s Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her column in the August 29, 2019 edition of the Transcript and Bulletin.
When I was a kid, reading a book was the
surest way to get information on any subject. Television like PBS and the
History Channel were informative, but you couldn’t exactly just call up a
channel for information on a particular subject you wanted to learn about.But, as we all know, the internet has removed
many of the barriers in self education. You just need the motivation, access
and time.
Today, for instance, I needed to patch a
few holes in some drywall. Did I know the first thing about that? Nope. Usually
for anything home maintenance related, I call my dad as he knows how to fix
just about anything. But today I was feeling guilty that a grown woman was
waiting for her dad to come visit just to fix something for her. So I decided I
could do it. I know how to adult - I have all of the internet at my fingertips!
So I watched a few videos on YouTube, figured out what would work, and went to
the hardware store. I got the supplies and I patched those holes!
Kate Tigue is the Head of Youth Services at the Morrill Memorial Library. Read her column in the August 22, 2019 edition of the Transcript and Bulletin.
When
I first started in my career as a librarian, I secretly judged people who asked
me about the number of pages in a book before they were even curious about its
plot. I used my “concern” about dwindling reading habits of America’s youth as
a thin disguise for my own smug attitude concerning my love for long,
meandering novels. At one time, I could read three or four books simultaneously
and couldn’t understand why the length of a book mattered. If a book is
interesting and well-written, why would anyone care about the length? I
couldn’t fathom a different answer than my own.
No
matter how well-concealed, this is not a good attitude for anyone in a position
to recommend books, especially to kids. Age and experience have thankfully
intervened to eliminate the uninformed judgements of my youth. The past
fourteen years as a youth services professional in public library has taught me
all the reasons book length is such an important factor for many readers. Kids
definitely judge books by their covers, and by extension, they factor in how
difficult a book might be simply by looking at it. While many kids do love
massive tomes like J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series or Rick Riordan’s Percy
Jackson novels, some see a large book and immediately worry they can’t finish
it.
Charlotte Canelli is the library director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Charlotte's column in the August 15,2019 edition of the Transcript & Bulletin.
Seeing
the Ghost Orchid was not on the Charlotte Canelli bucket list. I actually don't
have an official bucket list, although I've been known to mentally check things
off a list-of-sorts. I am hard-pressed to adopt any I-must-do-this-before-I-die
obsessions. Spending a night in a Russian monastery was a happy consequence of
a purposeful trip to the Soviet Union. Sipping mead in an Irish castle, viewing
fields of Texas bluebonnets in the spring, and observing a Santeria ceremony in
Cuba were the rewards of other whimsical adventures. My life has been a chaotic
mixture of loss, love, joy, and pain, and I've happened upon many serendipitous
experiences along the way.
How
I came to trod over a mile into southwestern Florida's Corkscrew Swamp to view
the elusive Super-Ghost Orchid is no mystery to me. I simply awoke one sunny
and hot July morning in Fort Myers, Florida, and placed it on top of my
must-do-today list.
The
Ghost Orchid (or Dendrophylax lindenii in horticultural parlance) is one of the
rarest flowers in the world. It is an epiphyte – or a plant that grows on air.
The Ghost Orchid and other epiphytes are not parasites, but like bromeliads,
mosses, etc., they derive their nutrients from the water, air, and the detritus
of their host plants. Ghost Orchids are native to the Everglades of Florida and
Cuba – in the moist and warm environments that make their lives possible.
The
Ghost Orchid flowers in an 85-day blooming phase, mainly between June and August.
The Ghost Orchid got its name because it is a master at camouflage - it is
challenging to make out from its background - the trunk of a tree. Its thin,
pale-white petals and curling tendrils form what looks like the hind legs of a
frog, and it is also called the white frog orchid.
When
Charles Darwin became fascinated by orchids later in his life, he suggested
that a particular pollinator would be found for each specific orchid. In
Chasing Ghosts in the Everglades (Forbes Magazine, July 19, 2019), the story is
told of a team of three photographers who braved Florida swamps filled with
alligator, panthers, snakes and bears. Armed with high-powered cameras, they
were on a mission to photograph, at last, the ghost orchid's mysterious
pollinator.*
Lydia Sampson is the Assistant Director and Technical Services Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read her column in the August 8, 2019 issue of the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin.
Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels
I hesitate to admit it, having lived in the
Boston area for my entire life, but I don’t follow the Red Sox. Or the Celtics.
Or Bruins. Not even the Patriots. Don’t hate me! I’ve never been much of a
jock, and don’t understand the finer points of team sports, but the main reason
I neglect these undisputed best teams on the planet involves my commitment to
super-fandom of another athletic endeavor – one that consumes so much spectator
time and energy that it leaves little opportunity for interest in any other.
“My” sport is called mixed martial arts, and it has no season. On any given Saturday you’ll find me online making my picks, scouring mixed martial arts (MMA) websites, and solidifying my predictions for the evening’s bouts.
Librarian April Cushing is head of Adult and Information Services at the Morrill Memorial Library. Read her column published in the August 1, 2019 issue of the Norwood Transcript Bulletin.
“If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and
blaming it on you…” I’d heard these words, of course, but never realized they
originated from Rudyard Kipling. “If--” is consistently voted the most popular
poem in Britain, and all too frequently quoted, according to its author.
Despite being woefully unfamiliar with his other works, I was thrilled to be
invited to spend a weekend at Naulakha, the Kiplings’ home in Dummerston, Vermont
during their four years in America.
