Paying it Forward

Read Charlotte Canelli's entire column in the Norwood Bulletin and Transcript this week.

Excerpt:

Last month I wrote about Ben Franklin in my column about Daylight Savings Time. Imagine my surprise when I would come across Ben again in this week’s research.
Franklin’s wisdom and understanding of paying it forward was exemplified in April of 1784 when he wrote in a letter to a Benjamin Webb: “I do not pretend to give such a Sum; I only lend it to you. When you meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro’ many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.”
(And while Ben Franklin gets the credit for writing the letter above we must give credit where credit is due. Robert Heinlein actually coined the phrase, “paying it forward” in his book “Between Planets,” in 1951.)

Eating Crow and Other Unpalatable Expressions

Read Charlotte Canelli's entire column this week in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Excerpt:

One of our newest books in the library is the just-published “I’m Not Hanging Noodles In Your Ears and Other Intriguing Idioms From Around the World,” by Jag Bhalla. The useful information in this book might be learning what not to say. The cover of the book includes the information that the expression (in Bengali) of “thighs shaped like banana trees” is a compliment to women.

One might avoid the expression in this country, however.

Some of my favorite expressions explained in Bhalla’s book are Hindi. To address the ground? To be dejected. To loosen the turban? To be crestfallen. To drink a mouthful of blood? Essentially, to eat crow. In any language it’s a humiliating experience. Charlotte Canelli, Library Director

1001 Ways To Spend Your Time

Read Margot Sullivan's entire article in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Excerpt:

"All of a sudden I was seeing 1,000 and 1,001 books on many subjects everywhere I went! In our summer Beach Reads book review program Beth Goldman reviewed “1001 Foods You Must Taste Before You Die.” Not only was this a daunting task but at least half of the foods I had never heard of.
Then I discovered “1,000 Films to Change Your Life.” My life is kind of humdrum so I should watch a film every day in between reading my book, eating a new food, and preparing a new recipe.
But wait a minute, what is missing? “1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.” How will I fit in listening to a recording? I guess I will never sleep." Margot Sullivan, Reference Librarian

A Year of Living ... Literally

Read Charlotte Canelli's entire article in the Norwood Bulletin and Transcript this week

Excerpt:

Nina Sankovitch and Christopher Beha both read through the emotional paralysis of their separate griefs and found strength; Nina and Roger Martin battled their demons in books they had never read before and found enlightenment; she and A.J. Jacobs were able to put their lives on hold for a time to accomplish their finite goals.

Nina is near the end of the 365 books in the past year and she admitted in the BBC radio interview that there are many dust bunnies under her furniture and that she will attend to more of the daily chores in her life once her quest is done. Something tells me, though, that Nina Sankovitch’s dust bunnies will still be there, tomorrow and next year, while she travels the country on a book tour to promote her year of living … literally. Charlotte Canelli, Library Director

Times They Are A-Changin'

Read the entire article this week in the Norwood Bulletin and Transcript by librarians Marie Lydon, Hope Anderson, and Tina Blood.

Excerpt:

"It’s been our privilege to serve with many wonderful and dedicated staff members who have become not just co-workers, but friends and family throughout our years. They accepted, adjusted and adapted to the many policy, personnel and procedural changes, allowing the library to hum along without any interruptions.

In all these 41 years of library history, our dedication to the Morrill Memorial Library and our devotion to each other have remained constant. We are: Hope Anderson, Children’s Librarian, Tina Blood, Literacy Volunteer Coordinator and Marie Lydon, Reference Librarian and we have served the library and the Town of Norwood for a total of 123 years." Tina Blood, Hope Anderson, Marie Lydon

Saving Time With Ben

Read Charlotte Canelli's entire article in the Norwood Transcript and Record this week.

Excerpt:

"Did you know it was our Ben who also gave the world the idea for a daylight saving time as early as 1784? Ben Franklin was an American delegate in Paris and the Parisian sleeping habits made no sense to him. In his essay, “An Economical Project,” Franklin estimated that much money would be saved if the residents of Paris would just change their clocks to awaken early with the daylight.

Parisians, it seems, were notorious for late bedtimes, eating, reading, conversing, and living by candlelight. If those Paris dwellers would just reset their clocks, the sunlight would “awaken the sluggards effectually and make them open their eyes to see their true interests…All the difficulty will be in the first two or three days; after which the reformation will be as natural and easy as the present irregularity…Oblige a man to rise at four in the morning, and it is probable he will go willingly to bed at eight in the evening.”

Parisians were not amused. Something tells me, however, that our Ben was. Charlotte Canelli, Library Director

Oh, the Places You'll See

Read Marie Lydon's entire column in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin this week.

Excerpt:

"I am reminded of all this because PBS has been promoting its series on the national parks beginning this fall. It should be stunning. Although I have not been to most of the parks, I love looking at the books and planning trips that we hope to take some day. In the meantime, we can all be armchair travelers with some of the following books at the library:
America’s National Parks: America’s Best Idea by Dayton Duncan is a beautiful and informative book published in conjunction with the PBS series.
Great Lodges of the National Parks by Christine Barnes, volumes 1 and 2, illustrate the ideas and industry of our predecessors in building these magnificent structures.
Fodor’s Official Guide to America’s National Parks gives a brief, state by state description of 391 parks.
Frommer’s National Parks with Kids by Kurt Repanshek highlights great family activities at 14 parks including Acadia and the Cape Cod National Seashore.
·“Haunted Hikes: Spine-Tingling Tales and Trails from North America’s National Parks” by Andrea Lankford, which unfortunately does not include any New England parks.
There are many more books about the national parks to consult if you are planning a trip. It is never too soon to start thinking about next summer. If we do not have a specific book in our library, you can request that it be delivered here. Marie Lydon, Reference Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library

Back to Business

Read Charlotte Canelli's entire column in this week's Norwood Transcript.

Excerpt:

And so, in true librarian-mother form, I decided to make up a bibliography of must-read business books for my youngest daughter, already in an MBA program, and for the eldest who will begin next fall.

There were plenty of places to go online to gather information for this list. Some of the best online spots are Business Week Online, Personal MBA, Forbes, etc. However, as often is the case, I might have actually found a good answer right on our shelves. It’s “The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You” by Jack Covert and Todd Satterson. Charlotte Canelli, Library Director

Twitter 19th Century Style

Read Shelby Warner's entire From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript.

Excerpt:

"Old newspapers are fun to browse. Read the front page of one and you’ll find “Twittering” is not just a present day phenomenon. The local news back then included reports of who went where and when, fell down their front steps or broke a bone, put in a cement sidewalk, painted their house the same color as their brother’s, bought a new team of horses, or seemed a little corpulent at their birthday party.

Twitter, indeed." Shelby Warner, Reference Librarian

Chilling Mysteries From the North

Read Margot Sullivan's article in the Daily News Transcript this week.

Excerpt:

Last but not least I love the Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason, whose atmospheric, involved mysteries take place in Reykjavik and feature police inspector Erlendur.

“Silence of the Grave” is absolutely haunting. A young female skeleton is found at a building construction site and is finally determined to be around 50 years old, putting her death back around World War II. Strands of stories and long forgotten family secrets of abuse in the Icelandic countryside make for a riveting mystery.

Should I see a therapist? Nope. Reading is therapy no matter what one reads. Books, and tapes and CD’s are all free for loan from the library. Therapists cost money. I’ll stick with my library. Margot Sullivan, Retired Adult Services Librarian

Investment In the Future

Read Charlotte Canelli's entire article in the Daily News Transcript this week.

Excerpt:

When we prepared to return to the States and I was packing up our household 25 years ago, one of my last tasks was to truck the coins to a local Irish bank. I chose the EBS or Educational Building Society and deposited the heavy packets of coin into an account for my daughter who was only five months old. I had fantasies that the 50 plus Irish punts (or Irish “pounds” worth about $99 at the time) would grow and be somewhat meaningful to her one day.

She had a “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow” or so we told her over the years. We added gift amounts to the fund a few times early on and that money accrued interest for the last quarter of a century when we basically forgot about it in the last two decades. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Self-Help Is Just Around the Corner

Read April Cushing's complete hilarious column in this week's Daily News Transcript.

Excerpt:

It all started with the car window that wouldn’t close. My kids make fun of my minivan, which I’ve defended to the last dent. Until, that is, I tried to raise the passenger window on a recent Monday morning and it wouldn’t budge.

I enjoy a gale-force breeze as much as the next passenger, but halfway home from a weekend on the Cape I’m burrowing into my hoodie ready to join my canine companion in the back seat when I glance over my shoulder and, uh oh, no Duffy. As I said, I blame it on the window. Since I’m due at the Morrill Memorial Library reference desk at 9 a.m. there’s no time to turn around.

But being the resourceful librarian I am, I immediately call my neighbor Story Fish—his real name, and yes, he’s a fisherman—who rescued the pup waiting patiently at my back door. Story was chuckling but I was horrified. I mean, I’ve left my kids behind before, sure, but never my dog. April Cushing, Adult Services Librarian

What I Read On My Summer Vacation

Read Kelly Unsworth's entire library column in the Daily News Transcript.

Excerpt:

Some 30 years later, my daughter experienced her own version of the “Giant Peach” vacation when we happened upon a small, stone building that houses the Shelburne Free Public Library in Shelburne, Mass. We were fortunate to be passing by while the library was open, as it is only open for three hours every other day. The building had seen no renovations, and consequently had the smell and feel of a cozy one-room schoolhouse. What it lacked in modernity, however, it made up for with charm and a surprisingly good selection of books overflowing the wooden shelves. Kelly Unsworth, Children's Librarian

For Reading Out Loud!

Read Charlotte Canelli's entire column in the Daily News Transcript this week.

Excerpt:

Reading aloud has become somewhat of a lost art in our culture and in the 21st Century. Before television and radio, and mercy me! computers, families spent valuable time reading to each other. And not just to children. Rhythms and language, descriptions and visions were shared with utmost attention to the written word by entire families of all ages. The Read Aloud America and United Through Reading groups are two of the non-profit organizations encouraging a rebirth of a read-aloud generation.

Most experts agree that reading to children is the single most important factor in later reading success.

As adults, we know the importance of reading to our children. We stop – or our children stop us – at some point in the chain. We rarely read to them after a certain age and certainly not to each other. While the electronic audio books serve its purpose well, listening to audio books in any format is a solitary activity. Too much of our present-day e-World is convenient but lonely as it lacks the connectness and comfort we find in the shared experience of listening and reading to each other. There is something lost in the translation – the attention we must pay to read and to listen. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Tweet, Tweeting, Tweeted

Read my entire article this week in the Daily News Transcript.

Excerpt:

Twitter’s claim on its homepage is that you can “share and discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world.” My problem with Twitter is that the world is a very big place. I can’t possibly keep up with all my email, my Google Reader aggregator and my online feeds, my Facebook family and friends. How can I possible discover and share with the rest of the world in constant 140-character Tweets? Why do I have to know these things?
Recent studies of this phenomenon called Twitter have found that millions of others haven’t caught on either. Recent studies (on the Internet and in print media) claim that Tweeters flock to the site and then never return. Around 60 percent of those who register are just not staying around to “get it.” Some predictions claim that only 10 percent of all Internet users are really using Twitter. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist