A Librarian’s Approach to Marathon Training

Meredith Ruhl is an intern at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. She is currently in her last semester in the Simmons College Graduate School of Library Science. Read Meredith's column in the March 10, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

If you drive along Commonwealth Ave. in Newton on a weekend morning in the late winter or early spring, you will likely see hundreds, if not thousands, of people running in the carriage lane next to the main road. Often braving not only the steep terrain of Heartbreak Hill but also subzero temperatures, snow, and ice, these intrepid runners are training for the Boston Marathon. Many are tackling their very first marathon and doing so to raise money for local charities, as I am this year.

Just One Bite, or the Mantra of a Mother of a Picky Eater

Diane Phillips is the Technical Services Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library.  Read Diane's  column in the March 3, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

I've been thinking a lot about food lately.  It's not due to any diet plans or anything fun like planning for a party.  I’m finding that I'm becoming obsessed with food choices, calorie counts, nutritional values and meal plans because I live with a "picky eater.

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.

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.

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.