Bells Will Be Ringing

Victoria Andrilenas is a reference librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library. Read her column in the May 30, 2019 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

One of the many things I didn’t realize about Norwood before moving here is that we have the Walter F. Tilton Memorial Carillon at Town Hall.  My undergraduate alma mater also has a carillon which I always enjoyed hearing so I was excited the first time I heard bells here.  I don’t remember the specifics but I suspect I was stopped at the light on Nahatan and Washington and figured the tower was at one of the churches on the Norwood Common since municipal carillons are not very common in the United States.  Eventually I discovered it’s in Town Hall and try to listen for at least a few minutes whenever I hear the bells.

Town of Norwood  Walter F. Tilton Memorial Carillon

Our current Town Carillonneur, Lee Leach, is a frequent library user and at some point the topic of Norwood’s carillon came up in conversation.  I told him how much I enjoy hearing the bells and that I am always reminded of my college days.  The carillon world is fairly small; there are fewer than a dozen carillons in Massachusetts so Leach knows the current carillonneur at my alma mater.  Not only does she usually participate in the summer concert series, she also brings students to play at Norwood a few times a year.  Earlier this winter I was lucky enough to go up in the tower and see/hear some Wellesley College students practicing.

Cause for Celebration?

Kirstie David is a Literacy and Outreach Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the May 23, 2019 edition of the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin.

I was listening to the radio a while back when the DJ mentioned National Pizza Day. “Malarkey!” I said (or something like that.) Sure enough, when I did a Google search for national days, I found National Pizza Day listed on nationaldaycalendar.com. This is not to be confused with National Pizza Party Day (May 17.) Of course a little overlap is to be expected on a site that’s now tracking 1,500 national days, and where anyone can fill out a form to register a special day for annual recognition. I was relieved to see that the site doesn’t declare national days for individuals, since that literally requires an act of Congress.

Frida Kahlo - Constructing a Life

Nicole Guerra-Coon is the Assistant Children’s Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her column in the May 16, 2019 edition of the Norwood Transcript.

This past weekend was Mother’s Day, or as it is known in our house, the one day of the year my family has to accompany me to an art museum. I chose to go to the Museum of Fine Art (MFA) in Boston, which is showing an exhibit through June 16th entitled “Frida Kahlo and Arte Popular” (the ‘Arte Popular’ refers to traditional Mexican folk art, which Kahlo collected and surrounded herself with.)  The exhibit combines Kahlo’s own art with the arte popular that she loved, and asks viewers to consider how these objects impacted her art and aesthetic.

Frida Kahlo is one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century.  She has joined the ranks of Van Gogh and Picasso among others, who are so ubiquitous you don’t even have to know much about art to know who they are.  Her work is on a $10 poster in some kid’s dorm room, as well as t-shirts, handbags, toys, and even lipstick. She is no longer just a famous artist - she is pop culture.

Secrets and Lies in Silicon Valley

Charlotte Canelli is the library director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Charlotte's column in the May 9, 2019 edition of the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin.

The saga of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, her revolutionary (but failed) blood testing company, is a captivating one. While you may have read about it on the Internet, or in news reports last summer, you should read the exposé, Bad Blood by John Carreyrou and published last fall. It is rich with the full account as it was revealed. Carreyrou was (and is) a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. He was hungry for his next new journalistic journey, and a tip about Theranos was just the ticket.

The story of Theranos begins with Elizabeth at 19 – a college dropout – and a concept that depended on all the stars aligning and the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Most importantly, however, science was required to work.

Detractors have declared that the science was never there to begin with.  That it was an absurd quest. Others question if more years and engineering may develop the product that Elizabeth promised -  a piece of medical equipment that can deliver accurate results of over 1000 separate tests using only a fingerprick and one drop of blood. Theranos bombed miserably, but not before duping investors and the public.

Borrow a Karaoke Kit or a Companion Cat

Lydia Sampson is the Technical Services department head at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read her column in the May 2, 2019 issue of the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin.

When people think of the public library, I’m fairly certain that books come to mind before all else. Of course libraries have lots of programs and events, and lend a multitude of other materials such as movies, museum passes, and even video games. Nowadays tech-savvy folks also take advantage of “virtual” collections of e-books, audiobooks and streaming video. Over the years the Morrill Memorial Library started thinking outside the box and lending puzzles, knitting needles, cake pans and electronics including Wi-Fi hotspots and GoPro video cameras. Whether we realized it or not at the time, we created, in library parlance, a “Library of Things.”