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Dalton Library Delights

Dalton Library Delights with Mary Keenan Hart

Thanksgiving is upon us and it’s by far my favorite holiday. Even though I’m writing this a week before the day, I can already smell the turkey cooking and taste that pumpkin pie. It’s also a day to pause and give thanks—and since this column focuses on our library, it’s appropriate that we give a nod to and be thankful for that boastful, inventive, but sometimes annoying (at least John Adams thought him to be so) Ben Franklin. He started the first successful lending library back in 1731 and Darby, Pa., took up the idea in 1743 when its citizens founded one of the first public libraries in the United States.

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Here in Dalton, in 2009, we are the beneficiaries of a library that’s a welcoming place where we can expand our horizons. I don’t think Franklin ever envisioned our need for computers, talking books, music, and movies as additional ways to learn. Today a good library’s goal is to provide access to all of these items as a way to help us learn about our world. You can be sure that between now and the middle of December, there’s plenty going on at the Dalton Community Library to fulfill that goal.

Young children can continue to attend story hour (Dec. 8 and Dec. 22) at 1 p.m.; 9 to 12 year olds will be challenged by “39 Clues”(Nov. 30 and Dec. 14) at 4 p.m., and the teenagers can discuss their book selections and recommendations on Dec. 7 and Dec. 18 at “Book Whisperers.” Watch this column for details on a winter reading program for the young set (up to 3rd grade) which will begin in January. It’s a self-directed (with parents help, if necessary) reading program that will last for six weeks.

While the adult book discussion (Saturday Spotlight) takes a break in December, bridge club (Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m.) and Conscious Conversations (Tuesdays at 5 p.m.) will continue. Both provide great opportunities to keep those brain cells working!

Yes, Franklin started it all. Fortunately, our library staff enlarges his goals and deserves kudos for the creative approach they bring to keeping our library an active, welcoming spot in the center of Dalton. But many of us may not realize that there are also a number of people behind the scenes who also make our library a reality: the trustees. They don’t just “sit” on a board. They also attend full day workshops and conferences where they work with experts to learn the hows and whys behind the latest developments for maintaining and enhancing library services. At a recent trustee workshop for the Northeast Library District (which includes 29 libraries in NEPA) one of our own trustees, Dr. Gus Vlassis, was honored. Dr. Vlassis was awarded “The Trustee of the Year Award”! Cheers Dr. Vlassis! Please congratulate him—and thank him—when you see him.

The library will be closed Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26) and then again on Dec. 24, Dec. 25, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. And the Friends fundraiser, The American Girl Doll of 2009, will be awarded on Dec. 1. Don’t miss your chance to win this beautiful doll for a lovely young lady in your life! Stop in and support the Friends.

See you at the library!

Mary Keenan Hart is chairperson of the Friends of the Dalton Community Library. Reach her or the library staff with questions at 570.563.2014 or visit www.lclshome.org/dalton.