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Update: 21st Century Library Taskforce Issues Report for the Board of Directors
In January 2021, the town's Board of Directors asked the Library Board to research what our town's residents wanted and what other towns had for up-to-date library facilities and services, and to report back to them in September 2021. The Library Board surveyed well over 1,000 residents and met hundreds of other people at numerous public events during the summer of 2021 before presenting the report at the Directors meeting of September 14, where an analysis was given regarding the significant shortcomings of the current building -- especially that 20% of respondents report having difficulty getting to most of the adult books due to the crowded, inaccessible bookstacks. Parking, lack of quiet study and tutoring rooms, and an overall lack of sufficient space for all ages were other themes. The Library Board also noted that millions of dollars of the Federal ARPA / American Rescue Plan Act funds were currently available to Manchester and could be used towards capital improvements of municipal facilities. The Board of Directors was asked to fund architectural cost estimating to see what the cost of a new library building would be and that Board has said they will reexamine this issue later this autumn.
Meet Elaine, Our New Teen Librarian!
On September 8th our former teen librarian, Michelle M, moved to the Children's Room and handed over the reins to Elaine S, our new Teen Librarian. Elaine previously worked as the manager of the Gales Ferry Branch of Ledyard Public Library. She has also worked at the Wilton Public Library and UCONN Library, as well as spending some time working in retail as the store manager of Music & Arts in Waterford. Elaine was looking for a diverse community and a busy library, which she says she found in Manchester. She is excited to work with the teens and is starting a teen coding club as well as reviving our teen book club. Stop in the Reference Room to say hi and welcome Elaine to our staff!
Russell Cheney Painting Donated to MPL
Connecticut resident Carol Cheney was instrumental in assisting members of the extended Cheney family to donate one of the last painting created by American artist Russell Cheney, entitled 'Calves,' to join the collection of his other paintings on display in our public library's Reference Room. Because this work was composed in 1944 and had been in a private home for many years, the family kindly had the painting restored / conserved earlier this year before donating it. This will become the fourteenth Russell Cheney painting on display at the public library. Carol asked that we record this as the "gift of the late Marjory Bacon Cheney Shaw and her daughter Anne Shaw Hurwitz." Calves was composed when Russell was visiting Texas and it is now displayed atop a bookcase in the southwest corner of the Reference area at the Mary Cheney library building.
November is National Novel Writing Month
(Image courtesy of NaNoWriMo)
The library has a handful of programs for writers and those interested in the writing process for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Scheduled for November are Jotham Burrello, writer, teacher, and author of the CT Book Award nominee "Spindle City"; Manchester resident Megan Collins, who has recently had her third book "The Family Plot" published by Simon & Schuster; and Florence Reiss Kraut, whose October 2020 book "How to Make a Life" was described by Kirkus Reviews as "an engaging and heartfult portrayal of intergenerational trauma and hope." Local bookseller Book Club on the Go will be at these events selling copies of the authors' works. Also, Manchester resident and writer David Garnes will be holding a workshop focusing on fiction writing and writing from your life. For more information on these programs, contact the Reference Department.
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