Posts filed under ‘New England’
Camera Down!
Last month, my less-than-trusty Canon S series point-n-click experienced it’s last click. Tis no more. Poor timing for me, as I’m finally getting my sea legs in terms of posting to my blog.
What’s a girl to do?
Go disposable, seems to be the answer at this juncture. So, I bought my first super cheap (but also oddly expensive) disposable camera from CVS. Here’s a shot of Lincoln Public Library (admittedly cropped and altered in Photoshop) that I took during last weekend’s bike ride to Walden Pond.
National Poetry Month
Every year since 2007, I’ve sent “poemcards” to friends and family in celebration of National Poetry Month. This requires me to scour books of poetry, searching for short, pithy gems. I squirrel poems away all year long, saving up approximately thirty to send in the month of April. I also need a stockpile of postcards, which can get expensive, so I usually pick up free ones around the city when I can (hint: lots of postcards available in the windows of cafes, at gallery openings, and in postcard kiosks at bars).
Last year, I got my hands on this postcard book that, yes, I admittedly paid for. Check it out, though, it’s collection of photographs of libraries! Cambridge Public Library and the Boston Public Library are featured numerous times, as is one prison library, and some impressively boring photos of people hanging out in library stacks. Overall, though, a lucky find!
Family + Library Does A Good Afternoon Make
Recently, I spent time with a friend who, now twenty years old, has been home schooled her whole life. She mentioned trips to the library with her family, describing the stacks of books she used to check out. Listening to her story, I experienced a sense-memory of standing behind the children’s department circulation desk at the public library I worked at in high school, watching the home school families check out great mounds of books, packing them away in canvass bags. The youngest siblings were usually the most excited to pile their books on the counter, tiny hands reaching up as they dutifully followed their mother’s instructions.
My friend’s story was good reminder that, even as the practice of reading and the art of writing remain mostly solitary activities, a trip to the town library is that much more satisfying with loved ones in tow.
More Reasons To Love The Library
This past week I noticed a new treat outside Cambridge Public Library main branch. A bike station! My first experience with one of these was over at MIT, where I accidentally let all of the air out of my tire trying to inflate it, and then was not-exactly-aided by two women who meant well. This area cyclist blogger tells it best.
Library back log
I am behind on writing about library visits -so much so that I’ve actually held off on touring and photographing libraries when I’m out traveling.
Libraries I’ve visited but not yet featured on the blog:
- Paris, ME
- Brattleboro, VT
- John D. Rockefeller Library, Brown University, RI
CPL is Beautiful! (We made the list)
Apparently I’m not the only oggler. (Is that a word? Can I use that? “Oggler?”)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/19/most-beautiful-libraries_n_768612.html
Fall Showers
Through the windows of the Cambridge Public Library: the sky opened up and poured a bucket or two down upon the toddlers, high school teens, patrons, dog walkers, and others wandering the grassy grounds. Everyone instantly scattered, not unlike a scurry of squirrels racing in that desperate way, abandoning a broken umbrella, trailing bemused smiles. And lucky me, sitting inside, watching.
Receipt of Purchase
My first receipt from paying a library fine online! I never thought the day would come (or even conceived of such a day). Wait, should I be this excited about paying a bill…?
—
Minuteman Library Network
BILLING INFORMATION
08-17-2010
Patron: Sinclair, Phoebe N
PAID IN FULL
Good hair [videorecording] / Chris Rock Entertainment [and] HBO Films ;
produced b $0.10
Us : Americans talk about love / edited by John Bowe ; with Marisa Bowe and
Clancy $0.20
Eat.shop.Boston: the indispensable guide to… 2009 $0.20
Service Charge
$0.00
TOTAL FINES
$0.50
Thank you for your payment of $0.50 for the above charges.
Your payment has been approved.
Please keep this receipt for your records.
Happy 1st Birthday, Fox Point Library
Not only is it delightful and curious that libraries host their own birthday parties, (it’s true, I’ve been to one), but that a library would also post notices/invites around town adds to the charm/amusement factor. Nice flyer design, too! Wish, I could have made it to the bash to wish you a merry, Fox Point Library.
Librarytour's Weblog 