Jan's Column 2011

There are two more days (not counting today, of course) left in the year 2011 and after that it's hello, 2012. Sitting here on the eve of the eve of New Year's Eve, it's a good time to pause and reflect about the past year and to look forward to the year that will soon be upon us. As the countdown to the New Year start ramping up, so does the frenzy, so now, while there still are a few calm moments before the media hype begins, it's a good time to start your list of resolutions. I have a few to suggest that carry a distinctly library flavor. First, if you like your local public library, use it frequently - resolve to add an extra visit a week. Second, resolve to find out about all the nifty electronic resources the library has - use a new database a week until you've worked through what we own locally (everything from Chilton's (car manuals) to Ancestry) as well as those that are owned collectively. Third, resolve to join the Friends of the Library - there are many opportunities to volunteer. Fourth, resolve to read more. Reading is an activity that helps build cognitive resilience while at the same time offering an escape from the grind of reality. Fifth, resolve to learn a new language. Learning a new language also adds cognitive resilience (and didn't you always want to/ mean to?). One of our locally owned data bases, Mango, will teach you a language, on-line, at a pace you set yourself. You can learn languages from Danish to Farsi, Urdu to Irish, and yes, even a comedic one called "pirate". Sixth, resolve to support your library. Support can be by volunteer your time, donating money or items (books, dvds, audio books, and items we can use for prizes in our reading program "store" (I know you got something for Christmas you might just want to re-gift!). [Donations to the Friends or the library are tax deductible (check with your tax preparer)]. Seventh, resolve to return your materials on time - while we do use your fines to help fund the operation of the library, getting things back on time shortens the wait for others on the hold list. And finally, eighth, resolve to use the electronic books available for loan from the library if you got an electronic reader (Nook, Kindle) for Christmas. E-books can be borrowed from us and they are free. Have a very Happy New Year and you can start working on resolution four, above, with some of these nifty new titles, below.

Here it is the first day of Winter (Did you notice when it arrived at 11:30 a.m.?) We'll it's here now and won't be leaving until March 20th, 12:14 A.M. (which is 88 days from now, if you're counting). The first day of winter means that Christmas Eve and Day are only hours away, but I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. All your gifts have been bought and wrapped. All your travel plans have been made, cookies baked, meals planned, and you are ready to face the big day. In case you find a few quiet moments during these busy days, there are some books you might enjoy reading listed below. If you don't have time to read them now, then put them on hold and read them after the first of the year when things settle down again. And since I won't be writing again before after the impending holiday, I wish you the happiest of holidays! Have a very merry holiday season!

I guess the serious countdown to Christmas starts today. There are exactly 10 days - that's 240 hours, 14,400 minutes, or 864,000 seconds - between now and Christmas Day. If your family celebration is anything like my family's celebration, Christmas Eve is the time for the eating of a festive meal, the scarfing down of delicious cookies, the drinking of the egg nog, and the opening of the presents. Christmas Day was the time to go to church, sing, and recover from Christmas Eve. If you are a Christmas Eve celebrant, you have only nine days - 9 days, or 216 hours, 12,960 minutes or 777,600 seconds. But even in the hustle and bustle surrounding the holidays, there is always time to put your feet up for a few minutes with a good book - and we have lots of them. A sampling is listed below. If you do happen to get a Kindle for Christmas - or already have one-you can checkout Kindle books from the library as well. If you visit our web page at : www.deforestlibrary.org you will see a picture of a Kindle. Click on that picture and follow the links which will take you to the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium webpage. There you can find many books available for checkout using your Kindle. Next year the Consortium will be buying a million dollars-worth of digital books which will help immensely with availability (Yes, there are hold lists on these titles too!) and the breadth of the collection. You will need your library card to be able to check out these Kindle titles. Isn't technology swell? Enjoy the books! Enjoy the season!

Here it is, the 8th of December, and you know what that means, don't you? Well, actually it means a couple of things. First, it means you only have 16 days - sixteen-until Christmas Eve is upon you. Still plenty of time to shop and wrap before the big, gift-giving winter holiday. It also is National Brownie Day - so perhaps you should bake a pan of brownies and share them with your local librarians?. It is also the first of the three days of the year when sunset is the earliest. December 8th, 9th, and 10th all have an official sunset of 4:22 p.m. On the 11th we gain back a minute at sunset. Now just because we quit losing daylight at the tail-end of the day, doesn't me the days don't continue to get shorter. They just get shorter on the sunrise side. We won't start gaining back light on that end of the day until January 9th. But the good news is we are almost to the shortest day of the year which, unfortunately, also means that Winter officially starts. Since it is dark, and you have made yourself a pan of brownies, why not get yourself a nice glass of milk and a good book, kick back and have a long-winter's read? Below you will find some fascinating titles to settle in with. Enjoy!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and spent it doing something you could be thankful for. I also hoped you survived "Black Friday", "Shop Local Saturday", and "Cyber Monday". (Note: to business marketers: The Sunday between " Shop Local Saturday" and "Cyber Monday" seems to be a naming and promotional opportunity that shouldn't be missed! Now that you've shopped 'til you dropped and have all your gift purchasing out of the way, it is the perfect time to sit down and read a good book of which we have quite a few. There's something about this time of year, when we can still hope that Winter's grip won't start tightening down, but the days are short and from mid-afternoon to darkest night is only the difference of a couple of hours, it's what I consider the coziest time of the year. It is the perfect time to go to bed early, huddle under a comforter with a good book and a couple of cats (or dogs if you're inclined that way) while you enjoy being warm and transported to other times and places by the written word. Below you will find some titles that will help you settle in for a long winter's read. Enjoy!