We need perennials

Posted on | April 22, 2014 | No Comments

Your garden is slowwwly waking up!
Soon your perennials will need dividing, and we can help you distribute them.
On Saturday, May 31 at the library , The Carroll County Altrusa and The Friends of Cook Memorial Library are holding a perennial plant sale to help support our organizations. If you divide your favorite perennials, why not donate some of your extras to the sale? It’s easy. Pot them, label them and drop them off at Robinson Company on Chinook Trail in Tamworth (268 Chinook Trail)
Your plants will go to good homes and help beautify Tamworth and of course support two good causes.
Please do label the pots with whatever information you can give us (name,color,sun/shade). Popsicle sticks are good for labeling. We have some for you at the library. And if you can pot the plants by mid May, they will have a chance to adjust to their new environment before the sale.
FoCML http://tamworthlibrary.org/about/friends
Altrusa http://carrollcountyaltrusa.blogspot.com/
For drop off location call Diane at 387-7395
For pickup call Sue at 323-9717

Willa Canfield and Thomas Stafford win statewide library video contest

Posted on | April 16, 2014 | No Comments

Two Tamworth teens win a statewide library video contest.
New Hampshire’s Young Adult Library Services Association, in collaboration with the national Collaborative Summer Library Program, has announced that Tamworth’s Willa Canfield and Thomas Stafford are collectively the New Hampshire winner of the 2014 Teen Video Challenge.
Now in its fourth year, the Teen Video Challenge is a national competition that encourages teens to create 30- to 90-second public service announcements that encourage both reading and using public libraries throughout the summer.
This year’s theme was “Spark a Reaction.” Canfield and Stafford’s winning video noted that reading “makes you think. It not only sparks a reaction, but sparks a fire that ignites inside of you.”
Entries were judged on creativity, message clarity and relevance, motivation and inspiration, and overall impact. Judges for New Hampshire’s competition were Shelly Angers, public information officer at the N.H. Department of Cultural Resources; Tom Dooley, associate professor at Colby-Sawyer College; and Matthew Newton, director of the N.H. Film & Television Office.
For their hard work and creativity, Canfield and Stafford will receive a monetary award of $275 and their public library, Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth, will receive prizes worth $125.
Their video will join other state winners as official national Collaborative Summer Library Program 2014 Teen Video champions and will be used to promote summer reading across the United States. Teens from more than twenty-six states participated in the creation of these winning videos.

To view this year’s winning videos, visit CSLP’s website The winning videos can be used by all teens and all public libraries to promote summer reading nationwide.

Category: For Kids, News
Tags: 2014 Teen Video Challenge > prize-winning video > summer reading program

World Book Night at Cook

Posted on | April 8, 2014 | No Comments

Who’s helping give out half a million free books across America on April 23rd? We are!

The Cook Library is proud to be one of 2,300 bookstores and libraries supporting World Book Night 2014.

On April 23rd–which happens to be Shakespeare’s birthday–25,000 volunteers from all over America will give away half a million free books to light and non-readers in more than 6,000 towns and cities.

Cook is serving as a community base for givers, receiving the books that they will be giving out and providing useful resources. Have questions? Interested in being a giver next year? Want more information on the whole shebang? Check out the World Book Night website at www.us.worldbooknight.org, give us a call at 323-8510, send us an email at michaela@tamworthlibrary.org or stop by the library!

Category: News
Tags: free books > world book night

Death Cafe on Sunday, May 18th, 4-6 pm

Posted on | April 5, 2014 | No Comments

The next Death Cafe at Cook Memorial Library is 4 to 6 pm on Sunday, May 18th.

At a Death Cafe people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. The objective of Death Cafe is ‘to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives’.
The Death Cafe model was developed by Jon Underwood and Sue Barsky Reid, based on the ideas of Bernard Crettaz.
Death Cafes are discussions about death that are always offered on a not for profit basis, in an accessible, respectful and confidential space, with no intention of leading people to any conclusion, product or course of action, where the participants share cake and coffee or tea together.
Death Cafes are not bereavement support or grief counseling settings. Nor are they an opportunity to give people information about death and dying. Click here for more info.

NPR”s All Things Considered featured the Death Cafe movement early in 2013:

We live knowing that everything dies. Like the sun, it’s a fact of life. And like the sun, we tend not to look right at it. Unless you’ve experienced a recent death, it’s probably not something you discuss. But a new movement is trying to change that, with a serving of tea and cake.

The fear of death haunts us like nothing else. And it makes sense. All other fears — such as public speaking, centipedes and heights — pale in comparison. So we don’t really talk about it…
A death cafe isn’t a physical cafe — it’s more like a temporary event. Jon Underwood held his first death cafe a year and a half ago in his own basement. He set out tea and cake, and his mother, who happens to be a psychotherapist, helped facilitate. Since then, he’s worked to launch the idea as a worldwide movement.

Underwood says, “When people sit down to talk about death, the pretense kind of falls away, and people talk very openly and authentically. And they say things in front of strangers which are really profound and beautiful. For English people to do that, with our traditional stiff upper lip, is very rare.”

Geoffrey Burke will facilitate the Tamworth Death Cafe at Cook Memorial Library from 4 to 6 pm. Geoffrey, who was assistant director of Hospice of Northern Carroll County in 1993-1994, and has been a hospice volunteer for 20 years, has a lifelong interest in understanding the bigger questions in life. All are welcome to come. If you are moved to do so, please bring cookies or cake to share. If not, come anyway and share yourself.

Category: News
Tags: bereavement > death > death cafe > discussion about death

We are open on Mondays, 10 am to 2 pm!

Posted on | April 2, 2014 | No Comments

We hope you’ll form a parade and march to our door on Mondays, 10 am to 2 pm. We’ll be here waiting for you!

Category: News
Tags: Monday open hours > new hours > open hours

More than 4200 films at IndieFlix to Stream

Posted on | March 20, 2014 | 1 Comment

The Northern NH Library Cooperative, consisting of Jackson, Madison and Cook Memorial Library, has jointly purchased a subscription to IndieFlix for Libraries, a premier online streaming service provider of award-winning independent films, shorts and documentaries from around the world, distributed by Recorded Books LLC. Click HERE or on the IndieFlix icon on the home page of any of the three libraries’ websites to access IndieFlix now! You will be asked to use your library card number for a password. If you don’t know it, please contact us at 323-8510 or cooklib@tamworthlibrary.org.

Once logged in, you can have unlimited access to thousands of film-festival hits, including the best of Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca, and more. Find the right film for you — Sort by language, genre, or film length with easy-to-use filters. Available everywhere you go — watch movies on any Internet-enabled computer, smartphone, or tablet with a Web browser! Also available on Roku, xBox, and Apple TV via Apple devices.

About IndieFlix
IndieFlix streams thousands of award-winning films from festivals around the world. IndieFlix is dedicated to providing a forum where filmmakers and their audiences can interact, and to building a community that translates artistic vision into commercial success. Viewing films on IndieFlix directly supports the filmmakers who made them.

Category: News, Services
Tags: documentaries > films > independent films > IndieFlix > movies > streaming movies

Verandah Porche takes Tamworth by storm

Posted on | March 19, 2014 | No Comments

To warm us up for National Poetry Month in April, Arts Council of Tamworth (ACT) is delighted to bring poet, mentor and scribe Verandah Porche to Tamworth as our spring Art Connects Us artist-in-residence. Community members of all ages will have several opportunities to play with words with Verandah, to learn from her, and to hear her poetry.
You won’t be able to look at words in the same way once you’ve looked at them with Verandah. Verandah’s week will begin on Sunday, March 23, at 10:00 AM. She will lead a Poetry Service at the United Universalist Fellowship of the Eastern Slopes in Tamworth that will include poems, music, and the talk, “Finding the Verse in Conversation.” On Tuesday, March 25, at 7:00 PM at the Cook Library in Tamworth, Verandah will offer a Poetry Reading and Pantoum Workshop. This event is free and open to all.
On Wednesday, March 26 at 3:45 PM at the K. A. Brett School in Tamworth, Verandah will offer a professional development workshop for teachers, “Picturing Words: Teaching Descriptive Writing Through Poetry.” Verandah will be in residency at the Brett School from March 24-28. Homeschoolers who would like to participate can call 323-7271 for the schedule. The public is welcome to attend the Community Poetry Sharing at Brett at 2:00 PM on Friday, March 28.

Verandah says, “For forty years, based on a farm in Vermont, I’ve made a living stringing words together. I wanted my life to be a poem.” In addition to writing poetry that grows out of her own experience, Verandah is a muse for hire, creating original poetry that celebrates the moments and milestones in the lives of friends, neighbors, strangers and organizations. She has also developed a practice to create, preserve, and share personal literature with those who need a writing partner. She listens, probes, and records the told poetry or shared narrative of a diverse community. Verandah has created these collaborative writing projects in literacy and crisis centers, hospitals, factories, nursing homes, senior centers, a 200-year-old Vermont tavern, and an urban working-class neighborhood. Verandah also offers unique poetry workshops and residencies for students of all ages—elementary to Elderhostel—as she will do here. Her performances are lively and interactive, featuring Verandah’s work, poetic forms she’s invented or adapted, wordplay and whimsy. Visit verandahporche.com to read some of Verandah’s poems and to watch a wonderful video demonstrating her writing partnership work.

Category: News
Tags: pantoum > poetry > poets > UUFES > Verandah Porche

Draft Minutes of the April 2014 Board Meeting

Posted on | March 18, 2014 | No Comments

PDF of these Minutes

COOK MEMORIAL LIBRARY – BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING, 4/14/14
Present: Trustees Anne Chant, Carolyn Hemingway, Mary Beth Link, Michael Lowrey, Ann McGarity, George Plender, Sheryl Power; Library Director Jay Rancourt; Selectman Steve Gray

Also present towards meeting’s end: guests Larry Nickerson, advisor for buildings and grounds, and heating contractor Gary Gagnon

Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM.

Election of Officers:
Anne Chant submitted nominations for trustee positions as follows: Chairperson, Anne Chant; Vice Chair, Carolyn Hemingway; Treasurer, Michael Lowrey; Assistant Treasurer, George Plender; Recording Secretary, Mary Beth Link; Friends Liaison, Ann McGarity; Corresponding Secretary, Ann McGarity. In addition, the following committee appointments were submitted by Anne: Nominating Chair, Anne Chant, committee members, Sheryl Power, Carolyn Hemingway; Personnel Chair, Sheryl Power, committee members Carolyn Hemingway, Ann McGarity; Policy Chair, Carolyn Hemingway, committee members Ann McGarity, Mary Beth Link; Technology Chair, Michael Lowrey, committee member Mary Beth Link; Selectman Liaison, Steve Gray. Motion to accept trustee positions and committee membership appointments as submitted made by GP, seconded by ML. Passed by voice vote.

Approval of Draft Minutes:
CH made motion to accept draft minutes of March 10, 2014 as written, seconded by AM. Passed by voice vote.

Treasurer’s report:
1. March 2014 Financial Report
ML pointed out that the report fails to show reduction of town appropriation from $131,673 to $129,673, as put forth by trustees at March 12, 2014 town meeting. Motion to accept financial report with noted discrepancy made by SP, seconded by CH. Passed by voice vote.

2. March unanticipated funds:
$119.00 Unrestricted donations
$62.50 Copies
$68.00 Library sales
$25.00 Adult Program
$274.50 TOTAL
Motion to accept funds as posted made by ML, seconded by GP. Passed by voice vote.

Correspondence:
Anne Chant asked if everyone received the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association Newsletter. Jay passed around an invitation from the Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice, addressed to Trustees of Trust Funds, Cemetery Trustees, Library Trustees, and any other state and/or municipal official to attend their 29th Annual Seminar on Trust Fund Administration and Statutory Filing Requirements being given in either Shelburne or Concord on various dates in May and June, 2014. RSVP’s are required. Also distributed was an announcement for a New Hampshire Library Trustee Association Trustee Orientation Workshop to be given in Concord on April 29, 2014, 10 AM-1 PM at the NH Municipal Association Building, 25 Triangle Drive. There is no fee to attend, but advance registration is required by April 22.

Old Business: None.

Library Director’s Report:

1. The NNHLC (Northern New Hampshire Library Cooperative) had its first annual meeting on Monday, April 7th at noon at Madison Library. Ann McGarity and Jay attended. (JR distributed minutes of this meeting to trustees via email.)

2. NHLTA Spring Conference is scheduled for Monday, May 19th, 8 am to 4 pm at the
Grappone Conference Center in Concord. Anne, Ann and Jay will attend.

3. Outreach & Collaboration: several book deliveries made to Remick Acres; TCNA
continues to hold weight clinics at the library; Chinook display at library cosponsored
with THS; THS also cosponsored a well-attended program on ‘History of the American
Axe’ with Geoffrey Burke; ACT collaboration to bring Verandah Porche, a Vermont
poet, to present two poetry workshops at the library as part of her weeklong stay as
“Poet in Residence”

4. Amy and Jay attended an all day NELA (New England Library Association) workshop on “Kids and Technology” at Worcester State University. They were impressed with what the big libraries were doing with iPads, 3-D printers and other equipment small libraries can only dream about. It pleased JR to note that we already have an iPad loaded with many of the games they recommended in an hour and a half workshop devoted to the subject. Amy and Jay brought away some very useful resources.

5. Jay has been asked to serve on New Hampshire Library Association’s READS board. READS (Reference and Adult Services) produces two daylong workshops each year.

6. Jay sent 45 fundraising letters to non-residents, including 5 to Ctr Ossipee, 7 to
Sandwich, 3 to North Sandwich, 6 to the Conways, 13 to SilverLake/Madison, and the
rest to other NH towns or out-of-state. No response to date, though letters just recently went out. In accordance with discussion at the above referenced NNHLC meeting, library staff will be collecting 6 months’ worth of data on non-resident use of library collections. There is some concern that residents from towns with higher library fees may take advantage of lower fee libraries or no-fee libraries. Cook Memorial Library staff prefers the more welcoming no-fee position.

7. Grace Harte, our library page, is leaving to go to college at the end of the summer. For five years she has been working on Saturdays and during the summer, for not much more than minimum wage. The staff would like the trustees to match a $250 gift giving Grace a $500 bonus to help with college costs. AC moved for trustees to match the gift. SP seconded. Passed by voice vote. It was agreed that the matching gift come out of proceeds from last year’s 5K Race.

8. Our janitor would like a raise of $5 per hour, to $25—a $15 increase per week. Discussion centered on the going rate for janitorial services and the fact that a raise for this position has not been given in approximately six years. Motion to accept raise was made by CH, seconded by SP. Passed by voice vote.

9. First quarter stats: still dropping, third year in a row. Book circulation and attendance show a slight downward trend. JR attributes this to the availability of electronic resources. Case in point: the new streaming video resource, Indieflix, has had a great and immediate response from library patrons.

New business: None.

Committee Reports:

Personnel: None.

Policy: None.

Friends of CML: Anne McGarity reported on the Friends’ March 2014 meeting. Six new memberships were received in the first three months of this year, bringing total membership to 74. With $525 in new donations, total donations are now at $4,980. The Cabin Fever Book and Bake Sale was a success, and the Annex attendance and sales have increased. 2013 saw over twelve Baby Book Bags delivered to new mothers, with four more given so far this year. The Friends are in the process of reviewing their mission statement. Their annual meeting will be held on September 20, 2014 at 11:30 AM with a luncheon and speaker. The Perennial Plant Sale is scheduled for Saturday, May 31 and will include a raffle. The Friends have agreed to act as fiscal agent for grant receipt for the One Book One Valley program. The book will be Flight of the Sparrow.

Building & Grounds: George Plender mentioned the disappearance of a plywood bridge used to cover the melting sidewalk snow. Road Agent Roberts will see if his plow drivers can shed any light on its movement. An ice dam has ruined a few shingles above the library’s entryway. George will obtain a recommendation for a roofer to see to this relatively small job. During April 8 and 9, library staff noticed an exorbitant amount of heat coming from the furnace room and surrounding areas. George Plender was called, as well as Larry Nickerson, advisor for buildings and grounds. After inspection by the fire chief, the furnace was shut down for safety reasons. Heating contractor Gary Gagnon was brought in. All involved agreed that the furnace is too big for the building and that the ducting is inadequate to properly move air, which resulted in the failure of a metal safety clip. Gary Gagnon presented three possible fixes, though he doesn’t recommend the first two: 1) change the amount of duct work and enlarge, 2) try to remove all dampers and have furnace run as one zone, 3) replace oversize furnace with smaller furnace and incorporate dual staging ability for heat output—recommended as best solution. Gary also pointed out that the current furnace was “short cycling,” thereby consuming more fuel. Larry Nickerson strongly advised having the fire chief back to do a thorough inspection. There is some question about the size of wall grating and fire doors. If a new furnace is installed, Gary suggested monitoring airflow for a year, especially as concerns the wall grating for Archives and the Genealogy Room. If any wall grate reconstruction is required, it can be done at that time and at little expense–$100 or so. Gary presented a contract from Duchesne Heating Inc. for removal of old furnace and installation of a new Thermo Pride high efficiency two-stage LP furnace model number #CHX3-75, installing all safety switches and shutoffs to code and using as much current piping and duct work as possible. The cost to complete the work: $6,984.00.

Emergency funding was discussed, and though the library’s Capital Reserve Fund can cover both the furnace installation and subsequent wall grate reconstruction if needed, there were questions about regulations on expending monies without a town warrant and the necessity of additional bids. Selectman Gray will check with the authorities on these issues and communicate his findings as soon as possible to JR. Concern over funding for possible, future emergencies was raised, once the library’s Capital Reserve Fund is exhausted. Steve Gray stated that the town has a discretionary fund for safety hazard emergencies.

So as to capitalize on the seasonal availability of heating contractors and to minimize disruption to summer patrons, George Plender put forth the motion to move forward with Larry Nickerson’s heating contractor recommendation (Gary Gagnon, Duchesne Heating Inc.) to complete furnace installation and associated work for no more than $7,000, pending clearance from town to: 1) use the Capital Reserve Fund, and 2) not go out to bid. Motion seconded by AC. Passed by voice vote.

Technology: Jay bought a desktop computer for staff to replace one using XP Pro, which is no longer supported or upgraded. Jay made mention of a future need to replace the computer which houses the Cemetery Management Software.

Public Comment: None.

Note: The trustees very much appreciated Selectman Steve Gray’s participation and the visit from Larry Nickerson and Gary Gagnon.

Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 7:40 PM

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Beth Link, Recording Secretary

NEXT MEETING: Monday, May 12, 2014, 6:00 PM at Cook Memorial Library

Category: About
Tags: archive of minutes > board of trustees > current minutes > minutes > trustees' minutes

The library is closing at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12th, 2014

Posted on | March 12, 2014 | 3 Comments

Due to inclement weather, the library is closing at 2 p.m. on on Wednesday, March 12th, 2014.

If you possibly can, please stay off the roads, or this could be YOU.

Category: News
Tags: cancellation > closed > early closing > inclement weather > library closing > storm closing

Susan Lirakis: Artist of the Month for March & April

Posted on | March 5, 2014 | No Comments

We are proud to present the Artist of the Month for March & April of 2014, Susan Lirakis who is a prize-winning lifelong photographer living in Center Sandwich. As antidote for this cold snowy March we are trudging through, come feast your eyes on her stunning collection of photos called “Looking At Gardens”. They will help you remember that gardening season is coming soon.
Lirakis’s work has been published in multiple books and periodicals such as Tricycle: The Buddhist Review (NYC), The Sun (Chapel Hill, NC), For Kid’s Sake. Photographs of Today’s Youth (Photographic Resource Center & WBZ-TV). She has exhibited widely, from the Contemporary Arts Forum in Santa Barbara, CA to the Currier Museum in NH, from Haines Gallery in San Francisco to the Danforth Museum in MA, from the Society of Contemporary Photography in Kansas City to the Fremantle Arts Center in Australia. Awards and fellowships for further advancement of my work have been received through the NH State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the League of NH Craftsmen, the Clowes Foundation, and McLaughlin residency fellowship.
Susan writes:

“Like a dream or memory, an image can be difficult to grasp, and can influence thought, feeling, or action. My images are inquiries into life: growth and evolution, death and loss, family and solitude, and new possibility. I use my photographs, and the act of photographing, to transform, to regenerate, to create, and to remember. Gardens, of course, manifest great beauty, but they also exhibit impermanence—everything grows. For me, my work is an alchemical means of exploration and expression. In this work, I capture moments of the spirit of things growing and changing, the quietness or mystery of an area, and unrestrained beauty. I practice my discipline of looking, to engage awareness, appreciation, and expression of inner and outer worlds.”