I S S U E N O . 2 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 V O L N O . 1 THE SNOW GLOBE

N E W S F R O M S N O W L I B R A R Y

Crazy for ‘Cape Cod’ The author Ursula Le Guin writes, “The shelves of every library in the world brim with time machines. Step into one, and off you go.” So off we went—to the beaches, villages and harbors of the 1850s, with Henry David Thoreau as our guide, when we stepped into Thoreau's "Cape Cod” in July. We've encoun- tered windswept dunes, treeless "table-lands,” a wrecker with a face "like an old sail endowed with life," and a Truro Singer-songwriter Hiroya Tsukamoto plays to a mellow crowd on the village green July 18. lighthouse keeper. But we didn’t Richard Smith as Thoreau think we'd actually Snow and summer get a chance to meet Mr. Thoreau himself. Richard Smith, a historian from the are a perfect Thoreau Society, was so convincing as “Henry” in his Aug. 9 performance here that we half expected to see him spirited combination away by stagecoach at evening's end. We had books; we had music; we had ice Other highlights of our Thoreau-themed cream; we had art. We had as much fun as we One Book, One Town program included a could fit between the four walls of a library, 200th birthday bash for Thoreau, where with a little outdoor entertainment thrown in to top the summer off. free copies of “Cape Cod” were snapped Verdant lawn, shady trees, spectators up like hot cakes from the hearth of a spreading picnics on sun-dappled blankets ... tobacco juice-spewing Wellfleet Sunday on the Grande Jatte? Not quite; just the Oysterman. Children with frosting-stained pleasing tableau of a Tuesday on the Village fingers foraged on the village green for Green. A series of evening concerts drew a feathers, stones and other souvenirs from relaxed crowd, week after week, to enjoy jazz, nature (in a nod to the passage where folk, blues, country and rock music in the park- Thoreau finds a French crown piece on the like setting in front of the library. Blue cupcakes beckon at our Thoreau bash. backshore, we gave them fake gold coins Indoors, the walls of our Craine Gallery who fuses beach glass, bottlecaps, pottery for their efforts). Two weeks later we shimmered with the garden-inspired collage of shards and other found objects to create played host to an afternoon book Paula Brody and the mosaics of Donna Mahan, one-of-a-kind, locally sourced works. discussion, where we served tea and cake (cont'd on p. 4) (cont'd on p. 4) 2 S N O W G L O B E S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7

Around the stacks Did you know we have a people counter? A little black box fixed to the door frame at the front entrance keeps track of every visitor to the library, and this summer the daily census swung between 400 and 800. What that means—aside from that we were very busy—we can’t tell you exactly, though we’d like to say something scientific. We’d like to invent an algorithm that factors together the percentage of cloud-cover, type of programs we’re offering, flavor of cupcakes we're serving (if refreshments are included) and proximity to Labor Day to tell us why it was buzzing on one August afternoon but not the next. Or help us predict the busiest days. Whatever the draw—concert or cupcake, new book or rainy day doldrums—if you were one of the 400-800 through the door this summer, we’re glad you found us. As for the Vicissitudes of Library Patronage, we’ll add it to our list of mysteries to solve (along with The Strange Case of the Self-Locking Restroom Door and The Suspicious Potato Chip Incident). Clouds bring crowds to Snow Library. Above, the children's room bustles on an overcast Friday in July. Kelly craft and send out a Request for now working much faster. We were A few more numbers you might find Qualifications seeking consultants to informed by Alex, a technician from Cape interesting: our end-of-fiscal-year conduct a needs assessment for the analysis revealed that between July 2016 Connections, that prior to the upgrade our library. It’s part of an effort to develop a and June 2017, we circulated network was slogging away on a mere library building program that will 165,687 titles, including books, e-books, three megabits; now we’re zipping along “address current and future needs for the videos, magazines, etc. We provided on 275. We also received a new “air” next 20-plus years,” the RFQ states. The 562 programs for children and adults, consultant(s) will spend several months printer that can print from iPhones, iPads which were attended by a total of meeting with library staff and trustees, and other wireless devices. Please join us 14,390 people. Our meeting rooms were examining the building, researching the in thanking the Friends of Snow Library used 783 times by various civic and community and analyzing the patterns of for providing the funding that made these community groups. We manage a use at the library. We've had more than a improvements possible. collection of 65,163 physical items, dozen responses so far; we expect to plus 61,345 digital. And if you have a award a contract in October, and the Snow Library card, you, reader, are one Up on the roof needs assessment itself will be due on of our 9,258 registered borrowers. Our heating and cooling system will Dec. 22. undergo repairs in late September, Minding our P’s and RFQ’s More megabits, please forcing the library to close for one day Our library director, Tavi Prugno, and Our wireless and Internet service was (date TBA). Because the HVAC units are facilities manager, Ron Collins, last upgraded on July 19, and we’re pleased located on our rooftop, the job will month helped Town Administrator John to report that our public computers are require a crane and a roped-off parking (cont'd on page 3) S N O W G L O B E S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 3

FALL HIGHLIGHTS

All events in the Craine Room unless otherwise noted Tue. Aug. 29, 5:30 pm Gallery Talk by Paula Brody, multi-media artist

Sat. Sept 2, 1 pm The Trifecta Fall semester of Lifetime Learning begins Approach to Better Health, a talk by Get better acquainted with the comedy of the Bard in a study of “A Midsummer whole-foods expert Jeanne Schumacher Night’s Dream.” Listen with new understanding to the music of Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland and other 20th-century composers. Read poetry by Emily Dickinson, Thurs. Sept. 14, 3 pm Take-Home or gallery-hop through art studios from Provincetown to Orleans. The Friends of Telescope Orientation with Peter Kurtz Snow Library’s Lifetime Learning program offers these experiences and more in its of the Cape Cod Astronomical Society. fall session, beginning Sept. 18. Courses cover topics from Cold War history to Irish films, the life of Thomas Merton to the nature of Cape Cod. For the full curriculum, Fri., Sept. 15, 2 pm "Tick Days," a visit www.friendsofsnowlibrary.org. Registration opens on Tuesday, Sept. 5; forms documentary about Cape entomologist will be available at the circulation desk. Larry Dapsis's efforts to prevent tick- borne illnesses. Join the club Even Snow Library has a subculture—of writers, readers, foreign language lovers Sat., Sept. 16, 10 am-3 pm Celebrate and various hobbyists whose clubs convene here. New members are always welcome. Our Waters festival, talks & exhibits Our First Tuesday Book Club meets the first Tuesday of every month at 2 p.m. in presented by the Orleans Pond Coalition the Cape Cod Room. Members read non-fiction one month, fiction the next. September's pick is “The Knowledge Deficit” by E.D. Hirsch Jr., followed by the Fri., Sept. 22, 10 am-3 pm Nature novella “Train Dreams” by Denis Johnson for October. Journal Workshop, decorate blank Can't make it to a Tuesday book group? The Nauset Pens, Great Books and Nauset books, read from Thoreau & spend time Newcomers' book clubs meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. For more info on outdoors drawing, writing & sketching these check our website calendar or inquire at the front desk. Practice your conversation skills with the French Society at 2 p.m. Tuesdays in the Wed., Sept. 27, 6 pm "In the Footsteps Quiet Study Room. If it’s Italian you’re interested in, the Italian language group meets of Thoreau," a talk by author Adam Mondays at 3:30 p.m. Knitters can find their niche in the weekly group that gathers around a long table on Gamble the lower level at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays. New to the library this fall is a weaving circle, which plans to start meeting on Sept. 12 at 5 p.m. in the craft area. Fri., Oct. 7, 1 pm Pacifying Vata, an Last but not least, polish your lines with Cape poet Peter Saunders and his poetry Ayurvedic medicine talk, with Chris group. They return to the library Mondays at 3 p.m. starting Sept. 11. Dynega & Xiomy Avila of Chatham's "Life in Harmony" wellness practice

New museum passes & databases Thurs. Oct. 12, 10 am, Audubon-led Yo ho ho! We have two new passes to the Whydah Pirate Museum, an interactive hike at Fort Hill, retracing Thoreau's science museum with real and other artifacts from the Whydah route. Call Snow Library to register. shipwreck. Each pass admits up to four people each, at $12 per person (discounted from $19). We also offer free or discounted passes to the Boston Museum of Fine STACKS, cont'd from p. 2 Arts, Museum of Science, New England Aquarium, Isabella Stewart Gardner lot. The good news is that the interior of the Museum, Plimoth Plantation, Heritage Museums and Gardens and more. building will receive a much-needed One more thing you can do with your CLAMS card: explore our two new digital temperature adjustment, especially to the databases. “America’s News,” the largest collection of full-text U.S. newspapers, will slightly stuffy lower level, home to our launch this fall, along with a trove of digital magazines from Recorded Books. fiction section and Saturday book sales. 4 S N O W G L O B E S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7

Kids' Stuff! Story hour is back Story Hour with Miss Ann returns on Sept. 14 and continues every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Each week has a different theme—if it’s spring we might read about flowers or butterflies; if it’s fall we might read Halloween stories. After the books and a song we’ll get out the scissors, paper, paint and glue and make a craft related to our theme. For ages 0-5.

... and so is Baby's First Year An opportunity for new moms and dads to meet, share stories, ask questions and get familiar with resources on nutrition, parenting, breast-feeding and other topics. Baby's First Year happens every Monday, starting Sept. 11, from 10:30 a.m. Ready to launch: pom-poms made good ammo for the to noon in our children’s room. Sponsored by the Cape Cod Children’s Place. popsicle-stick catapults the kids made on July 27.

SUMMER, cont'd from p. 1 Fairy Party Technicolor paintings by Florence Adams Get out your wings—you're invited to a Fairy Party! Come for fairy stories, fairy brightened the library in June. crafts and fairy snacks at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30. RSVP by calling Ann at (508) We welcomed a horde of young readers to 240-3760, ext. 13. our Summer Reading Kickoff in early July. Five-dozen children signed their reading “contracts” with youth librarian Ann Foster, Halloween Puppet Show then fell in line for hot fudge sundaes before Songs, silliness, puppetry and storytelling combine in an interactive show we sent them off with their logbooks and sure to delight the little ones when the Toe Jam Puppet Band performs at stickers. Participants came back every week the library at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Bring the kids in their or so to pick up a prize for progress and to costumes, if you’d like; the Halloween Stroll on Main Street begins at 2:30 p.m., replenish their book supply (if you haven’t right after the show. claimed a reward yet, there’s still good plunder in the prize box.) The sillier side of Snow showed through at Manning’s “Minecraft Madness” CAPE COD, cont'd from p. 1 Sept. 22, we’ll read from Thoreau's on July 20; we liked the part where Jim to go with the conversation and perk the journals, decorate blank books, then take popped himself out of a man-sized yellow group up for our Cape Cod-themed trivia them outside to write and sketch. On Sept. balloon. Pom-poms and mini-marshmallows game. Right answers garnered players gift 27 at 6 p.m., Adam Gamble, author of “In went airborne on July 27 when Ann made cards to the Chocolate Sparrow, Ice Cream the Footsteps of Thoreau,” will give a talk popsicle-stick catapults with the children. Café, Sunbird, Local Scoop, Zia Pizzeria, in the Craine Gallery. And on Thursday, The fun continued with pirate "Science Nauset Farms and other local businesses. A Oct. 12, at 10 a.m., a naturalist from Tellers," PJ storytime and more. But the big thank-you to all the merchants who Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife sleeper hit of the summer was the Food contributed. Sanctuary will lead a gentle hike around Forest Initiative’s “Being the Trees” More is coming, because we just can’t Eastham’s Fort Hill and Red Maple program. It featured original songs by Rand get enough of Thoreau (and apparently Burkert, crafts and a performance by Kitty Swamp, retracing part of Thoreau’s journey Hendricks, Mashpee Wampanoag. For the neither can you; Cape libraries can't keep across the Outer Cape. finale, she led the room in a dance through Laura Walls' new biography of him on the See the schedule on page 3 for more fall an imagined forest. shelves.) At a Nature Journal workshop on events.

Snow Library, 67 Main St., Orleans, MA 02653 (508) 240-3760 www.town.orleans.ma.us/snow-library