Join us for a special Pre-K storytime with local yoga instructor Cathy Arnault. Through stories and rhymes, Cathy will lead children through a simple yoga flow.
Parts of the featured image used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic (Author: FiberArtGirl on Flickr, 10 July 2012).
Stop by the library on Wednesday, October 30th at 3:00 PM for a frightening film and a creepy craft! That’s the trick; popcorn and more is the treat! See papier-mache masks designed by the kids of Crafternoon. Wear your costume if you so desire!
Then, on the day of Halloween, join us again at 3:00 PM to view LEGO Haunted Houses constructed by the children of the LEGO Club. View also a topical and spooky movie. Treats once again provided, and costumes certainly welcome!
These parties are particularly geared toward children in the K-5 grade range, but we welcome also their families and friends!
Beginning at 10:00 AM on Friday, October 25th, 2019, the Friends of the Blaisdell Memorial Library will begin accepting donations of gently used books for their annual book sale in support of the Blaisdell Memorial Library.
Donations (up to two (2) boxes) must be brought to the circulation desk during operating hours, where they will be screened by a member of Library staff.
We will gratefully accept: gently used books (adult, young adult, and juvenile fiction and nonfiction), as well as audio/visual materials in CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray disc formats. Individuals or families may bring up to two boxes of books to be screened at a time.
We cannot accept materials that are moldy or mildewed, marked up, or shopworn.
We cannot accept text books, reference books (encylopedia sets, dictionaries, etc.), magazines, periodicals, or audio/visual materials in cassette formats.
We cannot accept more than two boxes per individual or family at one time.
To assist patrons in disposing of books and other materials not suitable for the Friends’ book sale, information regarding alternative outlets for recycling and disposal will be available at the circulation desk. Thank you for your understanding!
Our book sale will begin on Friday, November 1st, and run through Sunday, November 10th. All sales will benefit the Blaisdell Memorial Library.
Thursday, 10 October 2019
6:00 PM
Join us for a reading and Q&A with Terry Nelson, author of Hidden History of the New Hampshire Seacoast (The History Press, 2019).
From the back of the book: “The New Hampshire Seacoast has a wealth of overlooked history. Some remnants are hidden in plain sight, and others are just plain hidden. Meet the minister and early religious founder who was involved in an armed confrontation in Dover with another preacher in 1640. Find out how a onetime high school assistant principal in Rochester became a world-famous business leader and ended up meeting President Grover Cleveland. Discover the story of “ghost” racetracks in Somersworth before they disappear, as well as the “pile of rocks” that stopped a multimillion-dollar building project in Windham. Author Terry Nelson reveals some of New England’s most fascinating history, from Durham and Madbury to North Hampton and Portsmouth.”
Wednesday, 2 October 2019
6:30 PM
Peggy Tucker will share Yankee stories told in verse, reading from the works of Holman F. Day and, thanks to the archives of the Nottingham Historical Society, the circa-1900 poem “A Tale of Nottingham” by Mrs. Edward Sanborn Stevens. Accompanying Sanborn’s poem (which details the singular handling of a Tory guest by Agibgail Butler of the Butler Tavern, just prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War), Peggy will share some images of Nottingham gleaned from the Society’s archives.
Peggy Tucker grew up in Auburn, Maine, seventh of the ten children of Phyllis and Bill Schoppe. Both were active members of the Community Theatre Group in Auburn, and Bill employed all his skills as a thespian to vivify the stories he read to his children each night, be it Golden Book The Pokey Little Puppy, Kipling’s Just So Stories, or even the chilling tales and verses of Edgar Allan Poe. At family gatherings, it became a tradition for Bill to recite from the work of Holman F. Day, and it is in honor of her father that Peggy will read from works like Up in Maine, Kin O’ Ktaadn, and Pine Tree Ballads. Though Day’s stories depict Maine Folk of the nineteenth century, Peggy has always felt that they could quite as easily reflect the lives and ways of people right here in New Hampshire.
Come to the library to build a fairy house and hear fairy stories! Wednesday, September 11th at 3:00 PM for Grades K-5, and Thursday, September 12th at 10:30 AM for Pre-K kids.
Click here to sign up for story times, Crafternoon, and LEGO Club! Our first six-week session begins the week of September 16th.
Sgraffito “Universe Dishes” decorated during our Summer Reading program have been fired and returned to the Library, and are now ready to be retrieved by our young artists! Just stop by the circulation desk, and ask to pick up your dish.
MINUTES OF BLAISDELL MEMORIAL LIBRARY TRUSTEE MEETING
November 16, 2010
Present: Rhoda Capron, Laurie Legard, Sara Wotton, Kathleen Matthews
Meeting was called to order at 7:42 p.m.
Policy Updating: Final adjustments were made to the proposed 2011 budget. It was decided to offer all employees a slight raise. The Furniture line was increased to accommodate the need for additional bookshelves. Rhoda received a much-higher than expected quote from the state prison workshop regarding the construction of the shelves so she will inquire about this before the next meeting. The budget meeting with town selectmen is scheduled for November 22nd at 7:00 p.m. No date has been set to meet with the budget committee.
Secretary’s Report: The minutes from October’s meeting were reviewed. Rhoda moved to accept the report. Sara seconded. All voted in favor.
Treasurer’s Report: The October budget was reviewed in detail as part of the 2011 budget process. Everything continues to be on track for this point in the year. As noted in last month’s report, the Maintenance line is high due to the unexpected cost of repairing the well line that was cut during the late summer excavation project. Rhoda is purchasing a combined printer/scanner/color copier. Pat and the school’s technology director are in discussion about the best ways to work with both the back-up system and the difference in our fiscal time frames. Laurie made a motion to file the report. Rhoda seconded it.
All voted in favor.
Library Director’s Report:The circulation statistics for October showed the usual dip in numbers for this time of the year but remained well above previous years. Issues pertaining to the over-due books of a few patrons were discussed. In accordance with the library’s over-dues policy, Chief Gunnar Foss will be asked to contact these individuals. Rhoda shared a document she’d received entitled “NH Best Practices for Volunteers,” and noted that our new volunteer policy aligns quite well with the state’s guidelines and recommendations. The Vachons’ slide-show of their cross-country trip was well-attended and very wellreceived.
The energy conservation program “Button-Up NH” will take place on November 17th. Rhoda is working with the recreation department to coordinate use of the van for museum trips and other events, and is meeting with the Deerfield and Northwood librarians to discuss possibilities for future programs.
The Friends of the Library annual book sale did very well. A record number of books were donated this year.
Old Business: Rhoda placed surveyors’ tape at the library’s boundaries in preparation for the trail being made by the Boy Scouts. The scouts completed half of the trail already and will soon return to finish it. Rhoda will select a book to be used for the storyboards along the trail. Instead of weather-stripping, a sweep will be put on the bottom of the downstairs door. Regrading the storage of library records in the town’s secure facility, it was decided to request just a few drawers for financial records as well as the video records of the library’s contents.
New Business: The Monthly Tasks for November were reviewed. All tasks have been completed for this month. The annual baby-sitting class was removed from the tasks list as it is no longer needed. Laurie moved to accept all donations to the library. Pat seconded. All voted in favor.
Next meeting will be held Tuesday, December 14th at 6:30 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Matthews
MINUTES OF BLAISDELL MEMORIAL LIBRARY TRUSTEES MEETING
December 16, 2013
Present: Rhoda Capron, Susan Medeiros, Sara Wotton, Kathleen Matthews
Meeting was called to order at 6:21 p.m.
Policy Update/Current Task: All policy reviews were placed on hold until the budget process is complete.
Secretary’s Report: The minutes of the November meeting were read. Rhoda moved to accept the report. Sara seconded the motion. All voted in favor.
Treasurer’s Report: The November budget figures were discussed as was the corrected October report. Both reports were deemed to be suitable for this point in the year. Rhoda moved to file the reports.
Kathleen seconded. All voted in favor.
Library Director’s Report: The November circulation figures were down slightly from last year with the exception of Downloadables where the numbers continue to rise as more and more patrons take advantage of this service. Rhoda reported that as the result of the Town receiving an energy conservation grant from Public Service of NH, all of the library’s light bulbs and ballasts have been replaced with more energy-efficient equipment. PSNH also installed a motion detector downstairs so that the lights will turn on only when someone is actually using the Children’s Room or the meeting area. Both the annual Christmas parade float and the Gingerbread House program were rousing successes.The new afternoon book group continues to grow and increase in popularity. This season’s holiday hours were agreed upon: the library will close at 1:00 on December 24th and remain closed on December 25th and 26th. It will also be closed on New Year’s Day. The perennial problem with the parking lot not being properly plowed during and after snowstorms was discussed at length. Rhoda reported that after this season’s first major snowstorm the Town only plowed the parking area once, which created safety hazards for staff and patrons entering and exiting the highway. Since the Town requires the Library to maintain regular open hours during storms (if staff is to be paid), it stands to reason that its parking lot would be kept as cleared as the lots at the Fire Department and other town buildings. However, this is not the case. Rhoda tried to obtain the cell phone number of the plow driver, as she was directed to do last year by the Town Office,but the Road Agent declined to provide it. Given that our many attempts to resolve this persistent problem have been unsuccessful, it was decided ask for a meeting with the Board of Selectmen to obtain permission to hire our own snow-clearing contractor. Rhoda will make the appointment.
Committee Report:
Kathleen presented the new conceptual design for the front of the building. In addition to creating a new garden that mirrors the existing plantings on the other side of the walkway, the design will address issues in the areas surrounding the monument and along the woods edge where invasive plants will need to be replaced. The design will be displayed in the library so patrons can see how past, present, and future landscape funds are being used.
Old Business: Rhoda and Kathleen gave a brief account of their November meeting with the Budget Committee as well as the COLA changes that the Board of Selectmen made after the library’s proposed budget for 2014 had been presented. Kathleen moved to accept the revised guideline of 2% vs. 3% for staff salary increases. Susan seconded. All voted in favor.
New Business: The annual Staff Holiday Party will take place at Susan’s house at 4:30 on Sunday,January 12th. Further discussion of hiring guidelines for Children’s Librarian and the trustees annual goals were tabled. December’s Monthly Tasks were reviewed. Susan will send the disbursement letter to the Town (to obtain half of the 2013 budget in January), write the quarterly update to the Board of Selectmen, and, write the annual report about CD activity to the Attorney General’s office. Rhoda will obtain the quarterly ledger from the Town to track salary expenditures. Susan moved to accept all donations. Sara seconded the motion. All voted in favor.
Next Meeting:
Monday, January 27th at 6:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Matthews
Blaisdell Memorial Library 