Norton Public Library in MA loses certification The Norton Public Library in Massachusetts has lost its state certification due to a 33% cut in their operating budget. They appealed to the State Board of Library Commissioners for a waiver, but were denied since the town had cut library funding disproportionately compared to the other township departments. Now they're screwed. I hate to sound pessimistic, but is this what we are in for in NJ if the sixth of a mil bill goes thru the legislature?

http://www.wickedlocal.com/norton/news/x1802687360/Norton-library-decertification-becomes-reality  ¶ posted by Mary Martin @ 9:14 AM  1 comments links to this post

  Larry. The LOUD librarian.

Okay, given the grimness of the situation in NJ (and the whole country) and the precariousness of library funding, it was really nice to come across something that made me laugh out loud. Perhaps we need Larry the Librarian to take care of some of the issues we're struggling with. He is certainly forthright and direct! :)

  ¶ posted by Mary Martin @ 10:26 AM  0 comments links to this post

  Paws for Reading at the library tonight Who could NOT want to run a program like this in their library? It's times like these (when I get to have dogs visit the library) that I love my job. This is Willy, a golden retriever trained as a therapy dog through St. Hubert's Paws for People program. We pay St. Huberts a very reasonable yearly fee, and they provide us with three therapy dogs once a month. The kids love it (as do I)  ¶ posted by Mary Martin @ 8:57 PM  0 comments links to this post

  Chinese New Year @ Long Hill Library There is a Chinese woman who lives in the next town over who is a great resource for our library. For the past two years she has done a Chinese New Year program and a Moon Festival program for the kids at our library - absolutely free. This year she brought a lion head and the kids enjoyed watching a video of a lion dance and then making up their own version. This is one of those great juxtapositions of culture and the library. Plus, since this is something the woman feels strongly about, she does it for us for free! You just can't beat that. We really appreciate her willingness to do this, and we make sure to shower her with praise and adulation. :)  ¶ posted by Mary Martin @ 3:30 PM  0 comments links to this post