2006 Warrant Articles

2006 Town Warrant Online and the Library's Warrant Article

With the 2006 town elections in March, you may want to review the many warrant articles up for consideration. In addition to being posted at the library they are available online on the town's website at
http://hamptonnh.gov/public/tm/Misc/2006_Warrant.pdf. You will need to have the Adobe pdf Reader on your computer in order to download this file.

Article 16 is being proposed by the library and reads: "Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $59,500 to make repairs to the Lane Memorial Library, including addressing the
problem of the handicapped ramp access in the winter? Such authorization shall include all design, architectural, engineering, demolition, removal, procurement, construction, landscaping, shipping, deilvery, and training costs, together with all appurtenances necessary or desirable to complete such projects. Majority Vote Required." Recommended by the Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee.

The problem with the library's handicapped ramp every winter stems from the fact that it is open to the elements and that the edge of the roof overhangs the ramp, causing problems with falling snow and dripping icicles. Sometimes the situation gets so bad that we have had to close the ramp due to thick
ice on the surface of the ramp or the danger from falling snow and ice. Hopefully this will be the last winter that we will have such problems.

Though the ramp is called a handicapped ramp, it is used by mothers with children in strollers, citizens with knee problems who find the steps difficult, asthmatics who find the gentle incline easier than steps, and a host of other people who would not call themselves handicapped, but who use the ramp. It is not just for those with crutches, wheelchairs and other mobility devices. Librarians carrying their typical library bags often use the ramp so they don’t have to free up a hand for the railing by the steps.

The Library Board of Trustees investigated three possible solutions to the problem of winter snow and ice build up. One solution could be to enclose the ramp. The estimates given were well over $100,000. Another solution could be to just extend the roof line over the ramp and build supports to hold the extended roof. Though estimated at around $100,000, the proposed roof was not compatible with the building. The last option investigated was to place heating coils in the ramp which would be activated only at certain temperatures to prevent the snow and ice from building up. This last proposal is the one the Board chose to pursue as being the only one that was under the Capital Improvement Committee’s recommendation of a $75,000 cap. The ramp would still need to be shoveled in snow storms, but the residual snow and the drips from the roof along with the occasional light snow flurry would melt and not become ice build up.

The newest and main part of the library building is more than 20 years old now and the oldest part is 96 years old. We are doing what we can to repair some of the wear and tear problems that have developed. The original building’s roof was replaced this year and the interior of the entire library was painted – the first new coat of paint in 20 years! Last year’s warrant article was to replace the entrance doors. It took three requests for proposals before we received any bids. We finally were able to sign a contract in December. Timing is everything in the construction world; we had to wait until their regular construction season slowed down. The glass has been ordered and we hope to have work on the replacement doors started by the time we are in Deliberative Session on February 4th.

Your Lucky Day!

Do you have Triskaidekaphobia? Can you say it three times fast? Triskaidekaphobia is a fear of the number thirteen. Friday the thirteenth is considered by many to be unlucky, but not at the Lane Memorial Library! This next Friday the thirteenth is your lucky day! In moving much of the library around during the painting process, we have unearthed many lucky finds and we will be displaying a FREE table on January 13th – all day – or as long as the freebies last! These items are things that have been donated or items that were incorrectly shipped and the vendors don’t want to pay to have them shipped back, or “premiums” shipped with orders. We have many rolls of adding machine paper that were the wrong size – great for little ones to make their own movies on. There are boxes of assorted size rubber bands – another wrong shipment. Bring your own ziplock bag and take home a handful or take the whole box – FREE! There are several notebooks, binders and journals accumulated from conferences – FREE! Who knows what other treasures we may unearth as we move everything back in place. Come visit on Friday the 13th and take home FREE treasures galore! It wouldn’t hurt our feelings if you actually checked out a few good books, movies, cds, puppets, etc. at the same time.

Following Cindy

For those of you who knew her, you may be interested in reading an article in today's Concord Monitor that tells of our former Children's Librarian Cindy Stosse's hiring as the new Library Director in Pembroke. Good luck in your new job, Cindy!

Library Director Catherine Redden receives 2005 Ann Geisel Award

At the Fall Conference of the New Hampshire Library Association (NHLA), Hampton's Catherine Redden was chosen to be the 2005 recipient of the "Ann Geisel Award for Distinguished Service to the New Hampshire Library Community." This award of merit is given annually by the Association to recognize librarians who have contributed to the Association or the New Hampshire library community.

Catherine was recognized for being an active participant in New Hampshire libraries for almost two decades. Over and above her duties at her own library, she has continually supported librarianship throughout the state and beyond by her willingness to serve on committees, her regular attendance at her area library co-op meetings, at conferences and workshops, and many years of service on the NHLA Board, as well as service on the New England Library Association Board. She has served two terms as President of the NHLA, the first in 1992 and the latest this past year when a leadership vacancy needed to be filled. Over the years Catherine has been more than willing to serve on committees that further the profession, most recently being a member of the Pay Equity Task Force. She has also nurtured the library profession by teaching classes, first in the Library Techniques program and more recently in the State Library’s Education Modules. Her support for the state association extends from her presence on its board to her consistent support of its fundraisers, most notably with her regular donation of a handmade quilt for the auction. Catherine’s long career in New Hampshire libraries has been dedicated, professional and nurturing. Truly a library leader, she is recognized throughout the New Hampshire library community as a library advocate, an educator and mentor, and an exceptional librarian

This award is named in the memory of Ann Geisel (1947-1999). Ann personified "Distinguished service to the New Hampshire library community". In addition to serving for many years as the Director of the Peterborough Town Library, she served the New Hampshire library community through her service as a member of the NH Library Association, Nubanusit Library Coop and the NH State Library Advisory Council including a term as its Chair. She was also active in regional and national library issues as a member of the Advisory Board of the Northeast Document Conservation Center, the American Library Association and the New England Library Association.

Catherine Redden is the fourth recipient of this award, first given to Bedford's Fran Wiggin in 2001, and subsequently in 2003 to Portsmouth's Sherm Pridham and 2004 to former NH State Librarian Shirley Adamovich.

Some Library Links to check out

We've published a few new library newsletters that you may want to check out, although much of what is published in them has already been published in this blog. To view the current newsletter from the Children's Room, you can click on the "Children" button on the big blue toolbar at the top of each page of our website (and at the top of this blog page) and follow the link on that page, or you can go directly there. The latest issue of "Lane Library Lines" is also now available.

If you haven't read the recent stories in the local newspapers about Cindy Stosse's leaving us, you might want to check out these links to the stories in The Atlantic News and The Hampton Union. Thank you to both papers for letting the library post their stories and articles on our website for news and archival purposes.

Story Times and Book Groups

Story hour signups begin Jan. 9th for the 15 mos. – 3 yr. old groups. They meet either Tues. or Wed. mornings at 9:30 am. beginning the 17th of this month. Signups for the 3 – 5 year olds will begin Jan. 17th with the sessions beginning Jan. 25th . The 3 yr. old program will be Wednesday mornings at 10:30 am; 4-5 yr. olds will be Thurs. at 10:30. We are starting these programs later than the toddler one due to the resignation of Cindy Stosse, the Children’s Librarian who did these groups. Please call the Children’s Room at 926-4729 for any questions.

For the older kids, the library currently has two ongoing book groups. Newcomers are welcome to both groups, and additional groups are possible, if there is interest and time available. Please talk to Cheryl in the children's room to learn more about the book groups (926-4729).

Students in 3rd and 4th grades (or reading at or above that level) meet to share books every other Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. The next meeting date is January 18th.

Students in 5th and 6th grades meet every other Monday at 3:00 p.m. The next meeting date for the group is January 9th.

As always, feel free to call or visit the children's room if you have any questions.

Student Research Tools While Home from College

Students, are you home from college and needing research materials? Let the Lane Memorial Library help you! The library subscribes to a database called EBSCOhost Academic Search™ Elite, which delivers a solid, diversified foundation of research-quality information in many areas of study, such as the social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences and ethnic studies. Elite, with 3,259 titles indexed and abstracted (of which 1,839 are available electronically), delivers a potent combination of bibliographic access and full-text retrieval. Of particular interest to academic students are the 1,265 peer-reviewed, full-text journals, comprising nearly 40 percent of the titles indexed. A useful image library is part of the Elite subscription package. The majority of full text titles are native (searchable) PDFs or scanned-in-color. Coverage dates from 1985, and the database is updated daily.

Create highly-targeted searches with tools unavailable from large Web search engines and find relevant results from scholarly journals and other reliable sources.

The 'Alert' feature is particularly helpful. Need articles from a specific journal? Looking for articles of six pages or more about a topic? Through the available My EBSCOhost feature, you can set up search and journal alerts according to your specifications. You will then be notified on a regular basis as to what new materials are available on ASP that match your particular research interests.

Easily share information with colleagues. Simply copy the persistent link provided for any given article and pass it along to others that you feel would benefit from reading the information. As long as they are authorized users of Academic Search Elite, they can simply click on the link to receive immediate access to the article.

Academic Search Elite is available for you. Ask a staff member to show you how to access this resource. Also available from home via our website! http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us Under Research Databases, click on “Magazine Articles.” Supply your library card number. Scroll toward the bottom of the screen and check off Academic Search Elite, and you’re on your way to solid academic research.

The Lane Memorial Library is happy to provide this and other databases to improve your library experience.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Come visit us and see the newly painted walls, refinished stair railings and newly varnished oak chairs and tables. The library was given a sprucing up over the holidays in preparation for the next big media move. The large print collection will be moved into the Dearborn Room with its windows and great lighting. The teen collection will move to the end of the former large print collection. Once that happens, we’ll start moving the fiction into the former teen area and working backwards from Z to A, finally make space at the beginning of the collection. The books on cassette collection will come off the spinners and onto the remaining shelves in the former large print area and the newly emptied beginning of the fiction section. The spinners will go away and the ends of the bookshelves will display featured books from that section. Bet some of you have never seen the ends of the stacks without the clutter of the spinners! Once you’ve toured and admired the new paint, pause for a moment that refreshes and check out a book, a movie, a music CD - or two or three! Happy reading, viewing, listening in 2006!