New to Borrow at Perrot: Blu-ray Discs!

Blu-Ray discs are now available to borrow at Perrot! [You must have a Blu-Ray player to view these films]

Our initial selection includes:

• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Planet of the Apes
• Superman: The Movie
• Swing Vote
• The Ten Commandments
• The X-Files: I Want to Believe
• Young Frankenstein

Watch for more-- coming soon!

Renovated Byram Library Now Open

The renovated Byram Shubert Branch Library officially opened for business this past Saturday, March 28th.

The expansion and renovation project nearly doubled the available space with a bi-level addition adjoining the old one-floor structure. Together, the two structures now house distinct areas for children, young adults and adults. The community room, with seating for 100, will be used for programs including author lectures, art exhibits, films and concerts. The existing interiors have been renovated and appointed with entirely new furnishings. The new branch library offers 22 public computer terminals, up from 6 in the old facility.

The branch library collection features materials for children and adults and expanded offerings for young adults. The young adult collection highlights the latest and most popular materials including graphic novels and critically acclaimed books. A new periodicals section will include more magazines and newspapers.

The hours of the Byram Shubert Library are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Tuesday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and Thursday 12:00 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Part-time Job Opening in Youth Services Department

Job Opening for Part-Time Circulation Desk Aide in Youth Services Department

Perrot Library is seeking a part-time employee for our busy Youth Services desk. Duties include: answering the phone, checking books in and out using the library’s automated circulation system, some collection development, and reference service (helping parents and children find library materials). Some experience with computers desirable. Friendly service orientation and a love of children and books are essential. Flexible schedule, up to fifteen hours per week including some evenings and weekends. $13.39 per hour. Application period closes on 4/9/09. To apply, fill out the Town of Greenwich application, which is available online. Mail your completed application to: Town of Greenwich, Human Resources Department, Greenwich Town Hall, 101 Field Point Rd, Greenwich, CT 06830. EOE M/F/D/V

Audiobook Recommendation: The Mighty Queens of Freeville

Audiobook Recommendation:
The Mighty Queens of Freeville: a Mother, a Daughter, and the Town That Raised Them
written and read by Amy Dickinson

Amy Dickinson, the author of the syndicated Ask Amy advice column, recounts stories of her hometown, her marriage and divorce, and her daughter Emily, who she raised as a single parent. Dickinson weaves yarns about everything from bear hunting to diner breakfasts, great-aunts to cats and cows. Touching and funny, I found myself having "driveway moments" as I continued to listen to the story in my car even after arriving at home. Don't miss it!

[For a sweet coda to the story, make sure you do a search for "Amy Dickinson" at the New York Times when you're finished. There's also a video of Dickinson's small hometown of Freeville, New York at the book's website, http://www.themightyqueensoffreeville.com/]

-Vicky

Remembrance of Mrs. Mac

"Remembering a Most Unique and Wonderful Character," by Fleur Feighan Jones, at the Greenwich Time

Greenwich Time Article

"Greenwich Remembers Librarians Killed in Crash"
at the Greenwich Time

Memorial Service Tomorrow

Don't forget: The memorial service for Kate McClelland and Kathy Krasniewicz will take place tomorrow, Friday, March 20th, 2009, at 3:30 P.M. at the First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich [directions]. A reception will be held at Perrot immediately following the service. All are invited to attend.

• Greenwich Time article: Memorial Planned for Perrot Librarians

Too Close to the Sun, and More Great Reads

TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN: GROWING UP IN THE SHADOW OF MY GRANDPARENTS, FRANKLIN AND ELEANOR, BY CURTIS ROOSEVELT

[Non-Fiction] What can it possibly be like to be the grandson of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt? Curtis, know to the press as Buzzie, moved into the White House with his sister, "Sistie," when he was three years old. It must have been amazing to be so cocooned and protected from the real world. This is a loving look at that lifetime, and an affectionate narrative of two giants, larger than life, who were his grandparents. With two little girls living in the White House today, this glimpse into what it is all about is especially timely.

Take a look at the new Great Reads from the Reference Librarians list for March 2009.

Youth Services "Our Picks!" for March

The weather's getting warmer, the days are longer (thanks to an earlier Daylight Saving Time), and it just makes you want to get outside! This month we've selected some of our favorite books about games and sports.

New Graphic Novel Picks in Youth Services

Ed's Terrestrials [click here to place a hold]
When three friendly aliens named Marcello, Gus, and Al escape from the Intergalactic Food Court to starta new life on Earth, they accidentally crash land into Ed's tree house. Ed and the aliens soon become fast friends and start to help other aliens come to Earth in hopes of a new life. But something not so friendly has followed them from outer space!

The War at Ellsmere [place hold] *****Staff Pick*****
Juniper is the newest student at the prestigious Ellsmere Academy. She befriends quirky Cassie, who tells her the story of Ellsmere's eccentric founders and the legend of the creature that roams the woods on the school's grounds? Between queen bees and mythical beasts, Juniper has quite the year ahead of her!

Have a graphic novel series you'd like to see at Perrot? Comment on this post or email webmaster@perrotlibrary.org!

Trevor, The Games Man, at Perrot

Wednesday afternoon saw Perrot friends and family of all ages gather in our beautiful Radcliffe Green to laugh, jump, and play along with professional stilt walker and cooperative play specialist, TREVOR! See all the fun we had!

P.S. This event was made possible by the generous donations of the members of the Perrot Memorial Library Association. Are you a member? THANK YOU!

Annual Lions Club Pancake Fry

This year's Old Greenwich Lions Club Pancake Fry will take place on Saturday, March 14th, 2009, from 8 A.M. to 1 P.M at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center (located at the corner of Forest Avenue and Harding Road).

Enjoy a hearty meal of pancakes, syrup, sausages, coffee, tea, orange juice and milk. Tickets are only $6 per adult and $5 per child (ages 6-11). Kids ages 5 and younger get in free.

Get your advance tickets today at Perrot's Adult Circulation Desk! Tickets will cost $1 extra at the door the day of the event.

Questions? Please call 203-637-3888.

Perrot Newsletter

The Winter/Spring 2009 edition of Perrot's newsletter, Précis, is now available.

Watch for your copy in the mail, or read it online (in PDF format).

Book/Movie Recommendation: He's Just Not That Into You

He’s Just Not that Into You, based on a book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, is a great new movie. Lots of fun scenarios about explaining away why a guy doesn’t call back after a seemingly good date. It stars familiar faces: Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck, Justin Long and many others. Remember, you can’t call him every 15 minutes just to see if you’ve missed his call. . .

A new edition of the book coincides with the release of the movie and is found in non-fiction at 306.7 BEHRE.

-Linda

Book Recommendation: The Yankee Years

With pitchers and catchers in Florida, and A-Rod already in the headlines, here’s the first baseball book of the season that many want to read:

The Yankee Years, by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci
For many, Joe Torre symbolized the Yankees, and he has many insider tales to tell. This book is written with Tom Verducci, who writes for Sports Illustrated. The book gives a real behind-the-scenes look as only insiders can reveal. Torre is among the most respected and successful managers in baseball. See what all the controversy is about!

--Linda

DVD Diva: Favorite Oscar Winners

A slightly belated list of the DVD Diva's favorite Oscar winners:

• A Beautiful Mind (2001): Stars Russell Crowe as John Nash, a mathematical genius, who made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. After many years of struggle, he eventually triumphed over his schizophrenia, and finally, late in life, received the Nobel Prize.
• Forrest Gump (1994): Follows the life of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) and his meetings with the love of his life, Jenny. The film chronicles his accidental experiences with some of the most important people and events in America The problem is, simple Forrest doesn't realize the significance of his actions.
• Amadeus (1984): The life and music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce) are viewed through the memories of an envious rival, Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). Mozart's music is featured throughout the film.
• Ordinary People (1980): The "ordinary" existence of an upper middle class family is shattered following the death of the older son and the struggle of the younger son against guilt and suicide– starring Mary Tyler moore and Donald Sutherland.
• The Deer Hunter (1978): Tracks a group of steelworker pals from a Pennsylvania blast furnace to the coal hunting grounds of the Alleghenies to the lethal cauldron of Vietnam. It is a drama of friendship and courage and of what happens to these qualities under stress.
• A Man for All Seasons (1966): A drama about the opposition of Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) to the divorce of King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) and the events which led to More's trial on the charge of treason. Also starring orson wells.
• On the Waterfront (1954): Stars Marlon Brando as an ex-fighter who gets a job working on the gang-ridden waterfront under a crooked gangster boss (Lee J. Cobb).
• The Lost Weekend (1945): A would-be writer's dissatisfaction with his life leads him on a three-day binge. This film gives an uncompromising look at the devastating effects of alcoholism. Starring Ray Miland and Jane Wyman.

Leave your favorite Academy Award winners in the comments...

Three Bicentennial Birthdays

2009 is the year for three significant bicentennial birthdays: Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, and Edgar Allan Poe. Lincoln and Darwin were even born on the same day, February 12th, 1809. Poe was born on January 19th, 1809. The library has a number of books relating to each of these men in the areas of history, science and literature.

There are literally thousands of books in print about Abraham Lincoln. Here are some of Perrot’s most recent acquisitions:

• Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, by Fred Kaplan
• President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman, by William Lee Miller
• The Age of Lincoln, by Orville Vernon Burton
• Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe’s America, by Andrew Ferguson
• The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech That Nobody Knows, by G. S. Boritt
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided (DVD)
• The Last Days of the Civil War (DVD)
  

The library has three copies of Darwin’s own famous publication, The Origin of Species. Other titles on Darwin include:

• Darwin and the Beagle, by Alan Moorehead
• The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution, by David Quammen
• Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion, by Francisco J. Ayala
• Darwin in 90 Minutes, by John and Mary Gribbin
• Evolution’s Workshop: God and Science on the Galápagos Islands, by Edward J. Larson
• The Neck of the Giraffe: Where Darwin Went Wrong, by Francis Hitching
• Charles Darwin: Evolution's Voice (DVD)

Also of note, a recent book called Angels and Ages, a short book about Lincoln, Darwin and Modern Life by Adam Gopnik, which is a bicentennial twin portrait of two men who changed the way we think “about death and time.”

Edgar Allan Poe, though best known as a writer of macabre short stories, was also a poet, editor and literary critic. Here are some books at Perrot for you to try:

• In the Shadow of the Master: Classic Tales
• Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
• Edgar Allan Poe: Poems and Essays on Poetry
• Edgar Allan Poe: Essays and Reviews
• Midnight Dreary: The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, by John Evangelist Walsh
• Edgar Allan Poe: A Concise Biography (DVD)
  

Some of these books are on display in the library, so be sure to ask at the Reference Desk if you do not find them on the shelves.

School Library Journal Article

"Remembering Kate and Kathy: Two Passionate Youth Librarians Leave Behind a Lasting Legacy," by Vicky Smith, School Library Journal

Delayed Opening Today

Due to the weather, the Library will open at 1 P.M. today, Monday, March 2nd, 2009.

The Greenwich Library is closed today.