Press Releases

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For more information on press releases, contact Brooks Memorial Library at 802.254.5290, brattlib@brooks.lib.vt.us. If contact is not Brooks Memorial Library the press release will indicate this at the beginning.

Release Date: January 12, 2009

Library to Close Monday, January 18, in Observation
of the Martin Luther King National Holiday

Book and nonprint drops will be open for returns during the hours the library is closed. All databases and the online catalog will be available at http://www.brooks.lib.vt.us.

Release Date: December 15, 2009

Library Holiday Hours Announced

Brooks Memorial Library will observe the following holiday schedule:

Thursday, December 24, 9 AM to 12 NOON.
Friday and Saturday, December 25 and 26, CLOSED.
Friday, January 1, CLOSED.

Book and nonprint drops will be open for returns during the hours the library is closed. All databases, the online catalog, and e-audio collections are available.

Release Date: November 23, 2009

4th Annual Friends of Library “LIKE NEW” Book Sale

The Brooks Memorial Library Friends’ Fourth Annual Holiday Book Sale is scheduled for Friday, December 4, from 10 AM to 8 PM (during Gallery Walk) and on Saturday, December 5, from 10 AM to 5 PM.
 
Books unsold will remain on sale through Saturday, December 19, during regular library hours.
 
Most books selected for this sale are ones that would be suitable for gift giving since they are in “like-new” condition.
 
The Friends of Brooks Memorial Library was organized in 1990 to support the Library in providing the highest quality library service to the community by means of advocacy, public relations, and fund raising.

Release Date: November 17, 2009

Thank you to Christopher and David Bakriges and all that attended and volunteered for the Benefit Concert.

The first fund raising event for our Bill and Melinda Gates Online Opportunity Grant was a rousing success. On the evening of November 13 the library raised nearly $2,800 exceeding our first year goal by nearly $850.

The 2nd year match is now underway: a Trivia Quiz contest, with community participants and prizes, is being planned for Sunday, April 11--National Library Week 2010-- to help us toward our second goal of $3,900. Watch this space for more information in the coming weeks.

Release Date: October 29, 2009

Brooks Memorial Library Expands e-Audiobook Offerings

As you have no doubt read in the news, e-books and e-audiobooks have been clear winners in book sales this past year.  According to the Association of American Publishers, e-book sales in August posted a 189.1% increase for the month, with year-to-date sales up 177.3%.
 
And e-audiobooks cannot be far behind.
 
The service is gaining popularity with Brooks Library cardholders who had 1,575 downloads through September this year as compared with 453 for the entire 2008 year.
 
To meet this increasing demand, the library has joined again with the Green Mountain Library Consortium to offer a wider selection of e-audiobooks. Downloadable audiobooks allow our patrons to access the library any time, and from anywhere.
 
In addition to the 700 plus collection offered through Overdrive, library patrons will now have access to over 2,000 audiobook titles, many of which are iPod compatible,  through Recorded Books/Netlibrary and their One Click Audio service.  And over 800 titles are now iPod compatible. You can search for iPod titles on the One Click site by doing an Advanced search.
 
You must have iTunes installed in order to transfer files to your iPod, and sync your iPod from iTunes to see the title.
 
Brooks has a web page with links to get you started on the new offerings. Please go to http://www.brooks.lib.vt.us, and click on the "Audiobooks" button..

Release Date: October 21, 2009

Help Us Match the Gates Online Opportunity Challenge Grant Lifelong Learning for the 21st Century

Join Us at the River Garden for an evening of Parisian Jazz

The Brooks Memorial Library Trustees and the Friends of the Library invite you to The River Garden on Friday, November 13, 7 PM, to hear jazz pianist/composer Chris Bakriges and son, David, who will present a benefit concert for the Library based their just released CD--Teaching the Eye to Hear: Musical Reflections on Matisse's Jazz.

The proceeds will match a challenge from the Bill and Melinda Gates Online Opportunity Grant to assist the Library in upgrading their public access computers.  The main goal of the grant is to help libraries and their communities build long-term capacity for supporting free computer and Internet access in public libraries.

Tickets may be purchased in advance for $15.00 ($20 at the door) at the Library, The Book Cellar, Everyone's Books, Baker's and online at Brattleboro Tix.

In 1941 the artist Henri Matisse was diagnosed with cancer and, following surgery, he was essentially bedridden. More problematic for Matisse was his inability to pick up and fully utilize the nuances of a paint brush. He found, however, a new lease on his enormous creativity when he realized that he could maneuver scissors through prepared sheets of brightly colored paper. He referred to this technique as "painting with scissors" and it was this format that occupied him until his death. Among his first adventures with paper cutouts was a book called Jazz, which Matisse prepared in 1942 with the help of his assistant Lydia Delectorskay which was published by Teriade in 1947. The book contained twenty color plates was initially only printed in a hundred copies.

Both the text and the cut outs themselves inspired southern Vermont pianist and composer Christopher Bakriges to make what he refers to as musical reflections on Matisse's work. Matisse used the energy of a still young musical idiom called jazz in enticing the art world to "teach the eye to hear." Along with his son, violinist David Bakriges, Christopher will present a musicological background to these original compositions as well as perform other tunes from the Great American Songbook that inspired the imagination of French jazz fans in the early years of the music.

A Detroit native, Chris has led his own groups since the early 80s and has performed internationally since 1990, including tours in India, Pakistan, Turkey, England, France, Canada, and the Czech Republic. A published scholar, Chris earned his doctorate in ethnomusicology from York University in Toronto and regularly lecturers around the world. Chris is currently Artist-in-residence and Lecturer at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He was music director and house pianist at Mo'Jazz Cafe, Vermont's only jazz club, from the late 90's until its closing in late 2007. He performed regularly at Pink's Alley in Manchester, Vermont throughout 2008 and tours the United States with the Oikos Ensemble, the Cleveland-based World Jazz group.

Sample Chris's music at his web site, www.bakriges.com.

Release Date: October 14, 2009

WORKSHOPS @ BROOKS
 
Wednesday, October 28, 7PM, Meeting Room,  A Visual Journaling Workshop with Susan Crowther
Visual Journaling is a way of using expressive and creative arts as tools for meditation, self-discovery, decision-making, and healing-in short- transformation.

According to Crowther, in Visual Journaling, participants explore how to access, release, and transform inner messages- emotions, perceptions, and intuition. We create images through drawing, painting/pastels, sculpture, and collage. We allow these images to speak to us. We interpret the images and their messages. Finally, we reflect on, write about, and share our reactions and responses.

As we listen to ourselves, our energy shifts in wild, cool ways. We begin to understand how our thoughts, feelings, and reactions affect the body, mind and spirit. And, we learn to make changes that honor ourselves and others. Susan Crowther is interested in the link between health and learning-more specifically, how lifestyle choices affect health and learning. Through this lens, she offers workshops, weaving health, lifestyle, art, intuition, and our essential message-Voice-into the process.

Susie is the co-founder of Zebras in the Woods, a Retreat Center offering workshops and seminars in health and wellness, through art and spirituality. She is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Caterer/Owner of Susie's Menu, Massage Therapist, Herbalist, and has degrees in Nutritional Sciences, Leadership Education, and Expressive Arts, and as professor of Educational Psychology (focus, Mind-Body Health).

Release Date: October 14, 2009

DOCUMENTARY FILM  @ BROOKS

Wednesday, October 21, 7PM, Meeting Room, FILM: Garbage--The Revolution Starts at Home.
This 76-minute documentary features the McDonalds - a husband, wife, and three young children from Toronto - who agree to serve as the film's star guinea pigs by storing three months of their garbage in their garage.

The film explores the source of the garbage and where it goes when it leaves the McDonald's garage. Director Andrew Nisker takes the viewer to landfills, recycling centers and to the heart of Toronto's multi-million dollar "wet garbage" processing plant - a place where Canadians' food scraps, paper towels and kitty litter are processed into composting material. The film tackles more than garbage - it looks at the negatives of phosphates in laundry detergent,heavy metals in our bodies, and how communities in Michigan deal with being the dumpster to Canada's trash. The film addresses the implications of mountaintop removal mining for coal - the energy source of Toronto families like the McDonalds. The McDonalds and viewers discover that for every action there is a reaction that affects them and the entire planet.

There will be a short discussion period following the film. The event is free, open to the public and co-sponsored by Brattleboro Climate Protection and Brooks Memorial Library. For more information, contact Paul Cameron at 802-251-8135 or pcameron@brattleboro.org, or visit the film's website at www.garbagerevolution.com.

Release Date: October 2009

Meet the Author: Bill Schubart, " The  Lamoille Stories " At Brooks Memorial Library Meeting Room
 
On Wednesday, October 14,  at 7:00 pm in the meeting room of the Brook's Memorial Library author Bill Schubart will discuss the origin and evolution of his own stories and book. He will talk about how stories endure in communities and cultures and answer questions about how best to articulate and preserve one’s own stories.  He will also read a few passages and sign books.
 
Bill Schubart has been telling stories for many years and has compiled a number of Vermont stories in his new book, The Lamoille Stories: Uncle Benoit’s Wake and Other Stories from Vermont.  The book has become a bestseller for Vermont community bookstores.  

Release Date: September 29, 2009

Becoming Americans: Immigrants and Immigrant Writers at Brooks Memorial Library

On Wednesday, October 7, 7 PM, in the main reading room of Brooks Memorial Library, author and Amherst College professor Ilan Stavans explores the impact that immigrants have had on American culture and language, and the role immigrant writers have played in our nation’s consciousness.
 
The lecture will coincide with the release of Stavans's new book, Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing
 
Ilan Stavans is an internationally known, award-winning cultural critic, linguist, translator, public speaker, editor, short-story writer, and TV host, whose best-selling work focuses on language, identity, politics, and history. He is Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. His many books include Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language.
 
This program is the first in a series of 8 lectures held the First Wednesday of every month, October through May and  sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council. All First Wednesdays talks are free and open to the public, held at libraries and other venues in the host communities. Talks take place at Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro; Fletcher Free Library in Burlington; First Congregational Church in Manchester (hosted by Mark Skinner Library); Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury; Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier; Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport and Stanstead College in Stanstead, Quebec (in alternating months); Norwich Congregational Church (hosted by Norwich Public Library and the Norwich Historical Society); Rutland Free Library; and St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. All events take place at 7:00 p.m.
 
First Wednesdays is supported in part by the Institute of Museum & Library Services through the Vermont Department of Libraries. Brooks Memorial Library is sponsored by Brattleboro Savings & Loan, Entergy-Vermont, Windham World Affairs Council of Vermont, and Friends of Brooks Memorial Library
 

Release Date: September 11, 2009

Julia Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine
At Brooks Memorial Library
Wednesday, September 23, 7 PM and Sunday, September 27, 1 PM.

 
The Vermont Humanities Council's Vermont Reads book this year is author Julia Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine. As part of the Vermont Reads program, on Wednesday, September 23  from 7pm-9pm in the meeting room of the Brook's Memorial Library, a  Vermont Humanities' scholar Richard Wizansky will discuss Otsuka's book, which chronicles the evacuation experience of an unnamed Japanese-American family during World War II. Otsuka's novel takes an unflinching and unsentimental look inside a stark shadow of America's past: the Japanese-American internment camps.
 
The Vermont Reads program brings communities and people of all ages together to read a book and do activities centered around it. When the Emperor Was Divine explores themes that invite discussion and activities: fear, loneliness, heroism, the American dream and its deferment, cultural divides, and how a family, a community, or a country responds when under duress.
 
Additionally, in partnership with the Asian Cultural Center, Julia Otsuka will read from and answer questions about her book at the Brooks Memorial Library on Sunday, September 27, at 1 PM.
 
Sponsored by the Vermont Humanities' Council and funded by the Friends of the Brooks Memorial Library.

Release Date: August 26, 2009

AUTHORS LIVE @ BROOKS

Wednesday, September 9, 7 PM, Meeting Room, Ron Krupp - Lifting the Yoke: Local Solutions to America's Farm & Food Crisis Author, gardener, and Vermont Public Radio commentator Ron Krupp will discuss his newest book, Lifting the Yoke: Local Solutions to America's Farm and Food Crisis. Ron Krupp is the author of The Woodchuck's Guide to Gardening and Vermont Public Radio Garden and Farm Commentator for the past 8 years. His garden book received the Christian Science Monitor - Garden Book of the Year award for New England in 2002. Lifting the Yoke deals with many of the farm and food issues that are in the news on a daily basis, such as globalization, hunger and obesity - and local, sustainable solutions. Ron has been involved with farm and food issues for the past 35 years. Among other projects, Ron started the Brattleboro Farmers' Market in the early 70s, coordinated the Tommy Thompson Community Garden in the Intervale for 15 years, and published the Green Mountain Farmer in the early 1980s.

Thursday, September 10, 7PM, Main Room, Wayne Carhart and Charles Fish--On the Job: The Brattleboro Public Works Department. Two area authors, Wayne Carhart and Charles Fish, will present their new book, On the Job: The Brattleboro Public Works Department. With a generous text and over 100 photographs, this local history tells the story of the people who make it possible for one to drink from the tap, flush the toilet, and enjoy clean and lighted streets and sidewalks in Brattleboro. The development of public works is an important strand in the history of the town. Brattleboro's population grew with the arrival of the railroad in 1848 and with various industries including the Estey Organ Company, the S. A. Smith Toy Company, and a significant publishing and printing industry. And in the 20th century the automobile arrived. For many years roads were limited, potable water sources were privately owned, the Whetstone Brook and the Connecticut River carried raw sewage, and firefighting was limited to hand pumpers and bucket brigades, no match for the devastating fire in 1869 that obliterated the west side of Main Street. On the Job is published by the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce and funded by the Thomas Thompson Trust and the Windham Foundation. The authors have volunteered their services, and the proceeds from sales will go to a special fund to benefit the department.

Wednesday, September 16, 7PM, Meeting Room, Fran Lynggaard Hansen - Brattleboro - Historically Speaking. Local author Fran Lynggaard Hansen will discuss her new book from History Press: Brattleboro - Historically Speaking. Fran is a former columnist for the Brattleboro Reformer where she penned the Downstreet column. This book is a compilation of these very popular essays. The book includes chapters on the 1847 small pox outbreak in Brattleboro; the construction of the Harris Hill ski jump; the story behind the George Crowell Lindenhurst mansion, and the people who started the Winter Carnival. Books will be sold at the event, which is cosponsored with the Brattleboro Historical Society.

Thursday, September 17, 7 PM, Main Room, Thomas Middleton - Saber's Edge: A Combat Medic in Ramadi . Former combat medic Thomas Middleton will discuss his book, Saber's Edge: A Combat Medic in Ramadi. Saber's Edge is the story of a middle-aged Vermont firefighter called upon to be a soldier in Ramadi, Iraq. In a few short weeks, Middleton went from being a suburban dad to a combat medic traveling between platoons, filling in for other medics and engaging in some of the fiercest and most crucial fighting of the war. Sgt. Middleton's story chronicles the inner conflict created by his long-time professional role as a healer and his newfound life as a warrior in the urban battlefields of Iraq. Saber's Edge is also the story of the Green Mountain Boys of Task Force Saber. It is the story of comradeship and communion amid fierce street fighting in a crucial theater of the Iraq War. Thomas A. Middleton is an Assistant Fire Marshal and Public Information Officer with the Burlington Fire Department and was a long-time volunteer firefighter and EMT. He served as a combat medic in Iraq as part of Task Force Saber from 2004 to 2005 and as a member of the Vermont National Guard. He lives with his family in Essex, Vermont.

Thursday, September 24, 7 PM, Main Room, Sy Montgomery - Off the Beaten Path: My Life As an Author-Explorer. Nature and travel writer Sy Montgomery will discuss her works Off the Beaten Path: My Life As an Author-Explorer. Sy Montgomery is the author of 14 books written for adults and children. Her presentation will include slides of areas she has visited. Her lastest book is SAVING Sy's BookTHE GHOST OF THE MOUNTAIN: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia. Here is what critics say about Sy and her work: "Equal parts poet and scientist." THE NEW YORK TIMES. "Part Indiana Jones part and Emily Dickinson." -The Boston Globe. "Sy Montgomery has insight into the Others that every nature writer on this continent envies. I am no exception. Clear, emotionally telling and always right to the point, her accounts of the other forms of life are without peer." -Farley Mowat, author of Never Cry Wolf. Montgomery lectures widely on conservation topics at zoos, museums, universities and schools, for both adults and children. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Rainforest Conservation Fund, an Advisor to the Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation at Antioch/New England Institute, and on the Advisory Board of the New England conservation group, RESTORE! The North Woods. In 2003 she was honored with the Edward Hyde Cox Medal for work which "advances the well-being of animals and acknowledges the power and beauty of the relationship that humans share with them" by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Montgomery is a 1979 graduate of Syracuse University, a triple major with dual degrees in Magazine Journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and in French Language and Literature and in Psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees, conferred at the commencement ceremonies at Keene State College in Keene, N.H. in May, 2004.

Release Date: July 6, 2009

Artist Louise Rath Exhibits At Brooks Memorial Library Through September 9

Regional artist Louise Rath will be exhibiting a selection of her oil paintings on the Main Floor at the Brooks Memorial Library, in Brattleboro, Vermont, from July 15, through September 9.

In keeping with the season, the work on display will focus on floral and garden themes. Ms. Rath's paintings have won several awards, most recently Best in Show at the Stonewall Farm Art Auction in Keene, New Hampshire, in both 2007 and 2008.

Release Date: July 1, 2009

Rockwell's Four Freedoms Prints and 42 Star American Flag at Brooks Memorial Library Through July

From July 1 to July 30, four prints of oil paintings by Norman Rockwell, entitled The Four Freedoms, will be on display in the exhibit cases on the mezzanine at the Brooks Memorial Library, in Brattleboro, Vermont. In addition, a 42 star American flag may also be viewed in the cases.

Rockwell created the Four Freedoms series of oil paintings in 1943, while the United States was engaged in fighting World War II. He had been inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union speech to Congress, in which the president outlined “four essential human freedoms” on which to build a secure future for the world. The paintings are entitled Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Fear, and Freedom from Want. The Saturday Evening Post published the paintings, each accompanied by an essay written by a prominent author, in four successive weekly issues.

The paintings became so popular that they were taken on a national tour sponsored by the magazine and the U.S. Treasury Department, during which they helped raise over $130 million through the sale of bonds to aid the war effort.

The prints were gifted Brooks Memorial Library's Fine Arts Collection in 2004 by Elfleda Pike. According to Ms. Pike, her father bought the suite of prints and obtained Rockwell’s signature when the artist visited Brattleboro around 1947.

The 42 star American flag was issued sometime in 1890. Local resident Mrs. George Prouty donated the flag to the library. The State of Washington was admitted as the 42nd state in Nov. 1889, and Idaho became the 43d state on July 3, 1890.

Release Date: June 30, 2009

The State of U.S. Health Care: Discussion Series at Brooks Memorial Library

On Wednesday, July 15, and Wednesday, August 19, at 7 PM, the Vermont Citizens Campaign for Health and Brooks Memorial Library will co-sponsor a discussion series on the state of U.S. health care. The discussions will take place in the meeting room of the Brooks Memorial Library, in Brattleboro, VT.

Join fellow citizens for a viewing and discussion of two DVD's relating to the current state of health care in the United States: Critical Condition, by Roger Weisberg, and Collateral Damage: Bad Medicine in Tennessee, a 24 minute documentary which tells the story of Governor Phil Bredesen of Tennessee who in 2005 cut 170,000 people off the Medicaid program as part of his health care reform plan.

Each session will include 30 minutes from a relevant documentary, a five minute comment on video by each panel member, and audience Q&A.

The discussions are facilitated by Richard Davis, Executive Director of the Vermont Citizens Campaign Health. Panel participants include Rep. Gini Milkey, Vice Chair, House Health Care Committee; Lynn Corum, BUHS School Board member, host of BCTV talk show; and Hilary F. Cooke, an insurance industry expert and board member of The River Valley Credit Union and The Sojourns Health Clinic.

Release Date: June 30, 2009

Teens: Learn How to Create a 'Zine at Brooks Memorial Library

Attention writers! As part of the Brooks Memorial Library "Express Yourself" Summer Reading Program, the library will be hosting a writer's group. Come join the 'zine scene every Thursday afternoon until August 8, 4-5:30 PM, in the meeting room.

In the group, teen writers will help each other develop a writing style and create their own 'zine (self-published magazine).

The writing group is facilitated by Rose Watson.

Release Date: June 13, 2009

Poet T. Namaya At Brooks Memorial Library

On Thursday, June 25, at 7 PM, in the Main Room of the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro, Vermont, local poet, T. Namaya, will perform his work, Vermont My Home On Blue Heron Pond: A Love Song for the Earth. The piece has been described by Cambridge poet Marc Zegan as, "A great joy to read." Author Janisse Ray said, "I enjoyed Blue Heron Pond very much...it has a peaceful, meditative, spiritual quality. The book reaches a lovely place." Vermont My Home is a celebration of the beautiful Blue Heron Pond in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Namaya is an internationally known poet and performance artist who has performed in Europe, New Zealand, Asia, Hawaii and Australia. He is the author of two previous poetry collections: Eros to Godhead, and God Sex Politics, and playwright for the musical revue Beatnik Cafe which debuted in NYC in January 2009.

Copies of the book are available at Book Cellar and Everyone's Books in Brattleboro Vermont. The book can also be purchased at www.vermontpoet.com. Profits from this book are donated to Grace Cares (www.gracecares.com), a not-for-profit organization that supports community development programs throughout the world.

Release Date: June 13, 2009

An Evening of Poetry At Brooks Memorial Library

On Thursday, June 18, at 7pm at Brooks Memorial Library, local poets Barbara Benoit, Jacqueline Gens and Tim Mayo will read from their recently published works.

Barbara Benoit, a 2009 graduate of New England College's MFA in Poetry Program, will be reading from her manuscript Black with Miraculous Light.

Jacqueline Gens is the co-director and a founder of the MFA Program in Poetry at New England College and also hosts 2 monthly radio shows on WVEW Brattleboro Community Radio. She will read from her chapbook, Primo Pensiero.

Tim Mayo holds an MFA from The Bennington Writing Seminars. His poems have appeared in numerous publications and on The Writer's Almanac. His most recent publication, The Kingdom of Possibilities, was a finalist for several prestigious awards.

Release Date: June 10, 2009

Vermont State Parks Pass Available at Brooks Memorial Library

The Vermont State Parks day pass distributed to Brooks Memorial Library is now ready to be checked out. Under this new Parks' program , which is called "Check Out the Parks, " the Vermont State Parks gives each Vermont library a pass that can be checked out, like a book, for free admission to a state park .

The passes are good at any of the state's day-use parks and will allow entry for up to eight people traveling together in the same vehicle.

The Brooks pass can be checked out for a week and is available at the Main Circulation desk.

Release Date: June 8, 2009

FRIENDS OF LIBRARY BOOKSALE CONTINUES THROUGH FRIDAY, JUNE 12.

The Eighth Annual Strolling of the Heifers Booksale grossed nearly $2,700 this year, but since there are many good hardcover titles still available, the sale will continue through Friday, June 12, during normal library hours. Prices have been slashed by one-half.

This booksale is the Friends of the Library’s main fund raiser of the year.

The Friends of Brooks Memorial Library was organized in 1990 to support the Library in providing the highest quality library service to the community by means of advocacy, public relations, and fund raising.

Release Date: June 2009

Teen Summer Reading (and) 'Zine Writing @ Brooks Memorial Library

Contact: http://teenbrooks.blogspot.com or email us at Jessica@brooks.lib.vt.us You can also call the library at: 802-254-5290

REGISTER JUNE 13 TO 27

This summer Brooks Memorial Library is hosting the 2009 Teen Reading Program for ages 13 and up.. The theme is Express Yourself@Your Library. The program is organized as a state-wide effort to encourage recreational reading for teens when they are off and have time in the summer.

And if you are interested in writing, the library will be hosting a free writing series entitled "Create a 'Zine". A 'zine is a self-published magazine.

The writing group will be led by Rose Watson and Cal Glover-Wessel and will meet in the library's meeting room on Thursdays, June 22 through August 8, from 4 to 5:30 PM.

Registration begins on Saturday, June 13 through Saturday, June 27. Programs will run for 6 weeks until August 8.

All teens are encouraged to participate and a free student card is available for teens who attend BAMS, BUHS, and live outside Brattleboro. Fill out a reading log, which is located on the 1st floor of the library at the circulation desk. Teens will get a tote bag, temporary tattoo, and bookmark at signup!

The mission is to read at least 2 hours each week, and if that goal is met, there will be several raffle drawings.

Teen writers will help each other develop a writing style and create their own 'zine

Release Date: June 2009

An Evening of Poetry at Brooks Memorial Library

On Thursday, June 18 at 7 p.m. at Brooks Memorial Library, in Brattleboro, local poets Barbara Benoit, Jacqueline Gens and Tim Mayo will read from their recently published work.

Barbara Benoit is a 2009 graduate of New England College’s MFA in Poetry Program. Her poems have appeared in Blueline and Babel Fruit and are forthcoming in the Spring Edition of Cimarron Review. She will be reading from her manuscript entitled Black with Miraculous Light.

Jacqueline Gens is the co-director and a founder of the MFA Program in Poetry at New England College. For several years, she worked at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, CO, before joining the staff of the late poet Allen Ginsberg in NYC. She has worked as program director for numerous regional nonprofits, including, the Great River Arts Institute and the Shang Shung Institute of Tibetan Studies in Conway, MA. She is on the board of Write Action and hosts 2 monthly radio shows on WVEW Brattleboro Commmunity Radio. Her chapbook, Primo Pensiero, was published by Shivastan Press in the fall of 2008.

Tim Mayo holds an ALB, cum laude, from Harvard University and an MFA from The Bennington Writing Seminars. His poems have appeared in numerous print and online journals and on Verse Daily as well as The Writer’s Almanac. His chapbook The Loneliness of Dogs (Pudding House Publications 2008) was a finalist in the WCDR 2008 Chapbook Challenge in Ontario, Canada, and his most recent publication The Kingdom of Possibilities (Mayapple Press) was a semi-finalist for the 2009 Brittingham and Pollock Awards, a finalist for the 2007 Main Street Rag Award and a finalist for 2009 May Swenson Award. He is a former member of the Brattleboro Literary Festival author committee.

Copies of the poets' books will be available.

Release Date: May 29, 2009

Ecologist Amy Seidl, Author

"Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World " at Brooks Memorial Library

On Thursday, June 11, at 7pm in the library's Main Room, Dr. Amy Seidl – ecologist, activist, and mother of two girls – will read and discuss her new book: Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World.

Drawing on her 20-year career studying ecology and evolution, Dr. Seidl illuminates the historical significance and everyday local impacts of global warming upon the 21st­century landscape. Through lucid and passionate writing grounded in the science of ecology and evolutionary biology, she offers both personal and research-based testimony of global warming.

As one reviewer noted: "Seidl blends a well-researched environmental study with observations of small-town Vermont life, even as she reaches beyond New England by keeping her discussion of global warming artfully broadminded..."

Dr. Seidl holds a PhD in biology from the University of Vermont and a Master's degree in entomology from Colorado State University. She has taught in the environmental programs at UVM and Middlebury College and is currently a research scholar at Middlebury. She lives with her family in Huntington, Vt., in a solar- and wind-powered home.

Release Date: May 26, 2009

Discussion Of Simone De Beauvoir's

"The Coming Of Aging" at Brooks Memorial Library

On Wednesday, June 10, at 7pm in the Meeting Room, Brooks Memorial Library will host a book discussion on Simone de Beauvoir's The Coming of Age with Vermont Humanities Scholar Deborah Luskin. The event is sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council (www.vermonthumanities.org.)

In her classic exploration of aging, de Beauvoir asks readers to broaden their expectations of what it means to grow older and examine their own and the culture's perceptions of the elderly. The study spans a millennium, touching on a variety of nations and cultures, to uncover "society's secret shame" -- the ostracism that we wittingly or unwittingly impose on the elderly and the stigma of Otherness that we assign to them.

Deborah Lee Luskin has been facilitating book discussions around Vermont since 1986. She holds a PhD in English literature from Columbia University, and has taught literature and writing in hospitals, colleges, prisons, and schools. A writer as well as a scholar, Luskin's essays, features, and fiction have appeared in a variety of publications, including Vermont Life and Dartmouth Medicine. She is a regular commentator for Vermont Public Radio.

Books are available at the main circulation desk.

Release Date: May 2009

Contact: ask at the library Reference Desk, 802.254.5290 ext 109, or visit the IMPACT studies web site
at http://impact.ischool.washington.edu/.

Brooks Memorial Library To Participate in National Internet Survey, May 11 to May 25

From May 11 to May 25, Brooks Memorial Library is participating in a nationwide Internet survey to find out
how people use the free computers and Internet connections in public libraries. The U.S. IMPACT web survey is being conducted by the University of Washington Information School with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Until now, there has been no nationwide research about how library computing services fit into peoples' lives. Some believe that library computers are used mostly for entertainment, but librarians report that people use them to find jobs, stay connected with family and friends, or to get health information. The goal of the U.S. IMPACT studies is to collect evidence about the ways computers in public libraries help people and their communities across the United States. This information will be used to improve these services and to inform policy makers about how best to fund and support them. In these hard economic times, this information will be invaluable.

You can access the web survey from the Library's website at http://www.brooks.lib.vt.us from May 11 to May 25. The survey is completely anonymous and takes 10 to 15 minutes to fill out. The researchers at the University of Washington encourage you to take a few minutes to help improve public library computing services across the United States.

Release Date: May 7, 2009

FRIENDS OF LIBRARY “STROLLING OF THE HEIFERS” BOOKSALE

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 8 AM TO 3 PM

The Eighth Annual Strolling of the Heifers Booksale is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, and books are piling up for this important annual event. This is the Friends of the Library’s main fund raiser of the year.

Join community members and out-of-towners as they sift through the thousands of hardcover books, paperbacks, DVD’s, and audio books. There are several boxes of special coffee table books, and this year a special personal library donation of mainly nonfiction hardcover will be available for sale.

Become a Friends of Library member and get early entry at 8:00 AM. Download a Friends membership form at http://www.brooks.lib.vt.us/pdf/membershipform.pdf. The booksale opens at 9 AM for the general public.

The Friends of Brooks Memorial Library was organized in 1990 to support the Library in providing the highest quality library service to the community by means of advocacy, public relations, and fund raising.

Release Date: April 24, 2009

Brooks Memorial Library To Install New Carpet on 2nd Floor--Children's Room Closes April 30 to May 4

After 12 years the Brooks Memorial Library is replacing our worn, frayed carpet in the Children's Room and hallways on the library's top floor. Over 400 square yards of new carpet tile will be put down starting Thursday, April 30. All contents of the room will be temporarily stored in the meeting room.

This includes nearly 20,000 books, DVD's,audiobooks, and their shelves. All will be moved back on Monday after the carpet has been installed.

There will be no access to the floor from Thursday through Monday, May 4. This includes all bathrooms, the meeting room, and public telephone.

The Main floor, mezzanine and all library services in those areas will continue to be open during this renovation.

For more information, contact Brooks Memorial Library at 802.254.5290, or send an email to Ask-A-Librarian.

Release Date: April 2009

Brooks Memorial Library Presents Book Discussion That Focuses on the World Order

Upcoming Vermont Humanities Council reading/discussion will focus on the World Order at Brooks Memorial Library. Books are available at the Main Circulation Desk.

On Wednesday, April 29, at 7 p.m., Richard Wizansky will facilitate a discussion of Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. This book examines the threat of violence from cultures that base their traditions on religious faith and dogma.

Richard Wizansky is senior director for institutional advancement of the Student Conservation Association, the
nation's oldest and largest provider of volunteers for the conservation of public lands. A former instructor of
litera¬ture and language at Greenfield Community College, he holds a master's degree in American literature from Tufts University and a doctorate in educational policy and research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has lectured extensively on literature throughout Vermont and New England.

The event is free and open to the public.

Release Date: February 2009

Teen Movies at Brooks Memorial Library During February Vacation.

Two teen movies will be shown in the Brooks Memorial Library's meeting room
over the February School Break.

The first showing will be JUNO on Thursday, February 26, at 1 PM. The second will be PERSEPOLIS on Friday, February 27, at 1 PM.

JUNO (2007) is a tale told over four seasons, starting in autumn when Juno, a 16-year-old high-school junior in Minnesota, discovers she's pregnant and decides to find adoptive parents for her child. Very funny with
great soundtrack!

PERSEPOLIS (2007) is an animated film based on the book of the same name by author Marjane Satrapi. It is the story of a young girl growing up in Iran and observing the political currents of the time and how they affect
her family. Beautiful black and white animation!

Release Date: February 5, 2009

Abraham Lincoln to Read from his Second Inaugural Address
Thursday, February 12, 2:22 PM
Virtual bell-ringing to begin at 2:12 PM

Vermont will celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday with a statewide ringing of the bells at 2:12 PM on Thursday, February 12.

Brooks Memorial Library is joining schools, churches, and individuals across the state to celebrate the Great Emancipator's birth by ringing bells for ten minutes. Governor Douglas issued a proclamation for the bell ringing celebration on January 26. Because it is not known what time Lincoln was born, the time of 2:12 PM was chosen.

The Library will ring virtual bells from several of its computers. After the bell ringing, Abraham Lincoln will be present to give his Second Inaugural Address.

The event is free and open to the public.

IRS and Vermont Tax Forms Available at Brooks Memorial Library

Taxpayers who need state or federal tax forms can find them at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro from now until the end of April. All basic forms and instructions are free, including the IRS 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ, and some of the most popular schedules. Vermont booklets, which include forms and instructions, are also free of charge. Taxpayers who need specialized forms can seek help at the Library's reference desk, where documents can be printed for 15 cents per page.

Visitors will find tax forms in the reference area on the first floor of the Library at 224 Main Street in Brattleboro. Library staff members will be happy to help with finding forms, but they cannot give tax advice or instructions on completing them. For more information.

Release Date: December 2008

Brattleboro Holiday Greeting on YouTube

Release Date: December 12, 2008

HISTORY OF SNOWMAN AUTHOR TO PRESENT IN DECEMBER

Have you ever wondered about who made the first snowman? Who first came up with the idea of placing snowballs on top of each other, and who decided they would use a carrot for a nose?

Come to the Library on Friday, December 12, at 7 PM, and have these questions answered. author and humorist Bob Eckstein will be here to talk about his book, In THE HISTORY OF THE SNOWMAN (Simon Spotlight Entertainment; October 30, 2007; Hardcover; $14.95). Eckstein will travel backward through time to discover the snowman’s eclectic and oftentimes dark past. Eckstein’s passion about the snowman began playfully enough but soon snowballed into a mission to uncover the mystery surrounding the first snowman.

Bob Eckstein has been a humor writer for more than twenty years, with work appearing in major magazines such as GQ, Time, TV Guide, National Lampoon, SPY, New York, Maxim and Playboy. He is most recognized, however, for his regular weekly columns in Newsday, The Village Voice, and Time Out. His cartoons and artwork have also appeared in publications like The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Men's Fitness, Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, Family Fun, This Old House, New York, and Golf Digest, and his illustrations have appeared on more than 40 magazine covers. He is currently the staff illustrator for Consumer Reports, Fortune, and Vibe magazines, and has been staff illustrator at Mademoiselle, Fitness, Sport, Maximum Golf, Tennis, Downtown Express, Shape, and Working Woman magazines. In 2004, he produced and designed the humor book Billionaires for Bush: How to Rule the World for Fun and Profit (Four Walls Eight Windows). An alumnus of Pratt Institute, he has taught there and at the School of Visual Arts. He splits his time between his studios in Manhattan and rural Pennsylvania.

Release Date: December 3, 2008

Bennington College Professor Discusses Lasting Appeal of Jane Austen’s
Persuasion at Brattleboro's Brooks Memorial Library

Bennington College Professor April Bernard will consider the lasting effect of Jane Austen’s “fairy tale for grown-ups,” Persuasion, in a talk at Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro on December 3. Her talk, "Powers of Persuasion,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and takes place at 7:00 p.m.  

In her final superb novel, Persuasion, Jane Austen combined social satire with profound feeling.  Bernard will examine how Austen holds our attention and sympathy and why the novel continues to compel readers.

April Bernard is a poet, novelist, and essayist. Her most recent book is a collection of poems, Swan Electric. Her poems, essays, reviews, and travel pieces have appeared in numerous journals, including The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Book Review, The New Republic, The Nation, Newsday, Parnassus, and Vanity Fair. She has taught literature and writing at Bennington College since 1998.

The Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays series is held on the first Wednesday of every month from October through May, featuring speakers of national and regional renown. Talks are held at Brooks Memorial Library

Release Date: November 2008

TIES THAT BIND PART 2 READING SERIES AT BROOKS

Reynolds Price novel to be discussed on Wednesday, November 19, at 7:00 PM

Brooks Memorial Library begins a second session of the Vermont Humanities Council’s series, Ties That Bind II.  A rich selection of three novels and one memoir that explores family and deals with some of the most emotional aspects of blood relationships: the generational divide, communication, betrayal, reconciliation, forgiveness, and love.

On Wednesday, November 19, at 7 PM, join the discussion leader, Deborah Luskin, for the first novel in the series, Reynolds Price’s The Promise of Rest.   Price tells the complex, moving story of a man's return home to die of AIDS and of the unexpected effect that his arrival -- and his death -- has on his family.

The author being discussed, Reynolds Price, is an American novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Price has received many  literary honors, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the William Faulkner Foundation Award, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his memoir Clear Pictures (1989).

The scholar, Deborah Lee Luskin, has been facilitating book discussions around Vermont since 1986. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from Columbia University, and has taught literature and writing in hospitals, colleges, prisons and schools. A writer as well as a scholar, Luskin’s essays, features and fiction have appeared in a variety of publications, including Vermont Life, and Dartmouth Medicine. She is a regular commentator for Vermont Public Radio.

The series will continue on  December 10  with Jane Smiley, A Thousand Acres ; and in the new year on January 14 with  Larry Watson’s, Montana, 1948; and on February 11 Norman Maclean’s , A River Runs Through It.

Books are available for loan at the main circulation desk.

Release Date: October 2008

THE IMMIGRANT’S CONTRACT—A NOVEL

Brooks Memorial Library, Thursday, October 23, At 7:00 PM

Howard Frank Mosher calls The Immigrant's Contract …the most masterful and engaging story of what it means to be an immigrant in America that I have ever read…Meet Leland Kinsey and hear him read from his new book on Thursday, October 23, 2008, at 7:00 PM, at Brooks Memorial Library,

In this new collection of linked poems, Kinsey offers a new installment of his moving and powerful narrative verse. Arriving by horse-and-carriage as a child, the main character of this sequence embodies the cultural transformation that so many American families have endured, while Kinsey's verse captures the twentieth-century themes of displacement, work, and transformation in bold, crisp detail.

No subject is beyond his grasp: travels through the Canadian wilderness, a baseball game in Florida, the sabotage of archaeology, a night crossing to Cuba, a lonesome poacher's soliloquy. He always connects these disparate themes with a sure hand, constructing something sure to resonate with every American – newcomers and first settlers alike. It is all here, acute, ambitious, and accessible.

Release Date: October 2008

Marathon Horror Film Festival For Teens At Brooks Library

To Jumpstart Teen Read Week, Saturday, October 11, starts at 11  a.m. ends at 4 p.m.

Teens between 13 and 18 are invited to Brooks Memorial Library Saturday, October 10, beginning at 11 a.m. and continuing until 4 p.m. for three classic horror films to start Teen Read Week, October 12-18.

Join your friends in the library’s meeting room to see Frankenstein, Dracula, and Jekyll/Hyde  in the classic  1930’s black and white films that made your parents and grandparents squirm in their theatre seats.

There will be refreshments served. Come for all three or just for one.

And while at the library, Celebrate Books with Bite, October 12-18, and stop by Young Adult section during Teen Read Week to indulge your biting curiosity and check out books and graphic novels on animals, technology, cooking and even vampires!  Stop by today and pick up a page turner that you can read or listen to, just for the fun of it!  

Release Date: June 6, 2008

Contact: Michael K. Smith, Secretary of Administration (802) 828-3322

Montpelier, VT – Secretary of Administration Michael K. Smith Announces Appointment of Martha Reid as State Librarian
Secretary of Administration Michael K. Smith announced today that Martha Reid – who has served since 2001 as Director of the Burnham Memorial Library in Colchester, Vermont – has been named State Librarian. Ms. Reid will succeed Sybil Brigham McShane, who is retiring in July after a long and rewarding career in state government.

“Martha Reid has worked in public libraries for more than 30 years in Virginia, Connecticut and Colorado, and has led the Burnham Library in Colchester for the past seven years. Her experience ranges from children’s outreach services in rural areas to serving as a workshop leader, a reference librarian, and collection coordinator in a large, suburban library system,” says Secretary Smith. “Her broad range of experience will serve her well in her new capacity as State Librarian. I look forward to having her join the Agency of Administration in this role.”

Prior to 2001, Ms. Reid spent three years with the Jefferson County Public Library in
Lakewood, Colorado; seventeen years with the Russell Library in Middletown, Connecticut; and four years with Pamunkey Regional Library in Hanover, Virginia. She holds a B.A. in English from Muskingum College in Ohio, and M.A. in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Being chosen as the new State Librarian is a distinct honor for me,” said Ms. Reid. “Vermonters are lucky to have so many good libraries around the state, and deserve the best that we can provide in the 21st century. I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that this position will bring.”

Retiring State Librarian Sybil Brigham McShane was named to the post in November 1997. She had worked in the Department of Libraries in various roles since 1980.

“Sybil has been a valued member of the team from day one, and she is a true government
professional in every sense of the word,” says Secretary Smith. “I thank her for all she has done for me, for this administration, and for the State of Vermont.”

Release Date: May 15, 2008

Brooks Memorial Library is the recipient of the 2008 Sarah C. Hagar award from the Vermont Library Association

Jerry Carbone, Director of the Brooks Memorial Library, is the recipient of the 2008 Sarah C. Hagar award from the Vermont Library Association.  The award, named for the first VLA president, recognizes outstanding service in or significant contribution to the field of librarianship in Vermont.

VLA Present Barbara Doyle-Wilch presented Carbone with the award on Tuesday at a luncheon at the Vermont Library Conference in Burlington.  Reading from letters submitted by colleagues, staff members, and trustees, Doyle-Wilch praised Carbone as a “practical visionary” who preserves the best of the past while applying new technologies and methods to improve library service.  She noted that the needs of the patron are at the heart of his work and that he has made the library a cultural center for the community.  Calling him a “library nerd” because of his love of technology, she also noted that he is a role model for other librarians, encouraging them “to remain flexible and to welcome changes.” 

 “I’m speechless.  Thank you for this great honor,” said Carbone, who was surprised to see in the audience a contingent of Brattleboro friends, including Brooks Memorial Library trustees and staff members, his wife Kathleen Maisto, and Town Manager Barbara Sondag.  Library staff members who could not attend sent a poster of Carbone in Hawaiian party garb – a parody of the Library’s “Read” posters that feature noted Brattleboro residents. 

Later in the award ceremony, Carbone and other Vermont librarians were thanked for their work to promote the Library Confidentiality Bill that was just signed into law by the governor. 

Town employees and officials, including members of the Brattleboro Selectboard, joined library workers and trustees for a breakfast celebration at the Library on Thursday.  “Jerry has stewarded Brooks’ shift from the place to find books to the place to go,” said trustee Sara Warner-Phillips in her opening remarks.  “His passion for his vocation is evident in so many ways.”

Sarah C. Hagar was a librarian at Fletcher Free Library in Burlington for 23 years until her death in 1908.  The award named in her honor was established in 1990, and Jerry Carbone is the seventeenth recipient, joining a distinguished line that includes former Brooks Memorial Library Director Meris Morrison.  The Vermont Library Association is an educational organization working to develop, promote, and improve library and information services and librarianship in the state of Vermont.

Brattleboro - "With a little help from its friends," to paraphrase the Beatles song, Brooks Memorial Library has purchased an 1863 lithograph titled "Bugle Call" by William Morris Hunt. On Sunday, November 6, at 2:00 p.m., the library's Fine Arts Committee will host a reception in the Main Reading Room to celebrate the acquisition, and to acknowledge and thank the community members whose generous donations made it possible.

Stephen Perkins, director of the Bennington Museum, will give a short talk on Hunt's art and his family's contribution to Brattleboro and the 19thcentury American art world. Refreshments will be available. The event is free of charge, and the public is cordially invited.

Perkins, who grew up in Williston, Vt., majored in art history and historic preservation at Goucher College in Baltimore. He received a master's degree and museum certification from the University of Delaware's Winterthur Museum program in early American culture. At the Bennington Museum for the past five years, he has curated exhibitions as diverse as World War II combat photography, the Jewish community of Bennington, and the present exhibit on the Hunt family of Brattleboro. He was named the museum's executive director this past June.

"Bugle Call" is one of only two explicitly patriotic subjects Hunt painted during the Civil War. A few copies of the lithograph are known to still exist. The one the library has purchased is especially significant for Brattleboro, because it bears Hunt's handwritten dedication to "John L Ray. from W. M. Hunt. June 1875." Ray owned a livery business at the corner of Main and Flat Streets, and Hunt, a passionate horseman, was one of his admiring patrons.

When Helene Henry, a longtime member and former chair of the Fine Arts Committee, learned that Jonathan Flaccus, of the Unique Antique in Putney, planned to sell the lithograph, she was interested. Although the library does not actively collect art, Henry recognized this as a singular opportunity to add an important piece of both local history and art to the library's collection.

Flaccus, himself interested in historic preservation, offered the library a reduced price for the artwork. The Friends of the Library contributed half the purchase price, community members responded to an appeal for funds, and the Fine Arts Committee added the final funding to keep the lithograph in the artist's hometown.

A portion of the library's Fine Arts Collection is exhibited permanently in locations throughout the building. Visitors may pick up a brochure near the entrances on the main floor or the second floor and take a self-guided fine arts walking tour during regular library hours. The library is open Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Release Date: June 15, 2005

BROOKS MEMORIAL LIBRARY TO PURCHASE HISTORICAL LITHOGRAPH

The Fine Arts Committee of Brooks Memorial Library has committed to purchase a unique artwork of historical significance to Brattleboro.

An 1863 lithograph of a painting titled "Bugle Call" by prominent 19th-century artist and Brattleboro native William Morris Hunt has been offered for sale by Jonathan Flaccus, owner of The Unique Antique in Putney. When Flaccus, a strong advocate of historical preservation, learned of the library's interest, he generously reduced the purchase price to the library by $700 to help keep the lithograph in the artist's hometown.

The Friends of the Library have graciously contributed $1,400 toward the purchase, and the library's Fine Arts Committee has pledged to raise the remaining $1,400 among the community.

William Morris Hunt was born in 1824 to a prominent Brattleboro family whose home was located on the site of the present Thai Garden Restaurant, at the corner of High and Main Streets. Hunt, who had shown exceptional talent at an early age, became a pivotal figure and an influential teacher in the 19th-century American art movement.

"Bugle Call" is one of the few explicitly "patriotic" Civil War subjects that Hunt painted. The original painting has not been located, and some speculate that it might have burned in an 1872 fire in Hunt's studio that destroyed much of his life's work.

The lithograph was published by D. C. Fabronius of Boston, a well-known and much-respected lithographer. Although a few copies are known to exist, what makes Flaccus' copy particularly significant for Brattleboro is its inscription, "John L Ray. from W. M. Hunt. June 1875."

John L. Ray was "a unique type of the model livery man," according to the 1822 "Annals of Brattleboro," in which he rates more than a full page. His livery business was located at the corner of Main and Flat Streets, and his "reputation as a judge of horses extended far and wide." William Morris Hunt, a passionate horseman, was one of his admiring patrons.

Brooks Memorial Library owns several artworks by William Morris Hunt, including the large oil painting The Prodigal Son and the plaster high-relief sculpture "The Flight of Night: Horses of Anahita." A book about the artist's life and work, "William Morris Hunt," by art scholar Sally Webster, is available at the library.

Community members who would like to contribute to the purchase fund for "Bugle Call" may contact the library at 802-254-5290 or brattlib@brooks.lib.vt.us. In addition, a pledge form is located on the library's Web site, www.brooks.lib.vt.us, where an image of the artwork may be viewed. In the fall, the Fine Arts Committee will host a public "unveiling" celebration, and all donors will be acknowledged in publicity about the new artwork.

A portion of the library's Fine Arts Collection is exhibited permanently in locations throughout the building. Visitors may pick up a brochure near the entrances on the main floor or the second floor and take a self-guided fine arts walking tour during regular library hours. The library is open Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday summer hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Another opportunity to learn about William Morris Hunt and his very creative family is presented by an exhibition at the Bennington Museum, June 23 through next January 15. Titled "Exploration, Vision and Influence: The Art World of Brattleboro's Hunt Family," the show includes several artworks on loan from Brooks Memorial Library's collection.

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