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The February Lecture Series was the most successful I can remember.
It was not because of the brilliant presentations, which they
were, but because of the involvement of the members in the action.
Professor Kmetzo took us on another journey to that incredible
repository of art and laughter-Italy. This time it was to the
most varied region of all¬The Fruili. We marveled at the antiquity
of the Churches, particularly the one which has the largest mosaic
floor in Europe. We were lost in the wonder of the super realistic
paintings by Tiepolo and we enjoyed together the eccentricities
of the area.
With Nancy Tafuri we shared the more intimate atmosphere of artistic
creation. She took us gently through her ideas, then to the pictures
painted from her Roxbury garden and finally through words that
illustrated her delightful children's books which have been read
by countless children for over 30 years.
Arthur Atwood took us through the design of 6 to 7 floral arrangements,
describing the leaves and flowers of each design. All our senses
were involved! His presentation was interspersed with amazing
stories ofms background as well as helpful hints on arranging
flowers.
Shakesperience changed us from the audience to the actors, where
with voice and gesture and movement, we lost ourselves in the
genius of Shakespeare. "Shakesperience is where dreams come
true", as one of the actors told us.
At each lecture we appreciated the attractive refreshment table
organized by Marjorie van Leuvan and the tasty sweets from members.
Thank you everyone!
There was an interesting article in the Newsletter of the Friends
of Connecticut Libraries which pointed to future trends. It reviewed
the spectrum of possibilities of Libraries, ranging from the most
discouraging, "in fifteen years there won't be any more libraries",
to perhaps the most challenging, "libraries will transition
from a center of information to a Center of Culture." As
Friends, and especially as library users, we have a major role
to play in this transition, whatever direction it takes. Recent
history shows that library circulation has increased by 28% in
the last decade and at the same time library visits are up by
a huge 61 %. People are now visiting the library, not only for
borrowing books, but for much else. Now videos, CDs and DVDs are
available. The library must also consider devices like iPods,
Blackberries. All these devices, as well as newer ones that will
inevitably appear, must be considered in planning the future of
libraries.
A recent report from the Connecticut Library Consortium has found
that young adults are the heaviest users of libraries, despite
the ease with which they can get information from the internet
using their home computers. Use of online databases is especially
important for those wanting information related to health conditions,
job training, government benefits and similar subjects. Isn't
it surprising that the age group 18 to 30 was almost twice as
likely as the general population to seek this information in the
library?
A major problem in carrying out library development is selling
it to the community, especially to the community leaders. The
Friends have a great opportunity to describe the library's services
to the general public and to the town's legislatures, for example,
by speaking at meetings of local civic organizations, and business
groups and writing letters to the editor of local newspapers.
A great idea would be to collect stories describing how local
people have been helped by the library.
It is unfortunately true that "'only a small percentage
of communities invest in public libraries to the extent necessary
to produce maximum dividends.
In those communities where the case for libraries is less clear
and competition for public funds is high, there are disturbing
indicators that support for libraries is slipping." Each
of us needs to spend more time learning to be a better advocate,
defined by Webster as one who defends, vindicates, or espouses
a cause.
Tony Bleach
President
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