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pterodactyl

Kindertrauma!

pterodactylI know in this day and age, we as parents are all nervous about what our children will discover on the internet that we don’t want them to. There are whole industries that develop search filters: apps that promise only child-friendly content, “curated” lists of videos, movies and websites that we can feel safe allowing our children to access…  and yet, we know that eventually they will stumble upon (or seek out) content we don’t want them to see.

I regularly hear many people pontificating about how simple things used to be, and how the past was just so much “better!” I am here to remind us: yeah, not really.

There has always been scary, weird stuff out there, and children, who may have no context for what they are seeing or hearing, have always completely freaked out.  We cannot control this. We can only try to be there to explain things as best we can.

My son, for instance, is rarely freaked out by movies or TV. Ghostbusters, Harry Potter – fun! Learning, extensively, about tornadoes and the sinking of the Titanic – interesting! No complaints or nightmares. But do you know what did freak him out? A giant puppet “terrordactyl” he saw once in a Scooby Doo movie. 

When I was a kid, my dad was late picking me up from a friend’s house. He was stuck at work, but my friend’s mom also had to go out, so she drove us down to her parents’ house, an old farmhouse connected to their dairy farm. I had never met my friend’s grandparents before. As we walked into the dark house, and through the empty kitchen, we could see a light coming from the living room. Two elderly people sat in armchairs, their backs to us, and they didn’t say hello or even turn their heads as they heard us come in. There, on the screen, they were watching a strange show that seemed to hypnotize them. And the show itself seemed to come from another century (now of course it does, but this was the 80s.) Altogether, it gave me chills and left me permanently shaken. It felt otherworldly, and I still dislike the show they were watching: The Lawrence Welk Show.

This is not to mention the legitimately horrible stuff – many friends have a movie or show they stumbled upon that upset them. Remember when the only way to find out what was on were just listings in the newspaper, or, if you were fancy, you looked in the TV Guide? If you didn’t have these or were a kid and didn’t read, you just turned on the TV and flipped around. Who knows what kind of “entertainment” you would stumble upon?

There are multiple blogs and websites that collect these kinds of memories. For example, there is a site called Kindertrauma, where people post stories about movies, shows, books, and toys that bothered them as kids. Many people report seeing adult horror movies they were definitely not old enough to watch. You know, stories like that one babysitter who let them watch Jaws and then they wouldn’t swim in the ocean all summer. Maybe an animated movie that looked safe at Blockbuster, but when you watched it, it was about the character’s family being turned to stone and how they were left alone – forever. Or maybe you were terrorized by Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka? Really, it could be anything.

If I had to pick my number one TV show or movie that messed me up, it would be a mostly forgotten British horror movie called Paper House. I was home sick, old enough to be left by myself, but really too young and sensitive for most scary things. I remember just laying on the couch and putting on this movie, where a little girl about my age was also home sick. I had no idea what it was called or how long it had already been on, but I decided to watch. Though I barely understood it at the time, the kid had glandular fever and was very ill. She loved to draw, but in her fever she kept having bad dreams where her drawings came to life, but in an eerie, sort of wrong, way. She drew a normal house, but in her dreams, the house was warped and frightening. She drew a picture of her father who was away on business, but when she couldn’t get it the way she wanted, she scratched it out with her pencil. When she falls asleep, a man with a “scratched out” face is trying to find her. So yeah, the kid draws stuff, and it comes alive, and eventually it gets very fuzzy on what is a dream and what is reality. As a young artist, I would forever remember these scenes, part of me needing to be careful when drawing in case they ever became something else. Years later, I found out this movie was actually based on a children’s book called Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr. 

I will always try to shield my child, and other children, from upsetting and scary things.  The problem is, you never know what they may find truly frightening. You are looking out for Voldemort, but they are scared of pterodactyls.

Nicole Guerra-Coon  is the Assistant Children’s Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the September 23, 2021 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.

floral-embroidery

Feeling Stabby

floral-embroideryLike everyone during the pandemic, I decided I needed to take up a hobby. I still loved my two old hobbies, cooking and reading, but both of those weren’t providing the same level of satisfaction as they used to. Now that my family was home more frequently, I seemed to be cooking all of the time and suddenly the time I used to spend preparing dinner went from relaxing to stressful as I cranked out three meals a day for everyone. Of course, I still love to read and I do read voraciously but I still felt like I needed something that wasn’t so closely connected to my job to help me unwind.

Should I take up knitting? No shade to my fellow librarians who knit but I just couldn’t bear to live up to the stereotype associated with my profession. Crocheting also felt too close to knitting to seriously consider. What about bread baking? Everyone loves fresh bread! Bread baking was the ultimate pandemic hobby. It was also over social media and so many folks on TikTok made it look soothing and magical. A bread-baking library colleague advised me on what basics to purchase and soon I was ready to begin my new hobby!

Except my daughter had other plans. I was informed that she “doesn’t like bread” and thought baking it would be boring. Dreams dashed, I stored my bread baking supplies in my basement, next to the other equipment from failed hobby attempts. Maybe she’ll come around in the next few years and we’ll dust those items off and bake bread together one day!

After realizing I’m not really outdoorsy or sporty, I shelved the idea of more active pursuits and went back to crafty hobbies. Something about embroidery really caught my attention. I think the initial attraction was the rows and rows of rainbow colored floss at the craft store coupled with the romantic notion that embroidering was a literary craft, like something a character in a Jane Austen novel would definitely be doing. In addition, embroidery didn’t have a lot of rules or guidelines to follow and it’s not a very expensive hobby to try out.

Embroidery is an easy and cheap hobby to take up but the possibilities are endless. It can be a little overwhelming to know where to begin so I used Craftsy, a website that offers tons of instructional videos on all kinds of crafts for Norwood library patrons. Craftsy can be accessed with your library card through Overdrive’s free Libby app. I was able to learn embroidery basics like what equipment I would need and how to do  basic stitches by watching Kat McTee’s Startup Library video on hand embroidery.

I’m still working my way through some samplers to practice basic stitches but the library’s embroidery craft book section has me dreaming about my first project. Stitch-opedia by Helen Winthrope Kendrick claims to be the only embroidery reference book I’ll ever need. I’m not sure about that but Winthrope does provide an exhaustive look at basic equipment and techniques, along with an exploration of the different types of hand embroidery work.

On the other end of the spectrum, Enchanting Embroidery Designs: Whimsical Animal and Plant Motifs to Stitch by Miw Morita is a delightfully odd mix of poetry about embroidery paired with fanciful designs for readers to try out. Each project is showcased by a beautiful photograph and a descriptive poem about the project. Morita provides the patterns, tools, and techniques necessary to achieve the designs she describes in her poetry.

For folks looking for basic, easy projects to create, Stitch & Sew: Beautifully Embroider 31 Projects by Aneela Hoey has practical instructions to help enthusiasts choose their first item to embroider. Projects like the small change purse or the flex glasses case include easy-to-follow embroidery instructions with basic sewing skills to create unique items. Patterns for the specific embroidery designs for each project are included in the back of the book.

Finally, fabric is not the only thing that can be embroidered. Japanese Paper Embroidery by Atsum, Minako Chiba, and Mari Kamio shows readers how to create patterns on paper and embroider them with traditional embroidery floss. Each project is beautifully photographed and detailed instructions are provided at the end of the book. Cards, invitations, and even a paper clock project can inspire paper crafters to dabble in embroidery.

So far, embroidery has been extremely satisfying and unexpectedly relaxing. I’ve enjoyed teaching myself the basics and learning about the different types I can explore with future projects. I’ll be watching more Craftsy videos to keep sharpening my skills and you can expect to see a growing embroidery book collection in the library’s stacks.

Kate Tigue is the Head of Youth Services at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the September 16, 2021 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.

open-book-with-oragami-angel

All Books Go to Heaven

open-book-with-oragami-angelWhat happens to old books when they die? Many would argue they don’t; books live forever and there is always a home for an old book! Believe me, you need not convince librarians of the sacred nature of books, however we do recognize that they are not immortal and may need to be retired in style or euthanized with dignity and respect. It can even be irresponsible to keep certain literature around, if it contains inaccurate medical or historical information, for instance. We do not want to teach kids that “someday ‘man’ will walk on the moon.”

We populate our stacks with carefully chosen selections, given that we have a finite amount of space in our beautiful historical building. As many of our regulars know, we receive brand new titles hot off the presses and scurry to make them available to borrowers ASAP. We cannot continually add the new without getting rid of anything, so, in gardening nomenclature, we “weed” our collection, just like you do in your own yards, closets, and bookshelves.

When downsizing, moving, or spring cleaning, many folks generously donate books to the library. Marie Kondo, author of the bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, claims to keep only about 30 volumes at any given time. While I cannot imagine reducing my collection this drastically, I do recommend culling the home collection to keep it fresh and interesting. The library gratefully accepts donations, albeit with some caveats. If you want to get rid of something because it smells moldy, has pages falling out, fell in a puddle, or has been too “well loved” by your child or dog, safely assume that we don’t want it either. Likewise, we will say “thanks, but no thanks,” to decades-old encyclopedia sets, multi-year runs of National Geographic magazines, and those old-school Time-Life reference series.

Please note when bringing us gifts: the majority of materials donated to the library do not actually end up on our shelves. We consider collection development to be an art and a science, and our librarians work diligently to curate a collection that best serves our community. We aim to provide relevant and up to date materials to support the interests, viewpoints and hobbies of the wide range of citizens in Norwood. In other words, our shelves are not populated by hand-me-downs. 

We have immense gratitude for donations though, as our Friends of the Norwood Library group sells most of them on our library sale carts and in bi-annual book sales to raise funds in support of our collections, programming, and activities. For amazing deals on reading, viewing and listening material check out our first floor sale carts anytime, or come to our first post-pandemic in-person book sale, happening from October 22nd to 24th.

In addition to the Friends’ book sales, the library collaborates with a couple of other entities to make sure that books get re-homed rather than discarded. BetterWorld Books accepts some of our de-accessioned and unsold books and even pays for packing boxes and shipping costs. A “triple bottom line” company, BWB maintains commitments to environmental and social impacts, rather than financial profit alone. Savitz and Weber describe this framework in their 2013 book, The Triple Bottom Line: How Today’s Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Success. The company sells books online, and also donates them to hundreds of charity organizations, issues literacy-related grants, and uses environmentally sustainable practices. Furthermore, they donate a portion of the profits from sales of our items back to the Friends of the Norwood Library non-profit organization! Locally, Discover Books comes in person to collect boxes of books from the MML. The removal costs us nothing, and the company sells books and also gives them to literacy and community-based organizations nearby. As for anything beyond salvation, the MML, BWB and Discover all recycle, hoping to keep books out of landfills when their lifecycles comes to an end.

We love to see pre-owned books find new loving homes, but some creative types also experiment with “upcycling” them in fun and interesting ways. Upcycling Books by Julia Rubio shows how to make lampshades, decorations, baskets, and organizers by altering retired literature. In Playing With Books, Jason Thompson teaches how to make beads, boxes, and bags out of book pages, and also highlights fine artists who have made beautiful and intricate sculptures with this unusual medium. Explore Etsy, Pinterest, or our brand new Craftsy database to gain inspiration for countless book-based arts and crafts projects. In just a few months it will be time for our librarians to put together the MML’s annual Christmas tree made of books, decorated with handmade origami star ornaments, derived from colorful pages. Books may not live forever, but there is no shortage of options for extending their lifespans as long as possible.

Lydia Sampson is the Assistant Director at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the September 9, 2021 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.

Craftsy-database-logo

We Are Pleased to Inform You

Sometimes, when I’m speaking with a library patron or member of the public, I’ll hear a phrase that both excites and disappoints my little librarian self: “Oh wow, I had no idea you guys offered that!” On the one hand, this is exciting because I know I’m about to share something that is going to add value to this person’s life – something they’re going to enjoy or at the very least find useful. We are both about to have a rewarding exchange!

I am also disappointed though, because if the person didn’t know we offered something, then we’re not doing a good enough job getting the word out and there’s part of our community we haven’t reached. What happens if we add a service or offering, we announce it, and you happen to miss the announcement? There are so many things about the library we want people to know and take advantage of, but we also don’t want to be “that guy” at the dinner party who can’t stop talking about our passion project.

So, in the spirit of offering as much information as you’re happy to digest in one sitting, allow me to highlight a few digital services we’ve recently added that may have slipped under the radar of your busy summer schedule. We’re very excited to be able to offer free access to these services for Norwood residents, and address a broad range of needs and interests.

Top billing goes to the newest kid on the block: Craftsy (if you’re a crafter, you just sat up straighter in your chair). Just last week we added full unlimited access to the Craftsy website for Norwood patrons. This includes over 1,400 high-quality commercial-free instructional videos across the crafting genres, from knit and crochet to sewing and quilting to weaving and spinning, embroidery, drawing, and painting. Class materials and handouts are provided anytime a pattern, chart, or recipe is used in the class.

Wait, did she just say “recipe?” Yes! You may not think of yourself as a crafter but I bet there’s something for you on this site. Craftsy has lots of cooking and baking videos – there’s a whole section just for cakes! – as well as gardening, woodworking, home decor, and even tons of exercise and yoga videos. From absolute beginner to skills building for seasoned practitioners, Craftsy has something for every skill level.

And who is offering these lessons? Craftsy’s instructors are experts in their fields and professional teachers. I personally can vouch for the excellence of instruction and production value for the knitting videos: thanks to the class “Intarsia: Basics & Beyond” with Sally Melville, I was able to knit my first argyle sweater without fear or fuss last winter! Other knitting instructors include Norah Gaughan, Laura Nelkin, Tanis Gray, Bristol Ivy, Romi Hill, Andrea Wong, Kristy Glass, Susan B. Anderson, Amy Herzog, and many other luminaries from the knitterati.

Another entertaining way to learn through videos is with the Great Courses Library Collection. Ever-popular, The Great Courses need no introduction, offering over 250 video lectures from renowned university lecturers and experts, with new material being added monthly. Topics of interest include Business & Finance, Food & Drink, Health & Mindfulness, History, Music, Literature, Mathematics, Hobbies & Personal Pursuits, Philosophy & Religion, Science, Professional Growth, and Travel & Culture. Popular new releases include “The History and Archaeology of the Bible,” “Experiencing America: A Smithsonian Tour Through American History,” and “Language and the Mind.”

Looking for something more indie or alt? Try IndieFlix! Stream thousands of classic and contemporary features, award-winning shorts, film festival favorites and documentaries from around the world. IndieFlix caters to the whole family with movies and series featuring diverse voices, pop culture favorites, box office hits, and Academy Award winning animation. Recent additions to the IndieFlix lineup include the award-winning Lithuanian film, “Breathing Into Marble,” the award-winning Lithuanian documentary, “When We Talk About KGB,” and the dramedy romance, “Engaged.”

And finally, how about a little night music? Or, music for any time of day? Qello Concerts provides a front-row seat to thousands of full-length concerts and music documentaries, with new content added weekly. Watch Queen perform live in Montreal, then follow the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Bonnaroo. Catch Tupac’s final performance at the House of Blues, and groove out with icons of Woodstock. Can’t remember which Prince documentary your friend recommended? Don’t worry, there are several to choose from on Qello. And that Bob Dylan documentary with rare footage, “The Folk Years,” you can’t find anywhere else? Yup, Qello has that, too.

Where can you find all of this amazing content? All four services are available to Norwood residents through Libby and are available instantly. You will need your library card number and password, and an email address. Once you borrow a service you have one week of unlimited access, watch as many videos as you want with no waiting! As soon as the week is done you can borrow the service again right away.

To access Craftsy, Indieflix, Qello, and The Great Courses Library Collection, use the Libby app on your device or visit libbyapp.com on your computer. On the main page scroll down a little to the section called “Extras” to find these new and unique video services. We have even more exciting service coming this fall, so stay tuned! If you have any questions or need a hand, visit the Reference Desk, chat to us on our website norwoodlibrary.org, or give us a call at 781-769-0200 x2.

Liz Reed is the Adult and Information Services Department Head at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the September 2, 2021 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.

goat-yoga

Goat Yoga

goat-yogaWhile brainstorming ideas for a possible Staff Day activity, a colleague suggested Goat Yoga. This was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing. What is Goat Yoga? My mind went through several options: watching goats do yoga; doing yoga with a goat Yogi; watching goats skip blissfully around an enclosure while performing yoga poses. Whatever it was, it sounded interesting and I was keen to try, so my husband and I headed out to Happy Goats Farm, located in Holliston, MA. This little farm is owned by Diana and Lee Phillips and features not only Goat Yoga but is also a mini farm that specializes in fresh eggs, goat milk, soap and other items which they sell in a tiny store. Diana told me that Happy Goats Farm has been offering Baby Goat Yoga for about three years now.

Lee, the co-owner and Diana’s partner, greeted us and gathered the 12 or so people together and led us on a short trek down to the goat pen. I was very excited… everyone there was, especially as this was the last Goat Yoga session of the year. We soon came upon the goats’ area and Lee mentioned to us that the goats will be very playful, so be prepared. He also introduced his daughter as our “Goat Wrangler.” She did a marvelous job of keeping the goats interested in the people, even though there was delicious grass to be had on the edges of the enclosure. At this point, everyone went in and laid their towels down on the grass (mats were discouraged, as the goats had taken to eating them), and the goats immediately came to greet everyone. It was a beautiful, serene setting and one immediately felt a sense of peace.

It turns out that Goat Yoga was similar to what I had imagined (well, except for the goat Yogi). Our Yogi, Nissa Dianatina led the class while the goats frolicked around and jumped on people’s backs while they were in the table pose (or any pose, as it turns out). They were about 4 months old and probably 25-30 pounds, so not tiny babies, but still babies! They were so playful, and so well trained!

The goats would wait for their moment and then: Table Pose and boom! Goat on your back. I couldn’t stop laughing. The owners had recommended that anyone with long hair tie it up, as it’s a favorite of the goats to munch on. I’m in the pose, goat on my back and chewing on my bun, and I’m giggling like a little kid. It was just so comical. The best part for me, though, was the very end, when we got to feed the babies their bottles of fresh goat milk. They were greedy little things and would try to butt each other out of the way, but eventually everyone drank their fill. Lee graciously allowed us to take pictures and everyone slowly walked back to their cars. It was an experience very well worth the $33!

In closing, I want to mention that Lee and Diana care very much about their goats. When the goats are older, they are adopted out to good families that are carefully screened. The farm is aptly named, as not only are the goats happy but also the folks participating. I plan to attend another class in the spring, right after the new babies are born. No kidding!

You can borrow:  The Little Book of Goat Yoga

Carla Howard is the Senior Circulation and Media and Marketing Assistant at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the August 26, 2021 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.

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