One of my favorite books growing up was The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The story of young Mary Lennox investigating the gothic mysteries of Misselthwaite Manor and then discovering a locked garden captivated my imagination, and I would find myself wishing that I too could find someplace locked and secret to make my own. In my academic career, I’ve ended up rereading this book many more times and having to grapple with the various problems of the novel, but I still enjoy seeing all of the different iterations of it that are being published now. One such publication is the graphic novel version by Mariah Marsden and Hanna Luechtefeld. The bright, colorful cover drew me in, and I was interested to see how they went about adapting the original text into a fully illustrated one, especially considering the beginning chapters are rife with racist language and problematic depictions of Indian people. 

Except…they didn’t. The graphic novel starts as Mary is arriving at Misselthwaite Manor, cutting out three whole chapters of the story. As I read on, I discovered that the only allusions to Mary’s beginnings in India took place in the form of a few  panels where Mary explained how she always had servants to dress her, and how her parents were never around. It is only in the back matter of the book where the authors explain that they didn’t feel that they could accurately represent the British colonization and occupation of India which Mary lived in, so they just didn’t include it. While I understand that this is a difficult topic to address to children, it feels like more damage is done by choosing not to include it. The true scope of Mary’s character is lost, because her rude and bratty nature is not just a result of parental neglect, but also of an attitude where she believes (and states) that she is better than her Indian servants because she is a little white girl. 

This decision to leave out a moment of history in the adaptation also feels a lot like a “whitewashing” of history, where the desire to sanitize the ugly parts of history and not confront the reality of colonialism and racism ultimately leads nowhere because so many people feel that it’s not appropriate to discuss this with children. However, when reading classics like The Secret Garden or the “Little House” series, these ugly moments in history are a part of the story, and you are seemingly left with only two choices: to not read the book at all, or to simply get rid of the parts that offend. There was one instance where I was talking to a mother who was looking for beginner chapter books to read to her daughter, and mentioned that she loved the “Little House” series as a child, but would never read them to her child because of the anti-Indigenous language and attitudes of the characters. 

The Ypsilanti District Library has a great article and resources  on how to discuss racism in books with children, and talking about how important it is to create awareness and empathy by discussing these issues with children. One great way to actively combat the racism of these classics, along with the attitude of “Oh, well that’s just how everybody talked/thought/acted back then” is to pair books with modern historical fiction for children that takes place around those same time periods. Take The Secret Garden for example. I recently read Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar, a middle-grade historical novel about a young Indian girl, Meera, escaping her fate of sati during the time of British colonization in India. The novel follows Meera as she actively fights the British occupation of India while also being employed as a servant in the household of a British officer and his wife. The story is set around the same time as Burnett’s The Secret Garden, but shows the reader what life would have been like for one of Mary Lennox’s servants, and what people like Mary’s parents were doing in India at the time. I like to call books like these “companion novels”, because I think they do a great job of educating the reader about the voices and experiences that were silenced in the classics of literature. Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame is an amazing novel, and does an excellent job of educating readers about British colonization in both the story and in a lot of curated backmatter, including an author’s note that directly references the racism in The Secret Garden: “[T]he book did not think highly of Indian people. They were in the background…Native people are viewed through a colonial gaze. Their lands serve as exotic, thrilling backdrops to stories, but their people are rarely even treated like people…while the colonizers’ stories are prioritized” (Kelkar)

Another great example of a companion novel is Louise Erdrich’s Birchbark House books, which are about a young Ojibwa girl, Omakayas, and her life growing up with her family in the land around Lake Superior. I first heard Debbie Reese talking about this book in relation to the Little House series, and how Birchbark House is the answer to the exclusion of the Native American voice in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. While Little House on the Prairie is known for its anti-Indigenous language and attitude that “there were no people, just Indians”, the story of Birchbark House shows a part of the rich Indigenous cultures and traditions of the Ojibwe. 

Some more examples of companion novels to more classic/difficult books are Lalani of the Distant Sea in conversation with Island of the Blue Dolphins, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry in conversation with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Seven Chinese Sisters in conversation with The Five Chinese Brothers. 

Dina Delic is the Assistant Children’s Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the January 27, 2022 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.

I discovered Ancestry.com during a project for my Online Searching class at San Jose State University in December of 2021. Did you know that Norwood patrons have access to Ancestry.com, for free? Ancestry is one of the most prevalent online genealogical resources available to us today, providing access to millions of historical photos and billions of historical documents from all over the world. AncestryLibrary, available at the Morrill Memorial Library, provides tools and resources that enable searchers to trace their family trees, find relatives, and even locate ships on which their ancestors have traveled. All you need is a Minuteman Library Card!

There are several different ways to search for antecedents using AncestryLibrary:

The Basic Search is a great tool if you have several pieces of accurate information, such as an exact name, birthdate, and/or place of birth.  If you have even more details, such as military service, death and marriage dates, or the names of other family members, you can click on the “show more options” facet and plug those in to narrow your search.

The Census search is very similar to the Basic search.  Here, after you fill in the form, it will bring you to your results page on which the filter “Census and Voter Lists” has been preselected. Beneath are the filters “record location” and “record date” to help you narrow down your search.  

The Vitals search is very similar to the Census search; here they have set up the filters “birth, marriage, & death”; you also have the “record location” and the “record date” to further narrow your search.

The Military Search provides several different filters you can choose to help make your match. Here, the “Anything” field is helpful in narrowing a search, if one knows the branch of the military or  that their relative served in.  One can also enter the name of a naval or air force base, or ship’s name to help in the search.

The Immigration and Travel Search is chock-full of information, not only about our ancestors, but it also has lists and photos of ships.  I decided to perform a search on passenger ships, specifically looking for a photo of the Titanic.  For the first search, I scrolled to the right and clicked on “Ship Pictures and Descriptions”.  On the next screen, I chose “Passenger Ships and Images”.  Finally, on the last screen, I chose a letter (“T”) and a drop-down menu of ships appeared, on which was Titanic.  Clicking on the year it was constructed (1911) brought me to five photos attached to the record. This is a pretty neat feature!

Another feature of AncestryLibrary is the Message Boards.  These Message Boards enable the searcher to look for any messages that might be related to their search, as well as any relatives who  might be posting. You can search by name/keyword, subject, author (of the message), surnames, and there is a drop-down list of several classifications. You can even search by country or topic, such as “Bailey Family Reunion.”

Probably the most helpful feature of AncestryLibrary is the Learning Center, which provides all kinds of research aids and useful tips on how to use this resource. These include a how-to on creating timelines and a basic guide to DNA.  There is also a Map feature that enables the searcher to click on a state and then choose from several options, including state history, probate records, vital statistics, and Census records.

I was thrilled to find my grandfather’s draft card from WWII, with both his and my grandmother’s signatures on it.  I also found my parents’ marriage certificate, something that I had never seen as the original had been destroyed in a house fire in the 1980’s. There were also several mentions of my grandfather’s, dad’s and uncles’ Naval service.  I found out that my dad’s ship, the aircraft carrier USS Essex, had been at the Bay of Pigs during JFK’s presidency.

So, get yourself a library card and start researching your family history!  With AncestryLibrary, it will be a snap. You never know what you might find.  Happy searching!

Carla Howard is the Senior Circulation/Media & Marketing Assistant at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the January 6, 2021 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.

As a librarian, I sing the praises of the public library wherever I go, using any opportunity to inform the populace about the treasure trove available to them. Home improvement project? Did you know we lend out a wallpaper steamer and a pressure washer? Inflation got you down? Well, are you taking advantage of the free audiobook, e-book and streaming video services we offer, along with borrowing books and movies instead of buying them? It seems like folks would have to be crazy not to take advantage of such a no-strings-attached benefit, but from those who opt not to, I hear a few reasons why.

Someone never returned a library book they borrowed in college back in 1995. Another harbors traumatic memories of the scolding librarian from their childhood, and fears “getting in trouble.” Many freely admit their own shortcomings – procrastination, forgetfulness, disorganization – and don’t trust themselves to return material on time. These law-abiding citizens do not want the “library police” coming after them, or to end up in debtors’ prison after incurring a crippling amount of overdue fines.

Well, we have good news for the library-phobic, and welcome them back with open arms, as the Morrill Memorial Library has joined a wave of others nationwide in going fine-free. Last month the library’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to approve a new borrowing policy that eliminates most overdue fines. This applies to our books, movies, puzzles and other “things,” and essentially everything else that we lend from our own and other Minuteman network libraries – everything except for interlibrary-loan materials we request from farther afield sources, outside of Minuteman, as we are bound to other libraries’ policies for those.

When considering such a change, the biggest question becomes how to hold patrons responsible without the threat of fines. How can we trust people to bring materials back? It turns out, most people borrow things because they don’t want to own them – they don’t need a book or movie permanently but just want to read or view it and give it back after. They happily borrow our projector screen or paper shredder, but only need it one time, not cluttering their closet. Of course, if someone wants to keep a borrowed item, we’re not that generous; after any opportunities for renewal have passed, we ask for it back and send a bill for replacement of an item if it is not returned. Once returned though, all is forgiven – we eliminate the bill and do not charge penalties. If someone loses or destroys an item, they owe us the money for it – seems fair, right?

We have other ways to hold people accountable. Think of it as the original Netflix model: Netflix mailed you DVDs and you could keep them as long as you wanted… but couldn’t get new ones until you returned them. If a library user holds onto something for so long that no more renewals are allowed, the item is considered potentially lost and the system generates a bill for the replacement cost. When bills reach a certain level, the responsible party’s account automatically goes on hold. This prevents them from putting requests on additional items or from accessing our online databases and e-book, audiobook and streaming services, until the situation is resolved. Return the materials, or pay for lost items, and they’re back in business.

We at the MML do not have to reinvent the wheel. Others have eliminated fines on a trial basis and assessed the outcomes of the decision. Across the board, libraries discover that return rates increase! People no longer fear the library or avoid it to postpone reckoning with paying their fines. Keep in mind, fines we charged historically did not rake in big bucks – fines for many items accrued at only $0.05 per day, often maxing out at $2.00. Overdue fines never did keep the library afloat. In fact at the MML as with most other public libraries, less than one percent of our revenue generally came from fines and fees. Meanwhile, our staff spent a fair amount of time and effort collecting coins and adjusting patrons’ online accounts handling these penalties; the labor cost could very well exceed the income of the fines. On the other hand, as a passport application acceptance agency, the Department of State requires the MML to charge a $35.00 agency fee for each application we process (the same goes for the post office). Our convenient passport service brings in far more revenue than overdue fines ever did, for us to put back into building our collections and supporting programming.

It’s hard to make lending policies one size fits all. I happen to read painfully slowly – it may well take me longer than the three-week loan period to finish a book. Clearly it takes longer to read War and Peace than The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We want community members to borrow what they need, and bring it back when they are done, trusting them not to abuse this privilege. An adult may borrow one book at a time, while parents routinely borrow 20 picture books at a time for their children. Fine schemes impact people differently, and we aim for equity of access. Anyone struggling financially should embrace the services the library provides free of charge, and the last thing we want to do is set up financial barriers for using our ostensibly free resources.

Pre-pandemic, the trend of public libraries going fine-free began and those ahead of the curve reported back to others on the success of their forgiveness programs. In Norwood, the former Library Director and Board of Trustees discussed the idea as other Minuteman network libraries moved in this direction, and anticipated going the same way. COVID-19 became a catalyst that sped up this phenomenon nationwide. Amid the confusion and constant changes of library hours, entrance allowances, and return policies, libraries suspended overdue fines, and when the world began to reopen many opted not to resume with them. This included the New York Public Library, the Boston Public Library, and over a dozen of our fellow Minuteman libraries. We are thrilled to join them and to welcome all Norwood residents back with open arms.

Lydia Sampson is the Assistant Director at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the January 20, 2022 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.

I was driving home from work, minding my own business when a Christmas carol came on the radio and brought me to tears. I know I’m not the first person in the history of time to shed a tear over a Christmas song. In fact, it’s not even the first time that I, personally, have gotten a little misty. That honor belongs to a memory from back when I was in elementary school, if you can believe it. I recall a moment during a candlelight service on Christmas Eve that inspired me with awe before I understood that that was the word to describe it. At the time, I was a member of the choir and my position up in the choir loft afforded me a bird’s eye view of the interior of the church, which was packed to the gills that night. I remember looking down over the rows and rows of congregants clutching candles with paper drip guards, the collective flames forming a twinkling sea of light. At a signal from the minister, the congregation rose to its feet in a noisy shuffle of limbs and squeaking of weathered floorboards. There was a split second of silence before the opening chords of “Joy to the World” erupted from the massive pipes of the church organ at my back. When the parishioners added their voices to the mix, a wave of sound rushed up from below, and the ensuing feeling that buoyed me up from the inside was overwhelming. I sang along through a throat tight with stifled tears, startled by the intensity of my reaction to this shared declaration of joy.

My other childhood memories of Christmas are less transcendent, but no less cherished. Each year my mom pulled out all the stops to create an ambience of Christmas joy; she’d decorate, play records of carols nonstop and fill our house with the scent of her baking. Yet there was a bit of a philosophical tug of war between my schoolteacher mother – who didn’t want to spoil my sister and I, and my dad – who delighted in gift giving as only one who hadn’t had the best of childhoods can. His boyish enthusiasm for stealth-wrapping presents led to a family tradition of elaborate concealments, the pinnacle of which was an effort by my sister’s beau in which he entombed her gift in a paper mâché duck. 

Not all emotions evoked at the holidays are joyous. This year, the seemingly innocuous song that had me reaching for tissues on my commute was “I’ll Be Home for Christmas (If Only in my Dreams).” I’m not one of those people who moved far away from home and is now prevented from being with family owing to travel considerations. In fact, I live a scant half an hour from where I grew up. The prohibitive detail for me is that my family isn’t there anymore. Both of my parents departed for the great beyond years ago, and have been joined since by other relatives. The down side of knowing splendid people is missing them when they’re gone. That task could take all day if you let it, so I mostly try not to. One exception to the rule is Christmastime, when I grant myself permission to unlock a treasure chest of memories and lovingly consider them at length. I call the people who share those memories and we tell each other the stories once more, polishing different facets as we present them again for consideration, marveling at the tiny details we still manage to unearth. In these shared recollections, we defy our inability to go home for Christmas, instead bringing the experience to us.

Although I’m now blessed to be able to spend the holidays with wonderful friends who are like family, some years it is harder for me to invoke the Christmas spirit than others. I have to move beyond old favorites like putting out the decorations from my childhood or watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and break new ground. If, like me, you’re looking for Christmastime inspiration, fortunately the library has a number of different sources. I recommend browsing new cookbooks like The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook or Vegan Holiday Cookbook: Festive Plant-based Meals and Desserts for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Table. I’m not necessarily going to make pheasant soup or go vegan for the holidays, but considering something outside my wheelhouse can help shift my focus from “bah humbug” to “fah who foraze, dah who doraze” if you know what I mean. In some small way I think this also honors my dearly departed, the people who poured themselves into making Christmas a magical time. Browsing through holiday projects on Craftsy evoked lovely memories of some of my great aunt’s past pursuits: quilted tree skirts, stockings, and holiday snack mix. There are numerous books on holiday crafts in our network, as well as titles about Christmas traditions such as A Jane Austen Christmas and Christmas Traditions in Boston – both of which depict a markedly more austere take on the holiday than our current practices. On the subject of Boston, my search took an odd turn to the Britannica Library database, where I brushed up on the history behind the Christmas tree displayed each year in Boston. I learned more about the Great Halifax Explosion of 1917, in which the departing Norwegian steamship Imo collided with the incoming French munitions ship Mont-Blanc. Unfortunately the Mont-Blanc, which was carrying 2,925 metric tons of explosives, blew up. The resulting tsunami flattened over a mile of the city. Almost 2,000 died and another 9,000 were injured. The boston.gov website marked the 103 anniversary in 2020 with an historical accounting of the event, noting that upon hearing news of the disaster Massachusetts quickly sent medical supplies and personnel to Halifax. The following December, Nova Scotia sent a Christmas tree to Boston as a thankyou; the gesture was repeated again in 1971, and in years since. Now that’s getting into the Christmas spirit!

Kirstie David is the Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the December 23, 2021 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.

Most kids I know are pretty jazzed up for this time of year, anticipating their annual deluge of gifts from various holiday celebrations. While we try to teach kids that giving is the true meaning of the season, it’s hard to deny the excitement  of finding a pile of presents with their names on them. My daughter has already submitted her Christmas wish list to Santa with an alarming amount of gift ideas on it. Most of them are toys but I always sneak in a few books for my avid reader.

As a librarian, I’ve given out many recommendations to adults looking to buy a special book for the kids in their lives. So many parents appreciate the gift of books since kids today seem to accumulate toys and random cheap plastic things at an alarming rate. Parents also get tired of reading the same bedtime stories over and over again. Gifted books give everyone a break from the usual and help kids discover new titles they might enjoy.

If you have anyone under 2 in your life, you know finding gifts that are near-indestructible are key for that demographic. Board books are the way to go with the toddler set. These books are made out of sturdy cardboard, making it harder for little ones to rip anything while simultaneously making it easier for them to turn pages.  Every family probably has the standards in their home library already (The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown) so it’s a good idea to branch out to newer titles. Celebrated board book author Sandra Boynton has a new book out this year entitled Woodland Dance, a humorous bedtime story where animals play instruments and dance themselves off to bed. Dinosnores, another recent Boynton hit, a silly look at how dinosaurs get ready for bed.

Once kids get a little older and can sit for slightly longer stories, most families need a steady supply of picture books for reading. 2021 was a great year for picture books, starting with Aaron Slater, Illustrator, a new edition to the popular Questioneers series. This story follows Aaron, a young boy who struggles to read and write but figures out how to tell a story in his own unique way. Using dyslexia-friendly font, this book focuses on how the power of art can help kids cope with insecurities and challenges. Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanne Ho is another story that celebrates self-discovery and acceptance. A young girl notices that while her eyes are different from her friends’, they connect her to her family and the stories of their culture. Beautiful illustrations and a gentle story that focuses on family make this book perfect to cuddle up with at the end of the day.

For kids who are just starting to read but aren’t ready for long novels, short chapter books with a few illustrations can make the transition to independent reading easier. The Zoey and Sassafras series by Asia Citro incorporates cool STEM concepts with easy to understand vocabulary and attractive illustrations to entice emerging readers. Kids will find the stories engaging and want to try out the easy science experiments Zoey undertakes in each book.

Not every kid who loves fantasy is ready to start the Harry Potter series. Shorter fantasy books for kids can be hard to come by but Dragon in a Bag by Zetta Elliot fits the bill perfectly. Jaxon is forced to spend a long day with a crotchety old lady called Ma, who he assumes is his grandmother. Jaxon learns that Ma is not his real grandmother but is actually a witch! The two have fantastical adventures together while delivering dragons in a bag to a magical realm.

For slightly older kids, middle grade novel Ophie’s Ghosts branches into a spooky historical mystery. In 1922, Ophelia Harrison learns a disturbing fact: she can see ghosts. In order to help her struggling mother, Ophie gets a job as a maid in one of Pittsburgh’s grand manor houses and learns the secrets of its owner’s past. She strikes up a friendship with one spirit who helps her realize she might be able to help the ghosts trapped by Daffodil Manor’s past.

Teens who enjoy mysteries with a twist will appreciate Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. Daunis Fontaine has always had trouble fitting in, both as a biracial teen and an unenrolled Ojibwe tribe member. She hopes to start over at college but ends up witnessing a shocking murder and getting drawn into an investigation of a new lethal drug. While her search for the truth helps her reconcile her indigenous identity, it also exposes old secrets and starts to tear apart the only community she’s ever known.

Once you choose the book you’re going to give, it’s always good to personalize your gift with a special message or bookplate inside the front cover. I still love looking at books I received as a child and re-reading the messages from the folks who gave me those books. Top it off with a fun bookmark and you’ll have the perfect literary gift for that special child in your life.

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