Welcome! It's Good to Be Back.

Holiday Closure: Have a Happy Fourth!

The Edgartown Public Library will be closed this Friday in observance of Independence Day. We hope that as you celebrate the day, you remember the words of Thomas Jefferson which still speak to the essential work of public libraries today: "No nation can remain both ignorant and free."

Friday afternoon, as the Vineyard's Fourth of July parade passes by the library, the Friends of the Library will be selling refreshments (and raffle tickets -- see the grill below) on the front lawn. Saturday, we'll be back to our regular hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m..

July 5 Show Launches Summer Reading Program

Performing artist Bill Ross will help the MV Library Association launch its summer reading program with a wild and wacky show at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 5, at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury.

Some children may remember Mr. Ross, who incorporates juggling, magic, unicycling and other forms of colorful behavior into his shows, from the programs he gave on tick bite prevention several years ago in the Vineyard public schools.

Admission to the show is just $3. After the one-hour program, kids can hang around to have their faces painted for $1.

Where the Wild Things Are:
Our Summer Reading Program

Summer Raffle's Prize: A Gleaming Weber Grill

Children's Room Reopens

After a marathon of work deep into the night of Monday, June 23, the Children's Department of the Edgartown Public Library has reopened. We still have work to do, but our children's collection is back on the shelves, eight new public computers are in service, and everyone is invited to explore the space.

Our new hours at the Edgartown Public Library are both expanded and easier to remember. (On every day we're open, we open at 10 a.m. -- how easy is that?) The library is now closed on Mondays, but this new schedule actually extends our hours from 40 to 41 each week.

Remembering Tasha Tudor

If you were watching Antiques Roadshow in May, you might have caught the segment in which a collector learned that her original illustration from the book Pumpkin Moonshine, by Tasha Tudor, was worth between $8,000 and $10,000.

Mrs. Tudor, who died Wednesday at her home in Marlboro, Vt., at age 92, was a prolific author and illustrator who produced nearly 100 children's books over her long career, winning Caldecott Awards for two of them -- Mother Goose in 1944 and 1 Is One in 1957. You can read about her life in this obituary in the Boston Globe.

If you aren't familiar with this artist's whimsical, country-flavored works, just visit our CLAMS catalog: Libraries in our network hold more than 80 titles from Tasha Tudor.

Shifting into OverDrive:
New Audio Book & Music Download Service Expands

George Carlin, May 12, 1937 ~ June 22, 2008

When you think of comedian George Carlin, who died Sunday at age 71, you might think first of his most famous routine, "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." Or if you're a serious fan, you might think of one of his loopy one-liners, like the advice: "Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things."

If you progress from this to this sort of thinking to wondering how well Mr. Carlin is represented in the CLAMS network catalog, you might be surprised by all you find. An author search reveals 58 items held by the CLAMS libraries, from DVDs of Mr. Carlin's standup comedy work to his three books, Brain Droppings, Napalm & Silly Putty and the ever-popular Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?

Thanks for the laughs, Mr. Carlin, wherever you are. We'll take some solace from your own goofy meditations on the afterlife, among which is this: "Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck."

Hot Off the Presses --

 Actually, our early-summer edition of the Edgartown Library newsletter isn't printed on presses -- we use the library's new color printer. Be sure to pick up a copy at the front desk next time you visit the library. Or if you prefer, download the file using the handy link below and print your own edition.

If These Books Were Any Cheaper,
We'd Have to Pay You to Schlep Them Away

The Edgartown Library is a sort of zero-sum game: To maintain our good standing with the state library commissioners, we spend $60,000 each year on new materials for you, our patrons. But since we're perpetually out of shelf space, this poses a problem.

The solution is what librarians call "weeding," the systematic removal from our collection of materials that have not circulated. And the beneficiaries of this process, if you swing by the library this week, can be you. All this week in the front entryway, we're giving away hundreds of good books in excellent condition. Fill a bag, and enjoy! If you'd like to make a donation, we'll put it in the Thayer Fund, which supports new acquisitions. But donations are strictly optional -- the main idea is to make space for our new materials.

Selectmen's Meeting Minutes

Just click below to read the minutes from meetings of the Edgartown board of selectmen. We'll post minutes as they become available.

Best-Dressed Bears Support the Library

The sleuth of teddy bears that invaded our library in December made the town hall space decidedly cozier, and a number of them have moved back with us to the main library building on North Water Street.

The women who meet at the library on Friday mornings to knit (and to solve all the world's problems in their lively discussions) have taken to the bears in a big way. Thanks to them, our resident teddies now sport handsome new knitted outfits -- and they're for sale, to benefit the library, at the front desk.

We hope you'll stop to admire the Island's most nattily attired teddy bears the next time you visit us at the library.

Recycling Project Raises More Than $4,500

A volunteer program of collecting returnable bottles and cans, begun last year, has now passed the $4,500 mark in funds raised for the campaign to build the new Edgartown Public Library.

A friend of the library expansion project has kindly volunteered to manage this program -- with collection bins set up at sites around the Island for returnable bottles and cans, with all proceeds going toward the new building fund.

The going rate for returnables in Massachusetts is five cents, but last year an anonymous supporter of the building project matched the revenues from this program. Now the library is looking for a new friend of the library to match these recycling dollars in the new year. If you'd like to help, contact the library and we'll put you in touch with our volunteer.

Transcontinental Teddy Bear

How did this Edgartown Library teddy bear end up a resident at the Cambria, Calif., public library? The story goes something like this:

Abel Martinez, a patron of the Cambria Library in San Luis Obispo County, was in Boston this year to run in the marathon, and afterwards he and his wife swung down to the Vineyard for the weekend of lighthouse tours promoted by the Chamber of Commerce and the MV Museum. On their explorations, they visited the Edgartown Library and picked up a bear as a gift for their librarian friends back home.

Pictured at left with their new Edgartown friend, outside the Cambria Library, are Erin Perry, Joen Kommer and Destiny Carter.

Now Online: Our Annual Report

Here's our three-page annual report for the year ending June 30, 2007, as published in the pages of this year's Edgartown Annual Report. You can retrieve your copy by clicking below -- or by visiting the About Us page of this website and following the link (on the left) where our annual reports are archived.

Library Foundation Wins $50,000 Grant

The Vineyard Golf Club Foundation has announced a five-year, $50,000 challenge grant program to the Edgartown Library Foundation to support its campaign for a new library.
Under this new initiative, individual contributions from the year-round Island community of $2,000 or less, up to a total of $10,000 per year, will be matched by the golf foundation to encourage support for the library building program.

Using the CLAMS Catalog Is Easy --
Let Us Show You

It's been our experience that once patrons of the Edgartown Library try using the CLAMS catalog online to request books, movies and music, they're pretty much hooked. So in the spirit of getting you started, we've produced a two-minute video tutorial that walks you through the process. Here it is:

Have You Used Your PIN Lately?

This year at the Edgartown Public Library, all PINs are free. Actually, they always have been, always will be -- we're just trying to get your attention.

Your four-digit PIN, or Personal Identification Number, is your Internet doorway into the CLAMS network. With it, you can explore -- and request items from -- the nearly 1.5 million books, CDs and videos of our regional consortium of libraries.

Getting your PIN is as easy as stopping by the library circulation desk for half a minute, or calling us on the phone during our open hours. We'll be delighted to set you up. Because we want all our patrons to discover the wonderful world of library resources that awaits you online.

Hop Aboard the Learning Express

No matter which acronym you're studying for -- ACT, SAT, GRE or any of the others -- you’ll want to sign up for the online test-preparation service, Learning Express.

The Edgartown Library subscribes to this service, which means that all our patrons can enjoy free access to practice tools to help prepare for dozens of important tests, from real estate exams to the U.S. citizenship test.

Learning Express also offers free online courses which you can take at your own pace, in academic subjects from math to writing, reading comprehension and even English language skills.