HILL PUBLIC LIBRARY CELEBRATES CONSTRUCTION OF CILLEY ROOM
by Diane Ames, Secretary, Board of Library Trustees

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon when nearly 100 family, friends, conservationists, librarians and colleagues of Herb Cilley gathered to celebrate the newly completed Anne and Herb Cilley Room at the Hill Public Library in Center Strafford. Herb Cilley, sometimes known as the "Loon Ranger", achieved national recognition for his role as guardian of the one-time endangered common loon. In 1991 Herb Cilley received the first lifetime-achievement award ever granted by the North American Loon Fund. He was named "Outstanding Friend of the Loon."

With a generous donation, Anne and Herb Cilley helped finance the building of a new wing for the Hill Library. Later Mr. Cilley gave the library his extensive collection of ornithological resources - books, magazines, and journals. Richard Moore, President of the N.H. Audubon Society, commented that the centerpiece of the valuable collection is a complete set of Birds of North America. Among ornithologists these volumes are considered the most important resources in the study and identification of North American birds. In a letter, Senator Bob Smith wrote that Herb Cilley's tireless work on behalf of loons and conservation has benefited the local community, state and nation. Senator Smith stated that he was proud to represent people like Anne and Herb Cilley.

Steve Steinmuller, a neighbor and long-time friend spoke about how, at Bow Lake in Strafford, Mr. Cilley created a community culture of loon conservations primarily through education of people in the local area. Harry Vogel, Director of the New Hampshire Loon Preservation Committee, said Herb Cilley was instrumental in increasing the loon population on several lakes in the state.

Ken Berry, president of the Strafford Library Association introduced the staff and trustees. He described the steps taken over time involved with constructing the new wing. Pamela Marks, a trustee of the library, thanked the building committee and the many people who were involved with the planning, designing, and building of the addition. She named several individual and cooperative donors and contractors who contributed materials and labor. The result of many months of effort is a large bright room that not only houses the Anne and Herb Cilley collection, but other resources as well. The room is already being used for meetings and by groups of children in reading programs.

On exhibit throughout the library were several artistic items created by Strafford artists. Another eye-catching display consisted of over 100 small flags representing states and countries from visitors who have come to Bow Lake to be passengers in Herb Cilley's loon-observation boat, the Ginny B.

Michael York, New Hampshire State Librarian, summarized the feelings of most people attending the celebration. He said that while e-communications appear to be dominating the media, books and libraries continue to play important roles as resources in the community.

PEMBROKE LIBRARY BREAKING GROUND
by Melinda Baxter, Director

The Trustees and the Building Committee of the Pembroke Town Library plan to break ground in the Spring of 2002 for the new library building! At a special town meeting in April 2001, residents voted to fund $800,000 of the cost ($400,000 from the town surplus and $400,000 from taxes). We have bought the property adjacent to Pembroke Town Hall and have enough money now to build the building. Our dedicated Fund-Raising Committee is committed to raise 1/3 of the project, $433,000. To date we have raised approximately $136,500 and have approximately $296,500 left to raise. These remaining funds will be for interior furnishings and landscaping. We have sent out grant applications and a general mailing to all town citizens for funds. We also have numerous fall fund-raisers planned, including an antique appraisal program, an auction, a Walk-A-Thon and more!

The Building Committee for the new Pembroke Town Library meets frequently with our architect, Peter Tennant. We are currently reviewing proposals from companies that provide construction management. The company chosen will oversee the entire project, working with the architect, Building Committee and Trustees. This is all very exciting! We hope to move into our new library in late Fall 2002!

NESMITH LIBRARY IN WINDHAM
by John Barrett, Director

The library's new Universal Resource Locator (URL) or website address is now official - www.nesmithlibrary.org - to get to the Nesmith Library online. You will find plenty of news and information such as genealogy resources, business resources, New Hampshire government, Windham government and schools, favorite web sites, recommended search engines, online databases and much, much more. Reference Librarian Lois Freeston is also the library's webmaster. Lois uses her knowledge and skills to maintain the library's homepage with current, accurate, and useful information. One of the goals at Nesmith is to bring the library closer to you. Remote access is one means of doing that. From your home or office we want you to be able to access the library's catalog, link to various electronic resources, and lean more about library programs and events. We hope having a URL that is easy to remember will make it easier to find us on the World Wide Web. In the coming year, we will be enhancing our library homepage to make it even better. We would be glad to receive your comments and suggestions. So, go ahead and check out our library at today at www.nesmithlibrary.org.

-Reprinted with permission