LIBRARY HAPPENINGS

Exeter, Phillips Exeter Academy - The Friends of the Academy Library of Phillips Exeter Academy will host a summer music series to be held in Rockefeller Hall in the Class of 1945 Library. The first of the five concerts, Dick Johnson with the Jim Howe Trio will be performed on Tuesday, July 6th. The Jim Howe trio was the recipient of the 2002 Spotlight on the Arts Critics Choice Award for the Best Jazz Act. This evening of jazz will feature Jim Howe, on bass, Less Harris, Jr., drums, Chris Neville, piano, and special guest performer, Dick Johnson on Clarinet and Alto Saxophone. The program will include jazz standards from the American Song Book. Jim Howe is the Director of "Sunday Night Jazz" at the Press Room in Portsmouth, N.H. and has brought in musicians from all over the world to perform with his trio. Les Harris, Jr., teaches at the University of New Hampshire and University of Southern Maine, and is one of the premier drummers in New England. Chris Neville, one of Boston's finest jazz pianists, has played and recorded with some of the country's finest jazz players, including Benny Carter. Special guest artist will be Dick Johnson. A versatile and valuable reed player, Johnson has long been known for his beautiful tone and fluent style. He attended the New England Conservatory. Based throughout much of his career in Boston, he has long freelanced and taught in the city. Among his more significant associations have been Charlie Spivak, Dave McKenna, Eddie Costa, and the ensembles of the Berklee College of Music and Woody Herman's Orchestra. In the 1980's and 90's, Johnson has often been featured with Artie Shaw's part-time orchestra, taking the clarinet solos. Dick Johnson has led albums for EmArcy, Riverside, RFT, Concord, and North Star.

Hampstead - By the time you read this, the Hampstead Public Library's second floor building project should be complete and fully functional. The elevator will have been installed in early June, the cable TV wiring and phone system will be in, the shelving set up and the books and other materials moved into their new locations by a team of volunteers. The elevator will make the material moving process much easier for all. In fact, the new second floor meeting room will have been used for some of the Summer Reading Program activities. It should all be over by August 1st as far as we can tell now (the end of May) an excitement is reaching a fever pitch. This project has been 10 long years in the making and the end is finally in sight. The confusion and disruption in service have been minor - for four days in April opening had to be postponed to 3:00 p.m. while major sprinkler system work was done on the first floor. Lots of credit goes to the construction management company, Bonnette, Page and Stone of Laconia, for keeping the disruptions to the bare minimum and for completing their part of the project promptly.

Merrimack - On September 11, 2004, the Merrimack Public Library will hold the 9th Annual Cardboard Boat Festival from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Wasserman Park in Merrimack. (Rain date, September 12th). This event, which raises money for the Library Development Fund, features entertainment, a book sale, a sand castle competition, and much more.

The highlight of the day is the Cardboard Boat Races during which boats made entirely of cardboard race on (or in) Lake Naticook competing against each other in various design and speed categories. This year will include a new "Sink or Float" race at the end of the day where competitors will try to stay afloat while sinking the other boats. In honor of the date of this year's Festival, this year's theme is "Heroes."

For more information contact Pat Heinrich at 424-4663 or check out the Cardboard Boat Festival links on our website at www.merrimack.lib.nh.us. You don't have to be a Merrimack resident to build and enter a boat! If your library or your family is looking for some fun, build a boat to enter or just come and see these "sea-" and "see-worthy" cardboard creations.

Also, the Merrimack Public Library recently installed an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) in the library. Nineteen of twenty-nine staff members have been trained by American Red Cross Instructors in the use of the AED a well as CPR. One staff member is now a CPR/AED/FA instructor and will annually recertify staff members.

Washington - Last fall the Shedd Free Library closed for two months while major renovations were done. The cracks in the walls were plastered, and the entire inside of the library was repainted a colonial red. Quite a change from the dirty cream color and chancy in a conservative New England town! So far, we have a 98% approval rating! We did a lot of minor cosmetic changes as well. Please come and visit us for our Grand Re-Opening, Sunday, July 18, 2004 at 1:30 p.m.

We were also able to raise enough funds to sponsor a grant for the CLiF program (Children's Literacy Foundation, out of Vermont). We received a grant last year and thought it would be appropriate to sponsor another small rural library. Our grant will be presented sometime this fall.

Our very active Friends group is sponsoring a VIP program (Videos to Inmates Program). We are donating videos, books, games, etc. to the local (and not so local) county jails. During our moving out and moving back in phases, we discovered from our volunteers from the Sullivan Country Jail that they have very few recreational facilities. So we decided to remedy that and sent them about 100 books and videos. We're currently in contact with the jail in Westmoreland and will donate to them also.

Friends of Shedd are taking part in the Flea Market July 3rd (9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) on the Town Common. Be sure to come to buy our books, baked goods, t-shirts, pins, flea market items, and raffle tickets for our Genuine Leather Briefcase! (WHEW!) Hey, ya gotta make money while the people are in town! The Friends of the Shedd Free Library (a.k.a. "Sheddettes) will also be participating in the Hillsboro Balloon Fest Parade, Sunday, July 11th, at 12:00 noon. Come and sing along with us!