Open on Sunday!

Margaret Borchers, Director of the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library, is pleased to announce that the library will be open on Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. beginning December 5, 2010 through May. The training of additional staff required a late start this fall, but in the future the Sunday opening will begin in early October. In addition, the Saturday hours will continue throughout the year with no summer closings.

The expansion of library hours is made possible by the generosity of the Library Board of Directors. As beneficiaries of the Wheeler Trust, the board has the authority to supplement the normal budgetary amount received by the library from the Town if that budget limits the purchase of needed items or operating expenses. The trust is not to be used to replace Monroe’s budgetary contribution, but rather, to enhance it when necessary.

For some time the Director and board members have been aware that limited hours restricted many residents from access to the library. The intention of the Wheeler Trust was to provide a “state of the art” facility for the use and convenience for Monroe residents; expanding operating hours allows an increase of services, which the library staff and board members are proud to offer.

Thanks a Bunch!

Jim Lazor & Troup 62 created the new garden at the library back entrance last month. Thanks Jim for all your hard work in preparation for the Eagle Scout Award.

The garden looks great!

Two New Databases

Thanks to the generosity of the Edith Wheeler Trust we have two new databases!

BYKI (before you know it) is a powerful language-learning system designed specifically for use by the patrons of public libraries. BYKI takes the user through a series of simple steps to memorize words and phrases in a new language in the shortest possible time. Available for learning over 80 languages, patrons can access the system from inside the library or at home. BYKI has advanced pronunciation analysis to help users perfect their pronunciation skills and individual progress tracking and assessment tests. You can even download a free app to access BYKi on your mobile phone, IPad, or Ipod!

Reference USA is a business resource database for job seekers, job changers, small business owners and market researchers. It has a detailed listing of 10.5 million businesses with the ability to search by company name, type of business, geography, business size and more.

• Search for jobs by job skills, location and industry



• Find new business opportunities



• Research executives & companies worldwide



• Track down addresses and phone numbers



• Find new articles for research



• Locate out-of-town companies



• Research a neighborhood before you buy a house

The Reference staff at the library can give you more information or show you how to use these two new databases and the many other databases the library offers. Access them from the library homepage at www.ewml.org

Library Book Sale at Masuk

Don't miss the annual Friends of the Library Booksale at Masuk High School starting Saturday, July 10-14, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm daily. Admission is free, except for early birds on Sat. at 9:00 who pay $10 to be the first in the door.
Books are sorted into categories to make it easier for you to find your favorites. There must be over 100,000 books! The Masuk cafeteria is filled to capacity.
Monday & Tuesday sale prices are in effect.
Wednesday all books are free. Come early on Wednesday the sale ends at 1:00 pm.

Summer Reading starts with a Splash!

We had a ball on Saturday, June 19, with the start of Summer Reading and Chalk It Up2. Over 300 kids, teens, and adults signed up for summer reading, and 296 people participated in our chalk drawing contest. Wow! Make sure you stop by the library soon, before it rains to view all the chalk drawings on our sidewalk.


To see a list of the winners click here

Teen Digital Photo Winners!

Congratulations to the winners in the EWML Teen Photo Contest! The winners and their photos are on the library teen webpage at:http://www.ewml.org/teens.htm so take a look!

Special thanks go out to the contest judges who donated their time and talents. They are Pat Grabarz, Jon Aspinwall and Eph Tobin. Special thanks to Pat Grabarz who framed a copy of each photo as a gift for the winners.

New benches for the library!

Kevin Hein has completed his Eagle Scout project of placing two 4 ft. hardwood benches in front of the library. These benches provide a pleasant place to wait for a ride, read a book, or chat with friends. They are a welcome addition to our library and I want to thank Kevin for his fine work in providing them. One of the benches is placed near the library front entrance and uses the front porch to provide cover from the rain, the other bench is closer to the parking lot and out in the sun to catch those nice warming rays on beautiful days, such as we are enjoying today. Thank you Kevin for seeing a need, researching your project, and carrying it through.

The library is the best place for...

I'm watching the Today Show before starting off for work, and Matt Lauer is interviewing a Consumer Reports spokesperson. They are talking about the Federal program of rebates for new energy star appliances. The CR guy says you can apply online for the rebate, and Matt says "what if you don't have a computer, or don't know how to find the rebate?" and the CR person says: (drumroll please) Go to the library. They can help you.
How right he is! In case you are looking for that rebate just go to: http://www.appliancerebate.com/StateMap.aspx?aid=-1&gclid=CIubhb_hhqECFciA5QodM3NOxA
or come in the library and we will help you find it.
On another note, this is National Library Week, so visit your library to find out what other great things are happening.
We are honoring our Library Volunteers today with a reception, for all the great work they do for us through the year. Thank you, we appreciate it!

Celebrate National Library Week!

April 11-17 is National Library Week and we have a lot to celebrate at the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library in Monroe!
Poetry Slams for kids and teens take place on Saturday, April 10; 10:30 am for kids, 1:00 pm for teens.
Author Nora Baskin visits on Wednesday, April 14 from 4:30 to 5:30 to talk about her new book, Anything But Typical. We are serving pizza so come on over. Please register by calling 203 452-2850, or on our webpage, http://www.ewml.org/ so we know how much pizza to order.
Story Times are held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so check our schedule and come on over. Our story times are drop-in, no need to register.
Do you know about our:
Museum passes - free and reduced admission to over 20 museums & parks in our area.
Our DVD's & Videos are loaned for 7 days, and they are free!
We just added a new investment database, Morningstar. Come in, or access it from home on our database webpage.
Keep up-to-date with library happenings by signing up for the library email mailing list. It's right on the top of our homepage.
Downloadable E-Books have arrived at EWML!

If you havn't been to the library lately you don't know what your missing!

Post your flyers here!

Your local business, services, and personal notices may now be posted at the library on the Community Services and Local Businesses Bulletin Board. We receive many such notices each week, which I have been unable to post on our events bulletin board because of policy restrictions. Now, by opening a new board, I hope to better serve our Monroe residents by offering a place for such announcements and notices. Space is limited on this board, and we do have some rules, so I hope that things go well. So bring in your lost/found, garage sale, and advertisements of services or products. Please leave your notice at the Circulation Desk for approval and posting.

On just one day

Last Thursday, Feb. 18, our library participated in a statewide program, Snapshot Day, to document and promote the services libraries provide every day. So we counted, took pictures, and asked our patrons for comments on what the library means to them.

On just one day...

• 384 people visited the library


• 651 items where checked out


• 437 people visited our website


• 25 new cards were issued


• 4 programs were held and 46 people attended them


• 37 people used our computers


• 31 people got help at the reference desk

201 people answered our survey and some of the comments included:
"The library is a bargin!"
"Our family can go and find out about anything. If the library doesn't have the answer, they know where to find it!"
"If it wasn't for the library, my parents couldn't afford to keep me in books."
"It is the backbone of our community."
"A place to collect my thoughts - a quiet time for myself & my daughters."
"Best resource in town"
"Because it's free!"
"It is the most important thing any town can offer its taxpayers"
"It provides amazing educational activities, books, programs, at no extra cost"
"In this community it is a social center, resource center, place where my children can find books, friends, and things to do. WE LOVE THIS PLACE"
"It (library) is a beautiful, vibrant , friendly and kid favorite place for my two boys. It is a wonderful resource for our family and it brings a tremendous amount of joy to us all!"

And I could go on, but you get the idea.
So what does all this mean to me? The silent majority speaks! Our library is a vibrant, vital part of Monroe. We (library staff) are doing a great job and our patrons appreciate it.
If you missed an opportunity to let us know how you feel, please speak up!

To see some more photos of our library patrons visit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctlibrariessnapshot2010/sets/72157623343970477/

Thank you to the Connecticut Library Association, the Connecticut State Library, and the Connecticut Library Consortium for coordinating this project. Visit the Snapshot website for more results at http://snapshotctlib.wordpress.com/

Morningstar Trial

Morningstar Investment Research Center
The library has a free trial to this online database page until March 15. We are considering dumping our paper version of Morningstar in favor of this online version which offers much more than the paper subscription. Try it by going to the library database page at www.ewml.org/databases.htm
You can connect from home or at the library
Login and password information is in the Business and Finance section of our database page.
Call the reference desk at 203 452-2850 #6 if you have trouble connecting
Let me know what you think after you try it at mborchers@ewml.org
The online version offers data and analysis on over 11,000 international and domestic stocks, 24,000 mutual funds and over 800 exchange traded funds.

On Thursday, February 18, 2010, libraries all over Connecticut will be taking a 'snapshot"-collecting information to capture the impact that Connecticut libraries have on their communities on a typical day. We're calling it 'Snapshot Day.'

At the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library we will be asking our patrons to comment on what their library means to them and taking pictures to submit, along with libraries all over the stare, to the Snapshot Flickr page.

Snapshot Day is a joint project of the Connecticut Library Association, the Connectucut State Library and the Connecticut Library Consortium. The aim is to encourage libraries all over CT to collect basic data-how many people use the library on a given day, how many people use computers, attend programs, etc. Connecticut's libraries are busier that ever these days, with people coming not only to check out books, but use computers, look for a job, or attend the many programs our libraries offer. All across the state, libraries are the cornerstones of their communities, places were people come together to visit, learn and share ideas.

SAT Help - Free

Did you know you can get free online help to prepare for the SAT test?

Getting help to study for the SATs can be prohibitively expensive. That is why it is important to know that the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library pays for PrepMe, an online SAT study service that is FREE to all library cardholders. Just link to the PrepMe database and create an account using your library barcode. The database will administer a diagnostic test and then ask you to enter your planned testing date. By assessing your strengths and weaknesses from your pre-test, the system then creates a customized course for you that includes lessons, quizzes, full length practice tests, and feedback. Follow your personalized schedule to learn the skills you need to perform well on the SAT. To link to PrepMe, go to our Teen Databases page online or call the Reference Desk for help. If you live in Monroe and do not have a local library card, be sure to stop by the library with identification and get your card at no cost.

Spending Freeze and Budget Cut

I'm sorry to have to report to you that a spending freeze has been instituted for the library and all other Town Hall Departments by the order of the First Selectman and as a result the library will be unable to order any materials until further notice.

The acquisition of the latest bestsellers and other new books, movies, etc. will be delayed until this freeze is lifted.

In addition to the freeze, the library has been instructed to return 1% of its operating budget to the Town. As a result, our book, DVD, music, and audiobook budgets have been reduced. No new audiobooks can be purchased until the next fiscal year, and new book, movie, and music purchases will be limited.

Donations will be greatly appreciated during this difficult time.