Author: jfiet
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Thomas Jefferson’s Contributions to The Library of Congress
In 1783, James Madison suggested the idea of developing a congressional library at the new capital Washington City. Before that, the capital was located in Philadelphia and New York City. […]
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Access
written by Sherry Preston, Adult Engagement Librarian My stepdad Bill had a stroke in 2012 that left him partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair. My mother, who was in her […]
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Indigenous Peoples Day
On October 14th, the United States celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day (held on the same day as Columbus Day). Indigenous Peoples Day was first celebrated in 1992 in the city of […]
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History of US Public Libraries III
Here is where the title of “oldest public library in the US” starts getting into semantics. One library claims the title of oldest building, and another claims oldest building constructed to be a library, and so on. Some libraries started out as subscription libraries while others were open to the public from the beginning. Another…
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History of US Public Libraries II
When you search online for “First public library in the United States” you learn that three libraries claim this distinction. Last week I wrote about Benjamin’s Library Company. This week’s column is about Peterborough, New Hampshire, home of the first tax-supported library in the U.S.
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History of US Public Libraries
When you search online for “first public library in the United States” you might get conflicting information. Three libraries claim this distinction. All three were established long before 1776. In the 1720s, Philadelphia resident Benjamin Franklin worked in a print shop. He and eleven friends founded the Junto Club in 1727. The purpose of this…
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Easter Eggs
Some authors like to include inside jokes, often called Easter Eggs, in their books. Little things that fans might notice but nobody else will pay the slightest attention to. An author’s nod to an observant reader. A character from a past book may make a cameo appearance in a new novel, or maybe the same…
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“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
I picked up “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin because her previous book, “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikrey” has been on my to-read list for a long time. Working in a library is sort of like working at an ice cream shop. It’s tempting to try the new flavors, so I took…
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Gardening
This weekend a friend dropped off several buckets of corn so my husband and I spent the afternoon freezing it. I started thinking about how I learned to preserve my garden produce from my mother who learned from her mother-in-law. Mom canned tomatoes, green beans, and pickles. She froze peas and corn, and a lot…