On Tuesday 11/24, the Schauffler Library will close at 2 p.m. for the Thanksgiving Break.

The library will reopen Tuesday, 12/1 at 7:45 a.m. 

Thanks to all who donated to the food drive. The box is full and I will bring it to Turners Falls Food Pantry.          

                                                                                              - Alison Ernst, Library Director

  In some circles, November is considered  ‘Gratitude Month’, probably due to the United States holiday of Thanksgiving.  Most, if not all cultures have special times or holidays in which people consider their blessings, and reach out to those who do not have as much.

Here at NMH we are undoubtedly blessed. You don’t have to be a religious person to agree with this. We live, study and/or work on a beautiful campus in scenic Western Massachusetts. We have opportunities to participate in a wealth of activity.  Our spirits and minds are well fed, as are our bodies.  In terms of physical food, NMH Dining Services is superb, committed to using local ingredients as much as possible, and providing a delicious array of choices daily.  We who study, work and live here do not have to worry about going hungry.  But this is not true for many of our neighbors in Franklin County. 

Particularly in these challenging economic times, some families in our geographic area do not have enough to eat. Some families who have always been able to put food on the table are facing shortfalls due to job loss. The local food banks provide a critical service — taking food donations for our neighbors in need.

So this November, as you think about the Thanksgiving meal you will share with family and/or friends, please consider making a donation of food which will go toward those in need nearby.

A carton for food donations sits in the Schauffler Library’s foyer, next to the free box.  Please Join the  Library Food Drive.  

From The Foodbank of Western Massachsuetts - Current list of most-needed items:

• Peanut butter and jelly
• Rice and canned soup or stew
• Spaghetti and canned spaghetti sauce
• Canned pasta meals
• Tuna
• Low-sugar cereals
• Canned beans

When the box is full of donated food,  a librarian will bring it directly to the Franklin Area Survival Center  in Turners Falls.

                                                               – Alison Ernst, Library Director

Welcome to all new students, faculty, and staff!

Welcome back, all returning students, faculty, and staff!

Welcome to the library’s new blog site! 10 reasons to follow us, in no particular order…

1. We highlight favorite books and movies that are new in the library.
2. We feature a weekly Library Lounge Lizard – a mystery someone who is regularly seen in the library.
3. We let you know about any new services we are offering or any events coming up in the library.
4. We link you to news articles relating to the world of books, media, and technology.
5. We offer polls as a way for you to inform our decision-making.
6. You’ll hear what happened This Week in NMH History.
7. Our workjob students blog about the library or about the world of information and technology or about whatever.
8. We link you to information about upcoming all-school speakers and events.
9. We welcome and encourage your responses to our posts.
10. We write, rant, rave, opine, and get silly. (Well, mainly, we get silly.)

- Pam Allan, NMH Librarian

Have an iPod?

Have a long trip home?

Want to listen to a book?

The library has downloadable unabridged audiobooks. Bring your ipod to the library and tell us which book you want from the list below.

Click on Download Digital Download Books

From the New York Times. To read the entire article, click here.

April 24, 2009, 6:25 pm

Happy Birthday, Strunk and White!

(Photo: Kevin Rivoli/Associated Press) E.B.
White’s original typewriter and manuscript are pictured with William
Strunk Jr.’s original version and the 1959 edition of “The Elements of
Style.”

“The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White has been released in a 50th anniversary edition.
Prized for its focus on clear, concise language, this famous “little
book” has been a source of guidance for writers, copy editors and
college students for half a century.

But are its rules the be all and end all of writing?

• Geoffrey K. Pullum, professor of linguistics
• Patricia T. O’Conner, grammarphobia.com
• Stephen Dodson, languagehat.com
• Ben Yagoda, professor of English
• Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl

From National Public Radio online:

A Novel Idea

One day, about five years ago, Phillips was daydreaming while working a dull job as a salesperson for a cutlery company. She had always liked sewing clothes and recycling old materials into handmade crafts, and she had heard about purses made from cigar boxes or old license plates. So she began to sketch a design for a book purse.

“The book kind of pretty much decided what form it was going to be,” she says. “The spine becomes the bottom of the purse, because I keep the cover completely intact.” She adds handles and a vintage button to match.

She started experimenting using Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, which she describes as “book-shaped objects.” She sold them quickly, and her business took off. Now she has a company, Rebound Designs, and sells her creations at craft shows.

Read the entire article. And check out links to audio and video of this story.

…….to learn more about literature from the francophone world!

Francophone: of, having, or belonging to a population using French as its first or sometimes second language.

FROMAGE presents a selection of books in the library, written by authors from the francophone world translated into English.

and many more !!!!

The original  idea behind this project was to offer a variety of work from francophone writers of various parts of the world, and to have the books in English to be accessible to all.

- Fromage

Celebrating National Poetry Month April 2009

Prizes Awarded! Honors Bestowed!

How to enter the contest:

Poems must be original work of no more than 60 lines and may concern any subject.

Entries of any poetic form are welcome. Examples include, but are not limited to, ballad, cinquain, clerihew, haiku, kyrielle, sonnet, and triolet. You can look up these forms and others at :  http://thewordshop.tripod.com/forms.html.

One entry per person.

Three categories will be judged:

Poems may be submitted in languages other than English, but will not be judged as a separate category unless the following criteria are met:

Type, draw, or neatly print your poem and submit it to a librarian at the Schauffler Library circulation desk.

Submit 2 copies of your poem; they should be clipped together:

Deadline for Submissions:

Monday, April 20, 2009, 5:00 pm

Poetry Reading, Awards Ceremony, and Refreshments

Sunday, April 26th, 2:00 p.m. @ Schauffler Library

For more information contact: Peter Weis (413)-498-3469; pweis@nmhschool.org
Schauffler Library – Northfield Mount Hermon School; One Lamplighter Way,  Mount Hermon,  MA  01354

“Most people think Twitter was created in 2006. These are same people who think Richard Gere created Buddhism in the 1990s, just before Madonna created yoga. Folks, like the sun, and the moon, and the stars, Twitter has always been. This site proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now, with Historical Tweets, history’s most amazing men and women can be fully understood, a mere 140 characters at a time” (from American Libraries Direct, an e-newsletter)