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Recycling Project Reaches $10,000 Milestone

On Christmas Eve, a volunteer program begun last year passed the $10,000 mark in funds raised for the campaign to build the new Edgartown Public Library. That's an amazing accomplishment considering that this money has been raised by recycling cans and bottles -- a staggering 200,000 of them -- at five cents apiece.

A friend of the library expansion project has kindly volunteered to manage this program, with collection bins set up at sites around the Island for returnable bottles and cans, and all proceeds going toward the new building fund.

Need to Get Away?

Hail to the Chief:
Our New World Books Are Here

If It's New and Notable,
We've Probably Got It

The New York Times recently published its annual list of 100 notable books, from Curtis Sittenfeld's novel, American Wife (pictured at left), to Patrick French's celebrated new biography of V.S. Naipaul. Just for fun, we cross-checked that list against the holdings in our CLAMS library network -- and discovered that CLAMS holds 92 of the 100 titles. Is this a great network, or what?

And by the way, we're working on the other eight.

Committee Recommends Grant to Library

The Edgartown Community Preservation Committee, which is charged with recommending allocations from Community Preservation Act funds, has voted unanimously in support of the Edgartown Library's $195,000 proposal to restore and renovate the 1904 Carnegie building at the front of the library. The committee's recommendations must be approved by voters at the annual town meeting this spring.

The library plans to begin the project after next Labor Day. The project involves restoration work to the historic Carnegie building which needs doing, regardless of our progress in the capital campaign to build a new library.

Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru!

You could easily argue that raising funds for a new Edgartown Public Library, in this current economic climate, is a bit of a puzzle. Now, in this holiday season, you can help the cause with a donation -- and we'll thank you with a whole book full of puzzles, Sudoku for the Spirit.

The Edgartown Library Foundation has made available a supply of this delightful book by Heather Peters & Kelly Manahan -- it's filled with Sudoku puzzles on right-hand pages and thought-provoking aphorisms on the left. Notes one: "While Sudoku puzzles have only one solution, there are nearly an infinite number of paths to get there." (Unlike the Library Foundation's puzzle, however, these all come with answers conveniently located at the back of the book.)

We hope you'll pick up your signed copy of Sudoku for the Spirit in time for holiday giving -- copies are available for a donation of $15 or more. (The term, "Sudoku," incidentally, is abbreviated from the Japanese phrase above, which translates roughly as "The digits are limited to one occurrence.")

Here's a Money-Saving New Service:
Free Access to Consumer Reports Online

The New OPAC Is Here!
What's an OPAC, You Ask? Read on . . .

CLAMS, the regional network which includes the public libraries of Edgartown, Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs, has launched our new OPAC.

No, it's not the cartel that keeps our gasoline prices so high. The OPAC is the online public access catalog -- the website you visit when you want to search among the 1.5 million books, videos and music disks held by the 30 member libraries of our network. The new catalog site, which works much as before, makes it easier than ever to order materials online. For example, it now recognizes your home library when you type in your card number.

One slick feature of our new OPAC design is this page, where you can log in to request that your library acquire specific materials. It's a great way for patrons to send suggestions to their local library, and we hope you'll give it a try. You'll find it under the "suggest a purchase" link on the new CLAMS catalogue page.

Campaign for the New Library:
Watch the Foundation Video

Selectmen's Meeting Minutes

Just click below to read the minutes from meetings of the Edgartown board of selectmen. We'll post minutes as they become available.

Library Foundation Wins $50,000 Grant

The Vineyard Golf Club Foundation has announced a five-year, $50,000 challenge grant program to the Edgartown Library Foundation to support its campaign for a new library.
Under this new initiative, individual contributions from the year-round Island community of $2,000 or less, up to a total of $10,000 per year, will be matched by the golf foundation to encourage support for the library building program.

Shifting into OverDrive:
New Audio Book & Music Download Service Expands

Have You Used Your PIN Lately?

This year at the Edgartown Public Library, all PINs are free. Actually, they always have been, always will be -- we're just trying to get your attention.

Your four-digit PIN, or Personal Identification Number, is your Internet doorway into the CLAMS network. With it, you can explore -- and request items from -- the nearly 1.5 million books, CDs and videos of our regional consortium of libraries.

Getting your PIN is as easy as stopping by the library circulation desk for half a minute, or calling us on the phone during our open hours. We'll be delighted to set you up. Because we want all our patrons to discover the wonderful world of library resources that awaits you online.

Hop Aboard the Learning Express

No matter which acronym you're studying for -- ACT, SAT, GRE or any of the others -- you’ll want to sign up for the online test-preparation service, Learning Express.

The Edgartown Library subscribes to this service, which means that all our patrons can enjoy free access to practice tools to help prepare for dozens of important tests, from real estate exams to the U.S. citizenship test.

Learning Express also offers free online courses which you can take at your own pace, in academic subjects from math to writing, reading comprehension and even English language skills.