FRIENDS OF ROCHAMBEAU GALA and ADVANCE SALE
Members only! Music and refreshments.
Wednesday, April 14, 5-7:30 PM
OPEN FREE to the PUBLIC
Choose from thousands of donated, reusable books carefully sorted into dozens of categories, such as fiction, travel, kids, sports, languages, Naval history. Prices:
All proceeds benefit Rochambeau Branch Library.
Visits by small community groups can be arranged for Thursday and Friday. Call Caryl-Ann at 822-1979 for appointment.
REMAINDERS DAY Free books for nonprofit organizations, by appointment only (call 822-1979).
Monday, April 19, 10 AM-5 PM
Caryl-Ann Miller Nieforth, Chair
Book Sale Committee: Carolyn Accola, Marge Beach, Dolly Borts, Natalie Bowen, Barbara Brosofsky, Kathryn DeBoer, Anne Diffily, Mark Gee, Joan Jahoda, Linda Kushner, Heather Larkin, Alice Oyer, Helen Rutherford, and Sarah Weed.
You may have noticed that the children’s library staff has grown along with the library. The six friendly faces most often seen upstairs are: Judanne and Tammy, the Librarians; Betty, the Children’s Specialist; and Mary, Edilberta, and Lyndsy, the clerks.
There are now six computers in the children’s library. A parent in maximum-efficiency mode may wish to attempt to check her e-mail, trade shares, or order pajamas from Hanna Andersson while the children are busy with a book. Pre-schoolers might try an alphabet game or a coloring program. Elementary school students use them for homework and to video games. These computers are for use exclusively by kids under age 12 and their parents. Children as young as 2 or 3 may use the computers if assisted by an adult or sibling over the age of 12. To use a computer alone, a child must be at least 5 years old and have written permission from a parent.
Attendance for Story Time has tripled since the reopening of our library. At least five story times are offered each week (preschoolers: Tuesdays, 10:00 and 3:30, and Wednesdays, 10:00; babies, Thursdays, 10:00 and 11:00). After story time by the big windows, kids can mingle, admire the panoramic view of Hope Street, and find new books to take home.
Cradle to Crayons is exuberantly attended by twenty 1-to-3-year-olds and their caregivers in the Community Room. Toys for climbing, music making, and imaginative play are available, and each week there is a different art project -- usually something wonderfully messy, involving paints or glue. Stories and singing give structure to the end of each session. I don’t know of a child who doesn’t adore Miss Betty’s rendition of “Along Comes Mister Alligator.” Brace yourselves for those snapping jaws! You can sign up now for the Cradle to Crayons session beginning at the end of April.
Open Play Time, at 10:30 on Mondays, Wed-nesdays, and Saturdays, is held in the Community Room. Kids have a chance to play with all the wonderful Cradle to Crayons toys, meet new friends, and run around in the big room. You do not need to sign up ahead of time to participate.
The Chess Club meets on Saturdays from 10:00-1:00. All ages and abilities are welcome. The youngest player so far is 5 years old.
In addition to all of this, March is Youth Art Month at the library. Each Thursday at 3:30, there will be a special art program for school-age children; and the week of March 22 (date to be announced) local artist and children’s book author-illustrator Denis Roach will offer a special program. All this and a child-height water fountain, too! And bundles of new books coming in for our children each week! My children and I would not have made it through the winter without this fabulous community resource, and we very much look forward to the spring! ---- Katy Killilea
If you answered yes to those questions, you are just the person to attend a Book Chat sponsored by the Friends of Rochambeau. This idea came after conversations between Lois Beaty and Judy Blackadar, both lifelong readers, who had careers as a librarian and a book seller, re-spectively, who thought it would be interesting to get together with other readers for more book conversations. The idea seemed to be best suited to an unstructured, completely informal environment, giving everyone the opportunity to swap ideas and providing a great way to add to individual reading lists!
The first Chat will be Wednesday, April 28, 10:30 AM, in the Conference Room of the Library. Coffee and teapots will be available. ---- Lois Beaty
Here are some interesting Library statistics from July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002.
| Branch | Circulation Visitors |
| Central Library | 294,000 278,938 |
| Rochambeau | 178,000 186,591 |
| Mt. Pleasant | 99,000 177,804 |
| Fox Point | 29,572 39,479 |
The Women of Mystery video is available for checkout at Rochambeau. All meetings are on Monday nights at 7:30 PM. For details, contact Sarah Weed at 455-8110.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 5-7:30 PM
Music and Refreshments
We have made every effort to produce an accurate list of new members. We apologize if we have misspelled or omitted a name. These members joined at the opening of the new Rochambeau Branch Library or in the ensuing months.
The Wall of Honor will also pay tribute to the head librarians who served the library from its founding in 1915 through 1999: E. Jessica Whitford, Ruth Shattuck, Mildred Chase, Kirby Carr, Margaret Deignan, and Jacquelyn Cooper.
The newly restored portrait of Elodie Farnum, which hung for decades in the branch, will hang again on the Wall of Honor. Beloved branch benefactor and friend Mabel Woolley will be remembered for her generosity during her lifetime and for the most recent gift of $500,000 from her estate that is naming the Windows of Light in the new addition.
To recognize the significance of this day, the dedication will be part of the program for our annual meeting of the Providence Public Library’s legacy group, the Lyra Brown Nickerson Society. Jane Lancaster, award winning teacher, writer, and researcher will be a guest speaker.
Family and friends of the individuals whose names will be listed on the Wall of Honor are invited to join us. Please contact Jennifer Foster at 455-8125 or jfoster@provlib.org for information about attending this program. We especially welcome contact from anyone who participated in the original dedications that honored these individuals and from those who have stories to share about the involvement and special relationship of these devoted friends of the Rochambeau Branch.
March 29: Vietnam: The Lengthening Shadow
This session focuses on the international politics of the longest U.S war-Vietnam, discussing the social and political forces that shaped this prolonged struggle, including the three presidencies, each of which came to its own startling conclusion.
April 19: The War at Home
This focuses more intensely on the politics of protest and dissent on our own soil, investigating how the decade’s early optimistic vision of a humane society was contradicted and undermined by the beatings and murders of civil rights demonstrators, the political assassinations, and the violence of Vietnam.
May 10: The Counterculture
The Rock & Roll counterculture of the 60’s, which valued play over work and spontaneity over order, marked the creative energy of this time period. We will discuss how counter-culture attributes such as the increased awareness of ecology, the challenge of traditional mores, and the emphasis on self-exploration and self-expression had (and still has) a major impact on American culture.
The Rochambeau Branch of PPL is one of 25 libraries nationwide selected to participate in the project’s pilot program organized by National Video Resources (NVR) in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA). The project is supported by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and locally by the Providence Public Library.
Sarah Jo, the youngest Burke girl, grew up on Doyle Avenue, and her book is filled with scenes of youth and music and remembrances of a close-knit community of colorful characters always willing to lend a hand to the Burke clan. From the eastern United States to western Canada, through the South torn apart by injustice and racial segregation, to the television studios of Ed Sullivan and Mike Douglas, Sarah Jo Burke takes us on her family’s journey from rags to riches.
Sarah Jo will share stories and perform a medley of songs. Her book will be on sale at the event.
LIVING LITERATURE provides its audience with the unique experience of seeing a story unfold as they hear it. By adding characterization and emotion to the written word, the presenters take an unparalleled approach to literature. Through direct experience, viewers have the advantage of grasping subtleties of mood, complexity of character, and, most important, the story’s relevance to the reader. “Phenomenal Woman,” a 50-minute theater-style program, will be performed by Angela Brazil, Ivy Brunelle, and Jen Swain at the Rochambeau Branch, Wednesday, March 24, 7 PM.
Steering Committee
to 2004
Anke Adler
Tom Arrison
Shelagh Gilmore
Joan Jahoda
Katherine Killilea
Heather Larkin
Marjorie Martiesian
Ruth Rotenberg
Kathleen Rourke
Jan St. Peter
Christy Zelis
Steering Committee
to 2005
Anita Berger
Jeanne Birt
Judy Blackadar
Jayne and Dan Cahill
Helen Dorsey
Eleanor Lewis
Sarah Morenon
Lisa Niebels
Alice Oyer
Joan Retsinas
Marcia Smith
June Tow
Friends of Rochambeau News edited and produced by Judy Cardanha.
Updated March 30, 2004