Celebration Update

This year’s Celebration is right around the corner. If you haven’t marked you calendar already, it’s September 22, from noon to 2 p.m. at the library. Join us while we “Celebrate the People of the Adirondacks.” Tickets are $30 per person and are due by September 13. Please submit this reservation form with payment.

Gracious donors have made a wonderful basket raffle possible again this year. The raffle baskets are on display in the library. Tickets can be purchased for $1 each or six for $5. This year there are two megabaskets, valued at more than $800 each. Tickets are $5 each or five for $20. Winners will be drawn at the Celebration, but you need not be present to win.

Our auction will truly celebrate the wonderful people hailing from and living in our area. We will feature returning favorites and new standouts—a restaurant package; artwork; glass work; fabric pieces; and entertainment and home décor offerings and services. And we will be auctioning a signed copy of Gloversville native, Joseph E. Persico’s latest book, Roosevelt’s Centurions: FDR and the Commanders He Led to Victory in World War II.

The event will be catered by the Union Hall Inn. There will be food stations serving sweet and savory small bites. Limited first‐floor seating will be available—plenty of seating upstairs. Admission is $30. Reservations may be made in the library. 

READ 2013: Vote for Our Nominees

Click Here to Vote
for Your Favorite
Jan. 18–Feb. 15, 2013

We are planning Gloversville’s second annual community read! A community read is about bringing a community together through a common book.  By reading, discussing, and exploring the topic with related programming a community strengthens its commitment to reading while finding out new details about itself and its citizens.

Community nominations for a READ title were accepted between December 3–21, 2012.  The READ committee narrowed the list down using specific criteria and is happy to announce the finalists.  Now we want YOU, the community to select the title that will be our 2013 READ title. Ballots are available at the Library or submit your vote on-line at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XWSF8LV.

Following Atticus, Tom Ryan

Middle-aged, overweight, acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan decided to climb all 48 of New Hampshire's 4,000 ft peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity with his dog, Atticus. It was an adventure of a lifetime,  across hundreds of miles. At the heart of the amazing journey was the extraordinary relationship they shared, one that blurred the line between man and dog.

Elsewhere, Richard Russo

The Pulitzer Prize winner Russo now turns to memoir in a hilarious, moving, and always surprising account of his life, his parents, and the upstate New York town they grew up in.  Most of the focus is on his mother who struggled to make peace with her personal demons and her hometown while moving around the country with her son and his family.

Sarah's Key, Tatiana De Rosnay

An historical novel that reveals the personal stories associated with the 1942 roundups and deportation of Parisian Jews though the research of a modern day magazine writer.  Her story and that of her husband’s family intertwine with Sarah’s  in this story about loyalty and hardship.

She Said Yes, Misty Bernall

Cassie was one of the students killed by schoolmates at Columbine High.  Though she once walked the same road as her killers, faith and family drew her down a different path.  This book is a celebration of her life and her profession of faith right up to the moment of her death.

A Dog's Purpose, W. Bruce Cameron

“Why am I here?” is a question we all struggle with at one time or another.  Explore it with Bailey as he lives the life of several dogs in an attempt to answer that question and discover the unique relationship between humans and their companions.

January Technology Class—Digital Photos

January's tech class will be held on a new day and time, Wed., January 11 at 5:30pm. This month FMCC Librarian Michael Daly will talk about digital pictures —how move them to your computer, edit them, and share them via email and social networking. Attendees should bring laptops, if they have them, as well as pictures to edit. Laptops will be available, but attendees using them should bring a USB stick or microSD card with pictures to edit. 

From the Friends—Celebrating Life in the Adirondacks

The 6th annual Celebration was yet another success and featured a change in venue this year.  A library awash in color greeted one hundred guests and supporters who attended the Friends of the Gloversville Public Library annual fundraiser on Sunday, September 23. 

Arrangements of mums and bouquets of fall flowers filled every room, beautifully highlighting an array of raffle baskets, silent auction items and buffet tables of gourmet hors d’oeuvres and desserts.  This year’s Celebration event, based on the theme of “Celebrating Life in the Adirondacks”, was the 6th annual fundraiser presented by the Friends to benefit the historic Carnegie library.

Library director Barbara Madonna commented, “It was a pleasure to welcome so many people to my home-away-from-home and to showcase all of the improvements made possible by past Celebrations.  The volunteers and staff did another fantastic job of not only raising money for the library but of shining a positive spotlight on the library.  This is a special event every year and I am grateful to be a part of it.”

This year’s Celebration raised over $28,000, and Friends members and Madonna were thrilled that it was the most successful Celebration yet. Madonna noted that the Friends have directed that the proceeds be used as ‘seed money’ toward the long-overdue replacement of the library’s windows.  She said that the windows are old, ill-fitting and drafty, and have no “R” rating.

Pat Beck served as mistress of ceremonies for the event. She pointed out that this was the first Celebration to be held in the library itself, and encouraged people to “look around and see first-hand” the many improvements made possible by the previous five Celebrations.  Colorful autumn leaves marking these improvements could be seen on new lighting fixtures, the repainted lobby and dome, new furnishings in the Children’s Room and Reading Room, and the recently cleaned and restored building façade.

During the event, Beck drew the names of twenty-two basket raffle winners.   The baskets had been donated by members of the Friends and the community, and had been on display at the library since mid August.  The silent auction tables were filled with items donated by nineteen area artisans, artists and businesses, and attracted a great deal of bidding interest. 

Auction Basket Winner

Sub-committee members for the event included: Basket Coordinators – Nancy Krawczeski and Barbara Reppenhagen; Basket Labels and Auction Signs – Linda Callahan; Basket Wrapping - Barbara Tucci and Trina Zimmerman, assisted by Donna Kuhner and Barb Madonna; and Decorations – Traci DiMezza.

Robison and Smith donated the linens.  Linda Hinkle of Linda Hinkle Graphic Design  donated the posters, invitations and program cover design. Special thanks were extended to Don Fleischut, the Kingsboro Garden Club, Christine and Peter Schoonmaker, and Jerriann Zinter.

Chef Lomanto’s Kitchen, Chick & Hen Baking Company, Harold’s Restaurant, Sam’s Seafood Steakhouse, and Union Hall Inn provided the delicious appetizers and desserts.  Special thanks to Harold’s for donating the stuffed mushrooms and to Megan Saltsman of Union Hall Inn for donating all of her services.

We’d like to thank everyone who helped us make the Celebration such a success…from the many donors for sponsorship, the silent auction, and the raffle baskets to all of the participants.  And we want to extend a big thanks to all of our many volunteers and also to the library staff for all of their efforts.

It was wonderful to see the community support for preserving our historic Carnegie library.  Thanks to you, it will continue to be the architectural treasure and center for life-long learning that it is. 

(submitted by the planning committee: Betsy Batchelor, Lynn Kicinski, and Ellen Wood)