FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY— McMINN COUNTY
SUPPORTING E. G. FISHER PUBLIC LIBRARY
Volume 20, Number 2
www.fisherlibrary.org
April 2015
TRAILER LOAD OF BOOKS AND BARGAINS!
“Second-hand books are wild books, homeless books, they have come together in
vast flocks of variegated leather, and have a charm which domesticated volumes of the
library lack.” Thank you, Virginia Woolf for this personified quote on gently handled and
previously read books.
We have a trailer full of books that are saying, “Please take me home and give
me a second chance. I am a good book, and I am lonely on this trailer!” So, to help these books and the
Friends of the Library, we are having a Spring Sidewalk Sale. The sale will take place outside, weather permitting, or in the Community Room of E. G. Fisher Public Library on SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2015 FROM 10:00—
3:00 PM.
Stock up with those summer vacation books or the lazy rainy days of summer. Hardback books are
$3.00, paperbacks are $1.00, children’s hardbacks are $1.00, and paperbacks are $0.50. We have a great
selection, so please join us!!
April is National Poetry Month!
National Poetry Month is the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K-12
teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary event curators, publishers, bloggers, and, of course, poets marking poetry’s
important place in our culture and our lives. E. G. Fisher is proud to celebrate poetry and its role in our lives on April 18
with Patricia Waters and Rupert Fike.
Rupert Fike’s collection of poems, Lotus Buffet (Brick Road Poetry Press) was named Finalist in the Gerogia Author of
the Year awards, 2011. He has received Pushcart nominations in fiction and poetry, with work appearing in Rosebud,
The Southern Review of Poetry, Natural Bridge, A & U America’s AIDS Magazine, The Buddhist Poetry Review,
and others. He has a poem inscribed in a downtown Atlanta plaza, and his non-fiction book, Voices from the Farm, is
now in its second printing with accounts of life on The Farm, a spiritual community in Lewis County, Tennessee in the
1970s. He was also recently named runner-up for the 2015 Ron Rash Award in fiction.
Patricia Waters’ new book of poetry, Fallen Attitudes, was published by Anhinga Press in 2014. Now know to many of
us in Athens, Patricia’s writing career began with her undergraduate work at what is now the University of Memphis.
Having lived as a teacher, journalist, and community activist in Memphis and New Orleans, she returned to Tennessee,
to the upper Cumberland where her mother’s family pioneered, to rear her children, subsequently moving to Athens. A
Pew Faculty Grant awarded while she was Assistant professor at Tennessee Wesleyan College led her to writers’
conferences and repeatedly to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference where her work with Howard Nemerov, Anthony
Hecht, and Donald Justice were crucial to her development as a poet. She earned a Ph.D. in English at UTK, where
the poet Arthur Smith became a friend and mentor. A year as writer-in-residence at the University of Tennessee
Libraries permitted time to gather her first book. She is currently an assistant professor in the English Department at
Troy University, where she oversees the secondary English Language Arts certification program.
Waters and Fike will read from their own works on April 18 at 11 AM at E. G. Fisher Public Library. Their poetry reading
will culminate our celebration of both National Poetry Month and National Library Week. Come for the sidewalk sale,
stay for the poetry!
Celebrate National Library Week
April 12-18, 2015
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a
time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries
and librarians and to promote library use and support. All
types of libraries - school, public, academic and special participate. E. G. Fisher Public Library is thrilled to Celebrate National Library Week with a variety of games, events
and celebrations.
We will hold a bookmark contest open to children of all ages. The theme of this year’s National Library Week is Unlimited Possibilities at Your Library. Students in grades Kindergarten to 12 are invited to participate by designing a
bookmark that shows what he or she would be if he or she
could be anything in the world. Bookmark templates are
available at the library. All entries will be displayed on Facebook where voting will take place. The winning bookmark
will be printed and distributed at the library. All entries must
be turned in by April 6.
For those young of heart but not eligible for the bookmark
contest, tune into WYXI for Library Trivia. As in years past,
we will air one library trivia question each day during National Library Week. Each winner receives a gift certificate
to the Friends of the Library Ongoing Gently Used Book
Sale. Test your knowledge of authors, titles and library
facts.
For our big finale, our Friends of the Library will hold the
sidewalk sale to end all sales. On April 18 from 10-3, our
sidewalks will be brimming with gently used bestsellers,
children’s books, adult fiction, and adult non-fiction. No
place in Athens has a better book selection than the
Friends of the Library. Don’t miss out on this special sale.
And don’t forget to thank your favorite Library Worker!
Tuesday, April 14 is National Library Worker Day. Give
your favorite library worker a special thank you.
DONATIONS TO FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY
In Memory of:
By:
Pat Adams
Judi and Cary Davis
Jim Harrison
In Honor of:
By:
Marc Adams
Judi & Cary Davis
Beverly Harrison
Debbie and Tom Hamilton
Gisela and Peter Van Ness
Donations
Harry T. Burn
Rebecca O. Jaquish
Laurence Levy
Kathy Clark
PRESIDENT’S
CORNER
Greetings! By the time you receive this newsletter, it will
be spring. My favorite reason for seasons is expressed in
three little words, "Here Comes Summer"! This means
longer days and more time to read all the books that I have
on my E.G. Fisher Public Library wish list or loaded on my
Kindle. Did you know that you can reserve best sellers for $1,
and the Library will call when they are ready for you?
There are many exciting plans for spring and summer at
the Library. Please read your newsletter carefully and mark
dates on your calendar. On Saturday, April 18 from 10:00
A.M.-3:00 P.M., we will host a gigantic Sidewalk Sale
featuring some of our best fiction, nonfiction and children's
books. June 11 is registration for our Summer Reading
Program. There will be a Wetlands Festival on June 19 and
20 with many exhibits, food, tours and FOL selling soft
drinks and water. Our Annual Friends of the Library Book
Sale will be held on July 23, 24, and 25.
This year we will have the book sale at E.G. Fisher
Public Library, and we are planning special events all over
the Library and grounds for this important event. We have a
book discussion planned with free books sponsored by
Humanities, TN. The book is Standing Down from W arrior
to Civilian. This is a must read for everyone who supports our
War Veterans. We will let you know as soon as it is
scheduled.
We have 295 members of Friends of the Library. The
money generated from memberships is one of our most
reliable income sources. Some years we receive generous
donations from Library supporters; other years are
leaner. But, generous donations or not, the Library depends
on the Friends every year to fund acquisitions, programs for
the community, and often, unexpected expenses.
In short, the Library needs more Friends. Ask one of
your friends to become a Friend. E.B. White wrote this
conversation in Charlotte’s W eb; "Why did you do
all this for me?" he asked. "I don't deserve it. I've
never done anything for you." "You have been my
friend," replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a
tremendous thing.”
In closing, we say a special thanks to "Friends" Carey
and Nancy Hicks for purchasing and donating four muchneeded tables to be used at all our events. Remember, all it
takes is being a friend.
—Bunny Fisher Browder
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Merry Mae Scot t
Stacy Nichols
Sharon Lockett Smith
Kathy Clark
GIFTS TO THE LIBRARY (DEC. 11, 2014 — MARCH 13, 2015)
Ronald Allen
Carey Hicks
Bo and Lynn Perkinson
Harry Burn
Misty Clayton
Kermit Joudry
Misty Clayton
Ann B. Davis
Debra Lemay
Willa Engle
Bernice Minge
Johnnye Willett
Jill Grooms
Mike and Linda Nichols
Jo Ann Hawkins
May Ellen Noletti
Pat Armstrong
Wade Palmore
Carolyn and Jack Brewer Jerry and Dale Hooper
Bill and Bonnie Brown
Ed and Linda Howerton
Dr. and Mrs. Robin Pierce
Pizza Hut
Pat Chester
Alan and Charlotte Jacobson
Judy Keen
Harold and Ozelle Powers William and Linda Chestnutt
Janice Pratt
Miles and Brenda Rollo
Michael and Merna Jaquish
Community Artists League Herbert Kurz
Wayne and Susan Scott
Nellie Kyker-Sliger
Angelia Shankle
James Dodson
Southeast Bank
Sally and Dwain Ealy
Lawrence Levy
Dixie and Buddy Liner
Beverly Walker
Lewis and Vivian Talmadge
Janice Watson
William Gates
John and Faye Forgety
Greeks Bearing Gifts
Linda Nadeau
Burkett Wittt
Jennifer Hardison
Eric and Dana Newberry Mary and Ronald Younger
June Hagaman
Pam Monteen
FISHER SATURDAY SPONSORS (SINCE DECEMBER 11, 2014
Don and Helen Kettenbeil
In Memory of Connie Allen and In Honor of Jack Allen
Larry and Kathy Rhodes, Bunny and Richard Browder,
In Memory of Connie Allen
Carole and Davis Haynes, Carolyn and Shirel Grimmett,
and Beth and Bryan Jackson
Betty Grater
In Memory of Bill Grater
Meredith Willson
In Memory of Hugh M. Willson
Charlie and Sue Senn
In Memory of Courtney and Betty Senn
Carroll Ross
In Memory of Maxine Harwood
Mintie Willson
In Memory of Genevieve Wiggins and Connie Allen
Betty Bagley
In Memory of Gus Bagley
Bill and Judy Biddle
In Memory of Marian B. Trew
Margaret Mahery
In Memory of Charlie Myers
Amy and Stuart Sullins
In Memory of Dr. William “Bill” Sullins and Dr. W. David Sullins
Mike and Kay Simmons
Thanks to the awesome teachers/staff at ACM School.
Karen & Dave Siklosi
Michael and Sandra Boyd
Shelley & Judi Griffith
In Memory of:
Pat Adams
Barbara Arwood
Russell T. Baker
Nora Bradley
James Caulfield
Sheilah Farmer Grubb
Rev. C. C. Hagaman
William Haskins
Alan Jacobson
Harry Johnson
Brownley Peach
Mildred Smith
Genevieve Wiggins
MEMORIALS TO E. G. FISHER PUBLIC LIBRARY
Donor
In Memory of:
Marc Adams
Connie Allen
Gayle Fisher
Sue Baker
Beth and Jim Mercer
Marjorie Caulfield
Johnny & Glenda Grubb
Ron and Kathy Sayers
Helen Haskins
Annette Millard Henry
Mimi Jones
Jennie Fisher Latham
Tom & Debbie Hamilton
David Millsaps
Beth and Jim Mercer
Pat Mills Reynolds
Tom & Debbie Hamilton
Sophie Trent
Betty Keirn
Beth and Jim Mercer
Bo and Lynn Perkinson
HONORARIUMS TO E. G. FISHER PUBLIC LIBRARY
In Honor of:
By
In Honor of
Dr. & Mrs. J.L. Carter
Jerry & Shirley Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Cary Davis
Mr. & Mrs. Jim Pitt
Jerry & Shirley Smith
Dr. & Mrs. John Forgety
Drs. Iris and Jim Slowey Jerry & Shirley Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Don Self
Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Armstrong Jerry & Shirley Smith
Mimi Jones
Monday Book Club
Linda McGill
Wendy Wilkey
Sandra & David Wilkey
Marc Adams
Donor
Bahr Consultants, Inc.
Frank and Susan Carpenter
Citizens National Bank
John Gentry
Julie Holt
Beth and Jim Mercer
McMinn Co. Democratic Women’s Club
Bill & Linda Chestnutt
Mary Anne Hensley
Janice Ruggles
Don Reynolds
Bobby and Sarah Mizer
By
Jerry & Shirley Smith
Jerry & Shirley Smith
Jerry & Shirley Smith
Bo & Lynn Perkinson
Hendree & Kristin Harrison
Tom & Debbie Hamilton
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Date
Event
Time
Date
Event
Time
Date
Event
Time
4/1/2015
CLOSED
1st Wednesday
Work Day
4/20/2015
Yarnaholics
5:30 PM
6/9/2015
T.A.G. -- Teen
Advisory Group
4:00 PM
4/2/2015
Game Night
4:00 PM
4/20/2015
Pajama Story
Time
7:00 PM
6/9/2015
4/3/2015
CLOSED
Easter Holiday
4/21/2015
Children's Preschool Story Time
10:30 AM
6/10/2015
4/4/2015
CLOSED
Easter Holiday
4/21/2015
E- and Audiobooks for Android
6:00 PM
6/11/2015
4/6/2015
Baby & Me Story
Time
10:00 AM
4/21/2015
12:00 The
Cat's Table
6/11/2015
4/6/2015
Tots & Tunes
1:30 PM
4/22/2015
Noon Book Discussion
Download EBooks and Audiobooks for Ipad
10:00 AM
6/15/2015
Pajama Story
Time
7:00 PM
4:00 PM
4/23/2015
Game Night
4:00 PM
6/17/2015
Library Man
3:00 PM
4/6/2015
ScratchED
4/6/2015
Yarnaholics
5:30 PM
4/27/2015
Baby & Me Story
Time
10:00 AM
6/19/2015
4/7/2015
Children's Preschool Story
Time
10:30 AM
4/27/2015
Tots & Tunes
1:30 PM
6/20/2015
4/7/2015
MS Excel
4:00 PM
4/27/2015
ScratchED
4:00 PM
6/24/2015
4/8/2015
Download e– and
Audio-books for
Nook
10:00 AM
4/27/2015
Yarnaholics
5:30 PM
6/25/2015
4/9/2015
Game Night
4:00 PM
4/28/2015
Children's Preschool Story Time
10:30 AM
4/30/2015
Game Night
4:00 PM
5/1/2015
Fandom Friday
4:00 PM
5/4/2015
Yarnaholics
5:30 PM
4/9/2015
4/10/2015
4/13/2015
Organic Garden- 6:00 PM Planting
ing Shop
Considerations
Resumes, Cover
Letters and Job
10:00 AM
Hunting with TEL
Baby & Me Story
10:00 AM
Time
4/13/2015
Tots & Tunes
1:30 PM
5/6/2015
CLOSED
1st Wednesday
Work Day
4/13/2015
ScratchED
4:00 PM
5/11/2015
Yarnaholics
5:30 PM
4/13/2015
Yarnaholics
5:30 PM
5/11/2015
Lego Club
6:30 PM
4/13/2015
Lego Club
6:30 PM
5/12/2015
T.A.G. -- Teen
Advisory Group
4:00 PM
10:30 AM
5/12/2015
Mystery Book
Discussion
6:30 PM TBA
4:00 PM
5/14/2015
MS Word
6:00 PM
5/18/2015
Yarnaholics
5:30 PM
Mystery Book
Discussion
6:30 PM Arkansas Traveler by
Earlene Fowler
led by Dr. Joyce
Baker
5/18/2015
Pajama Story
Time
7:00 PM
4/15/2015
How to Download E-Books
and Audiobooks
for Kindle
10:00 AM
5/19/2015
Noon Book Discussion
12:00 PM Life
With Charley
4/16/2015
Game Night
4:00 PM
5/23/2015
CLOSED
Memorial Day
Holiday
4/17/2015
TEL Research
10:00 AM
5/25/2015
CLOSED
Memorial Day
Holiday
4/20/2015
Baby & Me Story
Time
10:00 AM
6/3/2015
CLOSED
1st Wednesday
Work Day
4/20/2015
Tots & Tunes
1:30 PM
6/5/2015
Fandom Friday
4:00 PM
4/20/2015
ScratchED
4:00 PM
6/8/2015
Lego Club
6:30 PM
4/14/2015
4/14/2015
4/14/2015
4/14/2015
Children's Preschool Story
Time
T.A.G. -- Teen
Advisory Group
Organic Garden- 6:00 PM Urban
ing Shop
Gardening
Mystery Book
6:30 PM
Discussion
Summer Reading Program Pre- 4:00 - 6:00 PM
registration
Summer Read11:00 AM - 2:00
ing Program
PM
Kickoff Carnival
Organic Garden- 6:00 PM Weeds
ing Shop
and Bugs
Wetlands Night
Out
Tennessee
Wetlands
Festival
Superhero Training
To Be Announced
Touch a Truck
4:00 - 6:00 PM
TBA
10:30 AM
Where the Sidewalk
Ends
by Shel Silverstein
There is a place where the sidewalk
ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and
white,
And there the sun burns crimson
bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his
flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the
smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers
grow
We shall walk with a walk that is
measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is
measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white
arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the
children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
News from the Kid’s Corner!
The library has such amazing things happening! Our mural was completed in the Children’s Section. The artwork was done by
Chris Ingram, Becky Bryant, Air Moe, Max Ortiz, and many children! The children also have four puzzle shaped tables, a Lego
table, and bright new caterpillar seating! The Children’s Section is so bright and cheery no child wants to leave!
The Summer Reading Program is going to be here before you know it. Currently, we are still scheduling programs and performers, but so far we have an excellent line up! For the first time ever, the library will do a “Pre-Registration Party” for those
working parents who do not get a chance to bring their children to the kick off carnival. Families can register for the Summer
Reading Program, play games, and pet creatures! The Pre-Registration Party will be on June 10th from 4-6 pm. The Kick-Off
Carnival will be on June 11th from 11-2 pm at Ingleside Elementary. Please check the library’s website for more details as
the dates get closer, fisherlibrary.org.
This summer reading program will include Super Racer Story Time with a live Race Car, Library Man Hero
Stories, Science of Superheroes (bonus of making your own cotton candy at the end), Superhero Training
with Tiger Rock, a Touch-a-Truck event, and a huge Tennessee Wetlands Festival! This summer will be so
much fun! Check our website calendar for exact dates!
Teens, Teens, Teens
The teens of E. G. Fisher have been having a blast lately! In January, we hosted a “Throwback Party” to the 70’s, 80’s, and
90’s. It was a ton of fun! In honor of Valentine’s Day, the teens held an Anti-Valentine’s Day party. We decorated broken
heart cookies, made valentine dolls, played darts with celebrity couples, and ate our weight in chocolate! In March, the library held a Karaoke Night, and the teens sang their hearts out!
Planning for the teen summer program has begun, and so far we have secured Beatrix Dudzik, from UT Knoxville’s Forensic
Anthropology Department, to talk about their studies and even bring in some bones! We are pretty excited for this one! During the Tennessee Wetlands Festival on Saturday June 20th there will be “Athena Con,” a mini comic con event complete with
a costume contest., inside the library .
New Life for Used Books
Used books from E. G. Fisher Public Library are finding new life at another library: in the McMinn County Jail. As Sheriff as
well as an FOL Board member, I was asked a few years ago by others on the Board if we could possibly use the old books.
The idea came at a perfect time, when damaged books were being cleaned out of the jail library. The jail continues to accept
donations of books from EGF. It is of great benefit to the inmates.
The jail library is managed by inmate trusties, who periodically load books on a rolling cart and visit the different housing pods.
Inmates may freely check out and exchange books. Jail regulations only allow paperback books and magazines in the facility,
for obvious reasons. Many of our inmates are voracious readers, and we consider reading a quality use of an inmate’s time.
Positive-themed books are preferred, as they give another level of positive behavior reinforcement. Inmates sometimes even
ask for specific books, and some enjoy discussing stories and topics they’ve read.
One young man, who could not read at all when he came to jail, took advantage of our GED tutor’s offer to teach him to read.
One day while visiting the housing areas, he was very proud to show me a Dr. Seuss book he’d completed. It is wonderful to
see old books from EGF find new life and impact new lives in our jail. —Joe Guy
NOON BOOK DISCUSSION
April 21
The Cat’s Table
By Michael Ondjaate
Led by Julie Forkner
May 19
Life with Charley
By Sherry Palmer
Led by Sherri Palmer
June and July NO NOON BOOK DISCUSSION
August 18
The Widow of the South
By Robert Hicks
Led by Bryan Jackson
A light lunch is provided by members of the Friends of the Library Board. Donations appreciated.
Our Friend, Alan Jacobson
One of the best parts of being a Librarian is being able to create a quiet space where everyone is welcome. Although many of
our regular library users are gregarious and familiar, others are soft spoken but no less a part of our lives. Alan Jacobson was just one
of these quiet library regulars. Serene and self-sufficient, he never failed to solve a problem every single time he visited the library,
whether it be helping people jump start their car or helping the library pay for a magazine subscription we could no longer afford. Alan
Jacobson truly understood the meaning of generosity and the value of a public library. My thoughts go out to his family. He will be truly
missed.
WELCOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS!
MARC ADAMS was born and raised in Coral Gables, Florida. He served 4 1/2 years in USAF: 3 years in
Germany and 1 year in France. While helping to get Kennesaw State University through its infancy, he attended and
graduated with a BBA from Georgia State University. He has lived in Athens for 42 years and has been retired for 15 of
those. “Chris, Meloyne, Brady and Rylan are my family. My mom instilled a love for reading which remains with me still.”
JIM GREEK and his wife, Patti are the co-owners of Greeks Bearing Gifts, established in 1996, in downtown Athens.
He is also employed with Tsali Notch Vineyard in Madisonville, Tennessee. He has a B.A. from Rhodes College and an
M.A. from Tennessee Tech.
AMY GOODIN is from Athens and is married to Chad Goodin. They have three children —Katie, Sam, and Jack.
Amy has worked for Athens Federal Community Bank for 15 years and currently serves as Vice President, Compliance
Officer. She is Past President of the McMinn-Meigs United Way and has served on numerous other Boards including
Keep McMinn Beautiful and Athens City Schools Family Engagement. She is also the volunteer Preschool Director at
Central Baptist Church of Athens. Amy is excited to have the opportunity to help promote community library programs
through Friends of the Library.
LINDA MCGILL:” As a child, growing up in a small town in Georgia, I lived next door to the church, across the
street from the elementary school, and two doors away from the town library. On hot summer days, I often went to the
library, with its cold terrazzo floors and open windows where the librarian would read me stories if she weren’t too busy.
Those three places, the library, the school, and the church, helped make me the person I am. My life has been spent in
the classroom, in the church, and always with a book. I graduated high school in Chattanooga and received my B.S. at
MTSU in Murfreesboro. I did additional work at UT, received my M.A. at Tusculum College and my ED. Specialist’s Degree from Lincoln Memorial University. I have taught in Murfreesboro, Oak Ridge, McMinn County, and Athens City
Schools, where I have worked from 1973 to the present. I have been in education for 48 years now. As an English teacher, books have always been the tools of my trade. All I need is a good book and a cup of good coffee, and I’m ready for
fun! I hope my former students have also acquired a love of books and learning from their time spent with me. I am so
pleased to be a part of the E. G. Fisher Friends of the Library.
Everett Gillespie
Marc Adams
Whitney Kimball Coe
Jim Greek
Amy Goodin
Kathy Dougherty
Linda McGill
Children’s Library Gets a New Look; Ongoing Gently Used Book Sale Gets a New Home
If you’ve been in the library lately, you might have noticed a little more color as you walk in the door. Thanks to a generous
donation from Jack and Connie Allen as well as a grant from Volunteer Electric Cooperative, we have been working to revive our
children’s section and to give new life to our ongoing book sale. We’ve also added new rugs, child-sized furniture, a new iPad to
show off the library’s catalog, and a LEGO table complete with LEGOS. Our intention is to create a space solely for the youngest
library users to help instill a lifelong love of the library.
The Ongoing Used Book Sale is now given its full glory and is housed on new shelving in the center of the library as you
enter. The library’s new books are now displayed on the brick wall where we are used to seeing the book sale, giving library users
more elbow room as they browse the books newest to the library’s collection. By moving the sale items to the middle of the fl oor, we
have placed them prominently where library users will have a chance to browse. Since the proceeds from the book sale are a core
part of the Friends of the Library’s fundraising efforts, we hope that refreshing the book sale display will result in increased sales and
increased visibility of our Friends of the Library.
The Children’s Library and the renovations to the Ongoing Book Sale are the second phase of a three-part library-wide refurbishing. The first change was the addition of three new picnic tables on our front porch to accommodate our patrons using our wifi. The third and final phase will roll out this May with the introduction of iPads for the library’s online catalog as well as new software
that will change the way people sign in to use our public computers. The new software will allow library users to sign themselves into
public computers, freeing up staff to spend more time answering questions and lending in-depth assistance to those who need it.
The computers that we currently use to access the library’s online catalog are aging ungracefully. Although the transition to iPads
will be awkward for some at first, we believe that iPads will make our catalog easier to navigate and making it easier for you to find
the books, movies, and audiobooks that you want.
As we work toward a more modern library and a more efficient workflow, we appreciate your patience, help, and feedback.
We realize that change can be difficult, particularly when it comes to technology. Please never hesitate to ask if you need help locating an item, learning to use the catalog, or any other question you might have while you are in the library. —Julie Forkner, Director
The Tennessee Wetland Festival
On June 20, strange and marvelous creatures will descend on the Wetlands --birds of Prey, reptiles, amphibians and Bill Landry! We are
pleased to announce that we will be partnering with Keep McMinn Beautiful and that City of Athens Public Works department to bring the
first annual Tennessee Wetland Festival to the Wetlands at E. G. Fisher Public Library. As part of our Summer Reading Program, the Festival will kick-off on Friday night, June 19th, with dinner and storytelling at the Pergola in the Wetlands. Joe’s Italian Cuisine will cater the
ticket and Bobby Fulcher, a longtime naturalist and park ranger, will tell stories around the campfire. Tickets for this fundraiser will be available at E. G. Fisher, theKeep McMinn Beautiful office and other venues around town. Full schedule and price will be announced once details are confirmed.
On June 20, the festival begins! Falconry demonstrations, zoo critters from the Nashville and Knoxville zoos, cave critters, and many more
will be in the Wetlands Amphitheater. Bill Landry will be in the main hall of the library to enlighten us all on the life of William Buttram and
Puc Puggy. Food vendors will be on-site as will water activities, street performers, and DIY displays.
All events will be publicized on the library’s website, fisherlibrary.org, as the time gets nearer. If you do not receive our weekly e-newsletter
of library happenings and events, make sure that you sign up before this summer by going to fisherlibrary.org and click on Weekly eNewsletter Sign Up. See you in the Wetlands!
MYSTERY BOOK CLUB
In April The Mystery Book Club is traveling to Arkansas with Earlene Fowler's, "Arkansas Traveler". The
discussion will be led by Joyce Baker. Mary Ellen Nicolleti is leading a Thomas Perry free-for-all in
May. Each member is asked to give a synopsis of a Thomas Perry book. The Mystery Book Club meets
at 6:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month except December.
A LIFETIME OF BOOKS
To me, reading is one of life’s great pleasures. As a young boy, I had the very great fortune of being the nephew of two extraordinary elementary school teachers. Elizabeth and Virginia Holt taught at a rural Anderson County school called Shinliver,
and they allowed me to participate in many of their classroom activities. Virginia was the school librarian, and I think I must
have just about worn out the meager trove of books in that little library. Like most boys, I loved the Hardy Boys, and anything
by Clair Bee. For those who don’t know him, he wrote about a high school sports legend named Chip Hilton, and being into
sports as I was, many late nights were spent reading about Chip and his teammates at Valley Falls High School doing battle
with their hated rival, the Steeltown Steelers. To this day, I have every Chip Hilton book ever written in my personal library,
except one.
During my teenage years, I began to appreciate some of the great historians. Ranking high on that list was Bruce Catton and
his Civil War tomes, as well as the world history works of Will and Ariel Durant. Then came the World War II series by Winston
Churchill, and other historical works by William Shirer, Stephen Ambrose, David Halberstam and David McCullough.
In more recent years, I have read many great fiction writers, such as Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Daniel Silva and Patricia
Cornwell. I also greatly appreciate pure Southern fiction, such as anything written by Flannery O’Connor. However, my favorite Southern writer is the little-known William Gay, late of Hohenwald, Tennessee. If you are not familiar with him, I urge you to
become so.
As somewhat of a Luddite, I rue the Kindle and other technology of that ilk. If you take my book, you will have to pry it from my
cold, dead fingers! Yes, yes, I know. One cannot stop progress, but I have this perhaps ill-fated idea that I may be able to slow
it down a little bit by my refusal to participate. If you have experienced the unadulterated joy of walking into a Barnes and Noble and being overcome with the torrent of the written word washing you away like a single leaf in a spring freshet, you understand what I am saying. The pleasure of turning the pages in the latest Tom Clancy thriller, accompanied by a roaring fire and
a glass of fine Cabernet, is an experience without peer.
Now, if you can imagine the thrill-a-minute scenario of a marriage between a Certified Public Accountant and an Elementary
School Librarian, you might expect to find a bit of reading material scattered about the house. Several months of the back issues of the Wall Street Journal, the detritus of perhaps twenty-five monthly magazine subscriptions, literature from the accounting and financial world…and that is just mine. Hers? I won’t even go there. But at least, she is responsible for my appreciation of good children’s literature, such as Goodnight Moon, The Polar Express, and The Graveyard Book. I loved reading to my children, and now to my grandchildren.
My personal library measures well in excess of a thousand books. My current “reading stack” or those fine volumes waiting to
be read is about five feet high, and I just received six new books for Christmas. Alas, the plight of the bookworm! So many
books and so little time!
I do have one favorite book. It is called The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse, and the author is Thornton Burgess. I believe it was published in 1949. And why is it my favorite? Because no matter how hard he tried, hungry Old Reddy Fox could
never catch plump little Danny Meadow Mouse!
—Bryan Jackson
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