Book Your Weekend

If one of your hobbies is complaining about how terrible things are and how little there is to do here in Norwich, put your hand up. In light of this weekend in downtown, please place it over your mouth. Yeah, I'm out of patience with the whiners, mewlers, and pukers. 

I'm done with those who work so hard to find grey clouds around any silver lining, and you can spot them from a mile away as they start with 'well, Norwich certainly isn't Mystic,' ignoring the fact that at one time Mystic wasn't Mystic and its companion troll, 'there's no place to park downtown when there is something to do.' 

I suppose that means I won't see unhappy folks, or their cars, anywhere near the Otis Library for the Friends of Otis Library Book Sale which starts today (with a private showing and a ten dollar admission this morning from nine to ten for those who want a head start on the weekend's steals and deals) and then continues tomorrow, starting at 10 before concluding Sunday, from noon until three.

Technically, the sale could be called "The Gently Used Book Sale, to include, Biographies, Autobiographies, Memoirs, all manner of Fiction as well as Mystery, Arts and Crafts, Classics, Cook Books, Non-Fiction, How-To books (though almost no why-are-we books), History, Gardening, Sports, pony rides (wanted to see if you were still reading), Science Fiction and Books for Children of All Ages. As well as lots of audio cassettes, CDs, DVDs, and Stuff You'd Have to See for Yourself to Believe." Technically. 

And because Otis is situated in just about the middle of downtown, as you pass the restaurants and shops that line or border Main Street on your way through Franklin Sqaure, you can see all kinds of folks, clutching newly-purchased books, mingling with the regular patrons and eating a late breakfast, or lunch, before returning to one of the municipal parking lots that ring downtown and heading home. 

The Friends of Otis Library Book Sale is the perfect excuse to table hop and finally stop into one of those restaurants you promised yourself to hit 'the next time I'm downtown.' Bring some napkins and your reading glasses. Enjoy.
-bill kenny

Book Your Weekend in Down City

As we hear more talk more often of a possible recession I was wondering when municipalities have less money to spend on programs and services (as so often do their citizens), why it is that public libraries whose operating hours are usually one of the first things to shrink as a money-saving move, tend to become more popular for those seeking entertainment and information.

It was like shooting fish in a barrel to find sources to support the level and breadth at which this has been happening across the USA, thanks to Google. At the time I entered my query, "use of public libraries in a recession" into my browser, there were 17.6 million mentions identified in less than a quarter of a second.

Adding to the irony is an observation from an acquaintance about the power of the smartphones most of us now carry and their ability to research material and sources of information in the blink of an eye.  Because that, in turn, led me to wonder why people still go to the public library, in our case, Otis.

Those motivations and needs are, I imagine, as diverse as those of us who patronize libraries. I’d like to believe people look to a public library in an urban landscape the way the fingers of the hand look to the thumb. There are so many services and so many products available and everyone meets in the same space and place.

Public libraries, like Otis in downtown, by accident or design, may well be the most distinctly iconic symbol of American democracy, up there with Old Glory and the Bald Eagle (which is NOT my nickname, yet).

Norwich (still) doesn't have an especially vibrant downtown though there are a lot of individual efforts by small businesses and property owners with more arriving, if not daily, than with a frequency I find heartening. But if you’ve been telling yourself fables about why you don’t go downtown, you’d have no way of knowing how much Down City has gotten better. Yeah, I know, you’ve been meaning to go, but it’s hard to find a suitable time or a great event. 

But this weekend (starting this Friday), you have the perfect reason as the Friends of Otis Library holds their annual Autumn Book Sale. There's a sneak preview Friday morning from nine to ten attracting collectors who pay $10 for a head start on searching for great deals ranging from books of every genre to magazines, video and compact discs, and more. 

But no matter how many collectors attend, I can tell you from previous experience there’s still plenty of great stuff when the doors open at ten for the general public (I already have a lot of their previously-purchased bargains at my house and will have to invent a new reason to give my wife after the weekend is over).

Book sale hours for both Friday and Saturday are from ten until three and from noon until three on Sunday, which gives you tons of time to wander across downtown (and admire the only Roundabout no one is angry about. Yet.) as well as pop into the shops and eateries, etc. that line the sidewalks.

You’re always saying you wish there were more going on downtown and now there is, so be here when it happens. And be part of why it happens, so that it keeps happening. 
-bill kenny