Bixby Bulletin August Newsletter

THE BIXBY BULLETIN

August 2026

Director's Dispatch

It's August, and the winds of change are blowing here at the Bixby.

This month we welcome Tea Friend, our new Adult Services and Programming Librarian, and bid farewell to our summer intern Patty McNerney and Amber Lay, our long-time Assistant Director. It's a bittersweet month for us.

We will also be wrapping up our summer reading this month for all ages. Make sure to get in your completed bookmarks by August 15th if you are participating in the young adult/adult summer reading challenge.

We have an author talk on August 13th at 5:30 pm by Margaret K. (Peggy) Nelson, who will be discussing her book, Peddlers, Merchants and Junk Dealers: Jewish Life in Small-Town Vermont. This is sure to be a very popular event, so get here a bit early, as it is likely to be standing room only.

Budding writers—we have a writing workshop on August 15th at 10:30 am with local author Kateri Kosek, who will help you explore the natural world as a subject in poetry or prose. There are only 12 seats for this workshop. If you would like to sign up, please email me at: jennifer.pearson@bixbylibrary.org.

I hope to see everyone at Vergennes Day on August 22nd. We will be announcing the winners of this summer's Booked for Bikes youth summer reading program, sponsored by the Vergennes Rotary Club. We will also have some fun activities for the kids, including a sidewalk chalk competition. Come join in the fun with the Bixby crew at Vergennes Day.

Happy August!

Jennifer Pearson

Library Director

What's New?

Welcome Tea!

We at the Bixby are so excited to welcome our new Adult Services Librarian, Tea Friend. Tea comes to us from the Nashville area.

Tyler “Tea” Friend is a librarian, poet, and educator. They started in libraries professionally in 2010, but their mom worked in her hometown library, so they’ve been behind a circulation desk since before they were born. They received an MLIS from the University of Alabama & have an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Tea enjoys poetry, fantasy, sci-fi, and anything else that enweirdens the world that we inhabit. They are pleased as punch to be returning to Vermont, this time with a fiancée & three cats in tow.

Please say hello to Tea and welcome them to the Bixby the next time you stop by. Tea can be reached at tea.friend@bixbylibrary.org.

Farewell to Amber

It's with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to Amber Lay, our amazing Assistant Director, this month. Amber has been a constant leader of the Bixby staff for five years. She does everything from collection development to IT to providing outstanding customer service and reading recommendations.

Here are some of the things I will miss most about Amber. She is so organized! She knows everything about current releases and an amazing amount about most all of our collection. She is not one bit afraid of the dark crevices of the basement. She is a thorough and patient trainer of new staff members (myself included). She has great ideas and she also implements them. She's a quiet and steadfast mentor and helper to all of us. And when someone at the circ desk yells "Amber" up to the mezzanine in order to get a helpful answer to their question, we will all be lost when she's not here to answer anymore.

Please wish Amber well on her next journey. We will all miss her terribly, and the Bixby just won't be the same without her.

----- Jennifer

New to the Library of Things—Tree Maintenance Tools

Our Library of Things has added a set of tree maintenance tools just in time for fall yard cleanup.

The tree maintenance tools were paid for through a 2024 Urban & Community Forestry Grant which was administered through the Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Program.

The funding for this project came from the US Forest Service and, specifically, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The intent of this funding was to increase and maintain a healthy urban tree canopy and access to nature in underserved, under-resourced communities.

The grant was awarded to the City of Vergennes through the work of a few Vergennes residents who volunteered to collect the data necessary to apply for the grant. The bulk of the money went to paying to remove city trees along the roadside and replace them with new shade trees.

We encourage residents to make use of these tools to keep their trees healthy and enjoy the environmental and ecological benefits that trees serve in our community.

Unearth a Story: Adult and Young Adult Summer Reading Challenge

Adults and young adults (ages 14+) are invited to read their way to rewards this summer!

From June 16 through August 15, pick up a fossil-themed bookmark in the library lobby and track your reading progress across six different categories. For each book you finish, scratch off the golden sticker for that category to reveal a hidden fossil and write the author's last name on the shovel.

Once you've completed your bookmark, bring it to the Circulation Desk to be entered into a raffle for one of four $25 Vergennes Green Gift Certificates, redeemable at more than 60 local businesses. Start digging into great books this summer and unearth your next favorite story!

Mark Your Calendar!

Programs for All Ages

Adult Programs

Youth Programs

Staff Recommendations

Country People is a delightful blend of humor, folklore, and heartfelt family drama that follows Miles Krzelewski as he relocates his family from California to rural Vermont for a year. While his wife embraces academic life, Miles procrastinates on his PhD dissertation, finding himself drawn to an eccentric community, a mysterious local legend, and unexpected adventures. Filled with colorful characters, witty observations, and moments of genuine warmth, the novel celebrates the importance of family, the power of storytelling, and the surprising ways people can find home in unfamiliar places. -- Amber Lay, Assistant Director

John Green describes Canon as a “deeply moving epic,” and Paige Lewis lives up to the praise, delivering what I can only call an absurdist romp written in the style of a modern epic. The story follows two characters: Yara, a reluctant homebody chosen by God to go on a journey to defeat Dominic, the leader of the Bad Guys; and Adrena, a prophet who joins the Good Guys, determined to defeat Dominic herself and become the hero. The world they explore is similar to our own, although it’s not quite right, with chariots being driven to malls and God judging men’s bodybuilding competitions. If you’re looking for an adventurous read that is wholly original with a deceptively deep meaning, this is the book for you! -- Patty McNerney, Summer Intern

Community Resources

Questions or comments on this month's newsletter?

Contact Jennifer

Library Hours:

Tuesday–Thursday: 10 AM–7 PM

Friday–Saturday: 10 AM–3 PM

(802) 877-2211