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BIXBY BULLETIN NEWSLETTER
December 2024
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The festive season has arrived! Last Saturday, the library bustled with nearly 300 revelers for the Bixby’s annual Holiday Stroll celebration. Santa delighted the children with The Night Before Christmas. Maiden Vermont filled the library with heartwarming voices and handmade snowflakes. Puzzlers swapped for a new challenge, crafters created cards, and patrons of all ages jostled to reach for homemade cookies and punch. The season of joy has begun!
And yet, the holidays can also bring stress and challenges that make it tough to feel cheery. Think of the Bixby as your respite.
While you’re out and about, make it a point to stop by. Lose yourself in the carefully curated exhibits that remind you of our remarkable local history and precious Lake Champlain ecosystem. Make an ornament for a friend. Grab some of our bountiful free yarn or drop in for the fiber arts circle - you won’t find a more welcoming group. Borrow a board game, or a Go Pro, or a birding kit. Peruse the librarians’ book displays to find a new world into which you can escape. And since giving is a proven path to lightened spirits, consider offering your time or donating to Bixby’s annual fund - both are critical to enabling us to offer so much to so many, close to home in our five-town community.
I’m hoping for a joy-filled season for us all. But if that becomes a bit tricky, know that you have a place where you can come and just be.
Warmest wishes,
Catharine Hays
Library Director
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What's New at the Library? | |
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Stock up on books, movies, snowshoes, and games before we close for the holidays!
The Bixby Library will be closed Tuesday, December 24th through Thursday, December 26th for Christmas. We will reopen at 10 AM on Friday, December 27th.
The library will close early at 3PM on Tuesday, December 31st for New Year's Eve, and remain closed throughout Wednesday, January 1st, New Year's Day. Our doors will open again on Thursday, January 2nd, at 10 AM.
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Enter the Annual Appeal Raffle Before December 31st | |
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At this time of year, we ask our community members to donate to the Bixby. Your donation directly funds our operating costs, enabling us to fulfill our mission of belonging, sustainability, and literacy. Every donation makes a BIG impact on what we can do for our community.
As a thank-you, anyone who donates now through December 31st will be entered into a raffle to win one of three custom Bixby Library shirts! The shirts feature a stunning block print of our historic library, designed and hand-printed by Community Engagement Manager, Cedar Winslow. Choose between a hoodie, sweatshirt, long-sleeve, or t-shirt, and support the library while you sport the library.
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New Community Room Exhibit: This Place Called Home | |
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This Place Called Home documents the beauty of Vermont today; and captures the essence of the geography, people, land and experiences that make this place our home. The photography exhibit is a joint project linking VUHS Vermont Studies Class taught by Becca Coffey and the Vergennes LEOs, a teen community service organization led by Cookie Steponaitis.
Come and enjoy This Place Called Home in the Community Room during open hours.
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New Kerr Room Exhibit: Samuel Strong: War Hero and Local Legend | |
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When 14,000 British troops marched down from Canada toward Plattsburgh, N.Y. in the fall of 1814, Samuel Strong, a recently retired general in the Vermont Militia, was picked to lead the Vermonters who volunteered to cross the lake and join the fight. And he lived right here on Main Street in Vergennes!
A new exhibit tells the tale of that battle as well as the story of this important figure in Addison County history. Strong wore many hats throughout his life — sheriff, farmer, mayor, legislator, business investor, bank founder as well as soldier. The display features his bicorne hat and golden epaulets on loan from the Vermont Historical Society. From the Bixby Library’s historical collection, there is also a handwritten account book and orders he issued requiring individuals to appear before him to settle disputes.
The Samuel Strong exhibit was curated by Nancy Remsen, Bixby Trustee and Chair of the Historical Collections Committee. Learn more about Samuel Strong in the Kerr Room on the second floor of the library during open hours.
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Bixby patrons were very busy in 2024! Our library cardholders checked out over 28,149 items from our books, audiobooks, DVDs, and Library of Things collections. Additionally, over 10,995 digital items were checked out from Libby, Hoopla, Palace, and Kanopy.
Keep reading to find out which Bixby titles were most popular with our patrons this year. Secure your copy of one of our top titles by placing a hold through our online catalog today!
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Amber Lay, Assistant Director/Adult Services Librarian
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Now that Thanksgiving has concluded and parts of the state have seen their first snowfall, the holiday books have come out of hibernation. You can find them in the holiday trunk, in a basket on the floor of the Children’s Room, and in the picture book bin in the center of the Children’s Room. The Holiday Book Trunk is a treasured tradition here at the Bixby, and I look forward to seeing children search for their next favorite read.
Join us in the library on December 14th at 11:30 AM, as we bring Magic Tree House books to life. Volunteers from Middlebury College’s Page One Literacy Project will perform a reading from some of our Magic Tree House books, then engage participants’ imaginations to recreate the stories.
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What an especially fun time of year it is at the Bixby!
We’ll have our annual Winter Ornament Making on Saturday, December 14th in the Community Room. All ages are welcome to drop in anytime between 11AM–2PM and make your choice of a polar bear made from a styrofoam ball, a scratch-off snowman, or a tree and/or bird made from discarded book pages.
Join us to get creative and bring home a cute, original ornament to hang on your tree or in a window.
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Thank you for infusing the Bixby with joy in 2024. Over the past year, attendance at Bixby programs has DOUBLED! We've had more programs, more participation, and more connections than ever before, all because of you.
Shall we aim to double attendance again in 2025? Kick off 2025 with our first program for all ages: The Bixby Library's Cat Cafe! That's right, we've partnered with Homeward Bound, Addison County's Humane Society to bring sweet, adoptable cats to the Bixby on Saturday, January 11th. This free event has a limited capacity, send me an email to reserve a 30-minute spot between 11 AM and 1 PM. Let us know when you'd like to visit, and we'll provide the purrfect companions.
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Are you interested in local history? Want to learn more about the rich historical collections available for viewing and research at the Bixby? For my inaugural historical highlight, I'm sharing our growing collection of finding aids, all of which you can find on our website!
A finding aid is a document that helps place a collection in context by providing relevant information such as its acquisition, administrative history, and provenance; its size, condition, and location; a description, significance, and historical note regarding its connection to the five-towns region; and its organization and arrangement, with an inventory of document, folders, and series. We currently have 35(!) finding aids developed by our dedicated Historical Collections volunteer team.
Search our growing body of finding aids here or by visiting the library’s Special Collections webpage to view the Monkton Iron Company Records, William G. Bixby Papers, and the Forest and Field Club Papers and many more!
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Contact Bixby Bulletin Editor-in-Chief, Cedar Winslow
with questions or comments on this month's newsletter.
If you enjoyed the newsletter, forward it to a friend near or far!
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Library Hours:
Tuesday–Thursday: 10 AM–7 PM
Friday–Saturday: 10 AM–3 PM
(802) 877-2211
Contact Us
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