Please check the website for detailed information and for additional programs as they are confirmed.

 

Starting in early December, the library's knitters will be selling small hand knit items, such as hats, mittens, socks, and scarves, to benefit the library.     

We welcome donations from anyone in the community. Hand knit baby things, cuddly creatures, novelty items, and tree ornaments are welcomed as well. If you're interested, please bring your hand knit donations to the library. 

We ask that you label your items with your name, size, yarn content, and any relevant washing instructions, and we thank you in  advance for helping to support YPL.  

The Library's Knitting Group meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 9:30 AM in the Reading Room, and welcomes knitters of all levels.

By Annie Cifelli

After nearly three decades of service, Lynn Lesperance is retiring in December.

During her long tenure, Lynn has seen tremendous changes in library operations. The paper card catalog has been replaced by an entirely electronic system. Audiobooks on cassette tape (remember those!) became books on CD. And now, many titles can simply be downloaded to a tablet or smart phone. Lynn also witnessed, first-hand, the establishment and evolution of the CLAMS network, which today connects 38 libraries on Cape Cod and the Islands.

Lynn has been part of significant changes in library management too. In 2008, due to serious cuts in the Town Library budget, the Yarmouth Port Library was facing closure. The YPL Trustees negotiated with the Town to keep the library open. On July 1, 2009, when the library again became an independent, privately funded, public library, Lynn was there.

 

As head of Children's Services at the Yarmouth Port Library for the past 10 years, Lynn has provided manifold opportunities for children and their caregivers to engage socially, learn together, and have fun. She's led countless Story Times, run the Summer Reading Program, and more recently, established the Play Café.

During her tenure, Lynn has also cared for an ever-evolving children's room - crafting a space full of stories waiting to be discovered. In addition to her work with youngsters, Lynn's familiar face has often graced the Circulation Desk, assisting patrons of all ages.

Lynn's commitment to the village community, especially its children and families, will be long remembered. The Yarmouth Port Library wishes her well as she begins her next chapter.

     All good things must end, they say. December 2019 brings

         an end to my days here at Yarmouth Port Library.

 

By Lynn Lesperance, Co-Librarian

Hard to believe that almost 29 years have gone by so quickly. I've been thinking back to my early days here at YPL. Another long run - one of over 40 years, which is not likely to ever be duplicated - by Martha White had just ended. Pat Philbrook was given the daunting task of reorganizing the library and moving us into the computer age and CLAMS. It was exciting to be part of a group of dedicated people working hard to bring our patrons the newest and best technology and service.

When I was hired in early 1991 we were a privately-funded library. Very soon we joined the town library system, though each of the three village libraries kept their own staff and was pretty much autonomous within the town's library department for a long time. As the years went on, my hours here at Yarmouth Port increased and for a long time, with some exceptions, I have been the only staff member scheduled here all the hours we are open. For a few years I worked 3 and ½ additional hours at the South and West Yarmouth Libraries, as needed, but Yarmouth Port has always been my home.

Things have changed so much and so quickly since the early days. Joining the computer age was, of course, the biggest change but there have been so many more. The first time I did a summer reading program on my own was 1992. The theme was Sail on A Sea of Books. My plan had been to create a cardboard boat facade for the window seat in the Children's Room. Dick Halverstad, President of the Board at the time, loved the idea so much he hired a professional to come in and create a permanent fixture and, thus, our USS YarmouthPort came into being. 

Some of the other changes: Years ago we had a robust and active Friends of t he Library group who offered to finance a refurbishment of the Children's Room. We went from old, heavy furniture and a cramped room where everything was the color brown to the current light, welcoming space we have now. And after adding the new toys, our Children's Room has become quite a destination!

The old, rarely used wood-burning fireplace in the Reading Room was fitted with a lovely, warm gas one which is in use nearly all the time during the cold months. A storage closet was removed in the Main Hall to provide computer access space for the public. We put in a new Circulation Desk for practicality and aesthetics. So many changes to bring us up-to-date and provide more comfort and service to our patrons. 

Now we have come full circle. YPL is once again privately-funded and despite all the changes, it has kept the features that make this over 150-year-old library the welcoming, charming community space it has always been: our lovely front doors, our spiral staircases and balconies and, of course, a staff who will always welcome you as a friend and neighbor. 

I would be remiss if I left without acknowledging our faithful group of volunteers. Some of you have been with me all the way back to 1991- looking at you Nancy MacEachern and Ann Carosso -- while others have been here for many, many years, and some are recent recruits. You are all so important to the library, and to me. I thank each of you for helping to make YPL the vital, friendly place it is. I thank you for your friendship and for a lifetime's worth of happy memories.

And so, dear patrons, this chapter comes to a close. Know that I will miss seeing all of you and sharing your lives. Thank you for giving me the chance to work at a profession I love, among people I have come to know and care about so very much over the years. I wish you the happiest of holidays and hope to see you when I am out and about town.

Thursday, January 16th      My Dear Hamilton           by Stephanie Dray and                 Laura Kamoie   From the New York Times bestselling authors  of America's First Daughter comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton-a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. In this haunting, moving, and beautifully written novel, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza's story as it's never been told before-not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal-but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.

Thursday, February 20th      T he Photograph          by Penelope Lively Open s with a snapshot: Kath, before her death,  at an unknown gathering, holding hands with a man who is not her husband.     The photograph is in an envelope marked "DON'T OPEN-DESTROY." But Kath's husband does not heed the warning, embarking on a journey of discovery that reveals a tight web of secrets - within marriages, between sisters, and at the heart of an affair. Kath, with her mesmerizing looks and casual ways, moves like a ghost through the memories of everyone who knew her - and a portrait emerges of a woman whose life cannot be understood without plumbing the emotional depths of the people she touched.

Thursday, March 19th ~ The Library Book      by Susan Orlean   On t he morning of April 28, 1986, a    fire  alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Pu blic Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library-and if so, who? Author Susan Orlean delivers a reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America" (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.   New members are always welcome.  Refreshments!

 

      

Jack's Outback II

 

    162 Main Street (6A)

    Yarmouth Port, MA 02675

    (508) 362-6690

    jacksoutback2.com

It truly is "out back," tucked away at the end of the parking lot behind 161 Main Street. Jack's Outback, in both its versions, has been a Yarmouth Port institution for as long as most residents can remember.

In its first incarnation, presided over by founder and resident curmudgeon Jack Braginton-Smith, it was possible to write up your own order slip for such delicacies as "toe-mayter soup," endure an occasional friendly insult, bus your own table, and enjoy a sighting of local celebrity Edward Gorey.

Since Dona Baratta purchased the restaurant in 2004 and renamed it Jack's Outback II, they have learned to spell tomato, the service is, well, service, the food is as good as ever, and the breadth of the menu is astonishing. The breakfast menu features no fewer than a dozen versions of eggs Benedict, seven varieties of scrambled eggs, and 11 omelets. The popovers are legendary, whether ordered for breakfast, or for lunch with a filling of egg, tuna, or chicken salad. Other lunch offerings include a wide variety of specialty sandwiches, nine burgers, salads, and delicious homemade soups.

If y ou ha ve never been to Jack's Outback II, or if your only visits ha ve be en for the libr ary's annual spaghetti suppers (generously underwri tten by Dona), you owe i t to yourself to stop in for breakfast or lunch, and when you do, be sure to thank Dona for her long-time support of the library. (And one other thing - be sure to bring your wallet, as it's cash only.) 

     Once again, we look forward to another successful     

          campaign and we thank you in advance for your

               generous support.

By Les Peat, For the Membership Committee

As this issue of the Yardarm goes to press, we are mailing out our ninth appeal for membership support. In the past nine years, the annual budget has grown from about $140,000 to $160,000. This increase is primarily due to annual increases in staff compensation - essential if we are to recruit, nurture, and retain high caliber people - and increases in the cost of books, something over which we have no control if we are to maintain the quality of the collection. Each year we have had a goal of raising $40,000 from the Membership Campaign, and we have met that goal in most years, or fallen short by only a small amount. As a percentage of the budget, however, that $40,000 has been decreasing.

During those years, we have not increased the suggested minimum amounts for the various categories of giving, nor do we plan to do so this year. We would, however, like to remind you that the suggested amounts are the bottoms of ranges - an individual membership may represent a gift of any amount between $30 and $49, a dual/family membership $50 to $99, and so forth. (There is of course no upper limit on Founders' Circle gifts.)

If you are reluctant to give in a higher category, you can nevertheless greatly assist us in defraying our ever-escalating costs by modestly increasing your gift within your accustomed range. That way, we can postpone the day when we will inevitably have to adjust the membership gift amounts upward.

We would also like to remind you that memberships are for the calendar year. Membership contributions made between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020 are applied to the year 2020; gifts received after June 30th will be applied to 2021. If you are ever in doubt as to whether you have already paid for 2020, please don't hesitate to ask us to check our records to help you avoid a double payment and the administrative hassle that results. You may do this by calling me at 508-362-7660 or sending an email to wl.peat@gmail.com

Once again, we look forward to another successful campaign and we thank you in advance for your generous support.

 

Please click here to download a Membership form.

If you do any shopping on Amazon, please go to Amazon Smile: smile.amazon.com

The library has received more than $350 as a result of your efforts  

to donate to the Yarmouth Port Library Association.

We would like to thank all our Business Sponsors.

We can't thank you enough for your support of YPL.

Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

 

ONGOING EVENTS 

Please check the library website (click here)

for up-to-date information on events.