December 2014, Volume 24, Number 2footnotes www.newburyportpl.orgFriends of the Newburyport Public Library

The Great Old Book Sale

Not Just a Fund Raiser

The Great Old Book Sale (GOBS), which with one exception the Friends of the Newburyport Public Library have put on twice yearly for the past 15 years, raises approximately $15,000 a year. The most recent sale, held in October, raised $7,400. If we can top this amount during the upcoming March 2015 sale, we can meet or exceed $15,000. All funds raised help purchase books, CDs, DVDs, archival materials and underwrite many of the programs the library offers. The Friends also pay the entire cost of the library’s museum passes program.

While the GOBS is clearly an important source of library funding, it is also an important community event and resource. We all learned this in the fall of 2013, when the Friends had to cancel the book sale for lack of sufficient volunteers to work on it. Many library and book sale patrons expressed their dis-appointment and committed to helping if the sale could be continued in the future. Sure enough, when the Friends revived it in March 2014, to the relief of everyone, enough volunteers showed up to make the Friends Board feel sufficiently confident in the future of this event to have set aside dates through 2016.

In addition to the outcry when the October 2013 sale was cancelled, an encounter with a book sale patron brought home to me the importance of the GOBS. As I was entering the library on Satur-day—the day we sell books for $2.00 a bag—a young woman loaded down with two shopping bags full wore a great smile on her face. Her response to my comment that she must have had a successful morn-ing at the sale stunned me: “I have never been able to afford to buy books before,” she said.

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History in the Library

Before his death in 2002, the novelist John W. Gardner told Bill Moyers that “history never looks like history when you are living through it.” Appearances aside, however, we live through “history” with every step and each conversation.

Few of us, however, record all those steps and words, so no one else ever will know them. Numerous contemporary historians have broken new ground by studying documents and ephemera once dismissed as inconsequential. For example, in writing Book of Ages, Jill Lepore relied on documents many earlier historians had not given a second glance. Her exten-sive research using primary sources to plumb the life and thoughts of Jane Franklin, Benjamin’s poverty-stricken, uneducated sister led to a rich, multihued portrait of a remarkable woman as well as of day-to-day life in her time and place, which was far more typical of her contemporaries’ way of living than her famous, globe-trotting brother’s ever could be.

This issue of “Footnotes” includes articles that look at some of history’s many meanings and uses as practiced by patrons of the Newburyport Public Library. Inside you will meet Michael Hodge Simp-son—possibly the NPL’s first “friend”—whose gen-erosity laid the foundation for using the library for research. Another article reviews the many ways that the Newburyport Archival Center assists historians and genealogists in their quests for information.

A helpful description of three valuable databases available to NPL cardholders will help you approach historical research. Equally important, however, is knowing the library’s outlook as it presses on into the future, and a glimpse of that is found in the article about the NPL’s new logo. Who better than Thomas Jefferson, to bring all these ideas together? He wrote, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.

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Brain Teaser

by Al Lavender

This month we play another round of Boggle. Words are formed from adjoining letters. Letters must join in the proper sequence. They may join horizontally, verti-cally, or diagonally, to the left, right, or up-and-down. No letter position can be used more than once within a single word. Words with three or more letters receive points, as shown below:

Letters per word Points3 or 4 1

5 26 37 5

8 or more 11

Here is the game grid:

G S I SO D Qu BA S H NN I C V

Entries—limited to one per member—must be received by Al Lavender [mail: 10 Rawson Hill Road, New-buryport, MA 01950; e-mail: allavender@comcast .net) no later than January 15, 2015.

Contest ResultsThe Brain Teaser in the last issue of “Footnotes” asked you to solve five cryptograms. We received two correct answers, which were submitted by Donna Attenbor-ough and Robert Mucci, both of whom were declared winners. The correct answers were:

1 Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. — Mark Twain

2 Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. — Albert Einstein

3 Whether you think you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right. — Henry Ford

4 The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense. Tom Clancy

5 In America, anybody can be president, that’s one of the risks you take. — Adlai Stevenson

What is in a brand?

The Library Has a New Logo

Our new logo was designed by Peter Blaiwas of Vern Associates in Amesbury, who worked with a commit-tee of library staff over a period of several months. The compass rose design gives a nod to the city’s nautical heritage while the beautiful colors—a bril-liant blue and radiant gold—and typefaces respect the library’s past while pointing toward its bright, bold future. The new logo will be seen on all of the library’s public relations efforts going forward. Check out the logo banners outside and inside of the library. Companion logos were also created for the Children’s Room, the Teen Loft, the Archival Center, and the Friends of the Library.

Incorporating the new logo, the updated library website (www.newburyportpl.org) is now live. Besides its new “look”—with larger type, new col-ors and photos—the major changes are on the home page. The Evergreen catalog search box and access to accounts are now at the top of the page, and buttons for Online Resources, Museum Passes, the Archival Center, and the Friends of the Library all fall near the center of the page, next to the news and calendar sections.

Treasures in the Archives

Join us at 1:00 pm on Sunday, December 7, for a unique event celebrating Newburyport’s 250th Anniversary! Rare treasures from the library’s Archival Center will be on display, and informa-tion tables will deal with Newburyport’s rich his-tory. Learn how to trace your genealogy, view early maps and hundreds of photographs, find out how old your house is, explore Plum Island history, and learn about Newburyport during wartime.

Also enjoy the hourly slide shows, and if you would like to share your old photos with us, we will digitize them for you at our scanning station. Light refresh-ments will be served. For more information, stop by or call the Archival Center at (978) 465-4428 x231.

 

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Newburyport Archival Center Report

Many citizens of greater Newburyport have deep senses of history, which the Newburyport Public Library reflects in its Archival Center, at once a place of friendly camaraderie and serious research. The collection focuses on local history and genealogy. In addition to many written genealogies on Newburyport and New England families, diaries, histories, maps, probate records, and historic photographs, it also provides access to online resources, such as Ancestry, Heritage Quest, and American Ancestors.

Archival shelving contains records of institutions and personal papers. We were very lucky to acquire records of the First Religious Society, which contain papers that go back to the 1700s that hold information useful to both genealogists and historians. Among the personal reminiscences are the Lord Diaries from 1827 to 1878. John Lord recorded thoughts on abolition and prohibition as well as the usual concerns with weather and crops. He writes of slavery, suffrage, and the new inventions: the telegraph and telephone. The archives contains early musical texts published in Newbury-port. These are mostly simple lines of notation from which the musician must flesh out more intricate musical patterns. If the researcher is interested in the sociological aspects of our city, a valuable resource is the papers of local charitable and artistic societies and clubs of mostly literary and musical interest.

The Archival Center offers informa-tion on historic homes, city directories, a section on Plum Island, photographs by Fran Dalton, and the Marcia Little Papers among the unpublished genealogies on local families.

Mark Your Calendars!

Prepare to be amazed when the Friends of the Library annual Magic Show and Kids’ Book Sale returns to the library on Saturday, February 14! What more heartfelt way could there be to treat your littlest valentines?

As usual, that day also marks the kickoff of school vacation week, so remember to check the online event calendar—www.newburyportpl.org/events—to find out all about the many NPL pro-grams offered during the break. We’ll be here, hosting fun and exciting programs in the children’s room. We hope you’ll come in from the cold and join us!

Genealogy Research Online

A library card opens all kinds of doors for online materi-als and study (find all of them at www.newburyportpl .org/services/online_resources), and three databases funded by the Newburyport Public Library offer unpar-alleled assistance with genealogical research.

1. HeritageQuest® Online

Available in the library or from home, HeritageQuest® Online is a comprehensive treasury of American genea-logical sources. Rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, and finding aids, it offers an essen-tial collection of genealogical and historical resources—with coverage dating back to the 1700s—that can help you find ancestors and discover a place’s past.

The collection consists of six core data sets:

U.S. Federal Censuses feature the original images of every extant federal census in the United States, from 1790 through 1940, with name indexes for many decades.

Genealogy and local history books deliver more than 7 million digitized page images from over 28,000 family histories, local histories, and other books. Titles have been digitized from our own renowned microform collections, as well from the American Antiquarian Society via an exclusive partnership.

Periodical Source Index Archive, published by the Allen County Public Library, is recognized as the most comprehensive index of genealogy and local history periodicals. It contains more than 2.3 mil-lion records covering titles published around the world since 1800.

Revolutionary War records contains original images of 80,000 selected Veteran Administration records pension and bounty land warrant application files from the Revolutionary War era.

Freedman’s Bank Records, with more than 480,000 names of bank applicants, their depen-dents, and heirs from 1865–1874, offers valuable data that can provide important clues to tracing African American ancestors and researching the Reconstruction Era.

U.S. Congressional Serial Set records the memori-als, petitions, private relief actions made to the U.S. Congress back to 1789, with a total of more than 480,000 pages of information.

(continued on page 9)

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In 1837 he was elected agent of the woolen mills at Saxonville (near Framingham) organized under the name New England Worsted Company. He held that position until the widespread financial crisis of 1857 caused the company to fail. With help from friends, Simpson purchased the mills. Now under his sole management, they became remarkably prosperous and led to the building of the Roxbury Carpet Mills not long after. He retained management of both large enterprises until his death.

From an early age Simpson was a generous benefactor of Newburyport and its citizens. Beginning in his twenties, he paid for two watering carts and employed a driver to sprinkle the city’s streets during the summer months. He saw to the continuation of this with a $20,000 bequest to the city for that purpose. He solicited the U.S. Congress to build jetties at Plum Island and offered to contribute $50,000 to the project. Although his offer was not accepted, the appropriation was won and the jetties built. Among his other philanthropic ventures was the building of a Plum Island plank road extending from a hotel to the seashore. Back in Newburyport, he also gave $2,500 toward the improvement of Bartlet Mall.

In 1881 Simpson gave $18,000 to pay for the reading room annex to the Newburyport Public Library. The Simpson Annex was dedicated in 1882. Several months before his death in 1884, Michael Simpson’s portrait was presented to the library, where it hung in the Simpson Reading Room. Edgar Parker of Boston, a sought-after portrait and history painter of the time, was the artist. Among his commissioned-portrait subjects were John Adams, James Monroe, Charles Sumner, and John Greenleaf Whittier. Parker’s The Embarkation of the Pilgrims, which hangs in Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, is reproduced on the U.S. $10,000 bill. Today Parker’s paintings hang in the Smithsonian Institution National Portrait Gallery and the White House, among other important collections.

Thus, some 130 years later, the mystery portrait, which emerged among items consigned to the library’s book sale, is solved. Sadly, a disastrous restoration attempt in the 1920s–1930s severely damaged the painting, and its recovery, if possible at all, would run to enormous cost. In good condition, this valuable work of art and tribute to the many who may have been the library’s “first Friend,” would take its place among the other library benefactors whose likenesses hang on its walls today.

Is This Man the Library’s First “Friend”?

by Dixie Smetana

One afternoon in 2012, several industrious Friends prepared for an imminent Great Old Book Sale. Buried among the materials being sorted was an old, badly damaged roll of canvas. Once unrolled, it revealed a once-fine portrait of a 19th-century gentleman, and research in the Archival Center and the Historical Society of Old Newbury identified the subject to be Michael Hodge Simpson, an early Newburyport citizen and library benefactor.

Son of Paul and Abigail Hodge Simpson, Michael was born in Newburyport on November 15, 1809. He graduated from the public schools and Newburyport Academy. His father, a wealthy ship captain and

owner as well as foreign trader, gave Michael a start to his career at age 14, when he became a clerk in the family’s shipping business.

Even so, the young man was expected to make his own way, and he and his brother, another clerk, were allowed to engage in their own enterprises to supplement their “meager” salaries. Michael was per-mitted to send ventures to foreign ports on his own accounts, and by doing so he laid the foundation

for his business, which he established at 38 India Wharf,

in association with George Otis, son of Harrison Gray Otis. By the time he was 21, he was importing hides, horn, and wool from India and Argentina.

In 1835, his twenty-sixth year, a period of change began and quickly redirected his career, setting the pattern for the next 50 years. He had a problem: one of his import ventures had left him with 1 million pounds of burry (raw, dirty, low-grade) wool on his hands. The solution? He established his own mill, the Simpson Worsted Mill, near Roxbury, Massachusetts. Unable to find satisfactory equipment to process the wool, he embarked upon what became a career of modifying and building equipment to “move forward” the business of milling wool.

Early photograph of Michael Hodge Simpson

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(NAID). The NAID funds were used to create the beautiful new garden at the Harris Street corner of the library.

The Friends have also worked hard this year to spread the word about the important work that they do. Friends members staffed a table outside of the library during Yankee Homecoming and then recently in the library lobby. A lovely new membership brochure explains the importance and benefits of membership in this nonprofit organization. Application forms are also available from the library’s website at www .newburyportpl.org. Please consider becoming a Friends member if you have not already done so.

As usual, numbers give a pretty clear picture of what a vibrant community place the Friends are investing their efforts in. Here are some impressive statistics from a recently completed state report.

There are 14,344 registered borrowers

There were 275,460 visits to the library

Circulation of materials was 317,615

We received 47,894 items on interlibrary loan and sent 29,616 to other libraries

The downloadable audio circulation was 1,788, and the e-books usage continued to grow to 3,267

We answered 28,663 reference questions in the Reference Department, Children’s Room, and Archival Center

There were 633 weekly uses of the wired public computers in addition to the many wireless computer sessions

We held 179 programs for adults, 76 for teens, and 196 for children in addition to summer reading programs for all age groups

The library’s meeting rooms were used 1,493 times by city groups and nonprofit organizations.

74 dedicated volunteers helped the library staff carry out the mission of the library, giving 2,937 hours of their time

Speaking of volunteers, I’ll end with another quote:

“Don’t ever question the value of volunteers. Noah’s Ark was built by volunteers, the Titanic by professionals!”

Our Head Librarian’s Annual Reportby Cynthia Dadd

[Editor’s note: At the Friends’ Annual

Meeting on September 18, a procedural

mixup prevented Cynthia Dadd, Head

Librarian of the Newburyport Public

Library, from delivering her yearly recap.

A printed version of these remarks was

distributed at the meeting, and for those

who missed the meeting, here it is.]

I love this unattributed quote:

“I wondered why somebody didn’t do something. Then, I realized, I am somebody!”

Fortunately for the Newburyport Public Library, several hundred people have already realized that they are somebody and are doing something. Those people are the Friends of the Library, an all-volunteer, nonprofit support organization for the NPL.

The staff and I are so grateful that the Friends continue their mission to raise supplemental funds for the library, since the municipal budget allocation cannot pay for all of the materials and services that it takes to maintain the excellent library that citizens have come to expect and appreciate. Last year, the Friends gave more than $40,000 in monetary support to the library. This provided funding for items such as museum passes, programs for adults, teens and children, Archival Center materials, and capital budget items. It also provided partial funding for the book, CD, and DVD collections.

After a fall hiatus, the book sale fundraiser was back last spring and as busy as ever. The third annual “Books in Bloom” event brought a greater number of attendees and even more beautiful and interesting floral submissions. The library was transformed with floral displays as participants enjoyed delicious food, lovely music, raffles, and socializing. Friends of the Library and the Horticultural Society of Newburyport shared the work and the proceeds for this event.

This past year, on behalf of the library, the Friends successfully applied for a grant from the Newburyport Industrial Development Foundation

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Friends of the Newburyport Public Library

Membership Form

Good through June 30, 2015

I wish to:[ ] join the Friends of the Library[ ] renew my membership

in the following category: [ ] Individual $10.00 [ ] Senior or Student $5.00 [ ] Family $25.00 [ ] Patron $50.00 and above

In addition, I wish to make a donation to:[ ] The Archival Center $_________[ ] The Endowment Fund $_______[ ] The General Fund $ __________

[ ] I would like to volunteer to help the Friends with its work. Please contact me.

Name __________________________________

Street___________________________________

City____________________________________

State ____________ Zip Code ______________

E-mail __________________________________

Phone

Preferred means of contact: [ ] email [ ] phone

[ ] I wish to continue receiving printed, paper-based communications from the Friends.

Please make checks payable to: Friends of the LibraryDrop off this form and your check at the NPL Circulation Desk—or mail them to:

Friends of the Library Newburyport Public Library 94 State Street Newburyport, MA 01950

Thank You

The Friends of the Newburyport Public Library is a

registered 501(c)(3) organization in Massachusetts.

Donations are tax deductible as allowable by law.

Don’t let this be your last issue of “Footnotes.”

It has been the Friends’ practice to keep former members on the mailing list, but that ends with this issue.

Please check the mailing label on your copy, and find the date in the upper right. If it is earlier than “2015,” this is the last “Footnotes” you will receive unless you renew your membership. Use this handy form right away!

Unique Holiday Gift Idea

Friends’ Memberships at a Discount

Looking for an idea for a new and different holiday gift? How about a full-year Friends of the Newburyport Library member-ship—at an attractive discount?

During the month of Decem-ber 2014, you may buy a special “Friends of the Newburyport Public Library Gift Certificate,” suitable for framing and giving. The certificate entitles the bearer to an 18-month membership in the Friends at an attractive dis-count: $20 for a family membership (a 20 percent savings), and just $5 for an individual mem-bership (a whopping discount of 50 percent). The membership fee for seniors remains at $5.

You pay the cost of the certificate, and your lucky giftee can redeem it for a membership that will last as long as a year and a half. Regardless of when the recipient redeems the certificate, his or her (or their) membership will not expire until June 30, 2016!

It makes a great gift, and it helps the Friends build our membership rolls. That enables us to continue to operate the semiannual Great Old Book Sales and support numerous other programs offered by the Newburyport Public Library.

But remember, this holiday membership promo-tion is available only during the month of December, and it will not be extended, so order today. Visit the Friends display in the NPL lobby for details.

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ADULT PROGRAMS — WINTER 2014

Book Play Workshop: Make an Ornament Book Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00 pm

Join Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord for a creative work-shop on making ornament books. Space is limited, and registration is required. Stop by the Reference Desk or call the library—(978) 465-4428 ext. 242 to reserve your spot.

Chocolate, the Perfect DrugSaturday, December 6 at 2:00 pm

Join Mike Cross, Instructor of Chemistry at North-ern Essex Community College, to learn which chemi-cals elicit the particular biochemical reactions in the human brain that make chocolate the perfect “drug.” Learn how to taste chocolate for quality, why it’s good for you, how much is healthy, and what kinds you should eat. Mike’s presentation will include magic tricks and tastings! This free event is sponsored by the Northern Essex Community College Speakers’ Bureau and the Friends of the Newburyport Public Library.

Driver Improvement for Mature Operators: How to Go in Ice and SnowTuesday, December 9 at 1:00 pm

This program aimed at assisting drivers with adapting their behavior to winter driving conditions is geared toward (but not limited to) mature operators. Registra-tion is encouraged and may be done online at aaa.com/driverimprovement or by contacting the library’s Ref-erence Desk: (978) 465-4428 ext. 242.

Dare to Prepare: A Pre-Permit Program for Teens and ParentsThursday, December 11 from 6:00–8:00 pm

The objective of this program designed for 14 and 15 year-olds and their parents is to initiate conversation between teens and their parents about safe driving before future drivers take driver’s education classes or obtain a permit. The program provides education about graduated driver licensing laws and risks com-mon to teen drivers.

All are welcome to this free event, but registra-tion is encouraged. You may register online—aaa .com/daretoprepare—or by contacting the library’s Reference Desk—(978) 465-4428 ext. 242. Please note: This class does not fulfill the two-hour parent class requirement for Drivers Education mandated by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.

or share tips. No registration is required for this free weekly program.

Tai Chi at the LibraryEvery Friday at 9:05 am and 10:00 am

Improve your physical and mental health by join-ing the free weekly Friday tai chi class at the New-buryport Public Library. Kathleen Kondylas leads the class in tai chi and qigong in the form of Wu Dang as taught by Xuan Yun. No experience is necessary. Please wear comfortable clothing.

Please check our online events calendar for more exciting programs happening throughout the winter!

ONGOING ADULT PROGRAMS

Movie MatineeEvery Wednesday at 2:30 pm

We screen a feature film each Wednesday afternoon and would love for you to join us for our Movie Mati-nees. Enjoy the theatrelike screen and sound system with fellow film buffs. This free event is held in the Program Room and all are welcome!

Library KnittersEvery Wednesday at 6:30 pm

The library’s drop-in knitting group is open to all, whether a beginner or an advanced knitter. Come by the library on Wednesday nights to knit and to learn

“Mmmmm Chocolate,” by Tim Sakton (license: CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Novel Ideas Fiction Book Group

Novel Ideas meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Directors’ Room; reservations are not required.

On December 10, we will discuss Someone, Alice McDermott’s story of Marie Commeford, her neigh-borhood, and her daily trials and triumphs from child-hood to old age.

Find out about our future picks at the NPL website: http://www.newburyportpl.org/events/

Just the Facts Nonfiction Book Group

Join Just the Facts Nonfiction Book Group at 7:00 pm in the Directors’ Room on the last Tuesday of each month to explore books that deal with a wide array of fascinating topics. Reservations are not required.

On December 16, we will discuss The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan.

Keep abreast of what we are reading at the NPL website: http://www.newburyportpl.org/events/

Brighten winter weekends by attending concerts in the library’s Program Room. Three very different programs will be presented as part of this series.

Music through the Ages, with David PolanskySunday, January 25, at 2:00 pm

Raised on Song and Stories, with PJ CarrollSunday, February 8, at 2:00 pm

The History of Ragtime, with Deborrah WyndhamSunday, February 15, at 2:00 pm

BOOK GROUPS FOR ADULTSThe Great Old Book Sale: Not Just a Fund Raiser

(continued from page 1)

That woman inspires me to do all I can to con-tinue the GOBS. I hope it will inspire you also. The spring sale opens to members of the Friends of the Newburyport Public Library only for its preview on Wednesday night, March 11, 2015. The general public is welcomed when the library opens the next morning, Thursday, March 12, at 9:00 am. In order to have a successful sale, we need lots of volunteers, starting the morning of Saturday, March 7, when members of the public begin dropping off the books they donate to the sale. Beginning February 21, the volunteer sign-up book will be available in the library foyer, next to the circulation desk. Please look for this book and sign up. Not only will you help insure the GOBS’s continuing success, volunteer time offers an excellent opportunity to make new friends. The remarkable camaraderie among this year’s volunteers was a joy to behold.

In closing, I want to thank all of this year’s volun-teers for making both the fall and spring book sales resounding successes. Without your hard work and dedication, the Great Old Book Sale could not exist.

Nancy E. Peace, PresidentFriends of the Newburyport Public Library

The Great Old Book Sale: Looking Back

by Robert Halpert

It was a cold & stormy night.Books piled as high as the ceiling.The GOBS Gang waited with bated breath for the magical 6:30 pm.Heads peeking in the door’s crack to see the waiting crowds with their numbers in their hands.But alas! Crowds were not to be, as the raging storm kept them away.A few brave souls waiting in the small line for the magical time.It came and the doors opened and the rush was short, but they attacked the piles and filled boxes and bags with books and for two hours, the brave GOBS Gang held its own.As we look back, we see that we won the night, and the mighty storm was beaten.

WINTER CONCERT SERIES

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Genealogy Research Online (continued from page 3)

HeritageQuest continues to be one of the most recom-mended resources by family history publications and genealogists.

2. Ancestry: Library Edition Online

This database from Ancestry.com is available only in the library. It includes genealogy-research information such as U.S. and U.K. census data, vital records, military records, and immigration records. In partnership with ProQuest, Ancestry: Library Edition also makes avail-able a special collection of records that enhances the library’s offerings. Ancestry.com provides access to bil-lions of historical documents and millions of historical photos as well as local narratives, oral histories, indexes, and other resources in more than 30,000 databases span ning from the 1500s to the 2000s.

3. American Ancestors

Another database available only for use in the library, American Ancestors is a wealth of genealogy informa-tion, including Massachusetts vital records.

Paperwhite Raffle Wins Friends and Raises Funds

Through the month of August, the Friends sold raffle tickets for an Amazon Paperwhite tablet. It all started during Yankee Homecoming, when we had a table in front of the library on State Street, where we also sold hats and memberships. It was a fine opportunity to talk with visitors and locals alike, which led to new Friends members.

Our table in the library lobby remained through the month and extended the raffle. By August 30, when the name of the lucky winner was pulled, we had raised approximately $400, increased our mem-bership, and talked with many library patrons.

With the expert assistance of Olivia and Isabella Eaton (opposite), the winning ticket was drawn on August 30. The winner, Johanna Schwartz of Salis-bury, reports that she has enjoyed learning to use the tablet—with a little help from the Newburyport Pub-lic Library reference staff and her family.

We extend special thanks to Friends of the New-buryport Public Library board member Myron Moss, who donated the Paperwhite.

2014 Annual Appeal Launches

Help the Friends Increase Support for the Newburyport Public Library in 2015

As you probably know, the City of Newburyport funds the library staff and building as well as new technology and library materials and programs. What you may not know is that some programs would not exist or require significant reduction if the Friends of the New-buryport Public Library, a 501(c)(3) organization, did not supplement the City’s support. For example, the popular museum passes program is funded entirely by the Friends. Programs the library presents, including those for children, tweens, teens, and adults, also receive financial support from the Friends.

This past year, the Friends of the Newburyport Public Library reduced its contribution to the library because investment income, fund raising, and dona-tions to the Friends were not sufficient to continue our prior level of support, which for many years had been $60,000. For 2014 we were only able to commit to $20,000. We hope that we will be able to increase our support in 2015.

In addition to memberships, the Great Old Book Sale and Books in Bloom, the Friends’ Annual Appeal has been an important component of our fund rais-ing efforts. During this holiday season, I hope you will consider a gift to the Friends so we can continue to support the programs and resources offered by our wonderful public library.

Nancy E. Peace, President

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage Paid

Newburyport, MAPermit No. 383

Friends of the Newburyport Public Library

94 State Street

Newburyport, MA 01950

(978) 465-4428 (tel.)

http://www.newburyportpl.org

December 2014

Winter Hours

Main LibraryMonday through Thursday, 9:00 am–9:00 pm

Friday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm Saturday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm

Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 pm

Newburyport Archival CenterMonday–Friday, 9:00 am–12:00 pm and 1:00–4:00 pm

Saturday, 9:00 am–1:00 pm Call ahead for availability on Wednesday

from 5:00–8:00 pm

The Friends of the Newburyport Public Library is a nonprofit organization under IRS Section 501(c)3. All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

“Footnotes” is printed in Newburyport, Massachusetts, by Coastal Printing.

What’s New? Look inside to read about. . .

page

History in the Library 1The Great Old Book Sale: Not Just a Fund Raiser 1Brain Teaser 2What Is in a Brand? The Library Has a New Logo 2Treasures in the Archives 2Newburyport Archival Center Report 3Genealogy Research Online 3Mark the Day (Kid’s Book Sale & Magic Show) 3Is This Man the Library’s First “Friend”? 4Our Head Librarian’s Annual Report 5Membership Information and Form 6NPL News:

Adult Programs — Winter 2014 7Book Groups for Adults 8Winter Concert Series 8

The Great Old Book Sale: Looking Back 8Paperwhite Raffle Wins Friends, Raises Funds 9Annual Appeal 2014 Launches 9

You’re Invited!

Treasures in the ArchivesSunday, December 7 at 1:00 pm

Newburyport Archival Center

(see page 2 for details)