Erin talks about her favorite book on PBS the Great American Read list: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.

"Hello, I am Erin Apostolos, director of the Meredith public library in New Hampshire and I hope that everyone has had a chance to check out the Great American Read on PBS.  America selected their top 100 novels and you can vote for your favorite now through October 17.  Go to PBS.org to learn more.

I was thrilled to see that my all-time favorite novel, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry is one of the top 100.  Published in 1985 it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1986.  Captains Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae were once famous Texas Rangers but have been retired for over a decade on a small and unsuccessful farm in Texas in the late 1870’s.  When an old friend returns with wild tales of the beautiful state of Montana, Call, tired of retirement, decides it’s time to have an adventure, pick up stakes and start over as a rancher in Montana.   Gus, content to sit on his porch, is less interested until he is enticed by the opportunity to see his long lost love on the way to Montana. 

The relationship between Gus and Call to me is the heart of the story.  Long time friends who have shared years of adventures together, they couldn’t be more opposite.  Call is hard, unlikeable and unbending while Gus is outgoing, friendly and reasonable.  But both are tough as nails and unshakable in their loyalty to each other.  Their love for each other shows in their verbal sparring throughout the story which can leave you laughing out loud at one moment then sobbing into your tissue at the next.  During their long trip to Montana they face hardship, troubles and loss that challenge their close friendship.  There are also many side-stories that drive the plot including murder, kidnap, betrayal, romance, and gossip about one young cowboy being Call’s son.  Once you start, you will not be able to put it down.  And once you finish it, be sure to take home the Golden Globe award winning mini-series starring Tommy Lee Jones as Call and Robert Duvall as Gus or read one of the exciting prequels or sequel.  Vote Lonesome Dove!"

"Get Carded” in September at the Meredith Public Library!
The Meredith Public Library has been challenged by other New Hampshire libraries to see which library can have the highest percentage of new library card holders by the end of September.  It is our goal to get as many people “carded” as possible this month!  Please stop by the library  to get your library card.  All Meredith residents and property tax-payers are eligible for a free card as are all Inter-Lakes students and staff.  Non-residents must pay a small fee of $10.00.  Please bring a
current form of identification with you such as a driver’s license, rental agreement or electric bill.

Top Ten Things You May Not Have Known About
“Getting Carded”
10.  Check out a telescope for one week.
  9.  Visit Squam Lakes Science Center, Castle in the Clouds and other area attractions for free or at a reduced rate.
  8.  Download eBooks, eAudios and eMagazines at no charge.
  7.  Check-out over 4000 movies and television shows.
  6.  Try out a Kindle.
  5.  Access genealogy databases, academic journals or draft legal documents all from our Website.
  4.  Renew your items online from home.
  3.  Get tech support for your smart phone, laptop or other
devices at no charge.
  2.  Order hard-to-find items from other public and academic libraries in NH.
  1.  Help your local library win the Granite State Library Card Challenge Trophy…but in the end you’re the real winner with your Meredith Library Card!
 

We are excited to announce a great service that will allow you to easily keep track of everything going on in Meredith! Burbio.com is a FREE website and app that puts school, library and other local events all in one calendar. You can create a personalized event feed and even sync events to your Google or iPhone calendars!  You'll also be notified when events change or get cancelled.  

Sign up at Burbio.com or download the free iPhone  or Android App and follow the calendars that interest you. 

Click HERE for Meredith Public Library's Burbio Feed.
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(If you are involved in a group or organization and want to get your events on Burbio, please contact: groupsupport@burbio.com).

We are working on the Library's float in the Meredith's 250th Anniversary Parade on Saturday, August 11, 2018. For the next month, you will be able to help us decorate our float by picking up a copy of our bookworm, coloring it (or painting it!) and returning it at either the main circulation desk or the children's room .

For more information on the parade, please visit the Greater Meredith Program's 250th Anniversary page! 

On July 4, we opened the fifty-year-old time capsule that was buried in the library front lawn! Hundreds of people gathered together to celebrate Meredith history on a very hot day! 

The items pulled from the capsule will be preserved and displayed at the Meredith Historical Society at a later date.

To see our photo gallery of the event, CLICK HERE.

A full list of items in the time capsule is under the read more break!

We have events and prizes for babies to adults. We kick off June 30 and have at least one event nearly every day this summer. Read for prizes at every age level. More information to follow in a special newsletter supplement in mid-June focused on Summer Reading.

What's going on this summer?  Download brochures listing activities for:
Adult Summer Reading
Teen Summer Reading
Children's Summer Reading

On Tuesday, May 1 at 10:00AM, the Meredith Public Works Department will be removing a time capsule from the Meredith Public Library lawn, 91 Main Street, that was buried in 1968.  

"The time capsule will be officially opened on July 4, 2018 at 2:00PM at the Chase House.  The Common Man is donating an ice cream social for the first one hundred people.  Carl Johnson, Jr. will be emceeing the opening and we will have a slideshow displaying events from Meredith's 200th Anniversary in 1968," said Meredith Public Library Director and Time Capsule Committee Chair Erin Apostolos.

The Time capsule was buried in 1969 as the final celebration of Meredith's 200th anniversary in the previous year.  Citizens of Meredith in 1968 chose to put items in the time capsule that largely commemorated the events celebrated in the 200th.  Those events will be explained at the July 4 opening.

"We are also inviting everyone who was present when the time capsule was buried in 1968 to the library lawn at 1PM on July 4 for a group photo and to escort the capsule to its official opening at the Chase House," said Jonathan James, Chair of the Meredith Select Board and member of the Time Capsule Committee who will be donating the use of one of his antique vehicles for the occasion.

The time capsule is being removed on May 1 because the Friends of the Library will be planting a festive Red, White and Blue garden to help commemorate Meredith's 250th anniversary. Since the time capsule is currently in the garden bed, it will need to be removed prior to the planting of the garden so as not to disrupt it.  It will be securely stored in one of the Town's vaults.  

The library is also inviting anyone who was involved in the 200th anniversary of the Town in 1968 to contact Linda Hough at the library.  We are looking for people who might be interested in a short interview about their experience as part of an Oral History Project.  These interviews will be transcribed and then placed into the new time capsule which will be opened at Meredith's 300th anniversary.  Please call 279-4303 or email us.