Caldwell Public Library

Monday, June 14, 2010  - Having just submitted the final report for The Big Read of the Poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...

The Big Read - by the numbers - yet again

0 - Amount of quiet in the library on March 4^th and 11^th when Sue Callaghan's English students interviewed seniors who had stories that made us stop, think, and write. The "Footprints in the Sands of Time" Legacy writing workshop, created in partnership with Caldwell LIVE, resulted in stories that need to be shared beyond this library, and the classroom. (Look for a book deal in 2011!)

2 - Number of DELICIOUS cakes created, baked, iced and decorated with likenesses of "Our Henry" and then Abe Lincoln by our talented friends at Le Baker's Dozen.

3 - Number of BIG READS Caldwell Public Library has been lucky enough to receive. (And number of FINAL REPORTS that have now been filed with Arts Midwest. Whew!)

6 - Boxes, but, FILLED to overflowing and more to follow, sent to Eagle Butte, South Dakota's Habitat for Humanity - boxes filled with knit, crocheted and quilted blankets, scarves, hats and slippers to share with friends.  While we didn't read Longfellow's "Hiawatha" we did watch "Evangeline" and this friendship with our friends in Eagle Butte seemed befitting The Big Read of Longfellow.

15 plus - Number of school groups that "Listened and heard of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" with a visit from Illustrator Christopher Bing.

18 - Number of generous hosts and hostesses in Caldwell & West Caldwell  who provided bed and breakfast, coffee, pizza, beer or wine, laughter, friendship and more to our 20 new friends - The Longfellow Chorus who traveled to Caldwell from Portland, Maine. And, hats off to Bill May and the Dapper Dans of Harmony - we are forever grateful to you for also seeing opportunities for collaboration with The Chorus - and of course, let us give another round of applause for Elsie Timpson.  The James Caldwell High School students who performed "Snow-Flakes" looked, and sounded, top notch.

20 (and probably more!) - Number of poets who shared their talents with us as "Local Poets [Took] on Longfellow" as well as performed at other Longfellow Big Read-related events.

23 (twice!) - Since that number represents both the number of educators who attended our October 18, 2009 "Educators' Workshop" to roll out The Big Read to our teachers, first and foremost, but 23 is also the number of PARTNERS we had in this current Big Read. From Scouts (in NJ and MA) to Authors, Our Partners in Service at Kiwanis and Rotary, The  Caldwell/West Caldwell Education Foundation, Musicians, Professors, Caldwell LIVE and the list goes on..and on.

66 - Number of Scouts*, and adults, who created a Big Read Finale to beat ALL others, anywhere, as well as topped ANY possible celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America - with a Scout Camporee/Jamboree in the field behind Longfellow's Wayside Inn.  Eternal gratitude is extended to visionaries/Scout Men/friends Bruce White and Bill Downey - who shared a vision with us, and made it happen. (*Troops 1, 3, 6 & 9 from the Caldwells and Troop 61 of Sudbury, MA participated in some way.  And, if you have not yet seen the patch, well, you are in for a treat!)

204 - The number of cookies created, baked, iced and numbered by Essex Vo-Tech Bakers to celebrate our Big Read Kickoff on Longfellow's 203d birthday on Saturday, February 27, 2010 - at which time 203 lines of Longfellow poetry was read aloud by friends and neighbors of all ages. 

350 - Members of our community who celebrated the talents of our teen photographers from MSDA and JCHS, who, inspired by not only Longfellow but also [Linda] Stewart and [Bridgit] Martin, created photography that blew us all away.  In addition to exhibits shared with our library community during March and April of this year, March 31, May 22 and June 10 provided opportunities for us to truly see, to experience how many thousands of words one picture can indeed tell.  Once again we thank our art and music teachers for understanding the value and power of The Big Read channeled through art, whether it be Wharton, or Ozick or..LONGFELLOW!

1025 - Copies of "Selected Poetry of Longfellow" shared with our community, and 48 copies of "Bing books" shared with our schools, thanks again for the funding the National Endowment for the Arts provided us thanks to The Big Read grant.  And, watch out for 230 additional books - Big Read Book Titles which will soon be able to be checked out in their "Big Read Book Club in a Bag" for your own reading group's pleasure.  Included with the ten copies of the title you will also find the audio guide, teacher's guide and ten copies of the reader's guide to accompany the Big Read title.  (I am ready to join whichever book group wants to read and discuss "Housekeeping" as I have wanted to read that for years!)

1860 - Year the Melrose Pondfeilders rely on for the rules as they play their Vintage Baseball games. If you missed them on May 16^th in Sudbury MA, when they played against our Scouts in the field behind Longfellow's Wayside Inn, travel and see them. (Check out: & while you are at it, why not also look at .  If you are planning to visit, may I tag along? )www.wayside.orgwww.pondfeilders.org

11,397 - Number of adults and children who experienced one, or many, aspects of The Big Read of Longfellow - by reading, discussing, reflecting, photographing, knitting, listening, watching, writing, cooking, baking, reporting, scouting..

Ad infinitum - How long I could write, and chronicle, and marvel about The Big Read and what it has done for our library, for our community, for our students, for our teachers, and for me..personally.  Thank you NEA, thank you Arts Midwest, for believing in Caldwell, NJ when you awarded our small Carnegie Library, the first Big Read grant awarded to a NJ Library. We hope you understand how seriously we took the job of being the "first" - and how the memories of these three years will last a lifetime

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

“When something does not insist on being noticed . . . we take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”
 -Cynthia Ozick

Greetings friends!

Last Monday, July 13, 2009, I finished the final report for “The Big Read” of “The Shawl” and wanted to share with all of you not just my thanks, but also some amazing data.

• 253 programs were offered to our community via this grant – 33 of those book discussions (actually, I think more took place but we just didn’t know about them!)

• The $8,000 grant was financially matched equally by the Rotary Club of the Caldwells and the Kiwanis Club of Caldwell/West Essex – and matched with “in kind” contributions in excess of $20,000

• 16 schools, from nursery schools to college, actively participated in this Big Read

• 18 organizations (not including schools, libraries or museums) partnered with us on this grant

• Over 400 people met the author, Cynthia Ozick, thanks to this grant, and in excess of 1000 copies of “The Shawl” circulated throughout our community

• Over 15,500 crayons were collected for “The Crayon Project” in the 12 collection bins created by the Boy Scouts, and peppered over our community (with approximately 6,000 of those crayons collected through Mount Saint Dominic Academy, and the rest from our community members donating through the Caldwell and West Caldwell public libraries, Caldwell College, Banyan School, Trinity Academy, Strawberry Patch Nursery School, and Saint Aloysius Church)

• Countless, COUNTLESS squares have been knit and crocheted (as well as tied) by needlers of all ages over the past year and joined together to create blankets we are sharing with Domestic Violence Shelters, Halfway Homes and Native American reservations (Note: and the knitting and crocheting continues onwards every Thursday evening)

• Over 1,000 teenagers from James Caldwell High School, Mount Saint Dominic Academy and Seton Hall Prep participated in The Big Read of “The Shawl” through two panel programs designed exclusively for them, through their collaborative art exhibit, and in their classrooms – and were also visited at JCHS and MSDA by Literature Specialist, Molly Thomas-Hicks, from the National Endowment for the Arts

• Our pick for the first Big Read book – Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence” continues to be read and taught at MSDA and Cynthia Ozick’s “The Shawl” will continue to be read and taught at JCHS in 2009-2010

It was because of the above, and much more, that I was asked to be part of a panel at the orientation for The Big Read held in Minneapolis last month.  The panel?  “Successful Community Collaborations”!  It was very easy for me to share about this community, and the many good people, and the very deep friendships that our partnerships created – or enhanced.  (In fact, it was very difficult for me to keep to my allotted 8 minutes.)

And, it was also because of the greatness of The Big Read of “The Shawl” – and the miracles surrounding The Big Read of “The Age of Innocence” – that we were awarded our third grant for The Big Read to read, and offer programming connected to, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poetry. 

Please keep an eye on our library website and I promise to share more about our next Big Read as plans fall into place. In the meantime, understand the depths of gratitude my colleagues and I at the Caldwell Public Library extend to all of you.

~Karen

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Caldwell Public Library, Recipient of FRONTLINE/World Grant, Teams with Caldwell College Business Division to Bring Social Entrepreneurs Series and Teach For America to College
 
Caldwell College to Host Film and Speakers Focusing on Social Entrepreneurs and Spirituality and Work
 
Caldwell Public Library One of 50 Public Libraries Nationwide Selected to Receive Grant from Social Entrepreneurs Series and American Library Association  -- click here to read press release of September 30, 2008