As you can see from the picture at right our library is beginning to show signs of its own future glory.

The construction is 40% over and we have steel framing and lots and lots of concrete.

We even have the beginnings of a roof.

The brickwork is going in right now and the ductwork and insulation are finished.

With the good progress the builders are making we hope to be moving in this coming March.

Cheryl Donahue is our new children's librarian. Ms. Donahue has been head of the Children's Department at the Canton Public Library since 2000. During her tenure at Canton, the collection, attendance and circulation in the Children's Department tripled. In 2005, Canton was one of just six libraries in the state to receive the Governor's Award of Merit for exemplary Public Library-School cooperation for the summer reading program. Simsbury was also one of the six.

Ms. Donahue has worked in the Russell Library, Middletown, Avon Free Public Library, Terryville Public Library, New Britain Public Library and Kent Memorial Library in Suffield. She received her B.A. from the University of CT and Master's in Library Science from Southern CT State University.

Our newly full-time circulation assistant is Derek Vance. In his own words: "I hail from Blackridge, a little village that lies between Edinburgh and Glasgow, in bonny Scotland.

I spent 14 years at Broxburn Library in Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland. Most of my time was in Broxburn Library, the first library in the county of West Lothian to be completely renovated and made more user friendly. Every once in awhile though, I would be 'loaned' out to one of the other libraries in the county.

"While in Scotland, I began to play backgammon online with a lady from Torrington. We eventually met in Boston and a few years later walked down the aisle. So, if you have any questions about Scotland or backgammon, I just might have the answer."

And last in order but first in importance is our temporary administrative assistant, Jessica, who describes herself thusly:

Jessica Murdock

Position- Administrative Assistant (temporary)

Where are you from?
West Hartford

Why do you like working at SPL?
My co-workers and I love to read.

Who are your favorite authors?
James Ellroy and Anne Rice. I'm a fan of true crime and criminal psychology books.

What did you do before coming to SPL?
I was a nanny.

What is one thing people might want to know about you?
In addition to working at SPL, I'm a student at MCC studying Criminal & Forensic Psychology. I was inspired to pursue this subject by the author, James Ellroy one of my favorite authors.

Mary-Beth received her Bachelor of Arts and Master's degrees in English from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1990, and received the first Paul W. Smith Master's Thesis Award in 1999. She taught Writing 101 as a graduate student at Trinity, and holds a Connecticut teaching certificate for English, grades 7-12.

As an executive communications specialist, Mary-Beth writes speeches and articles for CEOs and other executives. She has also conducted writing workshops.

The Simsbury Public Library's Business Resource Center will host, "Blind Spots: Achieve Success By Seeing What You Can't See" on Wednesday, September 19th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Claudia Shelton, pioneer executive coach, educator and author of the book by the same title, will be the featured speaker. Shelton - named by BusinessWeek as "one of 50 women to watch in corporate America" - is a pioneering executive coach of 15 years and president of The Hopewell Group.

Please join us on Sunday, September 30 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM for C.S. Lewis's, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" performed by the Hampstead Players.

This is a family show and will be held in the Program Room

This September marked the Library's 10th year at Septemberfest.

Our raffle prizes included a one-time only total forgiveness of library fines and several bags of free bestsellers.