After being closed for two weeks, the Simsbury Public Library is now open in its temporary location at 540 Hopmeadow Street at Simsmore Square. The brand-new facility is the library's home for one year while the building at 725 Hopmeadow Street undergoes renovation and expansion.

Debbie Grandin, long-time patron and volunteer: "I was expecting a warehouse, but this is really a beautiful library".

"The move was accomplished in record time thanks to scores of volunteers both from the ranks of the official Friends plus new friends from all walks of Simsbury life who responded to the call," said Eunice Kelly, President of the Friends of the Simsbury Public Library.

Both the Children's and Adult Services are resuming programs and the full calendar of events is available on the Library's homepage at www.simsburylibrary.info.

The temporary library boasts a program room that can accommodate 50 people and a "Discovery Room" for children's story times that is also available as a quiet study area or small conference room when not in use for programming.

According to Sue Bullock, Library Director, "New books, videos and audios are arriving every day. We have all our staff here, the same smiling faces the public is accustomed to, ready to help whether with tax forms, computers, selection of books or ideas for entertaining children during the vacations. We're delighted to see our "regulars" returning and to welcome new children and adults from the neighborhood."

There is ample parking and the book drop is located inside the vestibule. The doors to the vestibule are open 24 hours so that patrons can drop off their materials at any time.

The telephone number is still (860) 658-7663.

One of the advantages of the temporary location is that the Farmington Valley Greenway goes right past the back yard of the library so that patrons can easily bike or walk to it. The 540 Hopmeadow location is just .88 miles south from the 725 Hopmeadow location which is undergoing renovation and expansion for a year.

Stop in, ask, call or click here to see the calendar of events.

We were not able to bring every single item in the library with us. Not enough room.

But we did have room to bring all the movies with us.

Here's a taste:

• Babel
• Children of Men
• Father Brown Mysteries, Season 2
• My Dog Skip
• Better Luck Tomorrow

You can see the new DVD list on our catalog.

Here is some of our other new stuff:

BOOKS ON CD
Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
Nerve Damage by Peter Abrahams
 

FICTION
Body of Lies by David Ignatius
Double Blind by Chris Bohjalian
Find Me by Carol O'Connell - MYSTERY
Knitting Circle by Ann Hood - LARGE PRINT
Land of Mango Sunsets by Dorothea Benton Frank
Miss Julia Strikes Back by Ann B. Ross - LARGE PRINT
Quilter's Homecoming by Jennifer Chiaverini - LARGE PRINT
Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips
Sleeping with Strangers by Eric Jerome Dickey
Suffer the Little Children by Donna Leon- MYSTERY
To My Dearest Friends by Patricia- VolkMYSTERY
You Don't Scare Me by John Farris-MYSTERY

BUSINESS BOOKS
Made to Stick by Chris Heath and Dan Heath
True North by Bill George
 

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 25 at 6:45 p.m. for this year's Night of 1000 Stars.

This year's event will be held at Eno Hall. We will begin with delicious hors'd'oeuvre followed by lively musical entertainment from the Simsbury Singers, Simsbury High School's small auditioned mixed ensemble.

Our entertaining emcee, Warren Boyle, will introduce this year's stars - Margaret Patricelli, Brian Ward, Linda Schofield, Bill Selig, Marshall Epstein, Peggy Shanks, and Candace Fitzpatrick.

If you have yet to experience this fun night, here's how it works: Each star spends two minutes introducing what they are going to read and why they chose that particular text. Then they read a three minute excerpt from that material. The variety of reading materials and the reasons behind their selections makes for a varied and interesting evening.

Join the readers for delicious desserts following the program. Reservations made be made by signing up on the library calendar at www.simsburylibrary.info or by calling the reference desk at 658-7663. Though the program is free, space is limited, so sign ups are encouraged. Drop-ins are welcome, space permitting.

We now offer a new service called MyLibraryDV, for Library Downloadable Video.

MyLibraryDV gives you access to video that you can't get anywhere else on the Web: high-quality, TV programming. and movies

The movie titles inclues classics like John Wayne's McLintock, Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera as well as foreign and independent films like Anytown, USA and Morlang.

The TV programming includes such favorites as Julia Child's Kitchen, Rick Stevens' Travel and Antiques Roadshow.

If MyLibraryDV sounds good to you, go to the www.simsburylibrary.info and click the link for MyLibraryDV or go to it directly here.

Enjoy these pictures of our struggle.

Our movers, with Library Director Sue Bullock

"Moving" turned out to be a lot of shelving.

A lot.

The Friends of the Simsbury Public Library are pleased to announce that Francine du Plessix Gray, winner of the 2006 National Book Award in the autobiography category, will be the speaker at the Annual Luncheon on May 8.

The luncheon, which is open to the public, will be held at the Hopmeadow Country Club, 85 Fire Town Road at noon. The cost is $20 per person. Reservation forms can be downloaded by going to the Library's website at www.simsburylibrary.info, clicking on Friends in the side bar and then clicking Newsletter (the form is on page 5). Or you can stop in at the Library at 540 Hopmeadow Street, Simsmore Square, to pick up a form or call 658-6355 for more information.

Ms.du Plessix Gray is a well regarded biographer, journalist and novelist who has had 11 books published including her award winning memoir of her parents, Them.

Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "Astonishing... [Gray] uses all her writerly gifts... to give the reader an intense and remarkably powerful portrait."