While the library is not open to the public, the Friends of the Library are unable to hold our normal book sales. However, we are going to try a "Buy a Bag of Books" idea which would work as follows:

WHAT: Books would be packed by FOL volunteers into a paper shopping bag and sealed by taping or stapling the bag closed with the genre contents written on the outside. No one except FOL volunteers will have handled these books since they arrived to our book room. The books have been quarantined for more than 96 hours.

WHEN: The bags of books will be available for pickup Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 1 PM.

WHERE: The bags of books will be located under the awning by the Children's Library entrance. Access is from the Children's Library parking lot facing High School Rd.

HOW MUCH: Each bag of books is priced at $5. What a bargain! We also have a limited number of bags of DVDs, each filled with 20 DVD's for $10.

HOW TO PAY: You can pay for your bag(s) of books two ways. You can pay online by clicking here and making a donation to the Bainbridge Friends of the Library for the number of bags you want to purchase. Leave a note with the online donation indicating when you would like to pick up your bag(s). The bag(s) will be waiting with your name written on it. You can also just drop by and select one or more bags and pay in cash or by check.

CAN I SELECT WHAT GENRE I WANT?: Yes, if you pay online and leave a note telling us what genre you want to buy, a FOL volunteer will fill your bag(s) according to your wish. It will be waiting when you pick it up with your name on the bag. If you want to pay cash or by check when you choose one or more of the bags outside on a cart, you may be limited to the genres that are already packed and on display. (The genre contents of each bag is written on it).

If you have any questions, just send us an email at books4all@bifriends.org

As noted in previous newsletters this year, numerous projects of varying scope are underway. By year end the Facilities Committee plans to complete the last piece of the drainage enhancement project (new rain leaders), install an additional HVAC system to improve both temperature control and air quality, and install new entry arches to the Japanese Garden. Significant time and energy have been invested in each of these projects so their completion will be celebrated.

As always, lots of other, less noticeable projects have required our recent focus: annual fire inspection, lighting upgrades, paint touch-up, new door trim guards, window washing and gutter cleaning, crawlspace fan repair, and cleaning/repair of our largest art display - the hanging boats.

As always, our overarching goal is to keep the Bainbridge Public Library and gardens a safe, clean, welcoming, and beautiful Island resource.

This is arguably one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. It is the Biblioteca Joanina at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Built in the early eighteenth century at the behest of Portugal’s King John V, the Joanine Library was constructed to house the book collection of the University of Coimbra. The structure was built in the university courtyard on the ruins of a medieval royal prison. The exterior is characterized by stone walls, brick vaults, and a timber roof covered by clay tiles, and throughout the 1720s bronze workers, glaziers, painters, and other craftsmen ornamented the interior. The stone floor is patterned with geometric motifs, and the plaster ceilings are decorated with allegorical trompe-l’oeil paintings. The library was finished in 1728 and housed its first books in 1750. Its Roccoco splendor houses the university’s archival collection of over 56,000 volumes from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

At Biblioteca Joanina and the Mafra Palace Library, both, curiously, located in Portugal, and both built in the 18th century, small bats, about an inch long, act as guards against book-eating insects! 

Cal Hooper, a recently divorced and recently retired Chicago cop, chucks life in the big city for a ramshackle cottage in rural Ireland. He’s looking for peace, quiet, and a chance to clear his head of the demons crowding there. But no sooner has he begun to whitewash his walls and clear out the detritus left by the former owners, but he’s set upon by a teenage girl who begs him to look for her wayward brother, Brendan. From that moment on, Cal’s life is not his own and he learns that the hills have eyes and ears, and the tranquil Irish country life is not quite so. Asking too many questions can be dangerous no matter where you live, but in a closely knit, inbred Irish village it can prove deadly. In this latest mystery from Irish phenom Tana French, what seems like a simple plot is deftly teased into a quietly heart-pounding, breath-holding tale of cat, mouse and coming of age. She has said a classic western was her inspiration for the story. Cal’s a guy I want for my neighbor; he navigates the turbulent waters of rural Ireland (or maybe the Wild West?) with time worn grace and a clever punch. This is truly Tana French at the top of her game!

The 2020/2021 One Call For All campaign has launched! The red envelopes have arrived! Please include the Bainbridge Public Library when you're making your donations to the nonprofits listed in the mailing. And remember, OCFA takes $0 from your donation. There is no fee or hidden cost. And each gift of $20 or more will earn BPL a share in the Community Fund. Thank you! (https://onecallforall.org/bainbridge-public-library/ ) 

You can also give online at www.onecallforall.org.