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BIXBY BULLETIN NEWSLETTER
January 2024
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Happy New Year, Friends and Neighbors!
I’m happy to share with you the great news that the Bixby Library was awarded a competitive $361k state grant to address our dated and failing heating system while moving toward greater energy efficiency. As I write this on a 20° day, the clanging and banging of the 112-year-old steam radiator pipes reverberate loudly throughout the building, telling us that this sizable funding couldn’t be more timely and welcome.
We are grateful to the City of Vergennes for bringing the opportunity to us through the Energy Committee, to the Addison County Regional Planning Commission for extensive assistance with the application process, to Vermont Building and General Services for selecting our implementation project following a comprehensive Municipal Energy Resilience Assessment of the building last spring, and to the Bixby Board’s Building Committee who will be overseeing the project.
Join me in celebrating this major effort toward the Goal of Sustainability from our Strategic Plan: "The Library will seek and steward both human and financial resources as it continues to improve and upgrade its historic building and grounds while modernizing infrastructure and ensuring accessibility and safety for patrons.”
Warmly,
Catharine Hays
Library Director
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What's New at the Library? | |
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To each of you who has generously contributed to this year's Annual Fund—Wow, you are amazing! Your donations fuel the programs, events, and resources that make the Bixby Library a vibrant gathering place for all.
We’re making great strides, but we’re not quite there yet!
As a subscriber to this newsletter, you know and appreciate the many valuable ways that the library strengthens our local community. If you’ve never donated or just haven’t had a chance to do so yet, now would be a great time to help us reach (or exceed!) our goal. Just drop your donation in the mail, bring it by the library, or click here to donate online. Every gift, big or small, allows your library to thrive.
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Join the Bixby Team: Youth Librarian Opening | |
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This month, we bid farewell to our Youth Librarian, Robin Berger, as she takes on the role of director at the Grand Isle Public Library. We wish you well on this adventure, Robin!
Are you passionate about the magic of children's books, the joy of Storytime, and the power of literacy? The Bixby Library is looking for an energetic, creative, and organized Youth Services Librarian to join our team! Click here to learn more about the position.
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UVM Libraries Are For All | |
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Did you know that Vermont residents are able to borrow materials from UVM Libraries? It’s true! UVM offers guest borrower’s cards to all Vermont residents who are 18+ and not currently affiliated with any other educational institutions.
Stop by Howe or Dana Health Sciences Library to get the application started and discover a world of resources. Explore academic journals, Vermont archives, and specialized collections, or enjoy a quiet place to study. UVM Libraries offer something for everyone.
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New Exhibit: Battle of Valcour Island | |
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A complicated and often maligned historical figure, there’s no question Benedict Arnold was a hero of our local waters’ naval battles. A new exhibit in Bixby Hall tells the story of Arnold and the 1776 Battle of Valcour Island through a unique fusion of history and art.
Using wood recovered from the wreck of the Congress, the late Lester Fleming Sr. of Panton and his family constructed a model of the row galley to show how it would have been during the critical Battle. With the model as centerpiece, dive into our storied local history, and learn how Arnold’s retreat and scuttling of his fleet halted British advances on Lake Champlain.
The Battle of Valcour Island exhibit was curated by History Team Volunteer, Nancy Remsen and Historical Collections Associate Kelly Bartlett. The exhibit can be enjoyed in Bixby Hall during the library's open hours.
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Start the New Year with curiosity and creativity by exploring the Bixby's Library of Things collection! Whether you're strapping on snowshoes for a winter hike, taking in the night sky with a telescope, or stitching up new pieces with a sewing machine, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Listen to your old vinyl records on our turntable, learn to play the ukulele, use the birdwatching kit to spot local wildlife, or gather friends for a board game night. With unique items like these, your library is the perfect place to kickstart new hobbies on a budget and make unforgettable memories this year! | |
Amber Lay, Assistant Director/Adult Services Librarian
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Cold weather got you down? Break out of your igloo and chase away the winter chill with the Otter Creek Audubon Society's Cabin Fever Lecture Series!
The series kicks off on Thursday, January 16th, from 5:30 to 6:30 PM with a presentation by Hyla Howe, Mass Audubon Grassland Bird Biologist. Hyla will share insights into The Bobolink Project, a remarkable initiative that helps protect grassland bird habitats while supporting local farmers.
This event is the perfect opportunity to shake off the winter blues and connect with fellow nature enthusiasts. Join us in person in the Community Room or from the comfort of home via Zoom. Click here for more information and to access the Zoom link.
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Elenora Bradbury of Vergennes, the daughter of Eleanor Bradley Bradbury and Dr. Charles W. Bradbury, was celebrated by her peers as “an artist of considerable note.”
Born in 1854, the earliest mention of her work, at the age of 13, is found in the Vergennes newspaper The Enterprise and Vermonter on September 27, 1867. Bradbury went on to study at the Boston School of Design in the late 1870s and traveled to Paris to continue her studies from 1882 until 1885, before returning home to Vergennes where she continued painting. She died of tuberculosis in Vergennes in 1891, only 19 days after her thirty-seventh birthday.
Like other serious art students of her time, Bradbury visited the Louvre Museum in Paris, where she could copy works by great painters. Above is her recreation of a portion of Anthony Van Dyck’s Portrait of A Distinguished Lady with Her Daughter (ca. 1632) against the original. Can you tell which is which?
You can see two paintings by Bradbury, including this one, on display in the Bixby's Kerr Room.
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Volunteer Spotlight: Carol Kress | |
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We would like to give a huge thank you to Carol Kress. Carol is a longtime volunteer at the circulation desk, a member of the Friends of the Library and an active member of Bixby Book Club. Last month, Carol also filled in twice as Storytime leader (once at extremely short notice).
Our volunteers are a very special part of the Bixby. Thank you, Carol, for going above and beyond your usual wonderfulness!
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Blue Light Hours by Bruna Dantas Lobato | |
Bruna Dantas Lobato’s debut novel is a tender and atmospheric exploration of love, distance, and the special bond between a mother and daughter living worlds apart. Set between a Vermont college dorm and a northeastern Brazilian apartment, their connection unfolds through intimate Skype calls that bridge the miles, creating rituals of care and closeness despite their separation. With spare and elegant prose, Lobato captures the quiet beauty of ordinary moments and the emotional weight of leaving home to build a new life. This poignant novel is a haunting meditation on belonging, sacrifice, and the enduring power of family.
Amber Lay, Assistant Director/Adult Services Librarian
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Wintering by Katharine May | |
Despite growing up in Vermont, I have never been very fond of the winter. That is, until I encountered Wintering by Katharine May. Part memoir, part investigative study, part reflective tool, Wintering transformed my understanding of hard times, waking me to the beauty of the cold and the acceptance of the darkness.
Do the trees fear the winter, or do they adapt to the cold? When the autumn leaves have fallen, we can attend to the branches left behind, and revel in the coming snow.
Cedar Winslow, Community Engagement Manager
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You may know her as the terribly hilarious Mona-Lisa from Parks and Recreation, or as the soft-spoken and sincere Marcel from Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, but do you know Jenny Slate the author? Lifeform is a captivating collection of essays, told in five parts, about Slate’s journey from singlehood to motherhood.
With her signature blend of rambling humor and disarming vulnerability, Slate offers readers a fresh tale on the journey of motherhood. I especially enjoyed her story about the witches (and witch-bird-woman) who live inside Stonehenge and her increasingly wild letters to the doctor. So take off your coat and slip into the mind of Jenny Slate, you might find that you like viewing the world through her eyes.
Kelly Bartlett, CVNHP Historical Collections Associate
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Questions or comments on this month's newsletter?
Contact Bixby Bulletin Editor-in-Chief, Cedar Winslow.
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Library Hours:
Tuesday–Thursday: 10 AM–7 PM
Friday–Saturday: 10 AM–3 PM
(802) 877-2211
Contact Us
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