Thank you!
 Over 500 brand new, beautiful books! That’s how many books your librarians gave out to Trick or Treaters in 90 minutes on Halloween. It was an inspirational day where the entire library team got into the spirit as members of Sherwood Forest. The Sherriff of Nottingham (Andrea) and I (as Robin Hood) stationed ourselves on the front lawn while Friar Tuck – who was also a beekeeper (Garrett), Bumblebee (Eileen), Little John (Linda), and Merry man (Joe) kept the library running smoothly.
Last year, we received a grant that allowed us to purchase 300 books at a huge discount for a Trick or Treat Book Giveaway, and they were gone in less than 45 minutes. This year, I sent out a plea in the newsletter for monetary donations since the grant was a one-time thing, and behold, over 500 books this time!
As champions of literacy, your librarians are thrilled that the community is excited to make this an annual event for our children. Folks have asked how they can contribute for next year, which is fantastic because I was able to purchase so many books by watching for publisher deals and special pricing all year long. Many of these were beautiful hardcover books where I paid a fraction of list price. I am already shopping for the “Halloween Closet” for 2019 so it's not too early if you'd like to help.
Thank you all on behalf of the children of Jaffrey.
Please feel free to contact me any time at jperrin@townofjaffrey.com.
Kind regards, Julie M. Perrin, Library Director - a.k.a. Ms. Julie
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Mildred's Mittens
 I heard from the school nurse at Jaffrey Grade School that she has run out of extra mittens, and we have a lot of students who are heading into the winter season without mittens and gloves. Yikes! I have seen it firsthand when they walk to the library afterschool and arrive chilled, and last winter, we even had children ask for cups of hot water to carry for the walk home!
The library is answering this call with a mitten drive for the month of November, in memory of Mildred Cutter, long-time JGS teacher, Friend of the library, and advocate for children.
We need mittens or gloves for hands ranging in size from preschool through Grade 5 (small adult). Our weekly knitting group has already expressed enthusiasm for the project, but we need help from the wider community, too. We will collect any style mittens or gloves, gently used or new, store bought or handmade. Just drop them off to the library, where we will hang them on clothesline over the Cutter Creativity Wall until delivery to the students.
Thank you in advance.
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Lights Off Challenge begins November 13th
 Perhaps you saw the newspaper article in the Ledger-Transcript, Library Lights Up the Night with Literacy – or the crazy grant announcement we made on Facebook featuring a box of flashlights – or maybe your child came home from the Rural Libraries kickoff and told you about the Blanket Fort Reading parties planned at the library. The details are finally here!
Beginning at Pajama Storytime on November 13th at 6:30 pm (and during any open hours thereafter), we invite children of all ages to register for the Reading with the Lights Off Challenge!
When you register, you will receive your Challenge card to be completed with your family. The challenges encourage family literacy at home. Once completed and returned to the librarians, you will receive your special, official Reading Flashlight so you can read under the covers (when Mom thinks you are sleeping) AND your invitation to the library’s EXCLUSIVE, after-hours, BLANKET FORT READING PARTIES!!!
Special thanks to the Children's Literacy Foundation, once again, for the grant that funds this new family literacy initiative and provided 100 flashlights for our readers.
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Free Electric Earth Tesla Quartet Concert
Saturday, November 10 at 1:30 pm, Ground Floor
Join us for a FREE, family friendly concert by the Tesla Quartet. Why free? Because they want to introduce classical music to young people, and reach families of all ages. We are so pleased to welcome them at the library.
 The prize-winning Tesla Quartet will share the music of Beethoven & Ravel, plus 20th and 21st century gems by Lukas Foss & Canadian Samy Moussa. The Quartet will be joined in their performances by Artistic Directors Laura Gilbert (flute) and Jonathan Bagg (viola).
Praised for their “superb capacity to find the inner heart of everything they play, regardless of era, style or technical demand” (The International Review of Music), the Tesla Quartet brings refinement and prowess to both new and established repertoire. Dubbed “technically superb” by The Strad, the Tesla Quartet recently took Second Prize as well as the Haydn Prize and Canadian Commission Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition. The quartet has also garnered top prizes at numerous other international competitions, including the Gold Medal at the 2012 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Third Prize and the Best Interpretation of the Commissioned Work at the 6th International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna, and Third Prize at the 2012 London International String Quartet Competition. The London Evening Standard called their rendition of the Debussy Quartet “a subtly coloured performance that balanced confidently between intimacy and extraversion.”
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Come Write In
Saturdays in November, in the Trustee Room
 Every November, intrepid writers around the globe take on the challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel in just 30 days in celebration of National Novel Writing Month. We're an official Come Write In location, and we're excited to welcome this year's participants to social Come Write In sessions on Saturdays throughout the month, in the Trustee Room on the QUIET History Floor. Share your drafts, overcome writer's block, stock up on caffeine, or just write in companionable silence with your fellow writers. And remember: no plot, no problem!
For more information about NaNoWriMo, visit their website. For under-18 writers, check out the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program.
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Stargazers Art Exhibit and Contest
John Paul Marmonti returns to celebrate Native American Heritage Month
 We look forward to the arrival tomorrow of the Stargazer collection of artist, John Paul Marmonti. Just as he did for the Harry Potter collection, John is donating a canvas print as a prize for a library contest that promotes literacy and an appreciation of art and poetry. The Stargazer collection will also include poems, inspired by the work, written by John's Cherokee friend, Bear in Water. Click here for a sneak peek! Be sure to check out our Native American themed book display in the lobby.
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Beyond Our Walls
Outreach News
Last month, we kicked off some exciting new programs beyond our walls, reaching community members where they are.
- Our first outreach program to the HCS Friendly Meals program at the Jaffrey VFW packed the room with an engaging presentation on the Beatles by Franklin Pierce University Library Director, Paul Jenkins. Garrett and Julie are already planning our next presentation for the Friendly Meals in January.
- Eileen and Julie are now doing weekly visits to the Monadnock Adult Care Center in Jaffrey to provide books and audios for their adult clients, and to perform a lively story hour. We say perform because we really get into our books, and we have some great audience participation!
- Andrea and Julie kicked off our Rural Libraries grant on October 15th with Executive Director, Duncan MacDougall of the Children’s Literacy Foundation with a preschool book giveaway at the library, followed by one at Jaffrey Grade School, and three more storytelling events that same day to the older students at JGS! The grant provided our library with $2,000 worth of new books, and another $500 for the school library – which we were able to check out to the classes on that day. We’ll all return to JGS in the spring with an author storytelling event.
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Our first outreach program to the Friendly Meals was a success! Thank you, Paul Jenkins for sharing your Beatles knowledge with us!
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Duncan MacDougall at our Kick-off event.
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National Book Award Finalists
 If you haven't seen it, we have a display in the New Books section of the National Book Award Finalists. We now own most of the titles, other than a few still on back order. Enjoy!
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Book Club Reminders
Registration is required for all of our Book Clubs. You may register in person, by calling the library, or online on our Event Calendar.
Children & Teen Book Clubs will meet on Fridays at 4 pm EXCEPT our brand new Teen Book Club, BOOK BUZZ! (See details below.)
- Genre Tasting for Grades 2-12 - December 7 This multi-age book club allows participants to choose their own title in a specified genre, read it, and share it with the group in a discussion and cooking experiment facilitated by your librarians. This month's genre is GRAPHIC NOVELS.
- My First Book Club for PreK - Grade 1 – November 9 Join Ms. Eileen for some fun with everyone's favorite, The Giving Tree.
- Mad Scientist Book Club for Grades 2 -5 – joins with STEAM Reads for Grades 5-8 – November 16 for a special joint discussion (due to Thanksgiving holiday). Join us for Secret Coders!
- Book Buzz! - Our brand new Teen Book Club! Join library staff, Bailey and Erin on Saturday, December 8 at 10:30 am for a lively discussion of Denton Little's Deathdate. Free refreshments will be provided, thanks to the Friends of the library! Thank you, Bailey, for your enthusiasm that is bringing this new book club to life!
And for adults:
- As the Page Turns - Monday, November 5 at 2 pm Each month, the group is led by a different member. November's discussion is Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka.
- Cookbook Club – Monday, November 19 at Noon - This is sadly their last meeting. Please join us for one last gathering with recipes from Dinner: Changing the Game by Melissa Clark. Thank you, Pam for all your hard work in coordinating this book club for JPL..
- Radical Reads - Thursday, November 8 at 6:30 pm Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly. Radical Reads is a book group designed to bring you outside your comfort zone. This should be a great discussion! Note: Radical Reads has moved to the SECOND Thursday of the month.
We borrow multiple copies of all our Book Club titles from other libraries so pick up your copy at the Main Circulation desk.
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Code Club is up and running, every Tuesday at 4 pm in the Wetherell Room. A reminder to adults that we now have THREE computers on the quiet History Floor, all networked to the printer, so there is always a place for you to work, even after school or during Code Club.
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This is a national map of libraries that won a Code Club grant from the Institute of Museum & Library Services. The only little dot in New Hampshire is our library!
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Veterans Day Closure
 Just a reminder that the library will be closed on Monday, November 12 for Veterans Day. Thank you all for your service and sacrifice.
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