New Year's Resolutions

The topic of New Year's Resolutions came up at work today. A co-worker asked me if I had chosen a resolution for 2008, yet. I like the idea of resolutions, but rarely, if ever, stick to them; I like the idea of a new year, a new start. According to Wikipedia, New Year's Resolutions can be traced back to the Babylonians, where it's said that the most common resolution was "to return the borrowed farm equipment". As for Americans, we tend to be a little more body-conscious with our resolutions, and the most common resolutions are to exercise more and eat better. How often do we actually stick to these resolutions, though? Mine usually peters out sometime around March.

I like the idea of resolutions that work to improve society or who we are as individuals. Making a resolution to volunteer once a month or to be more environmentally conscious positively affects society and the world, as well as improving our own self-image. Maybe it would be easier to stick to a resolution that affected more people than just ourselves.

The New Yorker recently published an article by Caleb Crain entitled, Twilight of the Books: What Will Life be Like if People Stop Reading?. This is a topic that frequents the thoughts and conversations of librarians. According to the research presented in this article, Americans are choosing to read less and less. If you feel like you don't read as much as you would like to, the library can help you with this resolution! We have all sorts of reading activities going on at the library. We have book discussion groups for adults, Storytime for preschoolers, and Tiny Tales for babies and toddlers. These programs provide great opportunities to expose yourself and your family to reading and literacy. You can visit our website for a detailed schedule of events going on at the library. Just click on the Newsletter link. We can help you keep your New Year's resolution of improving you and your family's reading.

Word Woman

Welcome to another mind-boggling installment of Word Woman's Weekly Workout! Expanding your vocabulary is a great way to keep that gray matter in shape, so let's get warmed up with the word of the week:

Crapulous : (krap-yewl-us) [adjective] Indulging in excessive eating and drinking or suffering from the effects of excessive eating and drinking. -- "The New York Times Everyday Reader's Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused, Mispronounced Words", Laurence Urdang, ed., The New York Times Book Company, 1972.

Example: The holiday season is by far the most crapulous time of year for most people, with big family meals and seasonal baking often leading to indigestion and unwanted weight gain.

(Crapulous is one of those words that sounds like it should be a euphemism for something more sinister, but in reality is actually quite innocuous.)

With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore...

‘Twas the day before Christmas and all through the stacks,

People were looking for trade paperbacks

And books on cassette to help pass the time

During holiday travel or waiting in line

To buy that last gift, it had been a long haul

And they needed a way to escape from it all.

So off to the library they wandered in quest

Of a good book to read that stood out from the rest

Or maybe a holiday music CD

To play while they finished trimming the tree

Or even a kids’ Christmas book to be read

To help restless children get settled in bed.

Then up to the counter, arms full, they did dash

Where friendly staff helped them check out in a flash,

Packed up their selections and sent them on their way

With a wave and a smile and a “Happy Holiday!”

As they left the building, I heard them all say:

“We’re so glad you’re open on Christmas Eve Day!”

Happy Holidays from the staff at the Missoula Public Library!

Alexander Hamilton Opening Reception

Last night we opened our Alexander Hamilton exhibit in style. The theme for the evening was a 19th Century Christmas, and almost 150 people showed up to celebrate with us. We had lots of great cookies and cheese, along with a spectacular hot cider. There was no coffee because, as all history enthusiasts know, coffee was a fairly rare commodity in Alexander Hamilton's time.

The room was decorated with spruce branches and pine cones, which made it smell great.



Don, our own ex-reference librarian and curator of the exhibit, kicked things off with a quick speech and then we enjoyed music from members of the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, including our very own Claire!


After a bit of music we were treated to a minuet performance by the Rocky Mountain Ballet. These girls did an amazing job, and even provided an impromptu history lesson between their pieces. I found out afterward this group will be traveling to China to dance in the opening ceremony of the Olympics when they come there. Wow. I guess we gave them a chance to warm up for the big dance.

A big thank you goes out to the opening reception committee who got everything set up: Vaun, Tove and Paulette. They spent the afternoon setting everything up, and it went off without a hitch.

Word Woman

Welcome to another awesome edition of Word Woman's weekly workout. Are you feeling brain-dead from the stress of holiday preparations? Has too much shopping left you in a fog? Refresh your mental browser with the word of the week:


Rachisagra : [rack-uh-sag-ruh] (noun) pain in the spine; from a Greek word meaning 'spine'. -- "More Weird and Wonderful Words", Erin McKean, ed., Oxford University Press, 2003.


Example: Telling your friends that you suffer from rachisagra sounds so much more impressive than simply admitting that your mattress springs need to be replaced.

Happy Holidays from Word Woman!