Friends group organizes

A half dozen Whiting residents are taking the first steps toward establishing a not-for-profit charitable corporation that would help fund improvements at the historically neglected Whiting Free Library.

The residents attended a preliminary meeting of the Friends of Whiting Free Library last night, briefly discussing the status of the library, the process of forming a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code and possible fundraising events. Library Trustees Tammy Wilbur and Heather Mattison were on hand to facilitate the discussion.

The Whiting Free Library occupies a former Baptist church on Route 30 near the town's four corners. The structure is in dire need of repair and upgrade. It has no electricity, no heat and no plumbing. Due to its shortcomings and its lack of budget for a staff, the library is open only in the summer and only for brief periods. The current schedule includes children's storytime sessions on summer Wednesdays at 10 a.m., "Adult Social" sessions Thursdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and "Summer Activity" on Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m.

Noting the lack of bathroom facilities at the library, Trustee Heather Mattison joked that library visitors "have to plan ahead."

The Town of Whiting has studied a number of possibilities for improvements to the library structure, including moving the library further south on Route 30 to be closer to the Town Hall and the Whiting School. Some thought has been given to incorporating town offices into a new library building. Funding for any improvements is lacking, according to Trustee Tammy Wilbur, who also serves part-time as librarian.

The forming Friends group is hopeful of obtaining financial grants to partly cover building costs and is seeking the assistance of an experienced grant writer.

Members mulled extending the library's open hours through volunteerism, helping to "card" and organize the library's book collections and raising funds through book sales and less typical events, such as a "Kiss the Pig" contest. Wilbur said a number of local personalities already have offered to take part in a "Kiss the Pig" fundraiser, in which residents vote through cash contributions on who must kiss a local hog on the snout. The "winner" delivers the swine-smooch at a public event.

The group decided that its first task would be adopting by-laws. Members agreed to research the by-laws of other Friends organizations and report back their findings at an April 11 meeting, 7 p.m. at the town hall. The group hopes that other interested residents will attend.

LINKS:
Friends of Libraries USA Sample Bylaws
Friends of the Burnham (Colchester VT) Memorial Library Bylaws
Friends of the Platt Memorial (Shoreham VT) Library Website
Friends of the Rockingham (VT) Library Inc. Bylaws
Friends of the Weathersfield (VT) Proctor Library Incorporated Bylaws
New Hampshire State Library Sample Friends Group Bylaws

Whiting Free Library update

Following is the text of a mailing sent by Library Trustee Tammy Wilbur on March 1.

Whiting Free Library

In 2012 many changes took place at the library. We began in the spring with the purchase of some much needed shelving. The shelving was purchased used, but added a fresh new look to all areas of the building. We then spent many hours sorting and shelving all of the books. This was complicated by the need to be very aware of our arrangement of shelving (because of the need for foundation work, the sagging floor necessitates that all of the shelves be arranged close to the outer walls). For this reason, we tried to leave an open area for seating in the middle of the building. 

Whiting Free Library

We also arranged shelving in one of the small back rooms to accommodate a special young adult area. This room connects to another very small room in the back of the building that we hope, this spring, to arrange as a young adult reading area (basically, a couple of chairs and something nice on the walls).

We also began the work of looking into grants and opportunities that would enable us to go forward with the plan to build a new, more efficient and usable library building. We realized that this would take some time as we really wanted to do the best job that we could and we had to do it when we were not working at our "real" jobs. We learned that some grants required matching funds and some needed to be requested from a non-profit organization. For this reason, we are asking for your help to create an organization called the "Friends of the Whiting Library." This would be a 501(C) 3 or non-profit organization whose focus would be supporting the library. We would like to have interested individuals meet on Thursday, March 28, at the Town Hall to begin this work. Also, if anyone has any time and experience with grant writing, we would love the help. 

In order to look at the matching grant opportunities, we decided that we had better begin some fundraising on our own. This past fall we held a basket raffle that was a great success - we made $1,225. Thank you to all who contributed as well as those who purchased tickets. This event was enjoyed by many and we have decided to make it an annual fundraising event. If anyone has any great ideas for or interest in making a basket this year, please contact us. We will be asking for the items or baskets by the beginning of November.

Our short term goals for this year include the following: 

1. Clean, paint and organize the other entry room as a work room. 
2. Arrange the small back room as a young adult reading room or quiet area. 
3. Organize the "Friends" group. 

Hopefully, you will see these goals met by our open house which will be on Saturday, May 18th from 9 a.m.-noon.

Our long term goals for this year include: 

1. Continued fundraising events. 
2. Continued work on carding and organizing our library collections. 
3. Creating a timeline in which to apply for grants and present to the town our findings.

If you have questions or concerns please contact any of your library trustees! Thank you for your continued support.

Tammy Wilbur

One-act plays at OVUHS

A scene from Crushed at OVUHS.

I enjoyed the One-Act Plays program at Otter Valley Union High School last night. Most of the plays were directed and performed exceptionally well.

The evening started off with How to Kiss a Girl, which comically explored the role of portable technology on a teenager's first date. It was an enjoyable performance, with a few surprises. Corporate miscommunication and greed were tackled humorously in the second play, The Non-Invisible Man. The acting in this play was simply not up to the same standards as the others, but The Non-Invisible Man had its positive moments. The next play, Crushed, involved two spirits/hallucinations giving relationship advice to a couple of depressed and confused teenagers. This was a well-polished production with some very funny material.

After intermission, Reflex Action delighted (and puzzled) the audience with a fast-moving and expertly designed and performed approach to experimental-theater satire. I would have appreciated better timing in the stichomythia portion of the play, but I can't quarrel the slightest bit with anything else in it 

The evening's finale was David and Lisa, which explored teenage emotional illness. The performances and the between-scenes set work in this emotional drama were extremely professional and precise. (Actors managed to remain in character when lights briefly dimmed between scenes and they were shutting pieces of furniture around the stage.) While this was the most impressive play of the evening, a few things didn't feel right (and none of them can be blamed in any way on the excellent OVUHS actors):

• Subject - This is a fairly superficial approach to some very deep subject matter, and I fear it trivializes emotional illness and the recovery process.
• Length - The length of the play and the frequency of the scene changes were fatiguing, coming as they did at the end of the evening's entertainment.
• Writing - The final moment of the play - expected by the audience from almost the very beginning - falls a bit flat as it results from a conscious choice on the part of the main character rather than as an unintended discovery of a change that his experiences have brought about within him. I realize that a decision to be well is part of the play's theme (David erupts at his psychiatrist when that is suggested earlier), but when a split-second decision can be the resolution of all conflict, it makes all the time invested in the play, its characters and its conflicts seem wasted.  

The One-Act Plays program, running about three hours, will be presented again tonight (Saturday, March 2) at seven o'clock and tomorrow afternoon (Sunday, March 3) at two o'clock at the Otter Valley Union High School auditorium in Brandon. Admission is $5.