Our repair work is complete enough that we have reopened the stack areas where all of the non-fiction and biography are housed for browsing once again! We do have some electrical work being done on the Mezzanine to finish up the project.
Please have patience as the library staff works to reorganize the collection and interfile materials now that the area is open! This has been a long 5 months and I for one cannot wait to go browse the travel section!
Denise Van Zanten
Library Director
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After numerous state residents emailed elected officials overnight, expressing their concerns to the NH State House Finance Committee, we are thrilled to report that the proposed amendment to close the State Library was withdrawn today by the primary sponsor, for which we are very grateful. Thanks to the active voices of patrons like you, the NH community was able to effectively communicate the invaluable role of the State Library, its staff, and the services it provides to the Granite State.
Once again, THANK YOU for your support in this effort to preserve the cultural legacy and vital role of the NH State Library!
An executive order issued Friday, March 14th, 2025 calls for the reduction and elimination of functions of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which is an independent federal agency that supports libraries and museums in all 50 states and U.S. territories. This decision will greatly impact Manchester residents and Granite Staters.
In our state, the New Hampshire State Library currently has $1.5 million of IMLS money to fund its interlibrary loan program (ILL), as well as the online catalog & van service to support it. In 2024, The Manchester City Library loaned out 1,525 items to other libraries using the ILL service, and borrowed 1,194 items from other libraries to support the needs of our patrons.
The State Library also uses IMLS money to provide you with Talking Book services, and Libby, the eBook, eAudio and digital magazine platform. In 2024, Manchester City Library patrons borrowed, on average, over 6,000 titles per month through Libby.
What does this mean for you?
This funding, if not available, will dramatically affect the above mentioned services that we currently provide to our patrons, crippling the collaboration between New Hampshire libraries, and drastically reducing access to materials library patrons would not otherwise have access to.
How can you help?
If you object to the elimination of these funds and the functions of IMLS that are specifically used to serve you, the public, we highly encourage you to contact your Congressional Delegation expressing why IMLS and the funds provided are critical, and how it will severely impact the many residents who rely on these valuable services, not only in our city, but around the State.
We also encourage you to show your support by signing our petition to support the Federal funding of the State Library. You can sign online or by visiting the library to add your name to our paper petition.
Thank you for supporting the power of libraries and as we learn more we will keep you posted with updates and other ways to help!
March 18, 2025
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Constellation Luminary adult craft kits are still available at the West Branch! Kits will come with the materials needed to make two beautiful night-sky luminaries. For more information about this craft please contact Yvonne Loomis at (603) 624-6550 Ext. 7620 or e-mail [email protected].
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Send a garden to your loved ones with your special DIY pressed flower greeting cards. Your friends and family will be delighted to see these delicate and handmade cards in their mailbox. These kits will come with everything needed to make a couple of lovely, pressed flower cards. Perfect for Mother’s Day or “just because”.
Kits will be available in the Information Desk on Tuesday, April 8th for you to pick up. These are intended for adults and available while supplies last. For more information, please contact Yvonne L. at 603-624-6550 ext. 7620 or email [email protected]
Happy crafting!
→ 2 CommentsTags: adult DIY·Adult Take & Make Crafts·Library·manchester·Manchester City Library·N.H.·new hampshire·pressed flower greeting cards
We have a new date for the Meet & Greet with the Manchester Fire Department! They will be here in our parking lot on Monday, March 17, 2025 from 1:00-2:00 pm. It is a perfect way to spend your afternoon off from school. For more information, please call 603-624-6550 ext. 7628
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The Manchester City Fire Department Meet and Greet scheduled for February 27 at 1-2 pm is Postponed due to weather. Check back later for the rescheduled event!
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We made extras and we have Constellation Luminary kits available at the West Branch and Pinecone Bird Feeder kits available at the Main Branch. Stop by both libraries for some crafting fun. For more information, please contact Yvonne L. at 603-634-6550 ext. 7620 or e-mail [email protected]
Happy crafting!
Comments Off on Winter Adult Craft Kits still available!Tags: adult DIY·Library·manchester·Manchester City Library·Manchester West Branch Library·N.H.·new hampshire·Take & Make Craft Kits·winter crafts
Due to inclement weather, the library will delay opening until 10am on Thursday, February 13.
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“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.”
―Carter G. Woodson
Have you ever wondered why black history month is celebrated in the shortest month of the year? The answer is simply two important birthdays in February – Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. President Lincoln is revered for freeing enslaved Americans, and Douglass for his significant abolition work.
Black History Month began nearly 100 years ago as ‘Negro History Week’ – a concept devised by Harvard educated historian Carter G. Woodson and his organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) [now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASAALH)]. He hoped to raise awareness of Black American’s contributions and accomplishments, and for their history to be included and recognized all year long (Morris, 2017). Throughout the course of his education, obtaining two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s degree, and a doctorate, Woodson found that Black Americans were either absent from history books, or misrepresented. Woodson sought to correct this and founded ASNLH in 1915, and in 1926 they created a week-long celebration around two dates already commemorated within the Black community – Lincoln’s birthday on February 12, and Douglass’ birthday on February 14.
This celebration grew to a whole month in 1976 at the bicentennial anniversary of the founding of the United States. At the suggestion of ASAALH, President Gerald Ford issued a presidential message on February 10, 1976, encouraging Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history” (Ford, 1976). Since then, Black History Month has been celebrated in schools, libraries, and many other institutions across the country and brought awareness to the untold or under recognized histories of Black Americans and their impact on our society.
As Woodson originally intended, Black history has been incorporated into US history books as appropriate and accurately as possible. To celebrate the accomplishments of Black Americans, the library has several displays this month to honor Black History Month:
Rotunda Black History Month display: https://discover.manchesterlibrary.org/MyAccount/MyList/4333
Historical fiction: https://discover.manchesterlibrary.org/MyAccount/MyList/4888
Jazz Music: https://discover.manchesterlibrary.org/MyAccount/MyList/6078
References:
Ford, Gerald R., Jr., Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Gerald R. Ford, Jr., Book 1. Washington, DC: Government Publishing Office, 1976. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PPP-1976-book1
Morris, Burnis R. Carter G. Woodson: History, the Black Press, and Public Relations (University Press of Mississippi) 2017.
Scott, Daryl Michael. Howard University, for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, https://blackhistorymonth.gov/About.html. Accessed Feb. 7, 2025.
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