By Barbara Mellon

We here at the Andes Public Library are thankful yet humbled that both Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee left us unscathed. Watching the stream behind our building rush past with incredible speed and volume, I was awed by the power of this water; so glorious and yet so threatening. Our thoughts are with those in our neighboring communities who faced so much devastation. Gratefully, during the days right after the storms we were able to provide a bit of refuge, by way of books, movies, and conversation, for some folks who normally frequent Margaretville’s Fairview Library. Although we had heard that Fairview was safe and operational, getting to it was difficult.

The next time you are in the library, be sure to check out the beautiful new rug in the Community Room. Donated by John Gregg of Paisley’s Country Gallery, the warm colors of the piece make the room feel even homier than before. Thank you, John.

While helping a patron recently with the online Research Center feature of the Four County website, we came across the option for “New York Public Library Databases.” What a gold mine! The link boasts a searchable list of hundreds of databases, many of which can be accessed using your Andes Public Library card. Among those available are the Oxford English Dictionary (the online edition of the 20-volume dictionary), Wright American Fiction (Provides electronic, full-text access to almost every novel published in the United States from 1851 to 1875), World Factbook (contains the following for countries around the world: maps, current issues, history, geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues) and an Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (covers every day-to-day change in the size, shape, location, name, organization, and attachment of each U.S. county and state from the creation of the first county in 1634 through 2000). Try it out or stop in for some help browsing through the list of available resources.

With all that was going on after the storms, we decided to postpone Herbert Grommeck’s talk about his recently released book, Grommeck Acres: The fortunes of a family farm. The new date for this event is Tuesday, October 4, starting at 7 pm. Be sure to come by to find out how and why this project came about. Copies of the book will be available for purchase; you’ll probably even be able to get Herb to sign one!

Do you have some DVDs you probably won’t be watching on a regular basis? Donate them to the Andes Public Library and other patrons will get a chance to enjoy your favorite movies, too. ~