Center Harbor Library notes

CENTER HARBOR — Do you do the Dewey? Given your new found freedom to browse the stacks of the Nichols Library, it seems prudent to introduce you to the order in which the nonfiction works of the collection are arranged, or more specifically to the Dewey Decimal System. The Dewey Decimal Classification system organizes the contents of a library into 10 groups of knowledge and each of those groups are further assigned 100 numbers, which are subdivided again and again to provide more specificity. Devised by American librarian Melvile Dewey for application in the Amherst College library, the system was further refined by W.T. Harris for the St. Louis Public Library, and further enhanced by Cutter-Sanborn Tables to distinguish authors and genres. 

This week we highlight works from the 000 – general works and 100 — philosophy and psychology categories. The Library Book by Susan Orlean (027.47 ORL) looks at the burning of the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986. Part true crime, part history, it’s a library story worth reading. In the 100s you can find titles like Remember (153.1 GEN) by Lisa Genova (author of Still Alice), The Comfort Book (158.1 HAI) by Matt Haig, (author of the Midnight Library) or Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age, by Sanjay Gupta, and so many more. Come in and check one out.

This week’s Nichols Library shout out goes to Lois Brady. Lois is a true champion of library service and the patrons of the Nichols Library. She single-handedly kept the library operating during the pandemic, facilitating curbside delivery of materials for patrons who could not enter the library. For months, Lois was the eyes and ears of our readers, supplying familiar picks and recent releases. This simple shout out cannot capture the true laudatory notice due Lois. For all her efforts, we say thank you and wish her all the best in her future endeavors!

The library is now open four days a week — Monday and Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Curbside pick-up is available as well. Due to increasing COVID case numbers, masks are required in the library at this time.