Seed 'em and Reap: William Hall Library's How-To Agricultural Fair

William Hall will be hosting an agricultural fair on Saturday, April 16th from 2:00PM - 5:00PM! This event is open to everyone from would-be gardeners to experienced green thumbs! Some of the groups that will be participating include:

URI Master Gardeners will be there to answer your gardening questions, whether you're an old pro with a specific concern or a newbie just wants to know how to get started planting. 

cluck! urban farm and garden supply will bring chickens and answer your poultry questions. Urban farming has become more and more popular in recent years and chances are you won't be the first or last family on your street to invest in a fine feathered friend for fresh eggs.

Rhode Island Beekeeper's Association will be there to teach you all you could want to know about how to maintain an apiary. Healthy colonies are integral to healthy plant life and healthy plant life is integral to a healthy planet. And the honey is just a bonus. 

We will also have small crafts and other activities to enjoy - and remember to bring a soil sample for testing!

Celebrate Rhode Island Library Day!

April 16th is Rhode Island Library Day and we're celebrating with fine amnesty! Not that any of you loyal blog-readers have fines (though some of the staff members who write the blog do!), but if you have, say, a friend who forgot to return a stack of DVDs recently and is just cringing thinking of the potential fines, they're in luck!

What is fine amnesty?

Just what the name implies! If you have any items out on your card that are overdue and you return them on April 16th, those fines will be waived! So bring back that long-overdue non-fiction book that you were using on a book report that was handed in weeks ago. Return that movie that you kept meaning to get around to, but never did! And feel free to give up on that bestseller that you couldn't quite get into, but didn't want to hand in because there must be some reason it wound up in the NY Times.

What about lost books? Can I get those fines waived too?
Alas, no. If you have actually lost a book in your travels, the price of the book does need to be paid, amnesty only applies to items that are currently overdue.

Well, I have fines on my card from books I've turned in, will you get rid of those for me?
Not on the 16th! Fine amnesty only applies to items that are currently checked out on your card and are currently accruing fines. We will not be waiving fines that are already on your card.

Why do you even charge fines? Is that how you buy books?
What a great question! Our book buying funds are secured at the beginning of the year and while we will often supplement our collection through patron donations, we don't rely on fine money to buy new books. Fines are an incentive to bring materials back on time and to discourage patrons from keeping them too long past the due date. Even librarians can be tardy with returns and we all need a reminder from time to time to keep up with our due dates.