Autumn Library

That Season Is Upon Us

We know we’re in the thick of it at my library when volunteers from the Historic Association show up with a scarecrow under each arm!

The year’s generous Halloween donation to the library was a Spaceman and an Alien. It’s a fundraiser for the group. There are dozens of scarecrows all across Auburn!

We’ll set them up by our front sign near the road, maybe with a sign or something that says, “Books are out of this world!”

And then, just minutes after Spaceman and the Alien were dropped off, a volunteer from our friends groups dropped their own handmade scarecrow off for us, this time he’s Book Boy - a young patron reader, complete with books in his lap. We’ll secure him on our front porch bench!

Embracing this time of year, in particular at an old, rural(ish) library in New England seems pretty par for the course. Even expected, I think. At some point, I’m certain a pumpkin will show up and in a couple weeks we’ll have a spooky walk along the Story Trail behind the library. On Friday, Oct. 11, a speaker from NH Humanities will give a talk on New England gravestones and cemeteries. Our mascot, Ellie the Skelly, is nice and comfy on our circulation desk!

So it’s a full calendar of spooks and scares and orange leaves. I’m getting all my work appropriate flannel and sweater vests ready! It somehow feels like a 130-year-old library is a perfect place to sip coffee and sit on the porch and watch the leaves fall. That’s where I’ll be, along with Book Boy. Toss on a sweater and come join us. But don’t mind the space aliens!