Princeton Public Library

Today, August 15, 2012, marks the 100th birthday of one of the most beloved chefs in history, Julia Child. American icon, author, and television star, Julia catapulted into fame with the 1961 publication of her bestselling cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Woody Guthrie, famed American songwriter-raconteur, would have been 100 years old this July. Folk music revivalist Pete Seeger recently celebrated his ninety-third birthday. In an age where songwriters and singers had separate roles in the music industry, these elder statesmen of American folk music forged ground for contemporary singer-songwriters like Wilco, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Young. Listen to modern voices sing songs of childhood, love, loss, hard times, protest, and working folk.

It’s that time of the year again. No, I’m not referring to the end of summer reading clubs or the kids heading back to school. I’m talking about Book Festival time. On Saturday, September 8, 2012 Princeton Public Library is proud to host our 7^th Annual Princeton Children’s Book Festival. For those of you who are Festival followers, we’ve got a lot in store for you this year. Yes, it does get bigger and better every year.

I've blogged previously about terrific customer interactions while staffing the Welcome Desk and have another to share. On Monday evening, while a colleague, Erica Bess was answering questions, she had the great opportunity to meet Olympic Gold Medalist, Lesley Bush, who won her gold medal in 1964 at the Tokyo games for platform diving. The bonus was that  Bush had the coveted first place medal with her! Thrilled to be in the right place at the right time, several staff members had the opportunity to chat with Bush about her experience and to hold the medal.