January 31, 2013

New Canaan Rotary Club Bulletin                                     January 31, 2013

No Marty.  Resplendent in his dress whites, Fireman Fred seized control of the meeting and, stealing a page from Marty’s playbook, ostentatiously flashed the clock function of his Smartphone at the anxious crowd before striking the bell at precisely 12:15.  Eric then offered a blessing which pointedly did not mention the Super Bowl.  I hope everyone realizes that it is being played on the Lord’s Day.

When Fred rose to commence the business portion of the meeting he tapped the bell and the large gathering barely acknowledged him.  Fred will have to work on a more aggressive stroke as he eases into the president role.  Helpful tip:  It’s all in the wrist.  Eventually he was able to ask for introduction of visiting Rotarians and guests.  Although there were none of the former, Tom Cronin introduced his guest Mathew Dennis.  Ben announced a second meeting of what he referred to as “The Ad Hoc Spring Project Committee” for a strategy session following the meeting.  Dr. John offered a pair of ducats for the Fordham vs. the University of St. Louis Billikens basketball game next Wednesday evening in the Bronx.  Chris Nyilas was the fortunate recipient.  It was confirmed that the Adolph Tomaselli Memorial Bench has been installed on its foundation in front of St. Aloysius School on South Avenue.

Sergeant Scott then regaled us with an apochryphal tale of the Chinese curio shop proprietor, the rat statue and the elusive democrat statue.  Fines included Steve Risbridger for five days in sunny Puerto Rico, B.T. Bowler for the pending merger of his firm, and Fred on the occasion of his daughter’s 25^th birthday.

Jim Cole then did another of his informal semi-roast introductions and Susan LaPerla and Jeff Zaino from the New Canaan Library moved to the front of the room and, amidst much gratuitous advice and some good-natured heckling, proceeded to overwhelm us with a presentation covering the technology growth at their venerable institution.  The Library has approximately 170,000 items in its inventory [it is continually refreshing them] and lends over 500,000 items annually.  The Tech Committee of the Library is made up of trustees, staff and citizens who are trying to make a strong move to digital in support of their mission to be the town’s destination for content creation with strong ties to education and lifelong learning.  They are in the process of upgrading their wireless network to handle more than 1,000 simultaneous users from the present 300.  They are migrating to Sierra, a more sophisticated library software program; developing a smartphone mobile app which will allow users to check the catalogue, their patron account, library events, new arrivals, and check hours and directions; and installing Omega, a free open-source web publishing database, which can build and display digital collections like those bequeathed to the Library by Richard Salant.  They are working with OverDrive to provide downloadable books and OneClick for audiobooks. as well as Zinio for digital magazine subscriptions and Freading for more books.  In addition the staff offers 20 computer courses of various descriptions, demonstrates how to operate numerous devices from smartphones to tablets to Kindles, and provides leadership for projects involving lifelong learners.  In the near future Quick Click Acquisitions for more efficient, accurate and economical acquisitions, and radio frequency ID to increase speed and accuracy while checking items in and out as well as inventory control.  All this while providing a warm welcome and shelter from the storm to all New Canaan residents.  What a gem!

Andrew Carnegie