Helen at the Well is a Big Hit with local Residents!

Firstly, let me say that this Inventory thing is still going on, and the beeping makes me very annoyed. However, the staff seems to be losing steam, and their beeps per day are down considerably from the first week. Still, treats are really hard to come by, and I sometimes have to resort to making a ruckus:


I first made a ruckus and then sat and stared by AB Karen's VIP (Very Important Planner) so that I would be guaranteed a treat and an apology. (This technique worked.)

This next one was a little trickier. AAB Christine kept moving my treat can around and I tried to s-t-r-e-t-c-h to get my point across:


(This technique did not work because AAB Christine can be One Big Meanie. She insists I need "exercise.")

So I climbed down to the can. . .


. . . and eventually got my way. (It did take a bit of thumping about and finally flinging the treat can from the cart. . .)

Secondly (and lastly): Libraries are great resources for the community, right? We have books and DVDs and CDs and magazines and newspapers and things. We also have computers and the Internets and meeting room spaces. We have programs for small people and medium-sized people and grown-ups. We have friendly and helpful workers who will help people find out what they need or want to know. But Thorntown Public Library goes Above and Beyond the Call of Duty by offering one more resource for the Animal Community:


A gigantic water dish! (Our water dish is so classy, it has a name--"Helen at the Well.")

Snoopervisor and Protector of the Helen at the Well,

Tober

PS - No that is not me out there.

PS again - My staff reports that they are almost done with beeping Inventory and I am very proud of them for all of their hard work and the books and DVDs and things will be much nicer and easier to find because of their dedicated beeping. Thank you!

My Library is front-page material!

Hi, hi, hi!

This week we got the Lebanon Reporter newspaper, and it came with the Boone County Tourism Guide. Guess what! My Library and the giant outside water fountain were on the cover.


Let me tell you what it said INSIDE:

Helen at the Well stands at the west entrance of the Thorntown Public Library, 124 N. Market St., Thorntown, Boone County, Indiana.

The eighteen water spouts of the 12 1/2' steel and aluminum fountain were installed on August 31, 2007, and are activated annually from May through October. More than 334 donors contributed to the project to restore to Thorntown the fountain that graced Main and Market Streets from 1909 to 1944.

The new fountain is a replica of the original placed by Anson Mills, engineer and Civil and Indian wars soldier, who was born on a Thorntown farm and in 1909 provided Thorntown a safe (from typhoid fever) water system and four fountains. The largest, the 32-foot Mills Memorial Fountain, was in honor of his parents and included two bowls and a large basin as well as the central figure and three others seated at the base. Residents still recall ice skating in the bowl and meeting their dates and future spouses at the fountain. In 1944 the fountain was removed so that Indiana 47 could become a state highway.

The present fountain was reproduced in proportion to the library's entrance and represents the custom of welcoming visitors by the offering of water.

So we are all Very Excited that My Library is on the cover of this magazine. I think that the Boone County Tourism folks did a very nice job talking about our special fountain, but does anyone else notice something MISSING from this article?

Like maybe:

The Thorntown Public Library is also home to (and under the watchful eye of) Tober the Cat, who began his reign in late 2008. Tober is an extremely handsome orange tiger-kitty, and he graciously entertains visitors Monday through Saturday. He loves treats, catnip, and tummy rubs, and if visitors are very, very lucky (and generous with treats) he will often demonstrate how Assistant Boss Karen fetches Apples that he tosses into his wastebasket.

I think this would be my magazine cover if I were the Featured Attraction; I think it makes me look nice and tall:


I think the next big Thorntown fountain should be called Tober at the Water Dish.

Planning ahead,

Tober