Lisa here, breathless after a whirlwind tour of local libraries. Well, maybe that’s a wee bit of hyperbole, but here’s my report from 3 bookish events—and 2 very different New England libraries…

Over the past 10 days, I attended 2 local library events—actually, 3.

First up:  I helped (wo)man the Sisters in Crime New England information table at the NH Library Trustees Association conference in Manchester. I didn’t take any photos, because it didn’t seem appropriate, but I did get to hear a surprisingly (to me) optimistic keynote speech re: IMLS funding.  Here in NH, vital grant money supports the statewide interlibrary loan (ILL) system—the van courier network, online catalog software, and administrative staff required to deliver and share books between over 200 public libraries. Our small, rural towns really depend on those delivery vans to bring books to eager readers.

How “small”? Exhibit A:  My own tiny, heavily wooded town of Deering, NH, has a population of 1,938 (just under 2 people for every 640 acres). I was invited to speak at the charming, cozy library last Saturday. Here’s a pic of me taking a selfie outside the venue a few days before. (I prayed the whole time no one would see me—I put my phone down whenever a car passed and pretended I was just idling around by the side of the road.)

The library operates out of a historic one-room schoolhouse tucked into the center of town. Deering has 3 buildings: the library, the town hall, and a church. (The kids attend school in neighboring Hillsboro). There is also a bandstand (or gazebo, if you’d prefer), built on the site of a long-gone hotel. The townspeople famously voted to buy the land themselves rather than allow a developer to build a trailer park.  

Deering was incorporated in 1765. Before there was a formal schoolhouse, classes were held in private homes and at Alexander Robinson’s Tavern, one of the town’s earliest gathering places. If the tavern were still standing today, it would sit only steps away from the library. The town isn’t as hopping as it used to be in a commercial sense. The setting might even be too “cozy” for a cozy mystery.

The day of my visit was cold and drizzly. One of the trustees came early to warm up the library with a stove and a space heater.

I was delighted when a nice crowd of residents showed up, including a few teens.  Some had even read both of my latest Irish Bed & Breakfast Mysteries, which were face out on the shelf. We had a lively discussion about books and publishing (several aspiring writers) and the trustee offered everyone hot coffee and homemade brownies with banana and walnuts.

This past weekend was the annual Local Author Meet & Greet at the Fuller Public Library in the aforementioned Hillsboro, NH. I adore the gorgeous, moody library (I won’t say haunted) with its Tiffany glass and gleaming woodwork. The library is contained within a former private mansion (1866 Queen Anne, owned by an industrialist and former NH governor who deeded it to the town for $1 in 1926). The library director is fabulous, and she tries very hard to bring people out to meet us local authors (by local, we mean NH). She, too, served hot coffee—along with homemade sun tea and sugary molasses cookies. The day was super hot and humid, so we all sweated it out, but it was great to see everyone again. (I also learned that one author was a panelist at Bouchercon in NOLA last year—she recognized my Sisters in Crime lanyard! Like me, she is already signed up for DC next year.)

Have to admit, I snuck inside the library a few times and snapped some photos.

I think I startled the patron in the main reading room. She didn’t seem bothered by the ghost—er, cardboard cutout—of former President Franklin Pierce (Hillsboro was his boyhood home).

And I repeat, Mystery Fans, the library is NOT haunted!

Readers, do you attend local library events (with or without ghosts)?