Library 64: Fletcher Free Library (Burlington)
Robot cat.
Library 64! The Fletcher Free Library in Burlington was the 64th stop on my quest to read, write, and knit in as many of Vermont’s public libraries as I can during my sabbatical
I read: a knitting pattern
I wrote: so many notes on the library
I knit: a parkside hat
The Fletcher Free is one of Vermont’s four Carnegie libraries. In the 1890s and 1900s the Carnegies funded the building of ~1700 libraries around the US, and five were in Vermont. The others are in Morristown (my home library), Rockingham, West Haven, and Norwich University (where the building has been repurposed). People are often interested in which libraries are the Carnegies.
Fletcher’s original Carnegie building now houses the children’s space, which is soon hosting a birthday party for a robot cat that purrs when you read to it. One hundred kids who love reading to this cat are expected to show up. A robot cat. Who knew.
This library is large in many ways:
largest collection in the state
large chess board
large sound-proof phone booth
large garden tool shed in the library of things
large lawn chair art
large teddy bear
large collection of knitting books
Michelle kindly gave me a large tour, and we found a spinning club in the basement. Laura and Robin had each carried their spinning wheels and roving from their cars to the library in the rain to spin yarn in the basement together.
My wife and I had to put our cat Jasper down on the morning I visited this library, so I’d been crying for a few hours before I arrived. I nearly cancelled, but I remembered the adage: “When in doubt, go to the library.” I remembered the story from the Varnum’s librarian, Aurora, in the Brave Little State episode about how sometimes people go to the library to sit and feel sad. And I remembered that librarians love cats. So I went to the library.
When I was meeting new crafty friends and talking about yarn and patterns, the sadness was with me, but I was able to function. But when Michelle put that robot cat in my lap and it started purring, I thought my chest might implode. So, the moment I will likely remember forever about visiting the largest, grandest Carnegie library in Vermont is meeting the robot cat. Who knew.
Because our cat Jasper died the morning of this visit, I have included a few photos of Jasper and some of his attempts to interrupt my knitting, his favorite thing.
Extra hugs in memory of a good cat. (Well, good most of the time according to the card of shame;-))