Several people asked at the Reference Desk this week for information about hiking in New Hampshire. With the weather cooling off and the leaves beginning to turn, this is a perfect time of year to go hiking. Do you know that more than 500,000 people visit New Hampshire to hike every year? Trails like Bald Mountain, Artist's Bluff, and the Basin-Cascades Trail are among the most popular. With the appropriate trail, the right gear and some majestic views, hiking can be a rewarding experience.

Actually hiking is a form of walking for the purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. One usually hikes on trails in rural or wilderness areas. Enthusiasts regard hiking as the best way to see nature. They regard it as better than a tour in a vehicle because the hiker's senses are not intruded upon by such distractions as windows or engine noise. Hiking over long distances or over difficult terrain does require some degree of physical ability and preparedness.

Hikers often seek beautiful environments in which to hike. Unfortunately, these environments can be accidentally destroyed by people. The action of an individual may not have an adverse effect on the environment. However, the mass effect of a large number of people can degrade the environment. For example, gathering wood in an alpine area to start a fire may be harmless once (except for wildfire risk). Years of gathering wood, however, can strip an alpine area of valuable nutrients. Usually such protected areas as parks have regulations in place to protect the environment. If hikers follow such regulations, their impact can be minimized. Such regulations may include forbidding wood fires, restricting camping to established camp sites, and imposing a quota on the number of visitors per day. You may be familiar with the philosophy of Leave No Trace, i.e. hiking in a way that future hikers cannot detect the presence of previous hikers. Practitioners of this philosophy follow it even in the absence of area regulations.

New Hanpshire Living presents a good deal of helpful information about hiking. Be sure to check ou their tips, resources, state parks guide and their disclaimer. If you are feeling ambitious, you may also wish to take a look at their New Hampshire four thousand footers. Hike New England presents trail reports including difficulty and distance.

And do check out some of our library's items about hiking in New Hampshire:
Foghorn outdoors: New Hampshire hiking,

Best hikes with children in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine by Cynthia C. Lewis & Thomas J. Lewis,

Best loop hikes New Hampshire to the Maine coast by Jeff Romano

and many additional selections.

So have fun, take care, and do stop by to tell us about your adventure.

Labor Day has come and gone marking the unofficial end of summer fun. We can't really declare that summer is over until it's official end on September 23. The signs, however, are there. On my way to work this morning, I noticed a number of these signs. My lawn has yellow leaves on the grass. The blueberry picking farm down the street is closed for the season and the apple picking farm is open. One of the local farm stands has a line of chrysanthemums and pumpkins edging the parking lot.

There are a few redeeming events in the fall. The best of these is the turning of the leaves. I am what is referred to apparently as a "leaf peeper", or at least a would-be "leaf peeper". Every year my husband promises me that we will go up north and look at the autumn leaves. Every year by the time we get there, the leaves have all turned brown and dropped off. Turning leaves are a tricky thing. It seems to take them a long time to reach their prime, but once they do - blink and they're gone!

The state of New Hampshire fills up with "leaf peepers" every fall, and information is in place to be sure that each and every one has a peak experience. One of the websites that the state of New Hampshire has provided is called the New Hampshire Foliage Report If you have ever wondered why the leaves change color, the answer is here. This website will also help you to decide when and where to go to see the best quality fall foliage. Just drag the cute little fall leaf across the color bar, and you will see where in the state the foliage is at its peak and when. White Mountain Foliage.com will answer almost any question that you might think of in regard to fall foliage including what effect weather has, and where else in the country you can go to see fall colors.

If you like fall foliage and you like trains, this is the website for you. Foliage trains.com describes a number of different train trips in the Lakes Region and the Lincoln area which provide excellent fall foliage viewing. If you would rather do your viewing on foot, the Appalachian Mountain Club has some family-friendly foliage hikes in the White Mountains and the Lakes Region. There is even fall foliage for those who can't bear to leave their computers. Weirs online.com has a beautiful collection of fall foliage photos which can be emailed as a postcard to a friend. Or as a coworker pointed out, could even be used as a desktop background!

Happy "leaf peeping"!

Did you know that monarch butterflies migrate from southern Canada and northern USA south in the Fall to Mexico where they reproduce the young that will return north in the Spring? You can track the migration and learn more about butterflies at butterflywebsite.com

We are excited to announce that we have just added The Butterfly Place to our list of passes for museums in the Music art and Media Department. It's a great location for family fun. Our pass allows one free admission to the site.

The Butterfly Place is a man-made habitat for butterflies. It is located in a 3,100 sq. ft. building that is over 27 ft. at its peak. In this living environment are many colorful plants which provide nectar for the butterflies. The atrium may contain up to 500 butterflies representing 50 different species from around the world. Those that are native to New England are featured when possible.The Butterfly Place is located at 120 Tyngsboro Rd. Westford, MA Open 2/14 to 03/31 10-4pm. 4/1 to Columbus Day 10-5pm. Visit them on line at http://www.butterflyplace-ma.com

Come by the Music Art and Media Department to reserve your pass or reserve it on the library's web site.

So the World Series score is 2 games Red Sox, 0 games Rockies, and our Red Sox are headed out to Colorado. But how much do you know about these Colorado Rockies and their Coors Field?

Although there have been so many "great" baseball teams including the '27 Yankees, the '36 Yankees and the Big Red Machine (see Baseball Almanac's Determining the Best Major League Baseball Team Ever From 1902-2005), the 2007 Rockies are the only team in history to have been in the middle of any postseason riding a 19-1 streak that dates back into the regular season. So this is historic stuff! The Rockies have also become the first National League team in 30 years, and only the second in the past 44 years, to run off a 19-1 streak at any time of any year. The last to do that were the 1977 Phillies. And the Rockies are now the first major league team in 30 years, the first National League team in 72 years and the fourth team ever to win 19 of 20 after September 1. The last team to do it in the NL, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, were the 1935 Cubs. The last to do it in the major leasues were the 1977 Royals, a team that called up a prospect named Clint Hurdle in the middle of the streak. The only other team in that late-season 19-1 Club is John McGraw's 1916 New York Giants.

Creation of the Rockies
After previous failed attempts to bring major league baseball to Colorado, in the early 1990s rhe Colorado Baseball Commission successfullly persuaded Denver voters to approve a 0.1 percent sales tax to help finance a new baseball stadium. The Rockies joined the National League in 1993 along with the Florida Marlins. The Rockies' first pick in the expansion draft was pitcher David Nied from the Atlanta Braves organization. (Nied pitched four seasons for the Rockies.)

The first game in Rockies history was played on April 5, 1993 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. David Nied was the starting pitcher and the Rockies lost, 3-0. The Rockies' first home game at Mile High Stadium, and their first win ever, came four days later in an 11-4 win over the Montreal Expos.

"Rocktober"
The Rockies were behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Aarizona Diamondbacks, and the San Diego Padres for most of the season. By August, however, Colorado showed a steady series of wins while the division-leading Dodgers began to struggle. By September, the Dodgers were eliminated from playoff contention, the Diamondbacks were expected to clinch the National League West division title and the Padres looked like a sure bet for the National League wild card spot. The Diamondbacks eventually clinched the National League West division title, but the Rockies staged one of the greatest comebacks in baseball history. They were a major-league best 20-8 in September, after trailing by six games on September 1st. They won their last 13 of 14 games, including 11 in a row, the most of any team in the 2007 season. It should be noted that Colorado set the single-season major league baseball record for fielding percentage (.98925).

Thus the Rockies finished the regular season tied with the Padres for the wild card spot in the playoffs. The two teams played a regular season play-off game at Coors Field on October 1 to determine the wild card. The game lasted thirteen innings, and although the Padres got two runs off of a Scott Hairston home run in the top of the thirteenth to break a 6-6 tie, the Rockies came back in the bottom of the thirteenth by scoring three runs off of closer Trevor Hoffman to win 9-8.

So the Rockies made the playoffs for the first time since 1995, and then blew the Philadelphia Phillies out of the National League Division Series in three games. The three-game sweep was Colorado's first post-season series win in team history. Next the Rockies swept the National League Championship Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies became the first team ever to sweep both the division series and league championship series in the same postseason. But our Red Sox have stopped the Rockies' win streak, blowing them away in Wednesday's World Series opener, 13-1.

Coors Field: Home of the Rockies
On August 16, 1990, almost a year before baseball awarded Colorado an expansion team, Denver voters approved a 0.1 percent sales tax to fund a baseball-only stadium. The ballpark's total cost was $215 million. Architects originally designed the park to seat 43,800.The park currently seats 50,445 fans. Every year since it opened in 1995, Coors Fields has been a league leader in attendance. The Rocky Mountains can be seen from the first-base and right-field areas. Most of the stadium seats are green. The upper deck's 20th row is painted purple, signifying exactly one mile above sea level.

Coor Field's high altitude has several effects on the game. (See Air too thin? Save your breath/Altitude plays a much different role - It can affect the players). According to an article in the Colorado Springs Gazette, altitude can give local teams an advantage because of what it does to the body, specifically the opponent's body. At a mile high, the oxygen level per breath is about 20 percent lower than at sea level. Heart rates and breathing rates increase to make up the difference, and fatigue sets in more quickly. Over time, bodies can adjust but not fast enough, however, for teams making a quick stop along a road trip. This has a slighter effect on baseball than on basketball, for example, where the players are in constant motion.

The high altitude can also affect the distance a ball travels.The ball travels 9 percent farther at 5,280 feet than at sea level. Therefore, a home run hit 400 feet in sea-level Fenway Park would travel about 440 feet in Denver. However, you should note that the wind can easily play a much greater role than altitude in turning fly balls into home runs. The same 400-foot shot, with a 10-mph wind at the hitter's back, can turn into a 430-foot blast. Another important effect of altitude on baseball is the influence thinner air has on pitching. In general, curve balls will be a little less snappy, and fastballs will get about an extra six inches of giddy-up due to the decrease in resistance the thinner air provides.

Humidor controversy
In 2002, a humidor was installed at Coors Field to store baseballs according to the manufacturer's specifications. It ensures that the balls will not become too dry and too hard and that they do not travel farther than normal. The discovery of the humidor has cast suspicion on the Rockies talent, or lack thereof. Since the installation and discovery of the humidor in Coors Field, runs and high scoring games are less frequent. There were 13.4 runs per game scored at Coors in the year before the humidor's introduction; that number was down by nearly three runs this season. In 2001, there were a major league-high 268 homers hit out of Coors Field. This year, there were 185, which ranked 10th. The Rockies claim they are making sure they are playing with baseballs that meet Major League Baseball's specifications, and are not necessarily trying to prevent opposing teams from hitting homers. You may wish to take a look at Baseball's Expanding Issues for more information.

You may wish to read some of our factual books about baseball, including David Ortiz' s Big Papi: my story of big dreams and big hits. Or take a look at our collection of fiction books about baseball.

Let's root for a good, exciting Series and victory for "our guys". Let's Go Sox!!!

OK, so baseball season is over! It was great; it was exciting, but it's over. What do you do next? I decided to go to a hockey game. As popular as the Patriots are, I am not a football fan! Also, hockey is much more available for watching than football. Who wants to drive to Foxborough when you can go to Manchester, Lowell, Worcester or Boston to see a hockey game. Besides, there is just something about skating!

My love affair with ice skates started with double runners and icy fields when I was very little. When I got older, I practiced figure eights and spins while dodging hockey pucks on our local pond. Every winter the assistant principal had to go out on the ice first. If he didn't fall through, we knew it was safe for everybody! In college, we had to share ice time with the hockey team. I practiced my leaps and spins while trying to ignore the blood frozen into the ice and dodging the deep ruts made by hockey skates. My personal love affair with ice skates ended in college when my head hit the ice instead of my skates. The resulting concussion left me with a profound fear of figure skating!

My interest in hockey continued. I've written about websites for baseball fans, so I went looking for websites for hockey fans. The United States has a Hockey Hall of Fame which has been in existence since 1973. It has pictures of Hall of Fame inductees and information about US Olympic hockey teams. With its location in Eveleth, Minnesota, it's kind of a long drive to visit. Judging from the website, it's not all that exciting either. The Official Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario - another long drive. This Hall of Fame looks like it would be worth the trip! If you can't get there, get to the website!

This is another sports website filled with fun facts, trivia, and statistics. The time capsule will take you back in time to the 60s and 70s. Not only do you get interesting facts, but comparisons as well with present day hockey. Did you know the NHL consisted of 6 teams in 1960 and 30 teams in 2006? Did you know that the average NHL player made $18,000 a year in 1970 and $1.4 million in 2006? The Photo Galleries are not to be missed. In the photo Archives gallery is a section called When I was young. You see a picture of a young hockey player and get a clue to help you identify him. Make a guess, click on the arrow and you get his name and a picture of the way he looks now or at least the way he looked when he last played hockey.

This is a great website for occupying some of these long dark hours now that the time has changed. Spring training is a LONG way away. Plenty of time for hockey!

Nothing brings home mortality like watching little kids performing brilliantly at sports you once dabbled in. Over the weekend, I spent some time at a swim meet, cheering as tiny 8- and 9-year-olds sprinted down the pool. Techniques and rules have changed over the years, so an amazing number of these young swimmers had beautiful, quick strokes that would put an old swimmer to shame. So, naturally, I had to head to the catalog to find a book to fill me in on what's changed. Here are some of the more recent titles on competitive swimming:

Championship swimming : how to improve your technique and swim faster in thirty days or less, by Tracey McFarlane Mirande and Kathlene Bissell ; with photos by Ben Van Horn. Tracey McFarlane Mirande is a former world champion swimmer. Here she provides advice for beginners to advanced swimmers. See 797.21 M.

Swimming fastest, by Ernest W. Maglischo. This is the revised version of Swimming Even Faster, with everything from stroke basics to training strategies. Includes entire chapters on increasing propulsion and reducing resistance. Find it at q797.21 M, in the oversized 700s (after 799 but before 800).

Breakthrough swimming, by Cecil M. Colwin. In addition to stroke instruction, coach Colwin gives the history and development of swimming. Another oversized 700, q797.2109 C.

To inspire the kids (of all ages!), Greg Kehm's Olympic swimming and diving takes a look at swimming in the Olympics, from 1896 to 2004. Find it in the Children's Department at JUV 797.2 K.

Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow on Groundhog Day this year, thus forecasting six more weeks of winter. But how far away can spring possibly be when we read and hear about baseball and spring training in the news? As Bill Veeck once said, "that's the true harbinger of spring, not crocuses or swallows returning to Capistrano, but the sound of a bat on a ball".

Spring training is almost as old as baseball itself. There is some debate about spring training's origin. Some historians claim that it was in 1870 when the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings held organized baseball camps in New Orleans; others say the Washington Capitals pioneered spring training in 1888, holding a four-day camp in Jacksonville. Whatever, spring-training was firmly established as a baseball ritual by 1900 as most American and National League teams began the season in warm weather climates so players could train and managers could evaluate. Such small Florida (Grapefruit League) and Arizona (Cactus League) communities as St. Petersburg. Fort Lauderdale. Tucson. Sarasota and Bradenton were suddenly known across the nation because of the allure provided by major-league baseball. A.M. Gilliam, a writer for the Philadelphia Record in the 1880s, offered $3 a day for briefings from teams training in the south, thus introducing Spring Training to the masses. Teams provided such information as camp activities, scores and players' attitudes. Soon writers began reporting on highly regarded rookies and prospects. There would usually be a veteran claiming he was "rejuvenated". As a MLB owner wrote: "The games you play in the South mean nothing, but the score of even a five-inning practice game will be greedily scanned by enthusiasts here, and will boom your club for the coming season."

Although spring training statistics are often viewed skeptically, teams still frequently use players' spring training performances to assign starting roles and roster spots on the club. You can see a wide variety of talent and experience, from superstars, rookies and cagey veterans to guys barely 19 years old and comeback kids. And contrary to some opinions, most players are not loafing. With the exception of the major stars, most players are either trying to make a major league roster and win a starting job. The players working especially hard are those "on the bubble" between making good major league money or minor league money in Triple-A. According to Joe Connor, this is baseball’s version of the SAT for those "on the bubble". New free agents and the stars themselves also take Spring Training seriously to make sure they are ready for Opening Day given the intense media scrutiny they attract as they are making those big bucks.

Some interesting websites about baseball's spring training are:
Baseball Pages.com's From Cooperstown: A History of Spring Training
Spring Training Online History

MLB.com's Baseball blooms on Valentine's Day

BaseballGuru's Top 10 Myths of Spring Training

Boston Red Sox spring training history: from 1901 to 2003.

The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: Spring Training

And you may wish to borrow some of our library's books about baseball spring training to read, perhaps, on your trip to Florida or Ariizona:
Broadcast rites and sites : I saw it on the radio with the Boston Red Sox by Joe Castiglione with Douglas B. Lyons.

Blackout : the untold story of Jackie Robinson's first spring training by Chris Lamb.

Game time : a baseball companion by Roger Angell

Spring training by William Zinsser.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go Sox!!!!!

I spent the last month stuck at home unable to walk on one foot. A situation like that leaves a lot of time to kill. I killed it watching the television. I'm not a fan of the soap operas or game shows which make up most of daytime TV. I like news so I watched a lot of cable news shows. What I was watching surprised me. I think I probably saw more news about Roger Clemens and his trainer and Bill Belichick and his spy camera than about the war in Iraq and all of the presidential candidates combined.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm somewhat puzzled by the behavior of our elected leaders in Congress. When did Congress give itself permission to become involved in the lives of professional athletes? In Article I, Section 1, of the United States Constitution, the role of Congress is discussed and the statement is made that "the chief function of Congress is the making of laws". Shouldn't Congress be concerning itself with discussing things like national security, the economy, education, Presidential nominations to the Supreme Court - matters that directly impact the well-being of the country and all of those who live here?

I can sort of understand Congress taking an interest in the state of Bill Clinton's marriage. He was the President after all. That could have been covered under the heading of national security, I guess. I googled Congressional Hearings just out of curiosity. I found a discussion of Congressional hearings and their purpose. The only justification that seemed to be offered for these types of hearings was that "hearings may also be purely exploratory in nature, providing testimony and data about topics of current interest". In other words, if something attracts the interest of members of Congress, they can just poke around and justify it as exploratory.

Professional sports have Commissioners and rule making bodies. Shouldn't they be the ones discussing what goes on in professional sports? Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, NBA commissioner David Stern and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman are all scheduled to speak before another Congressional committee some time soon. Wouldn't their time be better spent reviewing their own sports and discussing ways to solve a problem which concerns all professional sports?

Senator Arlen Specter defends the time he spent on Patriots spygate in a newsletter which he publishes regularly. Why is he involved in this matter? It was handled by the NFL commissioner and should perhaps continue to be a matter for the Commissioner and NFL coaches to discuss.

Just so I don't give the wrong impression. I am not in favor of steroid use by professional athletes or of videotaping your opponents so that you can beat them at their own game. For that matter, I'm not in favor of Bill Clinton's shenanigans either. I'm just bothered by the fact that some of the people who were elected to make this a better place for everyone seem to have forgotten why they are in Washington and remembered only that they are sports fans.

Since I am becoming long-winded, if you are interested in learning about steroids and sports, the library has some recent books. The first two are childrens' books which might prove helpful for parents seeking a way to discuss all of this mess with their children!
Steroids by Karla Fitzhuqh
Steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by David Aretha
Juiced : wild times, rampant 'roids, smash hits, and how baseball got big by Jose Canseco
Game of shadows : Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the steroids scandal that rocked professional sports by Mark Fainaru-Wada

Calling all Scrabble fanatics!

A New York Times article last week Online Scrabble Craze Leaves Game Sellers at Loss for Words definitely aroused my curiosity. Having once considered myself an expert Scrabble player, although eventually I did learn otherwise, I am always on the lookout for new players and new strategies. I had played Scrabble on the computer previously, but the games were too dissimilar from the real game. This article, in the Business section of the Times, describes the online game Scrabulous as "a virtual knockoff of the Scrabble board game". Accessible from Facebook, Scrabulous draws over 700,000 players daily and claims nearly three million registered users. The article goes on, however, to describe how the companies that own the rights to Scrabble, Hasbro and Mattel, the two largest toy makers in the world, have denounced Scrabulous as piracy and have threatened legal action against its creators, two brothers from Calcutta, Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla who are the owners of a software development company.

Scrabulous has a board that looks just like Scrabble and the same number of letter tiles with the same point values. Players can send invitations to others on Facebook or search for opponents by posting messages. There is no time limit for moves or games. Scrabulous tracks player statistics, and it does not allow fake words. It cannot, however, prevent players from cheating. Four varieties of the game are offered by Scrabulous:

Just Scrabulous - You can join a game room and play online against any user who agrees to oppose you. You can also play live with friends privately inside the rooms.

Scrabulous Blitz - Players compete against each other in rounds that
last 4 minutes. Whoever gets the highest score before the timer runs out wins.

Email Version - You can play with your friends over emails. You will not need to register and, of course, you do not need to be online at the same time. For those of us with ample time, you can even play many games simultaneously.

Solitaire & Computer - You can play against the "robot" or just practice alone. There are over 10 robot levels and you can even save games.

So if I have whetted your appetite, you may wish to take a look at some websites about Scrabble:

Welcome to WorldWide Scrabble - This is the official site for Scrabble, providing history, trivia, and strategy tips for this board game, plus product information and links to clubs and organizations. Try the Scrabble Word of the Day.

Scrabble Crossword Board Game - Parker Brothers - Take a look at their Scrabble Word Builder and Scrabble Dictionary. You can also access online Boggle and Upwords.

Natiional Scrabble Association - Includes a roster of clubs, upcoming local tournaments, event coverage, and rating lists.

And our library's materials about Scrabble include:

Word wars [videorecording]: tiles and tribulations on the Scrabble game circuit /Discovery Times and Seventh Art Releasing present an E-Wolf production ; produced by Eric Chaikin; directed by Eric Chaikin and Julian Petrillo.

The Official Scrabble players dictionary.

The Oxford guide to word games by Tony Augarde.

The official Scrabble players handbook edited by Drue K. Conklin, Scrabble Crossword Game Players, inc.

Scrabble anyone?

On Wednesday David Letterman's Top Ten List was Top Ten Signs You're Watching Too Much NCAA Basketball. Are you?

"March Madness" at this time of year has nothing to do with Alice in Wonderland and going to the "Big Dance" has nothing to do with a prom date. “March Madness” means only one thing to College Basketball fans, the Annual NCAA Basketball Tournament. When Dr. James Naismith conceived the game of basketball in 1891, he most probably had no idea that basketball would become the phenomenon it is today. The NCAA Basketball Tournament has been an annual event since 1939. The term “March Madness” was originated by the Indiana High School Association for their annual basketball championships. When Chicago-based sports reporter Brent Musberger used the term to describe the NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1982, it became synonymous with the tournament.

How are the 65 teams selected for the tournament? 30 of the teams receive automatic invitations by winning their conference championships. If there are 31 conferences (the number of teams and conferences in Division I can vary from season to season), the champion of the lowest rated conference does not receive an automatic invitation. The remaining 34 teams, named 'at-large' teams, are selected through a quite complex process. The at-large invitations are based on a team's overall record and its RPI (Ratings Percentage Index - see 2008 College Basketball Ratings Percentage Index (RPI)). The selection committee also considers a team's record against top-ranked teams, its record in its last ten games, its record against both conference and non-conference teams, and more. The committee will even take injuries into account. The Opening Round game, (formerly known as the Play-In Game) is the first game of the tournament, played between the two last-seeded (i.e. 64th and 65th) teams. This year the game pitted St. Mary's vs. Coppin State.

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination tournament. Thus we will see, over three weeks, the field dwindling to the "Sweet Sixteen", the "Elite Eight" and then the "Final Four". Finally, the season’s championship game will be played between the winning teams from the Final Four. The championship game will be on Monday, April 7.

For more information about March Madness, you may wish to try such websites as BBC's March Madness Basketball Tournament, the Official Website of the NCAA, the Bracket History of the 64-Team Big Dance (1985-Present) or Doc's Sports History of March Madness. In addition, you can find several books, some with accompanying DVDs at our library:

How march became madness: how the NCAA tournament became the greatest sporting event in America by Eddie Einhorn with Ron Rapoport.

NCAA March madness: Cinderellas, superstars, and champions from the NCAA Men's Final Four with special commentary by John Wooden and Pete Newell.

A march to madness: the view from the floor in the Atlantic Coast Conference by John Feinstein.

Enjoy the games and may your favorite team win (or at least reach the Final Four)!

Not being a New Hampshire native, I'm always trying to find out what there is to do or what is going on. New Hampshire offers TONS of stuff to do in every season, indoors and out. There are places, events, and activities to please everyone. One source available is www.visitnh.gov. This website offers information on when to visit (depending on your favorite season, mine is summer, don't ask me how I survived this past winter!), where to stay and what to do. The site also provides planning resources where you can search for attractions by region and get directions. While this site is great for those visiting the state, those who live in New Hampshire can find the website just as helpful. The library also has great books on things to do in New Hampshire. Check out some of these titles:

Country roads of New Hampshire by Steve Sherman

Foghorn outdoors: New Hampshire hiking

The two blondes restaurant guide to southern New Hampshire, 2003,
updated and expanded edition by Hillary Davis and Blandine Beaulieu

Discover southern New Hampshire: AMC guide to the best hiking, biking,
and paddling by Jerry and Marcy Monkman

New Hampshire wildlife viewing guide by Judith K. Silverberg

New Hampshire: off the beaten path by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers and Stillman Rogers

For more titles search Subject Keyword: New Hampshire guidebooks. For information and guidebooks on surrounding states, you can also do a subject keyword search for Massachusetts guidebooks, Vermont guidebooks and Maine guidebooks.

Please leave comments about your favorite things to do in New Hampshire!

Check out the new craft display case near the elevator on the main floor of the library. Each month the work of a different local crafter will be exhibited. This month, be sure to look at the beautiful jewelry created by Nashua Public Library’s own Lindsey Jackson. Crafters who would like to display their work at the library should contact Bruce Marks at 589-4626 or bruce.marks@nashualibrary.org.

The library has many books for the avid crafter of any age. Here are some of my favorites:

Decorative sewing: embellish anything with applique, beading, cross-stitch, beading and more by Sarah Beaman.

Elegant wire jewelry: contemporary designs & creative techniques by Kathleen Ann Frey

Get creative with polymer clay by Emma Ralph

American Indian crafts kids can do! by Carol Gnojewski

Salt dough fun by Brigitte Casagranda

Summercrafts: fun and creative projects for the whole family by Marjorie Galen