At the Library: A new face at the library

Stop by the library on a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday during July and August and chances are you’ll meet Lisa Kaasik, the library’s summer intern.  Lisa is an honors student and rising junior at Shelter Island High School and one of a long line of students who the library has been privileged to have as summer help, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor.

Lisa is part of the theatrically talented Kaasik family, who has not only participated in a playwriting program at Stony Brook called YAWP (Young American Writers Program), but had her play chosen twice to be performed. She has also been a member and performer of the Shelter Island Drama Club since sixth grade.

Her talents and interests are not limited to the stage, however. She is also a Girl Scout, a Youth Group leader, an MVP on the tennis team, a class officer and an all-around extraordinary young woman. Her duties at the library this summer will include assisting the staff with all facets of the Summer Reading Club, helping with various youth and children’s programs, as well as handling the more quotidian but critical tasks like shelving books and helping to prepare for events. She found the job at the library’s first annual summer job fair that was held in May.

Library Director Denise DiPaolo is thrilled to have Lisa join the staff. “Our summers are jam-packed with so many programs and activities it is wonderful to have an extra pair of hands, especially when they are attached to someone as energetic  as Lisa!” Ms. DiPaolo, who was the youth services librarian at Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton before coming to Shelter Island, has actively recruited applications for this job among the Island’s teens and is pleased with how interest in this summer position has grown during her time here. “We are so lucky to have a donor underwrite this position because without it, the library would not be able to afford to hire a summer helper. It’s a win-win for everyone. The student gets terrific job experience and the library gets a wonderful employee.”

This program has been in place since 2004 with the express intention of providing a meaningful summer job experience for a Shelter Island teen.  Students recap their experiences and what they learned at the end of each summer in a letter that is forwarded to the donor. Ms. DiPaolo is particularly proud of the fact that last year’s intern, Margaret Hildreth, so enjoyed her work at the library that she is considering pursuing a career in library science when she goes off to college this fall at SUNY Fredonia.

So stop by this summer and say hello to Lisa while you’re enjoying the many programs, events and resources the library has to offer. See you at the library!

New fiction

“Already Home,” Susan Mallery
“Big Girl Small,” Rachel DeWoskin
“Blood Trust,” Eric Van Lustbader
“Bloodmoney,” David Ignatius
“Born of Shadows,” Sherrilyn Kenyon
“The Devil She Knows,” Bill Loehfelm
“Dreams of Joy,” Lisa See*
“Faith,” Jennifer Haigh
“The Final Storm,” Jeff Shaara
“The Jefferson Key,” Steve Berry*
“The Katyn Order,” Douglas W. Jacobson
“Vaclav & Lena,” Haley Tanner
“A Clash of Kings,” George R. R. Martin
“A Game of Thrones,” George R. R. Martin
“A Storm of Swords,” George R. R. Martin
“Dead Reckoning,” Charlaine Harris*
“A Drop of the Hard Stuff,” Lawrence Block
“Myth Man,” Alex Mueck
“The Priest’s Graveyard,” Ted Dekker
“Quicksilver,” Amanda Quick
“The Snowman,” Jo Nesbo
“The Silver Boat,” Luanne Rice (large print)
“Sixkill,” Robert B. Parker (large print)
“Southern Comfort,” Fern Michaels (also in large print)

Audio fiction

“10th Anniversary,” James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
“Bel-Air Dead,” Stuart Woods (also in large print)
“The Sixth Man,” David Baldacci
“Chasing Fire,” Nora Roberts
“Frindle,” Andrew Clements
“Throne of Fire,” Rick Riordan
“The Giver,” Lois Lowry

New non-fiction

“An Accidental Sportswriter,” Robert Lipsyte (local author)
“In the Garden of Beasts,” Erik Larson*
“My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business,” Dick Van Dyke
“The Paper Garden,” Molly Peacock
“A Singular Woman,” Janny Scott
“Through My Eyes,” Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker*
“The Wizard of Lies,” Diana B. Henriques
“Eva’s Kitchen,” Eva Longoria with Marah Stets
“Government’s Place in the Market,” Eliot Spitzer
“The Greater Journey,” David McCullough*
“Grow the Tree You Got,” Tom Sturges
“Knitting Block by Block,” Nicky Epstein
“The Man in the Rockefeller Suit,” Mark Seal
“The Guru in You,” Cameron Alborzian
“On China,” Henry Kissinger
“The Origins of Political Order,” Francis Fukuyama
“To End All Wars,” Adam Hochschild
“What’s Eating Your Child?” Kelly Dorfman
“What’s Gotten Into Us?” McKay Jenkins

*New York Times best seller