I know you are all sitting on the edge of your chairs waiting to find out who has been named "Library Patron of the Year." As you may know, this distinction is awarded to a patron who has demonstrated an unselfish dedication to making the library a better place for all citizens. Well, the wait is over. Library Patron of the Year for 2003 is awarded to Karen Martens! She has graciously assisted librarians in organizing the newspaper rack. On occasion she has generously donated her time in arranging the videos that less-considerate library patrons have left in disarray. She has supported the library financially by promptly paying her overdue fines. And most important, she uses the library on a regular basis. Under normal circumstances there is no prize awarded for this coveted mark of distinction. The honor of being named "Library Patron of the Year" should be reward enough. However, this year we are starting a new tradition. Any individual who is deemed worthy by the library staff to receive this sought-after tribute shall heretofore be bestowed with a $10 Library Overdue-Fines Gift Card. It works this way. If you return five books three days late, you get charged $.10 per day per book. So, you owe the library a penalty fee of $1.50. If you are fortunate enough to have a Library Overdue-Fines Gift Card, you present it to the librarian and she will clear your personal library card of the $1.50 and make a notation on the Fine Gift Card that you now have $8.50 left to fritter away on late book fees. I know everyone will want a Library Overdue-Fines Gift Card, but just remember, you have to earn it. We will not tolerate any attempt at bribery. You may be too busy to read right before Christmas, but make note of this new book by Colleen McCullough (author of the "Thornbirds") "The Touch." Alexander Kinross, remembered in his native Scotland as a shiftless boilermaker's apprentice and a godless rebel. But when, years later, he writes from Australia to summon his bride, his Scottish relatives quickly realize that he has made a fortune in the gold fields and is now a man to be reckoned with. Arriving in Sydney after a difficult voyage, the 16-year-old Elizabeth Drummond meets her husband-to-be and discovers to her dismay that he frightens and repels her. Offered no choice, she marries him and is whisked at once across a wild, uninhabited countryside to Alexander's own town, named Kinross, after himself. In the crags above it lies the world's richest gold mine. Isolated in Alexander's great house, with no company save Chinese servants, Elizabeth has no idea that he still has a mistress, the tough, outspoken Ruby Costevan, nor that he has also made Ruby a partner in his company. Ruby has a son, Lee, who becomes dear to Alexander, and fosters his education as a gentleman. Captured by the very different natures of Elizabeth and Ruby, Alexander resolves to have both of them. Although Ruby loves Alexander desperately, Elizabeth does not. Elizabeth bears him two daughters: the brilliant Nell, so much like her father; and the beautiful, haunting Anna, who causes her father a torment from which he cannot escape. Thwarted in his desire for a son, Alexander turns to Ruby's boy as a possible heir to his empire, unaware that he is courting disaster. Alert: The library will be closing on Wednesday, Dec. 24, at 1 p.m. and will be closed on Christmas Day.
