Library News

A child posing next to the new sensory/manipulative toys in the Youth department.
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Learn about the Friends of Cromaine, and the Incredible Impact They Make on Our Library and In Our Community!

The Friends of Cromaine formed in 1976 to serve the Library and the Hartland community through fundraising and volunteerism. Learn about the many projects that the Friends have taken on over the years, the tremendous impact they've had on our Library, and how easy it is to get involved!
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Brian standing in front of his World of Pollination presentation.
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Exploring World Pollinators with Bees in the D!

Last week, the Hartland Home and Garden Club hosted local non-profit, Bees in the D, in the Community Room to discuss pollinators of the world! Learn about Bees in the D, explore amazing pollinators around the world, and learn how we can all do our part to protect our local pollinators.
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Erik making HUGE muscles in front of two Gleaners boxes, with canned and boxed food alongside.
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Join In the Fun! March Matchness Food & Fund Drive

Get ready to have fun and make an amazing local impact with this year's MARCH MATCHNESS food drive competition, running from March 9-27!
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New at Cromaine

Book cover for "The Other Side of Change"

The Other Side of Change

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, AS FEATURED ON NBC TODAY SHOW, CBS MORNINGS, ON PURPOSE WITH JAY SHETTY, AND MORE!

"A rare combination of beautiful storytelling, cognitive science, and wholehearted wisdom. —Brené Brown

A revelatory exploration of how we can find meaning in the tumult of change, from a renowned cognitive scientist and host of the critically acclaimed podcast A Slight Change of Plans

Life has a way of thwarting our best-laid plans. Out of nowhere, we’re confronting the end of a relationship, an unexpected diagnosis, the loss of a job, or some other twist of fate. In these moments, it can feel like we’re free-falling into the unknown.

As a cognitive scientist, Maya Shankar has spent decades studying the human mind. When an unwanted change in her own life left her reeling, she sought out people who had navigated major disruptions. In The Other Side of Change, Shankar tells their riveting, singular stories and weaves in scientific insights to illuminate universal lessons hidden within them. The result is a rich portrait of our complex reactions to change and a deep well of wisdom we can draw from during these experiences.

Shankar invites us to rethink our relationship with change altogether. When a big change happens to us, it can lead to profound change within us. The unique stresses and demands of being thrust into a new reality can lead us to uncover new abilities, perspectives, and values, transforming us in extraordinary ways. What if we saw moments of upheaval as an opportunity to reimagine who we can be, rather than as something to just endure? What potential could we unlock within ourselves?

Whether you're processing a past change, grappling with a present one, or bracing for a future one, this book is a wise and thought-provoking companion to help you discover who you can become on the other side of change.

Book club for "The Price of Mercy"

The Price of Mercy

A former public defender takes us behind the closed doors of America's criminal courts, revealing how the institutions that claim to protect us are doing the exact opposite—and offering a blueprint for finally fixing it.

“A searing, compassionate, and utterly necessary book that pulls back the curtain with the clarity of a lawyer and the heart of someone who’s seen the criminal legal system’s devastating consequences up close.”—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow

As Americans, we are told a rose-tinted story about our criminal courts—that these are the hallowed halls of justice, that the purpose of our legal process is to find the truth, and that those who enforce the law are both equitable and heroic. But what if the reality is purposefully obscured to hide something rotten at the system’s core?

In The Price of Mercy, attorney and former public defender Emily Galvin Almanza weaves hard data and unforgettable stories, dark humor and compelling evidence to tell us the truth about what’s really going on behind the closed doors of America’s criminal courts. She shows us how jails actually increase future crime, the dirty tricks police use to make millions in overtime pay, how a man could spend decades in prison because scientists mistook dog hair for his own, the perverse incentives that push prosecutors to seek convictions even when they themselves don’t want to, and how judges may decide cases differently after lunch.

We’ll learn what’s working, too: how public defenders can improve public health and even economic mobility, and how planting more trees can reduce a neighborhood’s murder rates. But a lone defender winning a case won’t change the system. Galvin Almanza argues that we need an engaged public to confront the stark reality of our crime-generating, poverty-entrenching, health-destroying legal apparatus and rebuild it into something that can save our collective present and prevent our future from being torn apart.

Provocative and eye-opening, The Price of Mercy lifts the curtain on the way our laws really operate and presents a path forward for true transformation of the American criminal court system. Justice, and the law itself, is not some static thing. It is something enacted together, decision by decision, in acts of inhumanity or mercy.

The Atlas of World Embroidery book cover.

The Atlas of World Embroidery

A richly illustrated history of embroidery and needlework, showcasing the glorious range of styles, motifs, and materials used around the world

Embroidery is one of the world’s most widely shared forms of creative expression—and one of its most varied and diverse. It can be found in every region, yet its visual languages, themes, and techniques vary greatly: some are marked by unique styles and others show influences from neighboring cultures. The Atlas of World Embroidery examines many distinctive embroidery styles and traditions found across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia.

From the quillwork and birch boxes of Indigenous North America to the decorative matyo style of Hungary, the zardozi embroiderers of India, and the satin stitches of Han Dynasty China, Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood provides a comprehensive history of embroidery, describing its materials and tools, its designs and symbols, and its uses and makers. Emphasizing the visual aspects of embroidery across cultures, the atlas features an unprecedented array of color images celebrating the art form.

Organized geographically by region and country, and focusing on hand needlework with relevant examples of machine forms, The Atlas of World Embroidery is a beautiful and authoritative exploration of this ancient craft.
 

  • Lavishly illustrated throughout in full color with more than 300 images
  • Features full and close-up images of embroidered fabrics, including household items and clothing, along with insightful analysis
  • Includes sections on the Americas; Europe; Sub-Saharan Africa; the Arabic World; Turkey, the Iranian Plateau, and Central Asia; the Indian Subcontinent; East Asia; and Southeast Asia and Australasia—with subsections on individual countries, cultures, and kinds of embroidery
  • Contains a directory of design motifs depicting patterns from around the world