Date: Fri 20-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: JAN

Quick Words:

Library-Juanita-Fisher

Full Text:

Children's Librarian Will Leave With Many Memories

(with photo)

BY JAN HOWARD

Juanita Fisher will have many memories of Newtown and its children to take

with her into retirement.

Mrs Fisher steps down November 24 after 10 years as a library clerk at the

C.H. Booth Library.

"I have so many friends on the library staff, and people I have met through

the library have become long-lasting friends," Mrs Fisher said this week.

Her eyes light up when she speaks about the children she has helped through

the years.

"It is wonderful to see children grow," she said, looking back on 10 years of

watching the town's smaller citizens come and go through the library.

"What I feel I do best is finding good books for young readers, and if I'm

successful, they come back and ask me about another good book. It's very

rewarding," Mrs Fisher said.

Mrs Fisher said 90 percent of her time has been spent in the Children's

Department.

Among her varied duties, Mrs Fisher has checked books in and out, kept the

book shelves in order, and answered myriad questions from young readers.

Mrs Fisher and her husband, Terry, who is a freelance writer, have been

residents of Brookfield for 16 years. They will be moving to their retirement

home in Wells, N.Y. in the Adirondacks during Thanksgiving weekend.

Mrs Fisher plans an active retirement.

"I hope to help out in the schools and at church," she said. "I want to learn

how to play the dulcimer and to quilt."

She also looks forward to learning how to swim, something she has always

wanted to do, enjoying hikes on nature trails near her retirement home, and

looking at the mountains.

As she leaves her post at the library, Mrs Fisher notes, with concern, a

reduced interest in reading by young boys.

"Boy readers have fallen off. They have always been my favorite group I read

for, so I could personally know how a book was and could tell them about it,"

she said.

"Girls still read. They have the American Girl Series and the Baby Sitters

Club. A great many books are written for girls," Mrs Fisher said.

"In 10 years, videos and TV have made the reading time slot so much less and,

with all the things boys do, reading has fallen off," she noted.

"Reading is a lifetime friend," Mrs Fisher said. "If they don't get better in

reading, they won't do well in school."

She said she believes children are given a good start during their pre-school

years. Parents read to them, and they develop an interest in books. However,

Mrs Fisher says these reading sessions often become fewer after the children

are about seven years old and become involved in other things.

She urges parents to continue to read to their children and to learn what

books they like. Boys often like to read humorous books, she noted.

"They go from scary to funny to adventure," she said.

To augment parental reading, Mrs Fisher suggested books with tapes so children

can read along as they listen to the tape.

Mrs Fisher believes children should spend more time reading and less time on

the computer.

She also laments the more structured lifestyles of many children today.

"Many children don't know what it's like to just play outside or to play games

that have been played by children over the years," Mrs Fisher said. "Children

are exposed to so many things," she said. "It's too big an exposure."

Mrs Fisher's co-workers feted her recently with gifts and breakfast at My

Place.