Williamson County Public Library System Closed Due to Inclement Weather on January 6, 2022

The Williamson County Public Library System is closed January 6, 2022.

All Branches are closed. 

Material due dates will be adjusted. Please do not risk harm to yourself trying to return materials. No late fees will be charged for materials that were due on January 6, 2022.

Visit our eLibrary for online materials and more to enjoy on a cold, wintry day: https://www.wcpltn.org/232/eLibrary-Books-and-More.

If you need assistance with online access, please message us on Facebook or Twitter or send an email to our Reference Account, reference.library@williamsoncounty-tn.gov. We will respond as soon as we can.

The Williamson County Emergency Management Agency has facilities closings, vaccine and testing information, and more information on their Facebook page, Twitter account, @WCTNEMA and their website at http://williamsonready.org.

The Middle Tennessee Electric power outage map can be found at: https://www.mtemc.com/ServiceConcerns.

Mayor, Rogers Anderson announces the closing of all Williamson County Offices

Williamson County Mayor, Rogers Anderson has announced the closing of all Williamson County Government Offices under his jurisdiction due to weather conditions today.

Additionally, the Register of Deeds, County Clerk, Trustee, Property Assessor, Juvenile Court Clerk, Circuit Court Clerk and Clerk and Master have announced closing.

There will be no Juvenile Court, General Sessions Court or Circuit Court today.

Diane Giddens, Chief of Staff

Williamson County Mayor’s Office

The Main Library Parking Lot is Covered with Snow and Ice

February 19, 2021

The Adult Services Manager ventured out with her husband to check the Library parking lot. Grandbury was covered with ice and snow at both entrances to the parking lot. The island curbs, speed bumps, and sidewalk were completely covered. Some vehicles had been by to return materials in the book drop. Judging from the tire tracks, more than one vehicle had driven over the first grass island curb at the end of the second aisle of parking spaces!

No materials are due and no late fees are being assessed for Sunday-Friday. Please be safe and do not risk harm to yourselves or your vehicles. We appreciate the efforts but we can wait for it to be safe.

Take care and stay warm!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow . . .

By Stacy Parish, Children’s Department

What can you think of that is better than hearing a mellifluous voice (if you have children attending Williamson County Schools, that voice belongs to none other than the fabulous Carol Birdsong, WCS Communications Director, who may well be the most beloved woman in this county) leave a message on your machine, informing you that there will be no school?  The answer is:  not much, if you are a student or a teacher, and you have just learned that you get an unscheduled little break from your school day routine.  Maybe not so much if you still have to go to work and/or find someone to watch your kids.   Of course, you don’t have to wait for actual inclement weather to hit before reading some delightful books about snow.  Here is a list, in my usual no-particular-order style to get you started.

From the inside jacket flap of The Snowy Day (J E Keats) by Ezra Jack Keats:  “No book has captured the magic and sense of possibility of the first snowfall better than The Snowy Day, winner of the (1962) Caldecott Medal.  Universal in its appeal, the story has become a favorite of millions, as it reveals a child’s wonder at a new world, and the hope of capturing and keeping that wonder forever.”  Darling Reader, I fully agree.  This sweet, whimsically-illustrated story is indisputably a classic. 

Nobody thinks that a few flakes will amount to anything—not the Man With the Hat, the Lady With the Umbrella, not even the weather forecasters on the radio and television.  But one boy and his little dog believe that it will stack up into a spectacular snowfall, and they are the only ones who know how to truly enjoy the experience in Uri Shulevitz’s Snow (J E Shulevitz).  It is a beautiful depiction of the transformation of a city by snowfall, richly rendered in watercolor and pen-and-ink.

Darling Reader, Matthew Cordell’s Wolf In The Snow (J E Cordell) nearly brings me to tears every time I read it.  The story is essentially wordless, save for a few barks and howls, but the metaphor of trust and friendship between a little girl and a wolf pup who find themselves lost in the same blizzard shines through via the beautiful illustrations, without the need for words.

Lois Ehlert’s Snowballs (J E Ehlert) is in her signature collage style, and details the anticipation of a perfect snowball day for which the narrator has been saving “good stuff in a sack” in order to create an awesome Snow Family in their yard.  Alas, just like a good book, snow creations don’t last forever.

Another Caldecott Medal winner makes an appearance on my personal list of snow day favorites:  Owl Moon (J E Yolen) by Jane Yolen.  Beautiful prose and intricate illustrations by John Schoenherr, including many not-so-hidden critters combine to make this book a timeless classic.  Yolen said in an interview that Owl Moon was a particular pleasure for her to create, as her beloved late husband David Stemple frequently took their three children owling on winter nights near their rural Massachusetts home “with the same anticipation and excitement as the characters in the story.”

As is often the way of things, I’ve saved my favorite for last.  I have loved Frederick (J E Lionni) by Leo Lionni from the very first time I read it in 1976, when I was a precocious little bookworm of a first grader.  At first glance, it appears that Frederick is totally slacking off while the other little mice hustle to prepare for the coming winter (for you Game Of Thrones enthusiasts: Winter Is Coming.)  However, Frederick was working in his own inimitable way, gathering sun rays, colors, and words, with which to feed the spirits of his family members during those cold, dark winter days and nights.

So, there you have it, Darling Reader.  May your holiday season and your new year be filled with love, laughter, friendship, happiness, and family . . . and with good books.

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As always, the opinions and viewpoints expressed in this blog belong to the author alone, and are in no way representative of WCPL employees, their family, or their pet mice.  Blessings upon you all, Darling Readers.