Every year I try to come up with a meaningful quote on friendship when the Friends of the Library conduct their membership drive. Here it is: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13). The Friends of the Library don’t want you to lay down your life for them, but they would like you to join them in supporting the library. The Friends do nice things for us like providing financial assistance in purchasing books, furniture, computers, etc. They also help with children’s programming by sponsoring puppet shows or musical performances.The Friends organize the annual book sale in September where the community can donate their used books and purchase other used books. Proceeds always go to the library or to a special reading program in the community. Stop by the library this week (or any time) and sign up to be a member of this valuable organization. Membership fees are $10 for individual, $15 for a family, and $25 for a business or organization. Next week is National Library Week, April 2-8. We will be giving out book bags and, more important, refrigerator magnets with our hours and phone number. This way you won’t have to spend 45 minutes trying to locate us in the phone book. New on the shelf this week is "The Tenth Circle" by Jodi Picoult. Trixie Stone is 14 years old and in love for the first time. She's also the light of her father's life — a straight-A student; a freshman in high school who is pretty and popular; a girl who's always looked at her father as a hero. Then her world is turned upside down with a single act of violence. For 15 years, Daniel Stone has been an even-tempered, mild-mannered man: a stay-at-home dad to Trixie and a husband who has put his own career as a comic book artist behind that of his wife, Laura, who teaches Dante's Inferno at a local college. But years ago, he was completely different: growing up as the only white boy in an Eskimo village, he was teased mercilessly for the color of his skin. He learned to fight back: stealing, drinking, robbing, and cheating his way out of the Alaskan bush. He reinvented himself, channeling his rage onto the page and burying his past completely. Now, Daniel, a man with a history he has hidden even from his family, will venture to hell and back in order to protect his daughter. (Also available on CD.) "Circle of Quilters" by Jennifer Chiaverini. Elm Creek Quilts, the thriving artists' retreat at Elm Creek Manor, is a place that stakes its sterling reputation on the creative energy and collective goodwill of its teachers and students. When two of its founding members decide to leave the fold, the Elm Creek Quilters face untold changes in their personal lives and in their business. As the news spreads, a single question emerges: Who can possibly take their place? Quilters everywhere are vying to land the prestigious post. Among the candidates are Maggie, whose love of history shines through in all her projects; Russ, the male quilter whose path-breaking style could lend Elm Creek Quilts an intriguing aesthetic departure; and Karen, a novice teacher whose gift for language complements her deep understanding of the quilters' mission. In the course careful deliberations, cherished memories resurface and inspiring visions for the future take shape. Only by understanding the meaning of their own labors can they select the ones who have earned a place among the circle of quilters. (Also available on cassette.)