One of the most underutilized resources at Medford Leas is the Lois Forest Nature Center Library. The library maintains a collection of how-to and reference materials about horticulture and nature. There are books on garden design, how to grow house plants and orchids, managing plant pests, tree identification, pruning techniques, gardening with native plants and a nice selection on the ecology and plants and fauna of the New Jersey Pinelands and Coast. The largest collection by far is on birds, their identification and behaviors.
Recent additions to the library address the critical issues of climate change and our planet’s rapidly declining biodiversity. Books such as Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West and Garden Revolution by Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher provide guidance on making our landscapes a source of environmental change.
A number of the books in the collection have been donated by residents or their estates; these are identified with a plate in the front pages of the book. Acquisitions are also made with funds provided by the Residents’ Activities Fund of the Medford Leas Residence Association.
The library is catalogued as part of the Medford Leas library system and is managed by Rushmore resident Bill Brown (Apt. 644). Most of the collection can be borrowed by Medford Leas residents and staff in the same way one borrows from the Large Print and Main Libraries on campus. Just fill out the card in the back of the book, leave it in the space provided and please remember to return the book in a timely manner.
A recent feature of the library is a seed exchange. On a wall between the library and the greenhouse, is a hanging pocket file filled with seeds of all kinds—primarily vegetables and annual flowers, but occasionally the seeds of perennials as well. You are welcome to take what you need, and if you have unwanted seeds, just add them to the exchange.
— Judy Austermiller