We had 41 people attending Monterey's first poetry slam, and 13 poets. The poets ranged from ages 11 and up, and one of the 11 year olds was one of the top five! Vanessa Vargas' emceeing kept everyone's enthusiasm at a high pitch for almost two and a half hours. In a very close finish JoAnna Spies came in first, Kit Patten second, and Kent Godfrey took third. All are planning on attending the next round at the Eric Carle Museum. Some of our poets are already writing for the next WMRLS Slam, which can't come soon enough!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Monterey Library Poetry Slam
We had 41 people attending Monterey's first poetry slam, and 13 poets. The poets ranged from ages 11 and up, and one of the 11 year olds was one of the top five! Vanessa Vargas' emceeing kept everyone's enthusiasm at a high pitch for almost two and a half hours. In a very close finish JoAnna Spies came in first, Kit Patten second, and Kent Godfrey took third. All are planning on attending the next round at the Eric Carle Museum. Some of our poets are already writing for the next WMRLS Slam, which can't come soon enough!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Author Night at the East Longmeadow Public Library
The East Longmeadow Public Library has invited four local authors of young adult fiction to participate in a book discussion and book signing. This event will take place on Wednesday, May 28th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. in the library’s Community Room. The four authors are M.P. Barker - A Difficult Boy, Michelle Kwasney - Baby Blue, Judith Jaeger - The Secret Thief and D. Dina Friedman - Escaping into the Night. These authors reside in central and western Massachusetts and all have recently been published. Please join us for a fun and informative evening and get your books signed! Brief summaries of their books are given below.
If you are a fan of historical fiction A Difficult Boy written by M.P. Barker and Dina Friedman’s Escaping into the Night will interest you. A Difficult Boy is about two young boys growing up in Farmington, Massachusetts in the year 1839. Ethan and Daniel are indentured servants who suffer cruelty and hardship as they struggle to survive working for the wealthy Lyman family. The bond that forms between the two boys gives them strength as they struggle to right a terrible wrong.
Escaping into the Night is the story of Halina Rudowski who escapes from the Polish ghetto just as it is being evacuated by the Germans during World War II. Her struggle to survive tells the story of the underground forest encampments that saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.
If “real life” fiction is more to your liking then you will definitely want to check out Baby Blue by Michelle Kwasney. Blue’s life is falling apart. Her father drowned in the river, her new step father is violent and abusive towards her mother and her beloved older sister, Star, has run away. Blue is determined to put her family back together by finding her sister and getting help for her mother before it is too late. Michelle Kwasney’s latest book, Itch, was just released last month.
In Secret Thief by Judith Jaeger, Connie Grey strives to be the perfect student, athlete and daughter to a psychologically troubled mother. By the time she graduates from college she has a chronic ulcer and has become a kleptomaniac or “secret thief”. While spending the summer with her grandmother, Connie uncovers family secrets that help her to face the truth about her mother and her past.
We are hoping for a great turnout to support our local authors. Please call the Information Desk at (413) 525-5400, x158 to register. This program is free and open to adults and teens. The East Longmeadow Library is handicapped accessible.
If you are a fan of historical fiction A Difficult Boy written by M.P. Barker and Dina Friedman’s Escaping into the Night will interest you. A Difficult Boy is about two young boys growing up in Farmington, Massachusetts in the year 1839. Ethan and Daniel are indentured servants who suffer cruelty and hardship as they struggle to survive working for the wealthy Lyman family. The bond that forms between the two boys gives them strength as they struggle to right a terrible wrong.
Escaping into the Night is the story of Halina Rudowski who escapes from the Polish ghetto just as it is being evacuated by the Germans during World War II. Her struggle to survive tells the story of the underground forest encampments that saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.
If “real life” fiction is more to your liking then you will definitely want to check out Baby Blue by Michelle Kwasney. Blue’s life is falling apart. Her father drowned in the river, her new step father is violent and abusive towards her mother and her beloved older sister, Star, has run away. Blue is determined to put her family back together by finding her sister and getting help for her mother before it is too late. Michelle Kwasney’s latest book, Itch, was just released last month.
In Secret Thief by Judith Jaeger, Connie Grey strives to be the perfect student, athlete and daughter to a psychologically troubled mother. By the time she graduates from college she has a chronic ulcer and has become a kleptomaniac or “secret thief”. While spending the summer with her grandmother, Connie uncovers family secrets that help her to face the truth about her mother and her past.
We are hoping for a great turnout to support our local authors. Please call the Information Desk at (413) 525-5400, x158 to register. This program is free and open to adults and teens. The East Longmeadow Library is handicapped accessible.
The Library at Springfield Technical Community College invites you to join us for an exclusive screening of Ann Seidl's original film 'The Hollywood Librarian: A look at Librarians Through Film' on Thursday June 26, 2008. The 95 minute documentary triumphantly premiered at the 2007 American Library Associations Annual Convention in Washington D.C. and continued to garner appreciation and acclaim throughout it's national release (to selected libraries) during National Banned Book Week (9/29 - 10/06/07).
It is our pleasure and honor to host an evening celebrating all of the smart, funny, dedicated librarians in the film and in our own communities.
Showtime - 7:00 p.m. Scibelli Hall Theatre/Building 2
RSVP by June 23, 2008
Light refreshments
Ample, free, and safe parking
Suggested donations of $3.00 - $5.00 appreciated
For further information about the film, please visit http://www.hollywoodlibrarian.com
For all other inquiries or responses please contact Kim Noel at knoel@stcc.edu, visit our website at http://library.stcc.edu, or call 413-755-4564.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Database presentations at Forbes Library: NoveList & ReferenceUSA
Hi all: Forbes Library in Northampton is having two database presentations of interest to librarians, so we're inviting you to join us if you wish. Both events should take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, the NoveList/readers advisory one maybe a bit longer.
The first, on Tuesday June 3rd at 1:30, will be on ReferenceUSA, the business information/white pages database which incorporates company information from many sources including annual reports, periodicals, and Census data, as well as yellow & white page listings. It's a great resource for small businesses, marketing, and job hunting, not to mention just locating companies and their contact information.
The second, on Tuesday June 17th at 1:30, will start with an overview of online reader's advisory tools linked in the Forbes website http://www.forbeslibrary.org/research/index.php?n=Books.Books, including outside links and our own reading lists. It then features a demonstration of the new NoveList interface & content, by EBSCO trainer Pamela Erickson -- something that is of particular interest to public service librarians. Since there has been some concern about the new version of NoveList, this is a good chance to hear from, and ask questions of, one of EBSCO's NoveList trainers.
Since both events are part of our regular public training series, we do ask that librarians who think they may attend RSVP to: rhart@forbeslibrary.org , or call 413-587-1012 -- RSVP not needed, but it will help us plan. Light refreshments will be served. If you would like a free parking pass for our lot (which is metered), we can provide one, and can send it via the delivery system if you give us enough time.
Hope to see some of you there! -- Rick Hart (Reference)
The first, on Tuesday June 3rd at 1:30, will be on ReferenceUSA, the business information/white pages database which incorporates company information from many sources including annual reports, periodicals, and Census data, as well as yellow & white page listings. It's a great resource for small businesses, marketing, and job hunting, not to mention just locating companies and their contact information.
The second, on Tuesday June 17th at 1:30, will start with an overview of online reader's advisory tools linked in the Forbes website http://www.forbeslibrary.org/research/index.php?n=Books.Books, including outside links and our own reading lists. It then features a demonstration of the new NoveList interface & content, by EBSCO trainer Pamela Erickson -- something that is of particular interest to public service librarians. Since there has been some concern about the new version of NoveList, this is a good chance to hear from, and ask questions of, one of EBSCO's NoveList trainers.
Since both events are part of our regular public training series, we do ask that librarians who think they may attend RSVP to: rhart@forbeslibrary.org , or call 413-587-1012 -- RSVP not needed, but it will help us plan. Light refreshments will be served. If you would like a free parking pass for our lot (which is metered), we can provide one, and can send it via the delivery system if you give us enough time.
Hope to see some of you there! -- Rick Hart (Reference)
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
MLA Annual Conference Blog
Keep your eyes on the Massachusetts Library Association's (MLA) Annual Conference Blog. In the next few days, librarian bloggers will be sharing their unique conference experiences on this informative website.
