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Greenfield hosts a Twilight party!

Calling all fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight

series.

Fans of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series are invited to the Greenfield Public Library on Friday, September 26 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm for a Twilight Party. We will play Twilight trivia, watch the trailer for the upcoming movie, and view some fan-based YouTube videos about the books. Come prepared to talk about your favorite characters and whether you think Bella should be with Edward or Jacob.

This event is free and open to the public. If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Lisa Prolman at 772-1544 ext. 108.

Arthur Visits the Springfield City Library

On August 9, the Children's Room had a visit from one of our favorite book characters, Arthur. One of our library volunteers, dressed courtesy of Barnes & Noble, posed for pictures and listened to stories. Arthur paper bag puppets were crafted and although Arthur was speechless, he still had a good time.

~ Linda Lajoie, Supervisor, Children's Room, Springfield City Library

A WILD Summer at the Southwick Public Library

Southwick Public Library's Wild Reads at your library Summer Reading Program culminated with a visit from Rainforest Reptiles' Michael Ralbovsky, who presented "Alligators and Crocodiles" on July 31 to a crowd of over 200 people. We met creatures that were small enough to fit in his pocket, and then a rare Chinese alligator that measured at least two feet in length. Mike is a herpetologist and the general curator for Rainforest Reptile Shows, who often provide animals to "Animal Planet", and was expert in sharing information about these amazing animals, emphasizing that although they may seem to be good prospective pets when they are small, they are wild animals to be respected in their natural habitats. The highlight of this interactive presentation was when any member of the audience could hold or pat the Chinese alligator.

This exciting special program, one of fifteen offered by the library this summer, marked the end of a successful summer reading program at Southwick Public Library which saw a 75% increase in adult participation as well as a steady participation by children and young adults.

~ Margo Storozuk, Children's Librarian, Southwick Public Library

Be sure to visit the WMRLS READS! website for more information on children, teen, and adult summer reading programs.

Staffing Changes at Springfield College's Babson Library

David A. McMahon is our new Patron Services Specialist and student supervisor. He comes to us from Yale University where he staffed the Information Desk at the Social Science Library. In addition to his Access Services background, he has experience with book preservation, reference, cataloging and most other aspects of library work.

Jeffrey Monseau is our new College Archivist. Jeffrey is a recent graduate of the Simmons College Graduate School of Library Science with a concentration in Archives Management. Over the past year and a half he has worked on a number for a number of archival programs and projects, including the Central Massachusetts Regional Library Service as the “Circuit Rider” Cataloger/Archivist, helping in the preservation, preparation and presentation of digital images for Digital Treasures, an innovative, collaborative digital collection for Central and Western Massachusetts; Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Theo Brown diary project, a project to digitize and provide access and connections to over sixty years of journals, images and engineering designs; and Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, creating images and designing projects for their Digital Collections. He is kept in line and sane by his very inventive, energetic, and inquisitive young son, Satchel (as in baseball great Satchel Paige), who brightens his humble home in Northampton, Massachusetts.

~ Diane Walsh Patron, Services Specialist, Babson Library-Springfield College

FIFTH ANNUAL CHIBICONN FILM FESTIVAL AT LIBRARY

Headlined by special guest manga author, Japanese animation, and contests!

The Springfield City Library is hosting a weekend long anime festival, Chibiconn V, on September 27 and 28 at the Central Library, 220 State Street, in the Community Room. Saturday will feature an anime film festival from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Films to be screened are:
Astro Boy (for all ages)
Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars (recommended for ages 7 and up)
Michel (recommended for ages 12 and up)
Kare Kano (recommended for ages 13 and up)
Glass Fleet (recommended for 13 and up)
Emma: A Victorian Romance (recommended for 13 and up)
Ghost Stories (recommended for 15 and up)

Sunday’s events will run from 12 to 5 p.m. The day will feature a visit from manga author and artist Bettina M. Kurkoski, creator of My Cat Loki (TokyoPop, 2006). Kurkoski’s presentation will include creating manga, getting it published, and answering audience questions. Entries in the anime art contest will go on display and be judged on Sunday as well. See the festival’s website (www.springfieldlibrary.org/chibiconn.html) for full contest details. Attendees are welcome to wear original, anime-inspired costumes both days, and judging will take place on Sunday.

According to the contest guidelines, no props are allowed, all costumes should be hand-made, not professionally made, and costumes should be appropriate for a family environment.Pre-registration is suggested for this free program; all others will be admitted on a first come, first served basis. For more information and to register, contact Sarah Hodge-Wetherbe at 263-6828, ext. 201 or shodge-wetherbe@springfieldlibrary.org.

Edit (9/19): The AMV Contest is canceled. In its place we will be having a showing of favorite AMV’s from local creators, conventions and online (from 12-1:30)

At the Forbes Library: FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT OCTOBER 4

Forbes Library is delighted to invite our community to a free outdoor concert by two (and maybe three--stay tuned) contemporary local bands! Bring your friends and a blanket or lawn chair to the lawn at 20 West Street in downtown Northampton on Saturday, October 4 at 2 PM (rain date, Oct.11).

School for the Dead

This event was conceived when multitalented Library Associate Jason Mazzotta's contemporary "Anglophile power-pop" band, The Novels, was featured in The Valley Advocate. When the Forbes programming team saw the article, we decided Jason deserved much more than 15 minutes of fame. So we began planning a multi-band concert showcasing local talent. Also performing will be School For the Dead, fronted by Northampton musician Henning Ohlenbusch. Both bands are known for their intelligent, intelligible lyrics and melodic, danceable arrangements. It promises to be an afternoon of relaxing, upbeat fun for the whole family.

The Novels

"We're hoping to make live outdoor music an annual event at Forbes," says Arts & Music Librarian Faith Kaufmann. "In the 1920s, so many people gathered here for a Community Sing that they overflowed West Street. It's time to bring our community together around music again."

Links:

http://www.myspace.com/schoolforthedead

http://www.schoolforthedead.com/press07252002.html

http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=7935

http://www.myspace.com/novelspace

http://www.forbeslibrary.org/


~ Faith Kaufmann, Information Services/Head of Arts & Music, Forbes, Northampton

A Wild Summer at the Emily Williston Memorial Library

In celebration of the Wild Reads theme, more than 100 adults signed up for our Adult Summer Reading Program. Different events touched upon the five sections of Wild Reads. For example, to celebrate Wild about Shakespeare, patrons watched as swordfighters from the Pioneer Valley Fencing Academy introduced them to the world of fencing. Afterwards, patrons chose a Shakespearean monologue and spoke the text aloud. Wild Rides was celebrated by showing the Charlie Chaplin classic film “The Circus”. The following day author Jay Ducharme discussed his book, "Mountain Park". Jay gave an in-depth 75- minute lecture and slideshow on the history of this fondly remembered local institution.

Included in the Adult Summer Reading Program were two book discussions. The books were the acclaimed graphic novel "Watchmen" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and "King Leopold’s Ghost" by Adam Hochschild.

On August 13th the program closed with our traditional Final Event at the library. The event featured food, live music, and a drawing of names from our raffle box for some very special prizes. Our musical guest for the evening was the immensely entertaining violinist and singer-songwriter, Emily Greene.

In the Youth Department, three-hundred and thirty-one children signed up for the summer reading program. This year’s raffles included: a ride in the police cruiser and tour of the police department; breakfast with the mayor; a tour of the state house with Rep. Scibak; a trip to Mt. Tom Ice Cream; Mandarin Chinese language lessons, a haircut, gift certificates for teens, and more.

On Thursday, July 17, a crowd of children collaborated with storyteller Jennifer Jacobson during her “Helping the Earth” workshop. The children left the workshop empowered by specific plans that they developed to help clean up our environment. For the “Bag Share Workshop” a group of adults and teens met at Anita Eliason’s Studio in the Eastworks building and created canvas tote bags for patrons to share in order to decrease the use of plastic bags.

Youth librarian and author Barbara Diamond Goldin led creative writing workshops in July. Some of the participants have started a weekly writing group in the Youth Department for kids led by kids. On July 24th, Justine Johnson and Richard Hutchinson presented “Worms, Worms, Worms!” to a packed house of delighted children. All the children were given two worms and a worm palace with instructions on the care of the wiggling creatures. Finally, a large group of children was entertained by wild, young actors during the Wild Pajama Storytime on July 30th.

The last two events of the Youth Summer Reading Program were, papermaking with our dear friend Sandy Records, and the Final Event held on Tuesday, August 5th in Nonotuck Park. This year’s picnic featured storyteller Tim Van Egmond and was supported by the Easthampton Cultural Council. The Easthampton Cultural Council, also supported Jennifer Jacobson’s program, as well as our kick-off event.

The annual Friends Book Sale will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This year’s sale will be in the parking lot of the Center/Pepin school. The Library Reading Group, led by Art Oriel, has relocated to the Emily Williston Memorial Library Beginning in September; this group will meet on the second Wednesday of the month. The Easthampton Book Group will resume on Monday, September 29th at 6:30 p.m.

One of our many goals is to make certain that our library is meeting the needs of our community. To that end, we have developed a survey for our patrons so we can better ascertain their needs. The library will continue to serve the needs of English Language Learners when the English Conversation Club begins again this September. Patrons who want to expand their conversation skills in English are invited to attend. On September 3, the library hosted an evening on resume writing with an expert from Cambridge College. We are also looking forward to September 24, when we will host an evening discussion on Organic Lawn Care.

~ Johanna Douglass, Program Director, Emily Williston Memorial Library, Easthampton

UMass Amherst Libraries Exhibit: "More Images from VISUAL"

The UMass Amherst Libraries will host an exhibit “More Images from VISUAL” through December 19, 2008, in the Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library in the Lederle GRC Lowrise, Floor 2, at UMass Amherst. VISUAL (Ventures in Science Using Art Laboratory: http://www.umassvisual.org) is based on the premise that the visual arts can serve as an effective means to educate the general public and students of all ages on the importance of scientific research in our everyday lives. An opening reception will be held on September 23, 2008, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. in the Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information: http://www.library.umass.edu/news/08/moreimage08.html

~ Leslie Schaler, Library Communications, UMass Amherst Libraries

UMass Amherst Libraries Hosts Cookbook Discussion and Reception on October 5

The Friends of the UMass Amherst Libraries will hold their 10th Annual Fall Reception in Memorial Hall at UMass Amherst on October 5, 2-4 pm. The speakers for “Why Cookbooks Matter” will include cookbook collectors, curators, and donors. The program starts at 2:30 p.m.; the event is free and open to the public.

For more information: http://www.library.umass.edu/news/08/cookbooks08.html

~ Leslie Schaler, Library Communications, UMass Amherst Libraries