Library Ghosts!

Reprinted with permission from the Babson Library weblog:

"Remember those ghost stories from your childhood?

Did you know there are a number of libraries Massachusetts that claim to have ghosts or at least paranormal activity?

One of these libraries is the Clapp Memorial Library in Belchertown. While working their night custodian has seen apparitions moving around the building and books mysteriously sliding in and out of the shelves. His reports were so compelling that, the Sci-Fi channel program Ghost Hunters sent a team to investigate the case. The show aired on March 19, 2008.

Did they find any ghosts? Here’s a link to the “Library Ghost” so you can find out. "

~ Andrea Taupier, Library Director, Babson Library, Springfield College

WMRLS Editor's Note: See Also Clapp Memorial Library postings on this blog.

Happy Halloween image from Public Domain Clip Art

Western Massachusetts Library Club Annual Meeting

Caption: Three Western Massachusetts Library Club members are, from left to right, Frank Taplin, Dorothy Carmody and James Craig.

The Western Massachusetts Library Club (WMLC) held it's annual meeting on October 29, 2008 at the Holyoke Public Library. WMLC has been in existence since 1898, and this group of active and retired librarians supports the services of the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System, donates money from its Humphry Fund for the purchase of professional titles at WMRLS, and offers programs of interest and education for western Massachusetts librarians and library users. This fall's program was Mountain Park by Jay Ducharme, local author of the book by the same name. Mr. Ducharme's slides and conversation about the history of this local landmark were fact-filled and entertaining, and his enthusiasm for his topic is infectious!

~ Mary King, Regional Librarian, WMRLS

Transformations at the Wheeler Memorial Library in Orange

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHOTO CAPTION: Some of the creatures recently seen in the Wheeler Memorial Library. Bottom to top to left to right: Zoe Basque, Baylee Rousseau, and Hailey Sousa, Colleen and Taylor Basque, Alyssa Rousseau and Saydie True

Imaginations ran on the wild side at the Wheeler Memorial Library when volunteer Zita Bridges came to work her magic with face paints. Children and adults took part in the fun of pretending to be everything from pumpkins to spiders, butterflies to tigers, and even a fairy or two. Librarian Candy Cross, looking like the Cat and the Hat, supervised the making of Oobleck, miniature scarecrows, monster goop, and spiders. It was a fun free time for all who attended.

~ Candy Cross, Children's Librarian, Wheeler Memorial Library, 49 East Main St Orange MA 01364; 978-544-2495, ext 103

News from the Jones Library ESL Center

Are you curious about being a volunteer ESL tutor? Hear ESL volunteers describe their experiences working with their students on the Center’s web page http://www.joneslibrary.org/esl/index.html and on YouTube. These videos were developed by an intern from Amherst College’s Center for Community Engagement and helped to recruit 26 new tutors for the program’s fall tutor training. The list of students waiting for tutors is down to just 3—a record low. Contact Lynne Weintraub for more information at 259-3093.

~ Bonnie Isman, Library Director, Jones Library, Amherst, MA 01002; tel: 413-259-3106;
ismanb@joneslibrary.org

Visit the Jones Library's Tutors and Students website to listen to tutors and students share their experiences with the library's English as a Second Language Tutoring Program (one of the four videos is posted below).

Gravestone Guessing Game

This may be a little late for this year, but I’ve discovered an easy and fun way to link Halloween with reading! The Gravestone Guessing Game!

First, you pick some book villains that have died in their stories. For the game I ran this year, I had seven including The White Witch (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe), Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Captain Hook (Peter Pan).

You create a gravestone for each villain. They can be cut from cardboard or foam board, and painted to look like stone. I also included black “Etching” pictures on the stone to clue folks into who’s stone it belonged to (For example, Captain Hook’s stone had a Skull and Crossbones above the inscription.)

Each stone also got an inscription on it, a poem describing the character and how they died. For example, on Hook’s stone it read:

“I brought fear as I sailed the sea
No man was so fierce as me
I feared only a Croc
And the tick of a clock
Till I was that beasts snack at tea!”

However no stone had the characters name on it. Each stone however, got a letter glued to it on orange paper. The stones were then displayed around the children’s room.

Each child playing the game got a sheet with the name of the seven villains (and the book they belonged to). The children then went around the room and read each of the tombstones, trying to figure out what villain belonged to what stone. They wrote the letter of the stone beside the name on the sheet.

It was a big hit at our Halloween Haunt. We’ve decided to keep the stones up till after Halloween, as it’s an activity that the kids can do independently.

National Gaming Day @ your library

From the American Library Association website:

"On Saturday, November 15, 2008, hundreds of libraries throughout the country will showcase gaming programs and services in support of National Gaming Day @ your library (NGD). Gaming of all types at the library encourages patrons to interact with a diverse group of users, share their expertise with others, and develop new strategies for gaming and learning.

The mission of National Gaming Day @ your library is to:

• Raise awareness about the use of games as a library program;
• Expose people to a new type of board game;
• Establish connections between local board game groups and the library."