West Springfield Public Library hosts "Job Search" programs

West Springfield Public Library Hosts Job Search 101 Workshop

The West Springfield Public Library is pleased to host Job Search 101 – a workshop presented by Career Point on Thursday, April 23 at 7PM. Career Point of Holyoke is one of the commonwealth’s local one-stop career centers addressing the needs of jobseekers. This workshop offers the jobseeker an overview of job searching to plan your job search strategy. Some of the topics covered include defining work skills, networking, interviewing, and the computer as a job search tool. Participants will learn the importance of determining what skills they have , they will learn the importance of networking as a way of tapping the hidden market, they will practice answering some interview questions, and they will learn the role the computer will play in their job search-Internet job lists and online applications.

This event is free and open to the public. The West Springfield Public Library is located at 200 Park Street. Call 413-736-4561 x.111, or email wgevents@cwmars.org, with any questions.





WEST SPRINGFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY HOSTS CAREER CHANGE WORKSHOP

The West Springfield Public Library is pleased to present “The Career Change Workshop for Those Who Know There’s Something Better…”, Wednesday, April 29 at 7PM.

With the current state of the economy, it’s suddenly clear that there’s no such thing as a secure job. Whether you’ve lost a job, are in fear of losing a job, or simply know that there’s got to be a better way, this workshop will offer you a new perspective of the opportunities surrounding you. If you know deep down that you want to…
· have more than just another j-o-b
· live life on your terms
· do work that is meaningful to you

· have the power to create your own job security

Then join host Lisa Tarrant, of HelpMeLisa.com, for a creative way of looking at your future. This hands-on workshop will start you on the path to turning your interests into a viable income stream.

This program was made possible through a donation from the Conservation Commission. This event is free and open to the public. While registration is not required, it is requested. The West Springfield Public Library is located at 200 Park Street. Call 413-736-4561 x.111, or email wgevents@cwmars.org, with any questions.

~ Anna Popp, Assistant Reference Librarian, West Springfield Public Library

A New WRapper & Other Changes for WMRLS

A New WRapper & Other Changes for WMRLS

With fewer WMRLS staff and State budget reductions expected for the fiscal year that starts July 1, WMRLS is taking some actions now to put us in a better position to confront tougher times ahead.

The first change is a complete revision of our WRapper newsletter. This publication will be much more concise, thus requiring less paper, staff time, and mailing costs. One copy of the print edition will be issued to each member library. WRapper will now be published on a quarterly basis.

WRapper will continue to be published online. From now on, WRapper will highlight some key developments, but will always remind our readers that recent happenings at our member libraries can be found on our WMRLS-One- Blog.

The WMRLS-One-Blog provides time-sensitive information that the print edition of WRapper cannot achieve. With a large number of our member libraries having gained better Internet access, the time seems right to pursue a more online approach to disseminating important information in a timely way.

Likely Suspension of Bookmobile Service. With yet another large budget cut looming, WMRLS will almost definitely have to suspend our beloved bookmobile service for FY10. This program has been bringing browsing collections to the shelves of small public libraries since the 1940s. The WMRLS materials budget has been inadequate, in some years non-existent, since the devastating 24% State budget cut of FY03.

The initial version of the FY10 budget brings us back down to that same funding level. At the same time, libraries and their users have been making breathtaking use of our delivery service, which has been transporting materials between libraries at all-time record levels. Even with a new way of counting delivery totals, we should surpass 2 million items delivered in FY09! This service, with the cost of gasoline fluctuating wildly, and the age of our trucks rising, is requiring more and more of our budget and staff resources.

A Proud Tradition of Service! Despite the need for retrenchment in some areas and possible layoffs, we at WMRLS will do everything we can to provide our member libraries with the excellent and responsive service they have come to expect of us since 1961. We will keep offering important continuing education programs – some online – to keep you up to date on your skills and what is involved in running libraries today. We will give you plenty of opportunities to get together to talk about common interests and collaborations, to “keep the fire burning” in our hearts and minds. We will help you if you have a local issue that you are confronting. We will track down hard-to-find titles that you could not locate through the online catalogs of other Massachusetts libraries. In short, we will do everything we can to fulfill the WMRLS motto, “Libraries – Cooperating, Communicating, Sharing.”

~ John Ramsay, Regional Administrator, WMRLS

Our Spring issue of WRapper features:

• Continuing Education Updates
• Member Library Updates via our WMRLS-One-Blog
• WMRLS Staff Directory & Phone Extensions
• MLA in Springfield!

Dedication of the J. Peter Scolforo Gallery at the Lee Library

The Board of Directors of the Lee Library Association honored retiring President, J. Peter Scolforo, by naming the Gallery in his honor. Peter served on the board for more than 30 years, and for the last 20 years, as the President. The dedication took place on December 3, 2008.

Peter initiated applying for a grant in the 1970’s which made it possible for the library to build the addition. He also served as the chair of the building committee. That addition houses the gallery, the Children’s Room, a reading area, and space for the stacks. This is a fitting tribute, because without Peter’s leadership, the gallery and addition would not exist.

~ Mary Philpott, President, Board of Directors, Lee Library Association

Local Authors Day at the Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield

On the first Saturday of November for the past 6 years, the Trustees and Friends of the Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield, MA, have hosted a Local Authors Day to celebrate local talent. Due to the space limitations at our library, we are able to host only the first 50 who accept from our database of over 230 local authors. Those 50 include authors and illustrators of children’s books, poets, cookbook writers, historians, writers of self-help books, sociologists, philosophers, and sports and mystery writers. It is a social event, not a fundraiser, for the authors and illustrators, whose profession is often a solitary one.

We are most fortunate in our corner of the tri-state area in western Massachusetts to have as much literary talent as we do. Our authors include a Peabody Award winner, an Emmy winner, and two Caldecott medal winners.

The authors and illustrators bring their books to display, sell, and autograph. The public often brings in books they already own for the authors and illustrators to sign, or they come to chat with the participants, or they bring their children to meet “real” writers. There is a coffee hour for the writers just before the public arrives and a luncheon for the participants after the morning’s event.

A group of volunteers prepare all the refreshments, the Selectmen and Town Administrator take part, the police direct the traffic, and the Friends of the Bushnell-Sage Library host the coffee hour and the luncheon. Those who work on the event feel privileged to celebrate our local talent at this popular annual event.

~ Nancy Hahn, Director, Bushnell-Sage Library, Sheffield

Programs for ALL ages

In an effort to provide programming for our youngest patrons we have expanded our services for this group beyond the usual Toddler Time and Pre-School Story Times. There was a demand and need to fill the gap that faced families with very young children. In January 2008 we started a "Tummy Time" program for babies birth through active crawlers.
The response to this program was overwhelming!

Every Monday morning for two hours we host between 20-25 Mommy/Daddy/Baby participants. It has become an important social and networking group for new parents as well as active playtime for their babies. Not long after we began to hear comments from the graduates of this program (active crawlers and pre-walkers) who were not yet old enough for Toddler Time and Story Time that they wanted a program of their own. Out of these conversations came the idea for a "Baby Play Group". This program fills the gap for our youngest, but still very valuable patrons.

This group meets weekly for two hours. The wide variety of ages, birth-18 months, ensures that it is a lively and very social event. We at the Forbes wanted to be inclusive to all of our patrons, regardless of their age. The Children's and Young Adult Department now offers programming for ages birth-age 14. It is a wise investment to spend time with these young patrons because today's toddler will be tomorrow's adult patron and voting citizen! Besides the fact that they are incredibly fun to be around!!!

~ Lisa Downing, Assistant Director, Forbes Library, Northampton