Novermber 13 is WMRLS Annual Meeting at AIER

Dear Western Massachusetts Libraries:

This is a reminder that all of you are encouraged to attend the Annual Meeting of the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System (WMRLS) Council of Members from 10:00 till about 12:30 on Thursday, November 13, 2008. The location will be the unique American Institute for Economic Research in the scenic hills of Great Barrington. A couple of us visited AIER yesterday, and we guarantee you will enjoy visiting this site and learning about this intriguing member of our Region and the work they do, especially in the context of these challenging economic times. There is no need to RSVP; just show up, one and all.

Please consider trying to ride share with others in your area - it'll save gasoline and add to your enjoyment of the day.

Directions to AIER, 250 Division Street, Great Barrington, can be found at http://www.aier.org/about/our-location . Just select where you'll be coming from and the driving directions will appear. Basically, it's about 7.5 miles south and west of the Red Lion Inn at the center of Stockbridge. At 250 Division St., you'll see a stone entrance on the right with "AIER" on it. Turn into the driveway and keep straight for almost a mile, following signs for Library Office. There's plenty of parking just over the crest of the hill.

We need a quorum of our member libraries in order to act on several business issues, so we hope you will try to attend. The agenda, FY2010 budget and plan of service and other documents are on our website at http://archive.wmrls.org/council/agenda/ . Please print out relevant documents and bring them with you to help us reduce Regional printing costs. A nominating slate is being finalized and will be posted on the site later; copies of that slate will be available at the meeting.

In addition to our regular business meeting, we will:

• Hear from the MA Board of Library Commissioners about the latest statewide library developments.
• Learn perspectives on today's libraries and library education from Terry Plum, Assistant Dean of the Simmons College GSLIS program at Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley.
• Get an update from the Friends of WMRLS about their many fundraising and advocacy activities over the past year and being planned for upcoming months.
• Enjoy the report of Becky Marconi, Project Coordinator for the LSTA "Together We Thrive" grant. This exciting effort has been benefiting many small public libraries. This project is just starting its second year.

We think you'll find the WMRLS Annual Meeting an especially interesting opportunity for the entire Western Massachusetts library community to come together, interact, learn, and demonstrate your support for your WMRLS. We hope to see you all at AIER on November 13 !!!

Sincerely,
John Ramsay, Regional Administrator
Western Massachusetts Regional Library System

Boston Public Library's What Do Want To Know Ad Campaign

From the Boston Public Library Ad Campaign website:

"The advertising campaign titled “what do you want to know?” was created to help remind residents and visitors, scholars and students, businesses and families, and seniors and children alike of the vital and friendly resource they have in the Boston Public Library. A&G made our library staff the heroes of the campaign – positioning them as The Ultimate Search Engines. They’re here to answer any question you have, and they’re reachable 24 hours a day by phone, by email or by visiting one of our branches across the city."

Massachusetts School Library Association Conference Highlights

The next best thing to attending the Massachusetts School Library Conference is reading all about it via the MSLA Conference 2008 Blog. Be sure to read all about it at http://mslaconference2008.blogspot.com/

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."

Trick or Treat with ReadsinMA!

Trick or Treat! We invite staff of all WMRLS member libraries to give our ReadsinMA online reading program a test drive!

Staff of all WMRLS member libraries who post public reviews to our WMRLS Trick or Treat online reading program are eligible to win the colorful M&M candy dispenser that is pictured on the program page (below)!

Prize drawing is Friday, October 24 at 1 pm! Visit http://www.readsinma.org/wmrls today!

For more information about ReadsinMA, visit our ReadsinMA Blog : )

Belchertown Library's Capital Campaign Website

From the Clapp for Community website:

"A capital campaign – 10 years in the making – is underway to renovate and expand our facilities, to address population growth that has burgeoned, the changing needs of today’s patrons and the inefficiencies of our historic library building. The goal is to rejuvenate the Clapp Memorial Library to its original purpose: A Destination Place. THE place in Belchertown to find reliable resources for readers and information seekers of all ages; to experience learning and culture; and to enjoy “community” at its finest."

In addition to the following video, the Clapp for Community website features the debut of the new title "The Incredible Tail of Nathaniel J. Mouse" , a PowerPoint presentation,and more!

Western Massachusetts Library Club Annual Meeting

Annual Meeting at the Holyoke Public Library

Wednesday, October 29 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Registration & Light Refreshments Business Meeting & Elections A la Carte Luncheon to Follow

Program: Mountain Park with Guest Author Jay Ducharme

Please make your reservation for the luncheon along with your meeting reservation by Sunday, October 26. Email: lakmary729@lycos.com or Telephone: Franklin Taplin - 413/534-0867

Directions to the Holyoke Public Library

Visit the Western Massachusetts Library Club Website