Bonnie Isman retires

In mid December, Bonnie Isman, 30 year Director of the Jones Libraries retired. The ceremony was a recognition of her outstanding career and an opportunity for area librarians, trustees and supporters to get together. The party was a vivid reminder of how Bonnie is valued in Amherst, and how important libraries are as the heart of a community. Here are just a few photos of the event that took place in the Jones Library. Congratulations, Bonnie.

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).

Amherst Holds Legislative Breakfast

Friday, March 21, more than 52 library supporters attended the final 2008 western Massachusetts legislative breakfast at the Jones Library. It was a blustery day for the first Friday of Spring, but the trustees, friends, librarians, local officials and legislators had many warm things to say about libraries and their value to their communities. Speakers included: Bonnie Isman, Jones Library Director; Chair Gerald Weiss of the Amherst Select Board; Lisa Downing representing the Friends of WMRLS; Rob Maier, Director of the MA Board of Library Commissioners; Commissioner Mary Rose Quinn; Jan Resnick, WMRLS; and Joan Kuklinski, C/W MARS. In the 'Telling our Stories' segment of the program, Jones Library Trustee Kathleen Wang told of how important the library was to her as a child. Yukun Jia, high school student, spoke of the value of the Jones Library English as a Second Language program tutors who were able to help her parents learn English which helped them find jobs in their new country.

State Senator Stan Rosenberg spoke of his support for libraries and his concern that a November ballot question to eliminate the income tax might jeopardize libraries and other community services. Representative Ellen Story commented on the many valuable services libraries offer and that their cooperation improves services and controls costs. Representative Kulik appreciates WMRLS efforts to bring high speed Internet access to the libraries in the 16 communities he serves, and he has seen those cars sitting outside the libraries taking advantage of the WiFi access provided through the project. Representative Scibak used the statewide databases from his home to prepare for the lengthy casino hearings held this week. All the legislators encouraged breakfast attendees to come to the State House April 2 and speak out for libraries. (Join us on the bus http://wmrls.blogspot.com/2008/03/library-legislative-day-take-bus.html).

~ Jan Resnick, Assistant Regional Administrator, WMRLS

Local Artists Exhibit at Jones Library's Burnett Gallery

Theresa Rock and Caitlin Waugh, two local artists, are showing together at the Burnett Gallery in the Jones Library from December 2- 30, 2007. The artists will be in the gallery during the Amherst Artwalk, Thursday, December 6 from 5pm-8pm and on Saturday, December 8 from 2pm-4pm.

Caitlin Ezell Waugh graduated from Hampshire College in December, 2005 with a BA in Sculpture and Literary Journalism. She spent the year after college as an apprentice glazier at Luminosity Studios in Waitsfield, Vt., and continued to travel in Latin America. Waugh moved back to the Pioneer valley in January of 2007 in order to set up her studio and focus on her career as a stained glass artist.

In the Burnett Gallery December exhibit, entitled ‘Flight’, Waugh will display a flock of three-dimensional hanging glass landscapes. Small, simple and geometric, these hanging pieces create dynamic spaces and backdrops across which tiny silouttees of birds fly.

You can see some of Waugh’s other work at caitlinwaugh.com Theresa Rock is a painter in Pelham, Ma. She enjoys the freedom painting gives her to develop and experiment with organic forms. This show, Of Earth and Sky, represents her work from the past two years. All of the paintings are extracted from natural elements. The older works in the series have more concrete forms, while the most recent are a purer form of organic abstraction.

To see more of her work go to http://www.blogger.com/www.art2rock.com.