Friends of the UMass Amherst Libraries Host Reception and Dinner

On Saturday, April 9, 2011, at 6:30 p.m., the Friends of the UMass Amherst Libraries will host the ninth annual “Dinner with Friends” in the Learning Commons at the W.E.B. Du Bois Library on the UMass Amherst campus. The event features talks by two notable speakers: Roy Blount, Jr. and Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, as well as a champagne and hors d’oeuvre reception with UMass Amherst student jazz musicians, and a gourmet dinner.

 Corporate sponsors of the 2011 “Dinner with Friends” to date include Amherst Books, Brattle Book Shop; EBSCO; Elsevier; Gale, a part of Cengage; Hampden Bank; Herman Miller/OFI; Marcus Printing; MicroTek, Inc.; Print Associates; Taylor Rental; UMass Catering; and Wiley-Blackwell. The evening is a key fundraising event for the UMass Amherst Libraries.

This year’s proceeds will benefit the W.E.B. Du Bois Center. For more information, visit: http://www.thewebduboiscenter.com/.

 Tickets are $140 per person or $250 for two ($95 and $160 are tax-deductible donations respectively). Complimentary passes for the parking garage will be provided. Handicap parking is available next to the Library.

UMass Amherst Libraries are open to all residents of Massachusetts, offering a rich array of resources and services.

For more information and to make reservations contact Carol Connare at (413) 545-0995, email friends@library.umass.edu, or visit the Dinner with Friends web site http://www.library.umass.edu/dinner. Individual and corporate sponsorships are available starting at $250. For more information about the Libraries visit http://www.library.umass.edu.

Dinner with Friends, April 9, 2011 – Speakers’ bios:

Roy Blount, Jr. is a humorist, sportswriter, poet, performer, lecturer, dramatist, and writer. He is the author of 21 books, including Alphabet Juice (2009) and Hail, Hail, Euphoria!: Presenting the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, the Greatest War Movie Ever Made (October 2010). Blount’s writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Playboy, Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stone, and National Geographic. His work has also been anthologized in such collections as The Best of Modern Humor and many others. He is a panelist on NPR’s Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me and the president of the Authors Guild. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Blount received a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt and a master's degree from Harvard.

Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina is the host of the nationally-syndicated program “The Book Show,” on which she interviews every week some of the finest writers working today. She has appeared frequently on British television and radio documentaries. Some of her books include Mr. and Mrs. Prince (2009), A Room of Their Own (2008), The Annotated Secret Garden (2007), and Francis Hodgson Burnett (2006). Gretchen has a B.A. from Marlboro College, an M.A. from Simmons College, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. She has been a tenured professor at Vassar College and at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is now the Kathe Tappe Vernon Professor in Biography at Dartmouth College, where she is the first woman ever to chair the English department, and the first African American woman to chair an Ivy League English department.

UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES PROVIDE RESOURCES ON JAPAN

UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES

PROVIDE RESOURCES ON JAPAN

In response to Friday’s earthquake in Japan, the UMass Amherst Libraries have compiled a list of resources for the campus community and the public.  This list is available at http://guides.library.umass.edu/jpnearthquake. The web page includes links to live video streaming in Japanese and English, newspaper resources, official web sites, and scientific information regarding this tragedy.  

This page will be updated frequently in the coming days and will reflect current efforts by the library and community organizations to serve residents affected by this event. 

For more information, contact Sharon Domier (sdomier@library.umass.edu, 413-577-2633). 

Victorian Jewelry Program at Greenfield Public Library

Legislative Day: A Guide For Newbies

“Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their libraries.”

The Legislative Day Bus is organized and underwritten by the Friends of WMRLS. Legislative Day is sponsored by the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) and in recent years MLA joined forces with the Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA). The sponsoring organizations pay for the lunch; there is no cost to you or your legislator.

The drill for the day is pretty straightforward.
~ The bus arrives between 10 - 10:30,
~ The rally is at 11.
~ Lunch is at noon,
~ The bus leaves at 2:30.

When we arrive at the State House:
1. Proceed to the General Hooker entrance of the building and go through security.
2. At the Hall of Flags, visit the sign in desk and pick up information packets for legislators. If you've attended a legislative breakfast you will have seen the MBLC Legislative Agenda packet.
3. It is now time to go to visit legislators. A list of legislators and office numbers will be available, and there are plenty of people and signs to help you find your way.

It is not imperative that you make an appointment. Library Legislative Day is a significant recurring event. Legislators and their staff know to expect library visitors. The important thing is to:
• Stop by your legislators’ offices,
• Speak to your legislators. Describe what your library provides for your community, why the Massachusetts Library System and the Central/Western MA Automated Resource Sharing network are important for your library, and why your library is important and necessary for your users. You'll have a few minutes to make a couple of key points on the value of state funding for libraries and to ask for their support. Specific local examples of library use or need are particularly effective.
• Invite them to join you for lunch. (The podium will recognize all legislators present at the luncheon.)
• If you can’t speak with your legislator or an aide directly, leave your card, an info packet or a note so that they know you were there and what action you would like them to take. These notes and your presence are very important. Our legislators are aware of the commitment we have made to take the day and travel to Boston. Your note, even if your legislator is not available, makes a significant impression.

Join us March 28. It's easy, it's fun, and it benefits our libraries. See Eric's March 7 post for registration details.

Bus to Legislative Day

Hey Everyone!

Just a reminder that Monday, March 28 is Library Legislative Day--and the Friends of WMRLS are once again arranged for a bus to Boston out of Western and Central Mass.

We have done such a historically incredible job advocating for our libraries in recent days--and its more important now than ever to keep at it. Attending Legislative Day is a huge part of this!

The pickup spots are:

6:45 am--MLS Whately
7:30 am--Table and Vine, West Springfield
8:15 am--Palmer Public Library
9:10 am--Auburn Mall, Auburn

The cost is only $20/person--and the bus will be back in Whately by 5:45. You can make your check out to the Friends of WMRLS and send it to:

Lynn Coakley
STCC Library
One Armory Square
Springfield, MA 01102

You can also send it via delivery to STCC Library, attn: Lynn Coakley by using the W/CLGS deliver form.

Please do all that you can to join us that day! If not you, then who??? :)

Local Author Saloma Furlong to speak at Greenfield Public Library

Massachusetts Legislative Directory

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation prepares a Massachusetts Legislative Directory for each 2-year session of the legislature. It provides a listing of legislators by town, and contact information including State House room and phone numbers, email and postal addresses for the State House and the district offices. It also includes listings of committees at the time the Directory is published. It is a very handy item for library and home.

The Directory is available for free if you provide the postage. Send a request including a letter-size self addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with $1.00 in postage on it to:

Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation - Legislative Directory
333 Washington Street, Suite 853
Boston MA 02108-5170

The directories will be available in late March or early April once room and committee assignments are completed. You can send your envelope in now; they'll hold it until the new directory is available.

Keep the advocacy momentum going.

Legislative Breakfast on YouTube

The 2011 Library Legislative Breakfast in Senator Stan Rosenberg's district was recently held at Greenfield Community College. It can currently be viewed on YouTube by clicking on the above link, or here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q59AFLouXuQ

Enjoy!

Last of the Pioneer Valley legislative breakfasts

Just a reminder - the last Pioneer Valley breakfast of the 2011 season will take place Friday, February 18 at 8:00 a.m. at Springfield City Library hosted by John Ramsay. The breakfast will cover the districts of Senators Gale Candaras and Jim Welch

Contact info and RSVP: JRamsay@SpringfieldLibrary.org)

Western MA Legislative Breakfasts Start This Week

Legislative Breakfast season is upon us! These events across the 4 western counties are opportunities to learn about this year's big library issues and to get guidance and support from our State Senators and Representatives. This is especially important at this time, with the State budget process for FY12 about to get underway.

Plan to attend a breakfast for your representatives. Following are details about each breakfast in Western Massachusetts. All types of libraries benefit from State funding for libraries, so we hope you will encourage staff members, trustees, friends, and officials to join you. If you're emailing, please use the Subject "Legislative Breakfast RSVP."

Senator Stephen Brewer
Friday, February 4, 2011 ~ 8:00 a.m. – Monson Free Library
Host: Katie Krol, Library Director
Registration email: kkrol@cwmars.org

Senator Ben Downing
Friday, February 11, 2010 ~ 8:00 a.m. Adams Free Library
Host: Deborah Bruneau, Library Director
Registration email: L.Kaufmann@mcla.edu

Senator Michael Knapik
Friday, February 11, 2011 ~ 8:15 a.m. – Westfield Athenaeum
Host: Christopher Lindquist, Library Director
Registration email: rmelnick@westath.org

Senator Stanley Rosenberg
Friday, February 11, 2011 ~ 8:00 a.m. – Greenfield Community College
Host: Eric Poulin, Coordinator of Library Services
Register at http://masslibsystem.org by clicking on the Services tab at the top of the page, then click on Continuing Education in the drop down menu to reach the MLS Calendar of Events.

Senator James Welch AND Senator Gale Candaras
>>>A combined breakfast for the two senatorial districts that overlap in Springfield<<<
Friday, February 18, 2011 ~ 8:00 a.m. ~ Springfield City Library
Host: John Ramsay, Assistant Library Director
Registration email: JRamsay@SpringfieldLibrary.org
Or phone the library at 413-263-6828 x. 290

Find the names of your state Senator and Representative(s) by visiting the Massachusetts Library Association - Elected Officials website http://capwiz.com/ala/ma/state/main/?state=MA

Meet David Chura, author of I Don’t Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine: Tales of Kids in Adult Lockup

David Chura has written and lectured extensively on incarcerated youth, speaking from 40 years of experience. Don't miss hearing him read from and talk about his riveting book, I Don't Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine: Tales of Kids in Adult Lockup, on Saturday, February 26. Booklist said "Chura recalls the raw, gritty emotions of young men with little education and few options, exercising sometimes violent and childish outlets for all that wild, pent-up adolescent energy...Chura offers a compelling look at the failings of the juvenile justice system."

Mr. Chura will speak at 2 p.m. in the Community Room of the Central Library, 220 State Street, Springfield. Copies of his book will be available for sale and signing. Please call (413) 263-6828, ext. 213 for more information.

Join Up and Benefit Western Mass Libraries

Watch for the upcoming winter newsletter from Friends of WMRLS. Our 2011 membership campaign begins this month, January. As the organization strives to renew and re-invent itself for the benefit of Western Massachusetts libraries, we look to you for your continued support. Help us maintain that spirit of caring and collaboration that emerged so amazingly from last year's challenging times. Watch this Western Massachusetts Libraries-One-Blog for further details joining Friends of WMRLS.

Louise Kanus
LKanus@aol.com