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Library Lines April 22,
2020
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A Sign of the Times
We know you've all been under the statewide stay-at-home order so you may have missed the recent addition of a mask over Library founder Thomas Peirce on the monument at the corner of the Library's property.
We're hope you're wearing your mask like Mr. Peirce and staying safe at home so we can all get back to the Library as soon as possible.
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Everything You Always
Wanted to Know About Overdrive and the Libby App
But Were Afraid to Ask
We've been telling you for the past few weeks all about the Overdrive/Libby e-
book and audio book collections, but did you know the collection also offers videos? Start
here
to browse; you'll find everything from yoga and high-intensity workouts to full-length movies like documentaries on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Hamilton's creator and star Lin Manuel Miranda.
Fans of classics like "His Girl Friday" and Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps" will find many options, as will those who want to catch up on more contemporary movies they missed like the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series and Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained."
For those who will feel less guilty about all their on-screen
time if they're learning something, try one of The Great Courses videos like "Making Healthy Food Taste Great," "Practicing Mindfulness," or "How to Listen to and Understand Great Music."
For the kids, be sure to look for videos of Mo Willem's Pigeon
books, Tedd Arnold's "Fly Guy," "Digimon," and much more.
If you're new to borrowing from the Library's Overdrive collection, start here at the "Help" pages. For assistance, email Reference Librarian Libby Fox or Assistant Director/IT Librarian Dale Irving and they'll get back to you and try to help.
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April showers...are great days for
Virtual Visits with the Library!
Children's Librarian Miss Amanda presents her collection of weekly online activities for your kids to have fun with until the Library reopens.
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Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. -- Story time on
Facebook! This week,
April 22, j
oin
Miss Amanda for a Facebook Live story time reading of
You Nest Here with Me
by Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi Stemple.
Tech with Tiny Tots on Thursdays -- This week, starting on
April 23, Miss Amanda will be offering a
Zoom group for parents with babies/toddlers every Thursday at noon for four weeks through May 14.
If you've got a
baby or toddler at home, take a lunch break with Miss Amanda to enjoy a short story, rhymes and songs plus time to socialize with other caregivers. Learn tips on how to encourage early literacy skills appropriate for your child's brain development and gain support during this difficult time. Crying, hungry, tired and sleeping kids are all welcome! Everyone will be muted during the storytime part of the program. Please register here.
Friday Fun with Miss Lori's Puzzle/Challenges -- This week, starting
April 24,
Miss Lori wants you to have fun with this Mad Lib of Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggie. Print it out and post a picture of your story in the comments section of our Facebook page or email Miss Lori
who can share it for you. We can't wait to see all the fun stories.
Miss Amanda's Monday Musings -- May Day falls at the end of this week so today, April 27, let's spread a little springtime cheer by creating May baskets to put on our doors or in windows.
Visit
Kids InfoBits on our kids webpage, search "These Baskets Make May Day Merry" and you'll find an article with simple directions for making a basket from an old envelope. On Friday, g
o for a walk and see how many you can find.
Tuesday Lego Challenges --
April 28
is National Superhero Day! Let's celebrate with photos of your Lego creations based on your favorite superheroes. Build a secret hideout, car, or scene. Share your photos with us on the library's Facebook page or send them to Miss Amanda.
Be sure to look for another newsletter, coming out on
Wed., April 29, for next week's fun programs with Miss Amanda!
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Teen Reads, Tips & To-Dos
Each week, we'll share new and notable books, tips on topics and resources relating to you, and themed craft and activity ideas to help you get through this tough time.
This Week's Spotlight: Graphic Novels
NOTABLE GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES on OverDrive
Dreadnought by April Daniels
(Nemesis, Book 1)
After inheriting the powers of Dreadnought, Danny Tozer's hidden transgender identity is brought into the open when her body assumes the gender she identifies with, bringing personal complications just as she is forced to face the original Dreadnought's killer. Grades 9-12. Check ebook availability.
Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as "Mom," all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing. Grades 10-12.
Check volumes 1-13
ebook
availability.
The Runaways
by Brian K. Vaughan
When six young friends discover that their parents are all secretly super-powered villians, they run away together and find strength in one another to overcome their evil legacy. Grades 7-12. Check volumes 1-7
ebook availability.
Graphic Novels from TeenBookCloud
These
graphic novels
aimed at youth in grades 7-12 are free from TeenBookCloud through August 31. No sign-in or downloading--just instant access.
Tips on the Best Webcomics
Webcomics are comics published online and many of them can end up in print, like Raina Telgemeier's
Smile and Noelle Stevenson's
Nimona. Most webcomics are hosted on a specific site. Here are some free webcomics you can enjoy:
As the Crow Flies Melanie Gillman's poignant webcomic is a story about a
queer, black teenager who finds herself stranded in a dangerous and unfamiliar place: an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp. Grades 8-12
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Check, Please! A former junior figure skating champion and dedicated vlogger lands on his co-ed college hockey team, where he is challenged to overcome his fear of getting hit at the same time he falls desperately in love with his captain. Ngozi Ukazu's series continues with the recently-released
Check, Please!, Book 2
in
ebook
format. Grades 10+
Cheshire Crossing
Andy Weir and Sarah Andersen's enchanting webcomic tells of w
hat became of Alice, Wendy Darling, and Dorothy Gale after they returned from Wonderland, Neverland, and Oz. Though few believed their stories, the three girls meet and find kinship in one another. Grades 7-12
Deadendia Hamish Steele's macabre webcomic follows
Barney and his best friend Norma who are just trying to get by and keep their jobs. But working at the Dead End theme park also means battling
demonic forces, time traveling wizards, and scariest of all--their love lives! Grades 8-12
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Homestuck Andrew Hussie's
mind-bending, genre-defying adventure
tells of 13-year-old John Egbert who starts playing a mysterious videogame called Sburb, which triggers the apocalypse. Fortunately, he and his friends can make things right--if they can beat the game.
Grades 9-12
On a Sunbeam
Award-winning Tillie Walden presents the mesmerizing graphic-novel story of
a
crew member who travels to the ends of the universe to find
a
long-lost love while helping her team rebuild beautiful, broken-down historical structures
on
faraway planets. Grades 7-12
Paranatural Created by Zack Morrison, this witty, supernatural comic follows a group of middle school students with superpowers as they investigate the supernatural occurrences cropping up in their hometown of Mayview. Grades 7-12.
Scared by the Bell Though being the new
kid is never easy, it's especially hard for Peter, an average kid whose classmates include a mummy, a pumpkinhead, and a skeleton. Creator Dylan Campbell updates this hilariously creepy webcomic every week. Grades 6-12
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Space Boy Stephen McCranie's sci-fi drama of a high school-aged girl who belongs in a different time, a boy possessed by emptiness as deep as space, an alien artifact, mysterious murder, and a love that crosses light years. Grades 9-12
Witchy Y
oung witch Nyneve is haunted by the death of her father and the threat the Witch Guard poses to her own life. When conscription rolls around,
Nyneve has a choice to make; join the institution complicit in her father's death, or
stand up for her ideals? Grades 10-12
Wormworld Saga
This gorgeous fantasy epic by Daniel Lieske follows Jonas who stumbles into an alternate universe through a painting in his grandmother's attic. When the portal closes behind him, Jonas must find another way home and begins a journey through this strange and fascinating land. Grades 7-12
Discover more comics and graphic novels online during the COVID-19 crisis through these publishers and authors
temporarily
offering free content.
- Image Comics is offering first issues of titles such as Birthright, Blackbird, and Papergirls.
- Author Jim Zub is providing the first volumes of two of his series--both picked as YALSA Best Graphic Novels--as downloadable PDFs: Skullkickers and Wayward.
- Check out Marvel's free first issues featuring many of your favorite comic series, like the Avengers, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and X-Men.
- Shonen Jump has the newest manga chapters from titles like Boruto, Dragon Ball Super, My Hero Academia, One Piece, One Punch Man, Tokyo Ghoul: re, and more.
To-Dos
Earth Day is April 22
Here are five things you can do to take action!
1.) Become a "citizen scientist." Get the Earth Challenge app (EC2020) to record data in your area and form a global map that will help scientists.
3.) Try a
meatless or
vegan (plant-based)
meal once a week to help reduce the environmental burden and damage caused by animal agriculture.
4.) Plant a tree for Arbor Day, April 24. Get a Kousa Dogwood seedling from the Middleborough DPW starting April 26 (supplies are limited) or make a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation to receive 10 free tree seedlings. Here's one expert teen's guide to growing trees from seeds--it's a lot of work!
5.) Let your voice be heard. Write to your representatives on an issue you are passionate about or volunteer at a local or national organization. Check out what these teen activists did to help the fight against climate change.
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"Your Two Cents Worth" --
Quick Tips to Help Manage
Your Account
Look here for tips to help you manage your library account from home.
1. Now what was my PIN again? You're not alone if you've forgotten the PIN for your Library account. It's most commonly the last four digits of your phone number. If that doesn't work, you can get your PIN emailed to you from the SAILS staff. Just click here and fill out a brief form with your library card number. Your PIN will be sent directly to your email on record.
Those without access to email can leave a message on the Library's voice mail, and someone from the staff will get back to them as soon as possible. Call 508/946-2470.
2. Help! Now I have my PIN and still can't log in. If you're trying to get into
your SAILS account, make sure you're entering the 14-digit number from your library card with no letters (found on older cards) and no spaces. If you have the correct PIN and you still can't access your account, you may have an expired card or you may have gotten a replacement card at some point. In this case, you can apply
online for a temporary card that will work for two months.
Of course, if you've never had a card before, you can use this same temporary card application to receive
instant access to our online services.
Once we re-open, make sure you come visit the library to update your account or get a permanent card.
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"Silly Shots" Photo Contest
Each Wednesday in April, we've been directing you to our Facebook page where you can post a picture depending on a weekly theme. You'll have seven days to post your pic, and every submission will be entered in a drawing to win one of five $10 Amazon gift cards, to be awarded once we re-open.
In week four of our photo contest, we want hear about you! Starting Wed., April 22, post a pic of you doing something new you've tried while at home these past few weeks, or something you haven't done in years that you've re-tried again recently.
Here's the category for the last week of April, so get thinking! We want to see a picture of y
ou and/or your pet (or stuffed animal, if you don't have a live one).
One entry per person per week, please. Keep your eye out for snaps from our staff, too.
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This Week's Marvelous
Museum "Pass"
Is there anything more calming than watching a kelp forest or moon jellies gently floating in the ocean or cute sea otters frolicking at feeding time?
For an escape from the daily grind and stress of life with COVID-19, click
here to visit the large collection of webcams offered by the
Monterey (CA) Bay
Aquarium. You can watch them live, starting at 1:00 p.m EST, or click on the different webcams to watch pre-recorded videos of the marine critters. From sharks, otters, and coral reefs to penguins, kelp, and jellies you'll be feeling more zen after your virtual visit out West.
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"Book Blurbs" --
What We've
Been
Reading While Home
Every week, we're bringing you a brief Book Blurb from the staff to fill you in on what they've been reading. This week, two titles from our Children's Department staff.
Children's Librarian Amanda Meyer --
No More Naps! by Chris Grabenstein (2020)
This hilarious new picture book features Annalise Devin McFleece who does not want to take a nap. Parents and kids alike will relate to the story, and it's lots of fun to read aloud. I have to say, it's a little too much like real-life right now for this librarian at home with two under three.
Get this book from Overdrive
here.
Children's Department Assistant/Technical Services Head Lori Salotto --
Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris (2019)
A companion novel to The
Tattooist of Auschwitz,
this book tells the story of
Cilka
Klein and her experience in the Siberian Gulag, though her time in Auschwitz also is explored in flashbacks. At 18, when the Soviets liberated the concentration camp, Cilka was charged as a Nazi collaborator and sentenced to 15 years in the Gulag. Both of Morris' stories are fictional accounts of real people and experiences, based on her extensive research. Like much historical fiction, some of Morris' story elements are accurate and others may be compilations of several different individuals and historical events.
Place your hold for either the ebook or audio book
here.
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Boredom Busters
In each of our April newsletters we'll be offering you something silly and/or fun to do here.
Many of you may have seen the book in the Library on the Reference desk with its pages folded in such a way to make the word, "Read" on it. One of our very creative and talented patrons made this for us, and now you can try it out at home too.
Book Riot is offering a plethora of patterns for beginning book folders to try their hand at this calming craft. You can attempt to fold a cat, flowers, hearts, or how about "Dad?" Father's Day will be here before you know it. Look here for more information.
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Did You Know...?
Get to know a little bit more about our staff this April.
We're quite sure if you've been in the Library during daylight hours, you've seen
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Roger and daughter, Rachel.
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our unsung hero,
Custodian Roger Choquette. An employee of Middleborough for more than 18 years, Roger works in both the Library and Town Hall. From window washing and vacuuming to deep cleaning and room setup, Roger's always there to cheerfully lend a hand. In the days since the pandemic, our staff feels better knowing Roger is the one hard at work disinfecting our Library building. His care and compassion for his fellow staff shines through in his work.
The consummate story teller, he brightens our days with his tales told with a mischievous twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face. We've missed seeing him every day during this stay-at-home period and look forward to when we can all be in the building together again. Please be sure to thank him the next time you're back with us, too.
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Musical Moment
of
the Week
What do nearly 30 million people know that you don't? -- a guaranteed way to put a smile on your face. Even though this video is a few years old, Claire Crosby and her dad, Dave, are just what we need right now. Here they are singing "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Pixar's Toy Story.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy this sweet dad-daughter duet, and just try not to grin from ear to ear. Click here.
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Calling All Local Heros!
You may have seen our recent pieces on local heroes and mask makers Borobot and Mary Osborn. We're betting that you might know of others in our community who you feel should be recognized for what they're doing to help others during the coronavirus crisis.
We'd love to hear from you. Send us a short note via
email with the name and a few lines about your nominated hero and you just might see it in a future newsletter.
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Book News From
Around t
he Country
One of our favorite Boston-based authors, Jenna Blum, was recently featured in the Sunday
Boston Globe as a co-founder of A Mighty Blaze. It's a
group of book stores, authors, and book-related organizations that have launched a social media initiative for authors whose public events have been canceled during the COVID-19 outbreak, so they can still reach their readers--and so readers will have a place to learn about and buy new books.
"Writers and books need readers. Readers need books," says Blum, who started the initiative with fellow author Caroline Leavitt. "Every Tuesday, you can hear about new book releases and meet the authors."
Check them out on
Facebook
.
For the first time in more than a decade, a New England
book store has been
named the Bookstore of the Year by
Publishers Weekly
magazine.
Porter Square Books
in Cambridge was selected for the strength of its book-selling, its innovative Writer-in-Residence program, and adult book fairs.
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COVID-19 Critical Content
We know you've got lots of sites where you can go to get information on the Coronavirus pandemic, so each week, we'll provide links to a few trusted and respected sources.
1. Taking good care of your mental health is critical during this stressful time. The
Department of
Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital offers a curated set of COVID-19 resources on topic such as Mindfulness, Coping and Resilience, and the special mental heath needs of children. Learn more
here.
2. Food pantries across the Commonwealth are seeing an unprecedented level of need, with some registering an 800 percent increase in demand. You can do your part by donating to Middleboro's Sacred Heart Food Pantry or to the Greater Boston Food Bank which provides support to our local pantry. To read more about this coronavirus-related crisis, click here to read the Boston Globe report.
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Middleborough Public Library
102 North Main St., Middleborough, MA 02346
508-946-2470
Currently -- Closed until further notice, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When we re-open:
Monday--Thursday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sundays: noon - 4:00 p.m.
Closed on Fridays
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