Check out what's new at the Library!
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Letter from the Director
by Jodi Weisz
The New Milford Public Library's modernization is moving forward, full steam ahead. The Town of New Milford and the Board of Trustees entered into a contract with an experienced contractor. A Clerk of the Works, Mr. Steven Vasquez, a graduate of New Milford High School, has started his exciting position. Behind the scenes, library staff are busy providing library services dovetailed to these unique times. As our modernization project is moving rapidly towards a "shovel-in-the-ground start-date," your library team is building partnerships with New Milford's social service agencies, public schools, homeschoolers, adult learners and senior citizens. We have enjoyed creating virtual programming for the community, sponsoring giveaways, increasing our virtual reference service, tripling access to e-books, live streaming yoga and lifelong learning classes. There is no end to the staff's creativity as we challenge ourselves to engage with our beloved patrons "outside-of-the-box" of traditional library services. Popular programs we have curated include, a "Stuck at Home Challenge" for teens and families, a month long poetry sharing with New Milford's Poet Laureate, and "Boredom Busters" newsletters. Through virtual community sharing of images that connect neighbors to one another, we have grown in intimacy with one another. In many ways, this time period has opened up a window into each other's lives as we enjoy watching Facebook posts about our respective at-home hobbies, gardening efforts, funny pet moments and plans for our future. If you see staff moving about in the library building, it's because we are busy pulling books and managing our "Curbside Pick Up" program, getting the building ready to be moved for our modernization project, and placing book plates in hundreds of brand new books we are distributing to children and families, compliments of the Friends of the New Milford Public Library. Indeed, this time of closure to the public has been a time of opening ourselves up to new possibilities, paradigm shifts can be good for a 122 year old Library!
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New from NMPL
by Peggy Ganong, Library Technology Coordinator
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Well, as time marches on, we are always looking for more ways to entertain and inform our patrons of all the library has to offer. Our newest feature that we would like to tell you about is our new NMPL You Tube channel! Click
here
and see and hear Mrs. Ford do story times for children, see tutorials on how to use some of our services, see the results from some of our programs and much more!
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Free Books for New Milford Students
by Leslie Schlemmer, Technical Services Associate
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The New Milford Public Library is donating new books to be distributed through the meal distribution service at Sarah Noble Intermediate School on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This has been made possible for the students through a generous private donation and a donation from The FRIENDS of the New Milford Public Library.
The books have been purchased through the Scholastic Literacy Partnership. Our hope is to instill a love of reading in New Milford students that will last their entire lifetime.
We wish to thank Dr. Kerry Parker, Superintendent of Schools and Eileen Monaghan, Board of Education member, for collaborating on this endeavor.
Please note that during the pandemic, the New Milford Public Library has continued to offer materials online through our econtent platforms and other outreach. Patrons may check out ebooks, eaudio, videos, music and more with a library card. Any New Milford resident in need of a library card may go to the website
www.newmilfordlibrary.org
to fill out a request.
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Do You Remember ...
by Rachael Wright, Digital Literacy Associate
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As we do our part and stay indoors there’s been a surge of nostalgia for the way life was B.C. (Before Corona). While it’s easy to remember what long lines look like at the DMV and what a rowdy crowd at a ball game sounds like, it’s harder to recall the sights and sounds from the past few decades. Stay indoors and travel to yesteryear with these websites that cater to way back when.
In the 1990s the screeching boops and beeps of dial up internet tested our patience and insulted our eardrums. Today that cacophony transports us to a simple time before Facebook Likes and Wireless internet. The Museum of Endangered Sounds (
http://savethesounds.info/
) is a website that is home to mundane sounds that have been replaced by evolving technology. Listen to the sounds of 1995: hear your PC startup with Windows 95, while a copy of Jumanji video rewinds in the VCR, all while not leaving your living room (or 2020).
We use the internet for almost everything. We get our questions answered by Google, our provisions from Amazon and our entertainment through Netflix. Each website is user friendly and visually appealing, but 25 years ago the websites that we frequent today looked vastly different. The Web Design Museum (
https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/
) features popular websites in all their clunky, hyperlink blue glory. Beginning with the very first website ever, circa 1991, the Web Design Museum illustrates exactly how far we’ve come in the world of web design.
Staying indoors has caused us to depend on our digital devices now more than ever. Spending more time with technology increases the chances of technology issues, whether you’re conducting business via Zoom meetings, teaching your children on Google Classroom or using this time at home to finally figure out your iPhone. If you find yourself needing technology help, feel free to email
rschuster@biblio.org
and speak with our Digital Technology Associate, Rachael Wright, who will be glad to assist you.
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Wowbrary - Better Than Ever!
by Peggy Ganong, Library Technology Coordinator
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Are you signed up for our Wowbrary service? If not, you are missing out on a valuable tool that you can use to enhance your reading and listening pleasure! By signing up for a free subscription to this service, you will receive a weekly email that will show you the newest acquisitions that NMPL has received. The old version of Wowbrary only included print books, music CDs and DVDs. Now, we have added access to 152 e-magazines (including back issues) which you can access directly from the newsletter page. Plus we have added all the e-resources from Axis 360, RBdigital, Kanopy and Hoopla! You can customize the format of the newsletter to suit your particular preferences. Not only will you see the newest items received, but you will also receive a synopsis of the plot and be able check out or reserve a copy of the item (even before it shows up in the library catalog!) The menu on the left side of the page allows you to sort and search for items. So if you want to be the first to know what is happening at NMPL, click
here
to sign up!
to sign up!
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