News, Information, and Fun Things to Do
from the
Middleborough Public Library
|
|
Library Lines
July 8, 2020
|
|
Our Newsletter Has a New Look
With this issue, we present a new look and a new format. You've stuck with us since March when we first started weekly newsletters and we thought it was time for a fresh, updated look. Feel free to let us know what you think. You can email the newsletter editors,
Chris Dargelis or
Libby Fox, with your comments. Enjoy!
|
|
Curbside Pickup is Here!
Have you joined all your neighbors who've tried our curbside pickup service? No? Well, there's no better time as we're now able to provide items from the entire SAILS network, not just Middleboro.
You can place holds for items you'd like to request by logging into your
SAILS account
and searching the catalog. You also may phone or email us your requests at 508/946-2470 ext. 1 or midlib@sailsinc.org.
Once your items are ready, you will be called to schedule your pickup. Curbside pickup is now available Monday - Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., as staffing allows
.
|
|
Click
here
to read our full curbside pickup guidelines.
|
|
Book Bundles for Kids
The Children's Room is even offering book bundles for kids. If you want to borrow books about a certain subject, and don't have specific titles in mind, our librarians will select them for you. Fill out the
"book bundles" form
, and we'll be in touch to work out all the details.
|
|
Your Online 2020 Summer Reading Program is Underway!
|
The "Imagine Your Story" virtual summer reading programs are now underway. Kids, teens and adults can
register
and participate any time until Thursday, August 13.
Prizes for reading and participating in a variety of online and at-home activities will be awarded for all ages.
Try the new Beantack mobile app for tracking your reading time. We've also added the ability to create accounts for the entire family, making it easier than ever to join in the fun.
For patrons without access to the internet at home, or for those looking for a screen-free activity, you can request a packet of print materials from the Library.
Please contact Amanda Meyer, Children's Librarian, at 508/946-2470.
|
|
DOWNLOAD THE BEANSTACK MOBILE APP
New this year is the Beanstack Tracker mobile app where you can participate right from your mobile device.
|
|
Imagine Your Story
Summer Reading programs are sponsored by the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and supported through the generosity of the Friends of the Middleborough Public Library. The Beanstack summer reading platform is made possible by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and with the assistance of the Massachusetts Library System.
|
|
Don't Miss these Kids Programs for July!
Crafternoons post on the Library's
Facebook page on
Mondays at 1:00 p.m. If you can't watch the live session, you can catch the videos any time through the Library's
YouTube channel.
July 13 -- Bead Bug-Plant Buddy.
Pick up a kit
and follow along or use your own materials from home.
Please note:
due to the small size of the materials included, these are not intended for children under 3
.
July 20 -- CD/DVD Recycled Art
. Pick up a kit and follow along or use your own materials from home.
Kits are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Call to reserve and schedule your curbside pickup.
|
|
Fairytale STEAM StoryTimes post on the Library's
Facebook page on
Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.
July 8 --
Listen to the story of
The Three Little Pigs
, watch a science experiment that you can recreate at home, and hear about many resources available through the Library.
|
|
July 15 --
After hearing the story of
Little Red Riding Hood
, help Miss Amanda code the way to grandma's house.
|
|
COLORING KITS
Coloring Kits are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and we have many available for patrons to order. You must call to reserve a kit and schedule a curbside pick-up time. Each kit contains a coloring book, crayons, and materials to create four bookmarks.
|
|
Parents' Corner
Looking for more ways to engage your kids in reading this summer? Check out these ways they can read and earn incentives. Plus, you can log the same reading time in our program for more chances to win prizes that support local businesses.
Barnes & Noble
: Kids in grades 1-6 can complete their Summer Reading journal and get a free book.
Rockland Trust:
Kids in grades 1-8 can join their Reading Makes Cents program, fill out a journal and then earn up to $25 just for reading.
Scholastic:
Join Scholastic's Summer Read-a-Palooza and use their Home Base system to read books, play games and help donate books to communities in need.
|
|
Do you have a child going to Kindergarten in the fall?
Join us on Zoom for
"Learn to Play Your Way to K"
on
Tues., July 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Carol Carver
from Self Help, Inc.'s Coordinated Family Community Engagement program will be joining to share valuable resources.
Miss Amanda will provide a story and song for kids and then information for families on how they can build Kindergarten readiness skills through play. All families registered will receive materials. A representative from Memorial Early Childhood Center will be joining us as well. Families must
register.
|
|
|
|
School Summer Reading for Teens
|
Middleborough middle school and high school students can find out more about their schools' summer reading assignments on the Library's
School Summer Reading
teen page.
|
|
Nichols Middle School students are encouraged to sign up for one of the Library's summer reading programs.
Middleborough High School summer reading is optional. Students can find a list of suggested book titles--linked directly to the Library's catalog--as well as podcasts recommended by the English Department.
|
|
Not sure what to read?
The Library staff can assist you in finding a book that interests you. Email Teen Librarian
Chris Dargelis
for a suggestion or browse through the booklists on the
What to Read Next
teen page.
If you're participating in a Summer Reading program, check out the many book lists we have created under the"Recommendations" link on the top-right of your Beanstack account page.
Don't forget to try
Novelist Plus
, a free book recommendation site that Middleborough cardholders can use for book suggestions by age, subject, and genre.
|
|
If you prefer to read or listen to a book on your mobile device, download a summer reading title using our free OverDrive service or the Libby app.
|
|
|
|
Coming Soon: Circulating Dungeons & Dragons Kits!
|
If you've ever wanted to find out what playing Dungeons & Dragons is all about without buying a set, here's your chance!
The Library will be purchasing two types of Dungeons & Dragons kits, one for beginners and one for the next level up, that teens and families can borrow and play at home. All you'll need is a library card. Stay tuned for more details in the next few weeks.
|
|
|
|
These kits were made possible by a Virtual Programming for Distance Learning grant awarded through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and funded by the CARES Act and t
he Institute of Museum and Library Services
.
|
|
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About OverDrive and the Libby App But Were Afraid to Ask
|
|
Are you a fan of books that are based on other books' characters, story lines, or settings? It seems like there's been a huge increase in the number of these kinds of titles published in the past decade and you can find many of them on Overdrive. Here's just a small sampling, as well as a
BuzzFeed article
with many more ideas.
|
|
Marley
by Jon Clinch, based on the Charles Dickens character Jacob Marley in
A Christmas Story.
(Also check out the print copy of Clinch's
Finn
, based on Pap, Huck's father, in Mark Twain's
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
.)
|
|
Eligible
, Curtis Sittenfeld's re-telling of Jane Austen's
Pride and Prejudice
. Available in both e-book and digital audio book formats.
|
|
Chris Bojahlian used F. Scott Fitzgerald's
The Great Gatsby
as inspiration for his book
The Double Bind
,
a psychological novel of obsession and consequence set in both the Roaring Twenties and the 21st century.
|
|
The Lunar Chronicles YA series by Marissa Meyer, loved by both teens and adults. Described as a mashup of fairy tales and science fiction set in a Star Wars-like universe, the four books are based on classic characters:
Cinder
(Cinderella),
Scarlet
(Little Red Riding Hood),
Cress
(Rapunzel), and
Winter
(Snow White). You can
find
all four titles
in Overdrive in print and audio versions.
|
|
Meg & Jo
, by Virginia Kantra, is a contemporary retelling of Louisa May Alcott's
Little Women
, set in New York City and North Carolina where the sisters reunite when their mother becomes ill. Available in digital print and audio versions.
|
|
Alcott's book also was the inspiration for Geraldine Brook's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
March
which
tells the story of the March family patriarch who's away fighting in the Civil War in the original work.
|
|
If you're new to borrowing e-books and digital audio books
from the Library's Overdrive collection, start
at the
"Help"
pages.
and she'll get back to you and try to help.
|
|
Black Lives Matter Community Read From OverDrive
Overdrive, our provider of ebooks and digital audio books, recently announced that they've launched a collection of titles called "Black Lives Matter: Community Read." The program offers a variety of titles about antiracism and social justice,
focused
on
#ownvoices. They're intended to help you read, listen, learn and grow as you expand your knowledge of race relations.
All four titles
in this collection have been made available through mid-July without waiting lists or holds.
|
|
ALWAYS AVAILABLE MAGAZINES
Don't forget you can also borrow digital magazines through the Libby/Overdrive app with your Library card.
The
SAILS magazine collection
is always available, with no waiting list and no need to place a hold.
|
|
"Your Two Cents Worth" -- Quick Tips to Help Manage Your Account
Do you miss being able to peruse the daily newspapers and weekly/monthly magazines from a comfy chair in the Library?
You can still look at online versions of many of the periodicals we subscribe to in your own comfy chair at home. Start at the
SAILS home page
, look for the "Find Materials" section on the right side, and click on the link for "Magazine and Newspaper Articles."
There, you'll find links for the
Boston Globe
, the
New York Times
, and more than 150 popular magazines featuring full-text articles including
Camping
,
Cosmopolitan
,
Ebony
,
Good Housekeeping
,
Men's Fitness
,
O, the Oprah Magazine
,
Popular Mechanics
and many more.
|
|
"Book Blurbs" -- What We've Been Reading
|
|
Every few weeks, we bring you a brief Book Blurb from the staff about what we've been reading. This week we offer a duo of titles from
Reference and Adult Services Librarian Libby Fox
.
|
|
|
|
Tracy Chevalier fans take note -- the author's latest work is another wonderful addition to her long list of historical novels. Described on her website as set in the "... 1930s English cathedral city of Winchester, where embroidery, bell-ringing and other adventures await," its lead character is an endearing single woman trying to live independently from her widowed mother and married brother in a world where "spinsters" typically must rely on others to get by.
|
|
|
|
Audio book fans take note -- any time you get the chance to listen to a book by English actress and narrator Fenella Woolgar, take it. I found myself extending my morning walk much longer than usual just so I could keep her lovely British voice coming through my earphones. She really brings the story to life.
Click
here
to listen to or read an interview with the author from Winchester Cathedral.
|
|
|
|
Weiner's multi-generational book spans the lives of two sisters over nearly seven decades, from the 1950s to current times. Touching on critical events of the period, like the Vietnam War and the Women's Movement, as well as topics ranging from child abuse, race relations, and the drug culture, the core message of the book is really about the bonds of enduring love between sisters.
|
|
|
|
|
In its starred review, Booklist wrote, "Readers will flock to this ambitious, nearly flawless novel . . . Weiner asks big questions about how society treats women in this slyly funny, absolutely engrossing novel that is simultaneously epic and intimate."
|
|
|
|
Click on the titles above to place a hold for either
the audio book or ebook editions in Overdrive.
|
|
|
|
Musical Moment of the Week
Here's another incredible online musical collaboration, created in spite of the limitations of social distancing.
"Wicked" might be the way a native of Massachusetts describes something great, but to musical theater fans, it's the long-running show based on
Gregory Maguire's book
. In this video, 23 actresses who played the roles of Elphaba or Glinda (and in one case, both of them) in London's West End performances of "Wicked," join together to sing the hit song
"For Good."
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the incredible creativity, skill, and technology that made this possible.
|
|
This Week's Marvelous
"Museum Pass"
We're sticking fairly close to home for this week's tour with a virtual visit to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston.
There are a number of exhibits that make portions of the show available for viewing, along with supplementary materials. A good place to start is the exhibit
"Monet and Boston: Lasting Impressions."
It includes a slide show of several pieces, a discussion by the exhibit curator, and a selection of Monet-inspired music. You can even download
one of five Monet works
from the exhibit to use as the background for your next Zoom virtual meeting.
Offering one of the most extensive art collections in the country, the MFA holds more than 8,000 paintings, (surpassed only by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City), and is visited by more than one million people every year.
|
|
Book News From Around the State:
The Worcester Talking Book Library
|
|
WTBL circulates by mail the more than 12,000 large print books in its collection, and any Massachusetts resident with a visual, physical, or reading disability is encouraged to apply. Click
here
for eligibility guidelines and to apply for services, or call 508/799-1730 for more information.
The WTBL also can provide access to Braille books for both long-time users and for young people who are just learning Braille.
Once approved for access to services, patrons also can request any of the more than 1.2 million volumes of recorded books and magazines.
All three kinds of materials can be accessed and searched in the library's
online catalog
or by calling the library with specific titles or authors.
|
|
Due Dates Extended to July 31!
Due dates for all library items currently checked out have now been extended until
Fri., July 31.
No need to worry about late fees or rushing your checkouts back to the book return. This covers all items checked out since before we closed, and those picked up since then through our curbside service.
|
|
Lost Your Library Card?
If you've lost your card or just can't find it right now, and want to tap into all of the great online library resources, SAILS has got you covered. You can register online for a temporary card that will work for two months.
Once we open, you'll have to come visit to get a permanent card, but this will allow you to access all we have to offer in the meantime.
|
|
|
|
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. At the beginning of the month, Gov. Baker announced that travelers to Massachusetts would no longer have to quarantine for 14 days from these states: New York, New Jersey, and all five other New England states. The 14-day quarantine recommendation is still in effect for travelers from the rest of the country. For more details, click
here
.
|
|
2. A new interactive map from
Globalepidemics.org
shows a county-by-county graphic representation of the number of COVID-19 cases throughout the country. Hover over the map for a quick look at your county's statistics, updated daily, including the number of cases, deaths, and risk level.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
