Mattapoisett Free Public Library
• Holiday Fun – Ring in some holiday cheer at the Mattapoisett Library on Tuesday, December 13 at 6:00 pm. There will be music, refreshments and the lighting of a tree decorated with your homemade ornaments. Adults and children can join us in closing out the year’s “go green” theme by making ornaments at home from recycled materials and decorating the tree in the Reading Room. Questions can be directed to Jessica Noblet at MFPLFriends@gmail.com.
• Monthly Sale – The Friends of the Mattapoisett Library’s monthly book sale will be December 10, from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm in the Meeting Room at the library. Now is a great time to shop our growing collection of cookbooks, current fiction and mysteries, self-help, audiobooks and children’s books. For the holidays, pick up one of our canvas tote bags and fill it with gifts for book-lovers. You can purchase a copy of the new Friends cookbook, a compilation of favorite recipes including a selection from the library’s “Cooks and Books” chefs. As always, donations of your gently-used books are welcome at the library during business hours.
• Junior Friends Can and Bottle Drive – Bring your redeemables to the library on Saturday, December 10 from 9:00 to 10:00 am and support the Junior Friends of the Library.
• Winter Storytimes – Registration will begin for the Winter Storytime series on December 27. New this session will be the addition of a Thursday afternoon preschool session instead of the Thursday morning session. For more information, call the Children’s Department at 508-758-4171.
• Community Cafe – Your library is a comfortable community center. Thanks to the Friends, you can drop by and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea for a small donation. Visit the reading room to relax and converse with friends. What a great way to spend a winter afternoon!
• Family Storytime – Families with children of all ages are welcome to enjoy some favorite stories together. If you have a favorite story, please bring it to share in this casual and fun storytime. Family Storytime is held on the first Saturday of each month, from 10:30 to 11:00 am. No registration required.
• Movie Day – Everyone is welcome to attend Movie Days, sponsored by the library’s Junior Friends, who have raised money for a movie license. Bring your children and relax at the movies in the library’s Meeting Room. Wednesday, December 28 will be Polar Express at 1:00 pm and at 3:30 pm, Elf will be shown. The Junior Friends ask that you bring a canned good for donation to Damien’s Pantry.
• Winter Activities in the Children’s Room – Saturday, December 17 features Ornament Making from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. There will be fun for all ages. On Saturday, January 21, 2012 there will be Snow Globe making from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Come explore how science and art can blend together to create a lasting memory. Participants will sculpt their own winter scene and preserve it in individual hand-made globes.
• Second Cup of Coffee Job Club – The next meeting of the Job Club will be Wednesday, December 14 from 10:00 to 11:30 am. Please note the meeting change due to the holiday schedule. Everyone is welcome for networking, job search and career change discussion.
• Cookbooks For Sale – The Friends’ new community cookbook is available for sale at the library. It includes delicious recipes submitted by local chefs and cookbook authors as well as members of the Friends and library patrons. These will make great gifts while also supporting the work of the Friends. The books are $10 each.
• Technology Workshops – Confused about whether to buy a Nook or a Kindle? Wondering what all the hype about e-readers means to you? Do you have an iPad and want to learn how to download books form the library? Join the library staff at one of our informal technology workshops and get your questions answered. E-readers will be available to try and staff will show you how to download books and audiobooks. Workshops will be held every Tuesday at 6:30 pm and on Thursdays at 3:00 pm through the months of December and January. For an individual appointment with technology questions please call Liz Sherry at 508-758-4171 or email her at esherry@sailsinc.org.
• Canned Goods for the Food Pantry – The library is accepting non-perishables to help stock local food pantries. Feel free to bring you items to the library throughout the year. Also welcome are hats and gloves and new socks to be distributed to area shelters. Many thanks in advance for your thoughtfulness.
Plumb Library Events
• Cafe Parlez – Café Parlez selection for December is The Princess Bride, by William Goldman. Nearly everyone has seen the movie; now read the book! They’re all here: Princess Buttercup, Westley, Fezzik, Miracle Max Vizzini, Prince Humpderdinck, Inigo Montoya –the whole gang. The Princess Bride is about good against evil, country against country, strange beasts, and love, true love. Fans of the movie will be delighted to read more back story and those new to the film will find a lot to like. The group will be discussing this book on Thursday, December 29 at 6:30 pm. Books are available at the desk, or bring your own copy. Café Parlez is sponsored by the Friends of Plumb Library. Continue the discussion on Goodreads – www.GoodReads.com.
The schedule for 2012 is available at the library. Selections will include: Bel Canto, Room, Three Junes, A Visit from the Goon Squad, The Last Child, The Tiger’s Wife, Mrs. Kimble, and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.
• Non-Fiction Book Group – The Nonfiction book discussion group will meet Thursday, December 15 at 6:30 pm to discuss Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard. Written in the late 1950s, this book is at times a quaint look back, and an eerie look into the future of advertising and its influence on us, both economically and politically. Packard was one of the first to recognize how advertisers were controlling the minds of the consumer, and how market research plays a big part in what we purchase. Books are available at the desk or bring your own copy.
The non-fiction schedule for 2012 is: January 20: The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore; February 16: Cod, by Mark Kurlansky; March 15: In the Garden of the Beasts, by Erik Larsen; April 19: Columbine, by Dave Cullen; May 17: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua.
• Food for Fines – During the month of December, Plumb Library patrons can have their late fees and fines waived if they donate non-perishable items for local food pantries, or pet food for local animal shelters. “Food for Fines” will start December 1 and end December 23. Donations cannot cover lost book fees, or lost card fees. Call the library for more information. Start the New Year with a clean slate and help local food pantries.
• Busy Knitters – The Knitters at Plumb Library have done it again. Last year, they donated 185 scarves for soldiers. This year, they knitted items for children. The busy knitters in Rochester donated 46 caps for preemies, donated to Charlton Hospital; 19 pairs of mittens, 40 hats, 23 scarves, one sweater, and one pair of socks were made and donated to “Gifts to Give” in New Bedford.
• Storytime Schedules – Preschool storytimes are for children ages 3-5 and meet on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 am. Bookaroos for Twos, a storytime for children ages 2-3 and their parents or caregivers, meets every Friday at 10:30 am. Both story times are on holiday hiatus. Registration for the winter session will end Saturday, December 17. Winter session of storytime will start Wednesday, January 4.
Elizabeth Taber Library
• Women Sharing Words – The Elizabeth Taber Library has carved out a space for writing women. “Traditionally, women have been listeners and readers but not speakers and writers.” This is changing.
Once a month, typically the fourth Friday of the month, women are invited to bring their writing, or something that has inspired them, to the Elizabeth Taber Library to read and discuss. (Due to the upcoming holidays, the group will be meeting the third Friday of the month: December 16).
Plans for the New Year are to have a special event with refreshments and a movie. The group would like it to feature mothers dialoging with their daughters about the advances women have made as a result of the Second Wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement. The teapot is on!