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WESTFORD — Assistant Library Director Kristina Leedberg has shared the most recent edition of “What’s Happening at the Library?” with WestfordCAT.
Unless otherwise noted, all of our programs are generously funded by the Friends of the Library, Inc.
Director’s Corner: Planning for a 21st Century Library: The J. V. Fletcher Library is now thirty-four years out from its most recent renovation /expansion. The Board of Library Trustees and Library Administration have the responsibility to continue planning on a new Library chapter — a 21st Century Library. The Town of Westford received a provisional grant notice of $7,851,994 from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners for the Library Construction Project on July 7 2022. Beginning in March 2012, Town Meeting has voted four times to proceed with two separate design and building grants and to match grant funding in order to make this expansion a possibility. Town residents must vote on full project funding at both the October 17 Special Town Meeting, WA Gymnasium at 7:00PM and at the November 8 local ballot. To learn more about the Library Building Project, please visit the Library’s website.
Diwali Crafts: Sat., Oct. 15 at 2:00 p.m. We will have a variety of Diwali themed crafts; something for everyone. Older kids can decorate a clay diya and try paper quilling. Younger kids can make a firework craft with colorful cellophane paper and straws. We will also have coloring sheets for the very young. It is up to the parents what you want to try with the kids! Register here.
Friends’ Annual Meeting and Featured Speaker-In Person: Tue., Oct. 18 at 7:00 p.m. Bina Venkataraman is an American journalist, author, and science policy expert. She is currently Editor-at-Large at The Boston Globe and a fellow at New America. Since 2011, she has taught in the program on science, technology, and society at MIT. In The Optimist’s Telescope, she draws on her reporting from around the world and new research in biology, psychology, and economics to explain how we can make decisions that benefit us over time. She highlights the surprising practices each of us can adopt in our own lives—and the ones we must fight for as a society. The Optimist’s Telescope is a book brimming with the ideas and insights all of us need to forge a better future. There will be a short business meeting preceding the program. No registration required.
VIRTUAL JOB SEARCH HELP FOR 50 & OVER – JOB SEARCH HELP FOR 50 & OVER – LinkedIn – Personal Branding: Wed., October 19, 9:30-11:30 a.m. The Massachusetts Library Collaborative’s 50+ Job Seekers Group meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, from 9:30am to 11:30am, via Zoom. If you are unemployed and actively looking, underemployed, seeking a new career direction, re-entering the job market after a long employment gap, or recently retired and looking for your “Encore Career”, this networking group program is perfect for you! Register here
Virtual Wives, Lovers, and Spies – Women of the Civil War: Thu., Oct. 20 at 2:00 p.m. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Meeting via email. Explore the lives of some noteworthy women from both the Union and Confederate sides of the Civil War. Learn the fascinating stories of women who broke barriers and made bold and courageous efforts to support their individual causes. In the process, the ladies would find themselves in circumstances they never could have imagined. Led by historian Jo Ann Tufo, a writer, lecturer, and performer, her realistic and haunting portrayals of various historic figures have delighted audiences for more than thirty years. Register here.
YA Writers’ Club: Fri., Oct. 21 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. Calling all writers! Get together to support each other through the ultimate writing challenge: National Novel Writing Month! Many successful authors have written their first drafts during NaNoWriMo! We will draft our novels, track our progress online, and meet to share ideas and advice. If you don’t want to participate in NaNoWriMo, you’re welcome to come share ideas and encourage others. Register here.
Friends of the J.V. Fletcher Library October Book Sale: Fri., Oct. 21, Sat., Oct. 22 and Sun., Oct. 23 A Friends Members Only Sale will be held on Friday evening from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. A Friends membership (which may be purchased at the door) is necessary for attending this sale. The entire public is invited Saturday for an all-day sale, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and for the $5.00 Bag Sale on Sunday, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. So much stock! So little time!
YA Crafternoon: Mon., Oct. 24 at 3:00 p.m. Come to the Meeting Room to hang out, listen to music, and get crafty! We will make pumpkins out of books, as well as create some DIY decorations for our upcoming Halloween party. Register here.
Teen Tween Halloween: Saturday, October 29 at 2:00pm. Costumes encouraged! Come play games, eat snacks, and get in the Halloween spirit. For Grade 6 and Up. No registration required.
Did You Know? You can access the Rosetta Stone language learning database with your Westford Library card. Learn a new language with Rosetta Stone’s proven immersion method which integrates listening, reading, and speaking. There are 30 different languages to choose from. Check it out here!
Staff Recommends: Ellen Rainville recommends, “Heirloom Cooking with the Brass Sisters: Recipes You Remember and Love”. This Book Review starts with an obituary in the Boston Globe of Sheila Brass – one of the two Brass sisters of Winthrop who – somehow missed by me – hosted the “Food Flirts” cooking program on PBS. Her obituary mentioned two “heirloom” cookbooks penned by the sisters – one of which I ordered on inter-library loan … Heirloom Cooking with the Brass Sisters is illustrated with handwritten recipe cards, vintage cookbook covers and toy kitchen tools – a retrospective of American cooking. Scanning through this cookbook, imagine my surprise upon finding on page 98 a recipe attributed to my late mother, “Jean Downey’s Marinated Vegetables.” There, in a book published 5 years after her death (now almost 2 decades ago) – it is like a voice across the universe. I might have missed the obituary, I might have ordered the other title, I might have randomly flipped through recipes and missed this page, but I can just hear my mother’s voice, “Have you been eating enough green leafy vegetables?”
If you have questions or need assistance, please call us at 978-399-2300 or send us an email at westfordlibrary@westfordma.gov.
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