Weekly Library News January 21, 2016 Milford Public Bus Transportation Open Forum! The Town of Milford is reviewing a Proposal for Public Transportation through the Metro West Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA). The public is invited to attend a Public Transportation Open Forum to listen to details of the proposal and provide their input. Information provided will include a Proposed Route and Bus Stops. Town and State Officials and Representatives from the MWRTA will be present to provide information as well as answer your questions. The Forum will be held at the Milford Senior Center, 60 North Bow Street, on Thursday, January 28, 2016 from 6 to 8pm. All interested citizens are encouraged to attend and make their wishes known about routes and bus stops. This is your opportunity to have a say. Don t miss it. AARP Tax Assistance Once again the AARP will be assisting senior and low income citizens with their Federal and State Income Tax Returns. We are now taking names for appointments beginning February 6 at 9:30am. Appointments will be one hour each, with the last appointment at 1:30pm. All persons wishing to avail themselves of Tax Assistance must remember that only simple tax returns will be prepared. Also there is a form to be filled out at the Information Desk before clients go down to have their taxes prepared. The forms may be filled out when they come in to make their appointments or 10 or 15 minutes before they are due for their scheduled appointment with the Tax preparer. Call the Reference Desk at 508-473-2145 X219 to schedule you Tax Appointment. Contemporary Book Group The Contemporary Book group will meet on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at 7pm in the Children s Program Room to discuss The Turner House by Angela Flournoy. In her stirring first novel Flournoy explores the value of home to a family through the lens of the Turner family of Detroit. The book spans nearly three quarters of a century and several generations and becomes a portrait not only of the Turners but also of their city. Besides being beautifully written, the book is about the joy and aggravation of being a human being in a large family, in a house, in a city, on this earth. It is also a pleasure to read, funny and heartbreaking, with characters you ll miss like family when you finish the story. To reserve a copy of The Turner House or for more information about the Contemporary Book Group, please call Shelley at 508-473-2145, ext. 2 or email, ssgamat@cwmars.org.
The Center Book Group The Center Book Group, previously known as the Senior Book Group, will meet on Tuesday, February 16 th, 2106 at 10am at the Milford Senior Center to discuss Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots: a novel, by Jessica Soffer. Soffer s first novel is a wonderful work of beauty in words. She paints an elegant portrait of two women lost in the crush who find themselves and each other through food. This is a story about family and love, and how food feeds both of these, but also a story of loss and pain and the empty stomachs of those still learning how to feel. Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots is elegant, sensual, rich and surprising. Jessica Soffer shows us a world peopled with indelible characters whose fates, as they become interwoven, urge us to read faster and faster, except to do so would be to miss Soffer s beautiful language. For more information about the Center Book Group or to reserve a copy of Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots, please call the library s Information Desk at 508-473-2145, ext.219. The Latest in Weight Loss Surgery Gastric bypass and gastric lap-band surgery (laparoscopic adjustable gastric band) have been used for many years to help morbidly obese patients control their weight and alleviate the myriad problems that obesity can bring on: diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, heart disease, osteoarthritis. A more recent procedure involving implantable balloons has been used with promising early results. Unlike gastric bypass and lap-band surgery which involve abdominal surgery, the balloons can be inserted through the throat (endoscopically) with incisions or general anesthesia. The Orbera balloon is a single balloon and the ReShape is a dual balloon. Both are inserted in a deflated state and then inflated with a saline solution in the stomach. Sedation is available to help ease anxiety and discomfort. The balloons can be inflated to match the size of the stomach of the patient and are intended to stay in place or six months. Mayo Clinic doctors are hopeful about these techniques as less invasive and reversible alternatives for those battling obesity, but caution that it s not a magic bullet. To learn more, see the January issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter. The Library Celebrates 30 Years in 2016 We are at the beginning of the planning stage for our 30 th Year Anniversary Celebration. Those of you who might have any material relevant to the 1 st Opening Celebration in April, 1986 are welcome to bring them to the Reference Desk so that we can scan them into our files and possibly use them for the program. Did you take pictures that day of Jimmy Breslin? Of the Building Committee? Of the Hot Air Balloon across the street? Let us take a look and see if we can use them. Everything will be returned. Page 2
It is planned to have the library s Celebration in conjunction with Celebrate Milford on May 14 th (rain date on May 15 th ). There will be tours of the library, pictures of how it was back then before the 2007 Renovation, even pictures of the library as it was being built. So any pictures or memorabilia you may have would be much appreciated. We will keep you informed in this column, on our webpage and on our Face Book Page with the latest updates. Stay tuned. Eclectic Art on Display Area resident Tim Snow exhibits his eclectic art forms in several places around the library during January. Some are paintings, some sculptures, others? You guess. The art may be found in the Reference area, Children s Room and Young Adult Room. Check out the huge graphic painting in the YA Room and the Duct Tape reclining Spider Man, seated mystical creature, and two scary heads (in the Children s Display Case) in the Children s Room; then come look at the lovely watercolors behind the Reference Desk. How to classify this artist becomes a bit difficult. Tim has a degree in Fine Arts, has worked with Hasbro Toy Company and currently teaches in several area school systems. His years of experience in Visual Arts, Graphic Design, Drawing, Sculpture and Illustration among other forms of art are clearly on display throughout the library. Some of Tim s paintings (both fantastic and realistic) are on exhibit in the Adult Display Case along with a few of his caricatures. Lots more caricatures may be found in three-ring binders on the table near the Display Case and Reference Desk, also on the post behind the desk. Tim s work inspires awe in its variety and exuberance. This is an exhibit not to be missed by either children or adults. 2016 ESL Classes 2016 ESL Classes begin January 25, and the format has been changed to better meet the needs of students whose English can be next to none to those who know a lot of English, but want to improve in a more targeted way. Class schedules may be found at the Information Desk. Based on assessment tests given January 12 and 13, the students will place beginner, intermediate, or advanced. Class sections will be recommended to them. Missed the assessment test? Never fear. Come to the classes anyway and you will be assigned a class based on what the instructor feels is best for you The schedule will include a beginner group, a Spanish\Portuguese speakers group, an intermediate/advanced section, and special one-night pronunciation and vocabulary clinics. A daytime conversation group has also been scheduled for Wednesdays at 11am. It s a Bizarre Bizarro World Page 3
For those teens who are not interested in reading for whatever reason there is a form of literature that might appeal to them bizarro. Bizarro fiction (BF) is best defined as weird. Fans consider it the literary equivalent of cult B movies. BF is strange and surreal with unique plots, and is a format that encompasses many genres, including absurdity, fantasy, science fiction and horror. The Milford Town Library has acquired several BF titles to add to its collection. Check with the Young Adult librarian to find some of these books and see if you or your teen would be interested in reading them. Just ask for a Bizarro book. Books with Beane The Milford Town Library is pleased to offer a new program to children in grades 1-3 called Books with Beane. Children can sign up for 15-minute reading sessions with Beane, a beautiful and gentle Golden Retriever. Dogs make excellent reading companions for young ones working on their reading aloud skills. Studies show that students can improve their skills through the non-judgmental and relaxing time spent reading to gentle and furry friends. Beane and his handler have been trained through Dog B.O.N.E.S., an acronym for Dogs Building Opportunities for Nurturing and Emotional Support. Registration is required. Appointments are available on Friday, January 29, 4 5pm, and on these Saturdays in February: 13, 20 and 27. Registration is required, to schedule an appointment, please call the Youth Services Department at 508-473-2145, ext. 216. Town Reports Needed The Paul E. Curran Historical Room is lacking Town Reports for the years 1921 and 1939. Should anyone find these among their attic treasures, please think of the Milford Town Library if you are no longer in use of them. They would complete our set of Town Reports. We would also appreciate any St. Mary s High School yearbooks that families may have packed away in cellars or attics. Many patrons are interested in looking at these and our collection is far from complete. As far as we know there is no other repository for these yearbooks in the town. Thank you for helping us continue to build the library s historical collection. Citizenship Classes Citizenship classes, offered by Catholic Charities will meet on Thursday from 6 to 8pm in the ESL Classroom. Registration is on-going. The classes are free, but the textbook and CD cost $30.00. Page 4
Don t Forget Those Food Pantry Donations The basket for the Daily Bread Food Pantry collection is still under the Friends of the Library Book Table, although the Book Table has been moved to its new location. The Food Pantry feeds an ever increasing number of people as the cold weather sets in. The donations we bring to the Food Pantry are much appreciated. The volunteers there really welcome the food and toiletry items that are donated through the library day after day and year after year. Picking up a can of soup, jar of peanut butter, package of toilet paper or other items now and then when they re on sale and dropping them off next time you come to the library can make a big difference in peoples lives. Keep it up. The Food Pantry thanks you and so do we. A staff member at the library drops off the donations collected at the library to the Food Pantry every Monday evening. Thank you for your ongoing generosity. Health Outreach Patrons needing help with Mass Health information or forms may be assisted on the second and fourth Mondays of each month from 2 to 6pm in the ESL Room on the Lower Level. Assistance is also available at the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center (near CVS and Papa Gino s, on Route 140) every Monday morning. The phone number is 800-853-2288. Ongoing Programs Food Pantry donations from the library have been greatly appreciated. Donations are delivered weekly by a staff member. Museum Passes are available to many area museums, zoos and attractions thanks to the Friends of the Library. Membership to the Friends of the MTL continues to be only $10 a year. Book Sale Table has items for all ages replenished weekly. Drop-in Style ESL Classes on Mon-Tue-Wed @ 7:00pm Lego Club on Mondays in YA Room @ 6:30pm Magic Club on Tuesdays in YA Room 6pm-8:30pm The Milford Town Library website is: www.milfordtownlibrary.org Library News is compiled weekly by Reference Librarian Mary Frances Best Page 5