There’s a new app for selecting books and administering Overdrive  with your CWMARS card. Meet ‘Libby’ a great shortcut to our curated collection of electronic materials. Unlike ‘Boopsie’ which connects you to the library in general, Libby will give you reviews, materials sorted by genre or interest, and a better download experience than the card catalog. Look for the new app in your iTunes or Google Play store. It’s free to download. Enter your name in our ‘Show Us Your App’ drawing for the new Amazon Kindle Fire HD8 reader.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
—-John McCrae, May 1915

This year marks the 100th anniversary of  America’s entry into WWI. Europe was at war since the assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914 but here on the home front anti-war sentiment was strong. Everything changed in April, 1917 when German submarines began prowling the eastern seaboard and the intercepted Zimmerman telegram indicated an attempt to involve Mexico in a potential attack.

Click here for a list of WWI Vet Names compiled by Gene and Justyna Carlson

We currently have Massachusetts Resident and Non-Resident forms available on the second floor at the library. For many years, the Federal government has been cutting back on paper forms in favor of on-line filing but we now  have  1040, 1040A, 1040EZ forms and 1040 booklets.

Massachusetts Department of Revenue

Internal Revenue Service

Vermont Department of Taxes

New York State Department of Taxation

We are setting up a letter-writing station in the library for interested patrons to contact their state legislators about the importance of their public library.  Whether you love inter-library loan, movies, programs, reliable information, Internet access, or just the democratic principle of the thing  — your public libraries are working through decreasing funding and increasing costs. The state mandated minimum wage increase is expected to increase delivery costs by 39%. The result will be longer wait times for your requested materials and possible cuts to the delivery schedule. Training opportunities for library staff have been scaled back and most libraries have reduced hours and services.  Here is a link to the iBerkshire article covering the recent breakfast in Stockbridge that laid out a bleak picture despite the slight 1% increase in overall funding in Gov. Baker’s budget.

http://www.iberkshires.com/story/53820/Berkshire-Delegation-Supports-State-Library-Funding.html

Local school and educational publisher American Graphics Institute provides library patrons with access to their books and curriculum for self-paced learning. The books teach many popular design technology topics ranging from Adobe software applications, digital video editing tools, web design and coding skills, and office applications.  The collection serves as self-paced training resources and also include training videos created by the authors as well as lesson files. More than one million of these books are in print, and library patrons and staff can access current and past digital versions of these book titles while on the library’s network.Access the American Graphics Institute digital book collection here.

Please note that AGI e-content is currently available only at the library, not for home use.

Robin Martin and Nicole Gordon are replacing Nicole Prokop and Joan Owaczarksi on the NAPL Board of Trustees effective October 12,2016.  Prokop is relocating to New Hampshire where she will head up adult programming for the Concord Public Library.  Owaczarski is retiring from the Board to concentrate on family.

Many  patrons will recognize Martin as the former reference librarian and interim director of the library in 2012-13. Gordon, a registered pharmacist, recently moved to the area. She has two young children and is a fan of libraries, having attended many story times and devoted countless library hours to study. They join long-time trustees Harris Elder, Hulda Jowett, Donald Pecor, Richard Taskin, and Rich Remsberg to form the seven-member board that meets every second Wednesday of the month to oversee library policies and budget.

Zinio adds Us Weekly, Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, National Geographic for Kids and an adult coloring book to their long list of downloadable magazines.

If you currently  download magazines through Overdrive, please be advised that Barnes & Noble and Overdrive no longer have  contract and their magazines will be discontinued after the current issues expire.