What’s Happening at Cheshire Library in April

March 30, 2016March 15, 2016 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Spring has sprung and we’re growing a garden of programs for you this month at CPL, including our semi-annual book sale!

Where to Hike in Cheshire

Monday Apr 4, 2016, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Suzanne Simone, the town environmental planner, will introduce hiking opportunities located in Cheshire. From meadows to Connecticut’s second largest waterfall, Cheshire has over 1,500 acres ready for exploration. Free hiking maps, property descriptions and directions will be available. Seating for this event is limited. Please register online or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4. This program is co-sponsored by the Cheshire Planning Department and Cheshire Public Library.

How to Grow Ground Covers

Tuesday Apr 5, 2016, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Grassy lawns are the single most popular groundcover, but they are not always the best choice for a location or the easiest to maintain. Landscape designer Kathy Connolly will offer alternative strategies for covering ground and discuss ‘5 Ways to Cover Ground and Give the Lawn a Rest’. Seating for this event is limited. Please register online or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4. This program is co-sponsored by the Cheshire Planning Department and Cheshire Public Library.

Safely Surf the Internet

Thursday Apr 7, 2016, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Everyone is fearful of security breaches and identity theft. Best-selling author Abby Stokes, will help you learn how to Safely Surf the Internet and find (Almost) anything online. Copies of her book, Is This Thing On? will be available for purchase.
Please register online or call 203-272-2245 ext. 4.

Fab Film – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Monday Apr 11, 2016, 2:00 – 4:30 PM

Come enjoy some great box office kids’ movies with Fab Films at The Cheshire Public Library! Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rated PG-13 | Runtime 2 hours and 16 minutes. No registration required.

LEGO® Junior Maker

Tuesday Apr 12, 2016, 10:00 AM

We will start with a short storytime focused around building. Kids will then have an opportunity to use their best creativity to design buildings, creatures, and more using LEGO® bricks . No registration required.

Naked Retirement

Tuesday Apr 12, 2016, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Join Michael Argiro, Financial Advisor at 4 T Financial, for this workshop on retirement. Too many people start their first day of retirement with only a financial plan and nothing else. Learn a fun and creative approach to retirement that strips away the numbers and addresses everyday life in retirement. Create a Naked Retirement Plan, build a retirement curious list, and change your retirement life forever by answering three revealing questions. Please register online or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4.

Adult Knitting Night

Come socialize, learn, and share your techniques with other knitters. Experience the relaxing and calming effect of knitting. We will meet the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. Adult knitters welcome, no supplies or instruction will be given, please bring your own supplies and talent! Please register online or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4.

Touch a Truck @ Bartlem Park

Thursday Apr 14, 2016, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Have you ever wanted to board one of those huge trucks? Your chance has arrived! This event is made possible due to the generosity of local companies and Cheshire Town Agencies. You may see fire trucks, garbage trucks, dump trucks, pay loader, rescue trucks, law enforcement vehicles and more. Come visit the children’s librarians at Bartlem Park (520 S Main St., Cheshire) for Touch a Truck. We’ll be present with our book cart for kids to touch and have special prizes to give out. Please bring a nonperishable food item to be donated to the Cheshire Food Pantry.

Parent Workshop: How Temperament Shapes your Child

Tuesday Apr 19, 2016, 6:30 PM

Learning more about children’s temperaments and how they can best mesh with yours leads to smoother parenting experiences. Participants will work to understand their child’s temperament and their own and learn to work effectively with differences.
This parent workshop is presented by Christine Foster, Director of Community Relations from The Independent Day School, and will meet on the library’s UPPER LEVEL. Register online, beginning March 28th.

Friends of Cheshire Public Library BOOK SALE

Thursday Apr 21, 9 AM – 8 PM

Friday Apr 22, 9 AM – 4:30 PM

Saturday Apr 23, 9 AM – 4:30 PM

Sunday Apr 24 “Bag of Books” sale 12 PM – 3 PM

Endangered Species & the Sixth Extinction

Tuesday Apr 26, 2016, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Dr. Isaac M. (Morty) Ortega, Wildlife Ecologist and UCONN Associate Professor, will explore the question: “The sixth extinction, are we there yet?” Dr. Ortega has traveled the world exploring and researching endangered animals. Join us to learn what is going on with endangered animals around the globe. Please register online or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4. This program is co-sponsored by the Cheshire Planning Department and Cheshire Public Library.

Butterflies and Their Gardens

Wednesday Apr 27, 2016, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Naturalist John Himmelman answers many of the questions asked about the lives, and preferences, of this fascinating group of insects. Some topics covered are: butterfly families and species, life cycles, finding (and taming) butterflies, and creating butterfly habitats. There will also be a fun section on moths, the under-appreciated cousins of the butterflies. Please register online or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4. This program is co-sponsored by the Cheshire Planning Department and Cheshire Public Library.

Author Talk: Kara Sundlun ~ Finding Dad: From “Love Child” to Daughter

Emmy-award winning journalist, news anchor, and co-host of Better Connecticut, Kara Sundlun, will discuss her book Finding Dad: From “Love Child” to Daughter. Sundlun’s book chronicles her life growing up without a father present, the struggle to force her biological father, World War II hero and two-term Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun, to accept her as his daughter, and the development of the bond the two would eventually share. Copies of her book will be available after the talk for purchase and signing. Please register online or call 203-272-2245 ext. 4

Don’t Want To Ask? A Quick Guide to Tough Topics!

March 28, 2016March 7, 2016 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

The Dewey Decimal System is a mystery to many outside the world of libraries and publishing. When you need information on something you might not want everyone to know about, sometimes it can be hard to ask for help. I saw that a Sacramento library had created a bookmarks with the Dewey Decimal numbers for some hard to ask about topics for teens, and I thought it was brilliant. It inspired me to do my part to help people find the books they need on topics they might not want everyone to know they were looking for.

Legal difficulties, mental or physical health problems, bullying, relationship issues, and so on are things that you might want to research but might not want to stop and ask a librarian about, or know how to find via the digital catalog. So, I have looked at some of the tough topics, and some happy ones that people might not want to go public with quite yet, to help you find the books that you need. I have linked each of the listings below to the relevant search in the catalog to make placing holds or checking availability even easier.

All of these nonfiction materials are on the lower level, and if you are looking for books on these topics for teens or children they will be shelved in the children’s room with the same call numbers. If you cannot find it, don’t be afraid to ask or to place a hold for the materials with staff, or by yourself via the catalog. We have seen it all. Seriously, we do not judge you by the books you check out and are more than happy to help you find the resources you need.

If you really don’t want anyone to know what you are checking out, there are a few additional assurances I can offer you. If you use the self check out machines, we will have no idea what you have checked out. Also, we won’t tell anyone what you have checked out unless you give them your card. Anything that you check out and return with no fines leaves your record completely. There is no way for us to see, or tell anyone else, your borrowing history. Don’t be afraid to research and find the answers you need!

More importantly, if you need help more urgently than research can offer, please take a moment and reach out for it. Some important help can be found over the internet or via the phone. There are help hotlines for just about everything, when you do not know who to talk to for help, dialing 211 can connect you to local services you might need. This includes utility assistance, food, housing, child care, after school programs, elder care, crisis intervention (including suicide and abuse) and much more. The related 211 website also offers an eLibrary with specific information on a variety of topics.

Abortion ~ 363.46

Alzheimer’s ~ 616.831

Cancer ~ 616.994

Hair Loss ~ 616.546

HIV / AIDS ~ 616.9792

Infertility – 616.692 or 618.39

Miscarriage ~ 618.392

Pregnancy ~ 618.2

Puberty ~ 613.043 or 612.66

Sexual Health ~ 613 or 306.7

Bipolar Disorder ~ 616.895

Bullying ~ 303.69

Child Abuse ~ 362.76

Depression ~ 616.8527

Domestic Violence ~ 362.82

Loss of a Child ~ 155.9

Loss of a Parent ~ 306.874 or 155.9

Mental Illness ~ 616.89

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ~ 616.8521

Sexual Abuse ~ 362.7

Substance Abuse ~ 362.29 or 616.86

Suicide ~ 362.28

Adoption ~ 362.734

Bankruptcy ~ 346.7307

Child Custody ~ 343.7301

Divorce ~ 306.89 or 346.7

Estate Planning and Living Will ~ 346.7305

Foreclosure ~ 346.73

Hospice Care ~ 362.1

Personal Finance ~ 332

Wedding Planning ~ 395.22

Exploring The Science of Science Fiction

March 25, 2016February 5, 2016 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Are you a science fiction fan curious to see how close scientists have come to understanding or recreating the theories or gadgets of your favorite book or movie? Do you think much of the gadgetry and action of science fiction stories are completely impossible and want to see what we really can do, and what we might be able to do in the future? Here are some books that will help you understand how realistic some ideas like time travel really are, and how theories and realities surrounding our universe and the possibilities have changed in recent years.

Time Travel and Warp Drives: a Scientific Guide to Shortcuts Through Time and Space by Allen Everett and Thomas Roman
Lays out what humans really know about time and space and how to bend it to our will, and explains just how close we are to some of the ideas of science fiction novels.

Physics of the Impossible: a Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku
Looks at the scientific principles behind the technology of the future, examining the theoretical basis, as well as limitations, of the laws of physics to discuss how seemingly impossible devices could become commonplace in the future.

Spooky Action at a Distance: the Phenomenon that Reimagines Space and Time and What it Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and Theories of Everything by George Musser
Presents a tour of modern physics that examines the new understanding of nonlocality–the ability of particles to affect each other across the vastness of space.

Walking Zero: Discovering Cosmic Space and time Along the Prime Meridian by Chet Raymo
A noted science writer and author of The Path offers an illuminating study of the interconnections among science, faith, psychology, and the arts in terms of the evolution of the human understanding of space and time as he walks along the Prime Meridian, the line of zero longitude and the standard for world maps and clocks, from Brighton to the North Sea.

What is Relativity?: an Intuitive Introduction to Einstein’s Ideas, and Why They Matter by Jeffrey Bennett
An astrophysicist offers an entertaining introduction to Einstein’s theories, explaining how well they have held up to rigorous testing over the years, and even describing the amazing phenomena readers would actually experience if they took a trip through a black hole.

Once you figure out hoe time travel works, or somehow or other gain a little extra time, you might want to explore further with: The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes by Stephen W. Hawking, Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang by Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, Cosmos by Carl Sagan, The Science of Star Wars by Jeanne Cavelos, The Physics of Star Trek by Lawrence M. Krauss, or Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 by Michio Kaku.

Have You Thought about Being Mortal?

March 23, 2016January 13, 2017 / Mary / Leave a comment

Have you thought about dying? It’s such a scary topic, fraught with so much emotion. We like to think we’ll always have more time ahead of us. But what happens when something–an illness, an accident, a disease–sets a limit on our time? What happens when we are forced to confront the end of our lives?

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande explores this issue, an issue that we all must inevitably face.

Many folks first confront mortality when dealing with their aging parents, but illness can strike at any time of life. Then we are forced to make decisions about treatments. About living wills. About how we want to live the remainder of our lives. We want to live longer at all costs and we’d do anything to achieve that goal, right? Perhaps not. As Doctor Gawande discovered in his research on aging and dying, what most people want is not necessarily a longer life, but a quality life.

Gawande, a practicing surgeon, notes that doctors are often committed to extending life at all costs. This can mean painful and expensive procedures, even for those for whom there is no cure. Gawande questions this rationale, while admitting he himself has often advised patients to pursue treatments that he knew would not extend their lives by more than a few months or year. However, patients, he came to realize, wanted procedures that would guarantee them ten or twenty more years of life.

But medicine often cannot deliver such outcomes. The exceptions, the people who do survive for years in spite of the odds, are just that–exceptions. Gawande equates it with winning the lottery. Everyone believes they will be lucky but very few actually are. Gawande also noted that, in the case of terminal illness, the trade-offs of pursuing treatment–time, money, pain, recovery–were often not worth the small extension of life to most people.

What the mortally ill or infirm person really wants is a meaningful life, even if there is only a few months left of that life. The terminally ill desire to retain independence and control, as much as they possibly can. They desire to stay in their homes. They want their loved ones around them. They fear prolonged and painful deaths. They fear bankrupting their families.

Gawande illustrates the importance of these issues with depictions of traditional nursing homes, which place safety and monitoring of vitals above the fulfilling lives people need and want. He counterpoints these with illustrations of models of care that take patients out of hospitals and nursing homes for a variety of assisted living facilities and hospice services.

I was especially intrigued by his description of hospice, a service I had (erroneously) believed was only for the last few weeks of life. Hospice gives the aged and terminally ill choices. Hospice workers ask what your goals are. They ask you to think about what you want. They ask you what you don’t want. They talk about your fears. And they address every issue.

And that is the gift of this wonderfully written book. It makes you ask those questions, of yourself and perhaps of those around you. For someday you may be in a position to have to make choices for a loved one, or in the position of having a loved one making choices for you.

Does It Really Have To End ‘Happily Ever After’?

March 18, 2016March 7, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

beginnings

I’m a big reader of contemporary romances – the proverbial ‘happy ever after’ stuff. For a change of pace, I’ve decided to read books that end not quite so happy. Here’s a selection of titles.

Rainwater – Sandra Brown – In a time of drought and economic depression in 1934, Ella Barron runs her boardinghouse in Texas while caring for her son, Solly, and responds to the calm influence of one of her boarders, David Rainwater, while facing the tension and uncertainty around her.

The Pilot’s Wife – Anita Shreve – When her husband, a pilot, dies in an airplane crash off the Irish coast, Kathryn Lyons finds herself in the media spotlight as rumors abound of her husband’s shocking secret past.

The English Patient – Michael Ondaatje – Portrays the convergence of four damaged lives in a bomb-riddled Italian villa in the last days of the war.

The Awakening – Kate Chapin – In turn-of-the century New Orleans, Edna Pontellier, a woman who feels trapped in her stifling role as wife and mother, falls passionately in love with another man.

Me Before You – JoJo Moyes – Taking a job as an assistant to extreme sports enthusiast Will, who is wheelchair bound after a motorcycle accident, Louisa struggles with her employer’s acerbic moods and learns of his shocking plans before demonstrating to him that life is still worth living.

Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger – Passionately in love, Clare and Henry vow to hold onto each other and their marriage as they struggle with the effects of Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a condition that casts Henry involuntarily into the world of time travel.

My Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult – Conceived to provide a bone marrow match for her leukemia-stricken sister, teenage Kate begins to question her moral obligations in light of countless medical procedures and decides to fight for the right to make decisions about her own body.

The Art of Racing in the Rain – Garth Stein – Evaluating his life on the eve of his death, atypical canine Enzo considers the sacrifices his master, Denny Swift, has made in his pursuit of becoming a professional race car driver, and the dog’s own efforts to preserve the Swift family.

Bridges of Madison County – Robert James Walker – On assignment shooting the covered bridges in Iowa, photographer Robert Kincaid falls in love with Iowa native Francesca Johnson during four days of love, magic, and beauty.

The Girl With The Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier – A poor seventeenth-century servant girl knows her place in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer, but when he begins to paint her, nasty whispers and rumors circulate throughout the town.