National Trails Day – June 6, 2015

June 5, 2015June 4, 2015 / Linda / Leave a comment

June 6th is American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day, the country’s largest celebration of trails. It’s the perfect time to take advantage of the wonderful hiking opportunities Cheshire has to offer. The Cheshire Library has a display located on the main and lower levels with trail maps for the various hiking areas in Cheshire. Come on it, grab a map or two and enjoy some great scenery! The Cheshire Land Trust will have a two-hour exploration of the Old Farms Reserve and DeDominicis Property on Saturday from 9-11. They will be meeting at 9:00 am at Old Farms Preserve on Old Farms Road. For other activities throughout the state, check the Connecticut Woodlands website here.

Hiking Areas:

Boulder Knoll Property – Boulder Road

Casertano Property – Marian Road

Cheshire Park Property – Country Club Road

DeMinicis Property – Old Lane Road

Dime Savings Property – Bordering I-84 and Route 322

Farmington Canal Linear Trail – Cornwall Avenue, North Brooksvale Road, Mount Sanford Road

Mixville Hills Property – Waterbury Road

Quinnipiac Park River Walk – Cheshire Street

Roaring Brook Property – Roaring Brook Drive

Ten Mile Lowlands Property – Dundee Drive

Discover other hiking areas in and around Connecticut by checking out a book from the library’s collection located downstairs in the Reference area under 917.6.

Hiking the Pioneer Valley

Best Hikes With Kids

50 Hikes In Connecticut

Hikes In Southern New England

AMC’s Best Day Hikes in Connecticut

Short Nature Walks in Connecticut

Slow Cookers in the Summer

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 / Mary / Leave a comment

I got my first slow cooker in December and it was love at first stew. All through the winter my family dined on soups and stews, chickens and roasts. But then summer approached and I thought, time to turn to my old friend the barbeque. Slow cookers are for the cooler months, right?

Wrong.

The library director told me she was planning a June display on slow cookers because slow cookers are great in the summer. No overly warm kitchen. No broiling in front of a grill. Simple. Slow. Cool.

New though I am to the slow cooker universe, I immediately grasped the possibilities. And the cookbooks. I went straight to the library shelves and discovered great recipes like braised pork shoulder with soft tacos and watermelon-tomato salsa and spicy veggie chili with summer squash and jalapenos from Year Round Slow Cooker by Dina Cheney. My mouth watered for easy cheesy sloppy joes, open-faced pizza sandwiches, and risotto primavera with chicken from Year-Round Slow Cooker Recipes by Better Homes and Gardens.

Looks like my slow cooker and I won’t be apart this summer after all.

The library has a host of books on display in our lobby during June so you and your slow cooker can enjoy the summer together:

What’s Happening at Cheshire Library in June

June 1, 2015May 31, 2015 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

There’s lots going on at CPL in June: including our new hours and the start of summer reading! Take a look:

Just in time for summer – NEW HOURS!

Beginning June 1st, the library will be open 9:00 AM – 8:30 PM Monday – Thursday, and 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Friday and Saturday (Saturdays 9-1 in July & August).

Volunteer Vacations

Tuesday Jun 2, 2015, 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Don’t just take a vacation, immerse yourself in vacations that give back & make a difference! Join Sheryl Kayne, author of several books including Immersion Travel USA, awarded The Society of American Travel Writers Foundations award for Best Travel Guidebook, as she shares with you amazing trips all over the US. Please register online or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4.

Is This Thing On? with Abby Stokes

Thursday Jun 4, 2015, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

The digital divide widens with the rapid pace of new innovations and gadgets. What is out there and how it might benefit you can be lost in all the tech talk. Should you buy a tablet or a computer? Stick with your PC or move onto an Apple? How do you maximize your searches and why on earth do people want to share on Facebook? Abby helps you understand what everyone is talking about and how to decide what might work best for you. Please register online or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4.

Online Marketing: Email Campaigns, LinkedIn for Business, Social Media Time Savers

Tuesday Jun 9, 2015, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

This presentation will be a practical look at best practices, tips, and tools for marketing with email campaigns, LinkedIn, and social media. Attendees will come away from this 90 minute session with concrete “to-do” actions that will help them be more effective online marketers. Please register online or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4.

Fab Film Saturday: Song of the Sea

Saturday Jun 20, 2015, 2:00 – 4:00 PM

From the writer and director of the Academy Award-nominated The Secret of Kells comes an enchanting fable about loss, magic and the love of family. Featuring the voices of Brendan Gleeson (Braveheart) and Fionnula Flanagan (The Others), The Song of the Sea is a “delightful piece of magical animation” (Mark Adams, Screen International)! Running Time 1 hour, 33 minutes. Rated PG. NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Feel free to bring your own snacks!

Summer Reading Signup

Monday Jun 22, 2015

Summer reading has never been easier! Keep up your reading log when you’re at home and when you’re on vacation. Don’t worry about losing your reading record—just print it out when you’re done! See the Kids Page of our website for details!

Plant Science

Monday Jun 22, 2015, 2 sessions, 2:00 and 3:15 PM

Explore the growth, reproduction, special features and uses of plants through fun hands-on activities with local naturalist Eric Nelson. Please register online beginning June 1.

Toddler Dance Party

Thursday Jun 25, 2015, 2 sessions, 10:00 and 11:00 AM

Enjoy music and movement in this high energy program. Songs help children develop listening skills and pay attention to the rhythms and rhymes of spoken language. Clapping along to rhythms helps children hear the syllables in words and helps them improve motor skills. The 10:00 session is for ages 1-2, the 11:00 session is for ages 2-3. Children must be accompanied by a care giver. NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

Local Author Talk: America, Freedom and Enlightenment

Thursday Jun 25, 2015, 7:00 – 8:00 PM

Cheshire author John White discusses his new book, America, Freedom and Enlightenment: An Open Letter to Americans About Patriotism and Global Society. Join Mr. White and your fellow citizens for a lively discussion about the founding principles of our nation, where our country is today, and what it means to be an American. Please register online.

Bedtime Math’s Crazy 8s Club

Friday Jun 26, 2015, 10:00 AM

Crazy 8s is an over-the-top fun math club that helps kids appreciate the math that’s all around them! Each session focuses on a math topic with an engaging activity: like glow in the dark geometry, toliet paper olympics, bouncy dice explosion, and a zip line zoo. The activities are designed for kids entering kindergarten through grade 2. Crazy 8s is funded by the Bedtime Math Foundation, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to putting the fun and discovery back into learning math. This club runs for 8 weeks. NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED, but we will build on math skills week to week, so come to as many sessions as you can! Kids must be accompanied by a caregiver.

LEGO® Brunch at the Library

Saturday Jun 27, 2015, 11:00 AM

Enjoy donuts, coffee, juice and more in this special LEGO® storytime. 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® . ALL AGES, NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

Night Skies Planetarium

Monday Jun 29, 201, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Night Skies is a program featuring Mike Francis using Starlab, the inflatable planetarium dome and projector system. A remarkably realistic night sky awaits groups of up to 30. There is no need to worry about the weather, time of day or travel. The experience of entering the giant bubble fascinates. The excitement of being able to identify that bright red star from last night’s sky or locating an elusive constellation sparks the imagination.

Family Drum Circle with Garden of Beats

Tuesday Jun 30, 2015, 10:00 – 10:45 AM

Join us as we create a lively “Garden of Beats” with drum circle leader Conga J. With hand drums of every size and lots of shaky and percussion toys we introduce the world of rhythm to people of all ages. Drumming encourages creativity, community, individuality, working together, culture, self confidence, and coordination (to name a few). All ages, kids must be accompanied by a caregiver. Space is limited; register on our website beginning June 1.

Learn How to Code, Your Library Can Help!

May 29, 2015June 3, 2015 / emily100101 / Leave a comment

Did you ever wish you could navigate around a computer using only your keyboard? Build a website from soup to nuts? Recreate Twitter? …and learn it all for free?

You can, and the Library can help.

Learning how to code on your own is difficult because there are so many resources to choose from. It’s hard to know where to start. Luckily, several websites have compiled carefully curated lists of free resources, so you don’t have to.

The Odin Project (www.theodinproject.com) starts you off by teaching you how the web works, the basics of computer science, and navigating around the command line. From there, you’ll jump into Web Development 101, Ruby on Rails, HTML5 and CSS, and Javascript and jQuery. The free course concludes by giving advice on how to land a job as a web developer.

Bento (www.bento.io) is even more comprehensive. You’ll learn everything there is to know about computers, from web development, to version control, mobile app development, to every programming language or framework you can think of. You’ll even learn about data science. And the lessons are organized from basic to advanced to build upon what you learn.

The Library offers free high-speed wifi and a quiet place to study. If you don’t yet have a laptop, there’s still no excuse! You can start learning on one of our public computers.

Going camping and have no access to the internet for a while? Check out a book! We carry some great titles to get you started.

OS X Yosemite by David Pogue

Build Your Own Website the Right Way Using HTML & CSS by Ian Lloyd

HTML 5 and CSS3 All-In-One for Dummies by Andy Harris

JavaScript Bible by Danny Goodman

Beginning Ruby by Peter Cooper

And last but not least…

The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything Fast by Josh Kaufman

Happy coding! 😃

Zen Doodles and Zentangles; When Creativity and Relaxation Collide

May 27, 2015May 28, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Zentangles and Zen Doodling are an art form that has become a new trend. Many are using this artistic endeavor like meditation, others are using it to flex their creative muscles, and others are just trying it because it is new and fun. This art form is using structured patterns or forms. Since it all starts with following a series of steps and set pattern there is no real right or wrong way to go. It does not matter if you think you are lacking talent or a phenomenal artist, everyone’s effort is wonderful and there is no way to fail. It can be a great way for the art leery to get started in creative endeavors.

If you are ready to go, we have a Zen Doodle Program on May 29th from 3 to 4:30 pm in our Mary Baldwin room. No registration is required, so join in and enjoy. Interested but too nervous to jump on in? Well, you can always check out some of the books we have acquired on Zen Doodling and Zentangles. Most are new to the collection and offer clear instructions and samples to help inspire you.