What’s Happening at Cheshire Library in January

December 30, 2015December 23, 2015 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Happy New Year! We’ve got month full of entertainment, education and enrichment to start the year off right!

The Manners of Downton Abbey

Thursday Jan 7, 2016, 7:00 – 8:00 PM

Part 1 of our 3-part film series for fans of the PBS series Downton Abbey. What goes on behind-the-scenes to get the manners of 1900s Britain exactly right on Downton Abbey? Discover how the aristocratic set dined and dressed, how they married and made money, how they interacted with the servants (and the servants interacted with each other), and above all why they behaved as they did. Illustrated with memorable moments from Downton Abbey, the program is a treat for fans and anyone fascinated with the customs of early 1900s Britain. Please register on our website.

Music Together Demo

Friday Jan 8, 2016, 11:00 AM

Music Together an internationally recognized early childhood music program for infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, kindergartners, and the adults who love them. This research-based, developmentally appropriate early childhood music curriculum strongly encourages adult involvement and emphasizes actual music experiences rather than concepts about music. For ages newborn through 5 years old. Please register on our website.

Cajun Hobos

Sunday Jan 10, 2016, 2:00 PM

Chase away those post-holiday blues with the Cajun Hobos! The Cajun Hobos feature Alan Bradbury and Michelle Kaminsky, who have been playing Cajun music together in a number of bands (including Magnolia) for 25 years, along with Mark Wholley. Having learned from Louisiana’s finest, they are passionate about sharing their love of Cajun culture, music, and dances in New England. This concert is free and open to the public, no registration required.

College Financial Aid Seminar

Tuesday Jan 12, 2016, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Jennifer Philips, former Assistant Director of Financial Aid at Fairfield University, will explain the various student loans, grants and scholarships available, the critical financial aid forms and deadlines, the various components of a financial aid offer and how to best compare and appeal offers in extenuating circumstances. Seating for this event is limited. Please register on our website or call 203-272-2245, ext. 4.

Secrets of Highclere Castle

Thursday Jan 14, 2016, 7:00 – 8:00 PM

Part 2of our 3-part film series for fans of the PBS series Downton Abbey. Join us for a documentary on a in-depth look at the history of England’s Highclere Castle. Go behind the scenes to the real owners and the history of this majestic estate. For centuries it has been the real-life home of the aristocratic Carnarvon family, and has entertained Kings and Queens of England along with a host of nobilities and celebrities. Known as “The Real Downton Abbey”, it is where much of the location scenes are filmed. Please register on our website.

Sing Me A Fairy Tale

Friday Jan 15, 2016, 11:00 – 11:45 AM
Musical storytelling using music, singing and dancing, rhythm activities, props and rhythm instruments. Songs and movement enable children to creatively explore a variety of themes from familiar stories like Goldilocks, Jack & the Beanstalk and the Three Little Pigs, in new imaginative and exciting ways. Interactive family style program geared toward the developmental stages of children from 2 to 7 years. (Infants and older siblings are also welcome). Please register on our website.

The Secret Garden

Thursday Jan 21, 2016, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Join us for the last installment of a 3 part movie series for fans of Downton Abbey. Can you not get enough of Highclere Castle, the setting for Downton Abbey? Join us for the Secret Garden set at Highclere castle in the early 1900’s. Mary Lennox, a spoiled young British girl orphaned by an Indian epidemic, comes to live at Misselthwaite Manor. She meets intriguing people and finds a mysterious garden. Please register on our website.

Move & Groove with Mr. Gym

Sunday Jan 24, 2016, 2:00 PM

Get physically fit through music and creative movement with “Mr. Gym”, a children’s singer and songwriter from Connecticut. Ages 3-8, No registration required.

Making Sense of Food Labels

Thursday Jan 28, 2016, 6:00 PM

Are you confused about food labels? Join us for a informative talk by Nancy Boudreau, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, where she will discuss:
* The Ingredient List
* The Nutrition label on the back which lists the number of servings per package, amount of sugar, fat, sodium, etc.
* The Marketing claims on the front label. Natural, All Natural, Organic, Non-GMO, Grass Fed – what does it all mean?
* Tips for making healthy choices. Please register on our website.

Self-Defense for Women

Saturday Jan 30, 2016, 2:00 – 3:30 PM

A class for women ages 14 and older taught by Family Martial Arts and Fitness of Cheshire. No experience necessary! What you will learn:
– Real world defense for the average person
– How to use the strength of your body to defeat even the strongest of attackers
– Learn the psychology of the attacker and how to use it against them
– Gain confidence in yourself and your abilities
This will be a hands-on class so wear comfortable clothing. Please register on our website.

Hidden Treasures in the Library Lobby

December 18, 2015December 19, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

When you walk into the Cheshire Public Library you enter the main floor lobby. This large area is home to CD’s, DVD’s, Audiobooks, adult fiction, and new books. There are also a variety of displays, the public catalogs, the circulation desk, and the Friends book sale and donation area. Most regular visitors to the library are aware of their favorite areas, and browse those areas comfortably. However, like in the children’s room there are some hidden treasures that often get over looked and deserve some attention.

Science Fiction
I have always been a big fan of science fiction and fantasy, and love helping people discover new authors and series to explore. Unfortunately, most people miss our Science Fiction shelving area entirely. As with our mystery books, they are shelved separately from the rest of the fiction. You can see which area any adult (or children’s) book is shelved in by reading the call number. Adult fiction call numbers will all start with where they are shelved; Fiction, Mystery, or Science Fiction. The mysteries are easy to find, since they are shelved right after the regular fiction. However, the Science Fiction materials are shelved on the wall near the fiction between the audiobooks and classic movies.

Graphic Novels
Graphic novels are not just for children and teens. Take for example the popularity of The Walking Dead. Our selection of graphic novels in the lobby is not huge, but it is high quality and well worth taking a look at. Since it is a fairly small collection it might be easy to over look, but it is not hard to find or to browse if you are interested. The collection is housed on the endcap of the New Biography and Nonfiction shelf, facing the windows and DVD’s. If you like what you see, but are looking for even more graphic novels, do not be afraid to explore the large selection in the Teen’s Room!

Categorized DVD’s
Most regular visitors know where to find the DVD’s they enjoy most, and where our Quick Flick, New, regular, and Blu-Ray movies are each shelved. However, there are a few groups of films that are shelved separately. We have labeled these disks and changed their call numbers to match these special areas, but infrequent movie borrowers might not know about these little nooks and crannies. Classic movies are labeled with a red Classics label and are shelved on a slat-wall display on the wall by the fiction books. Comedy movies have an orange Comedy label and shelved in the next slat- wall display. On the same wall, in the build in bookcase between those two slat-wall displays, you can find the television show box sets which have a bright pink TV label on them. If you keep following that wall to the corner you will find the Family Films (with a green label), and in the next bookcase after a window you can find the non-fiction films (classed by number) and the Foreign Films which have a yellow Foreign sticker on them.

Lost And Found
While not a part of our library collection, it is an often asked for and searched for item. Small or valuable items (wallets, phones, jewelry, etc) that have been turned into library staff stay at that service desk for a time and then are tucked away in a safe until claimed. However, items like coats, mittens, notebooks, umbrellas, and so on are kept at the service desk of the area they were found in for a few hours and are then placed in our Lost and Found bin. This is located between the Friend’s donation area and the Audiobook collection.

Do not forget about the variety of ever changing displays. Any of our items that are on these displays can be checked out. If you are still unsure where to find what you are looking for swing by the Circulation desk and we would be glad to help you!

College Applications and Financial Aid Help

December 11, 2015December 17, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Have you decided to go back to college? Maybe you have a family member that is going back to school, or just starting to think about life after high school? Well, it is never too early, or too late, to start researching options and resources that might be available to you. The library has plenty of books, guides, and other resources that can make the decision and application process a little bit easier. Here are some great places to start the search and decision making process, but keep in mind that there are many more resources and help you available at the library and online.

After checking out the paper resources you might also want to check out an upcoming program on the subject. On January 12 2016 Jennifer Philips will be presenting a seminar on College Financial Aid at 6:30pm. Registration is required. For more information or to register take a look at all the details here.

Choosing the Right School:
The Other College Guide: a Roadmap to the Right School for You by Jane Sweetland, Paul Glastris and the staff of Washington Monthly
Profiles of American Colleges 2016 compiled and edited by the College Division of Barron’s Educational Series
The Hidden Ivies: Fifty Top Colleges from Amherst to Williams that Rival the Ivy League by Howard R. Greene and Matthew W. Greene
Bound-for-College Guidebook: a Step-by-Step Guide to Finding and Applying to Colleges by Frank Burtnett

Applying to School:
In! College Admissions and Beyond: the Experts’ Proven Strategy for Success by Lillian Luterman and Jennifer Bloom
The New Rules of College Admissions: Ten Former Admissions Officers Reveal What it Takes to Get into College Today by Stephen Kramer, Michael London
The Simple Guide to College Admission & Financial Aid: How to Select the Right College, Applying for Admission, Writing the College Essay, [and] the Financial Aid Process Made Easy by Anne M. St. Pierre & Danielle M. Printz
B+ Grades, A+ College Application: How to Present your Strongest Self, Write a Stand-Out Admissions Essay, and Get into the Perfect School For You–Even with Less-than-Perfect Grades by Joie Jager-Hyman, EdD

Paying for School:
Paying for College Without Going Broke by Kalman A. Chany with Geoff Martz
Getting Financial Aid 2016 from College Board
Peterson’s How to Get Money for College 2016
Scholarship Handbook 2016
Paying for College: the Greene’s Guide to Financing Higher Education by Howard R. Greene and Matthew W. Greene

This is just a starting point, and everyone’s path through higher education is different. If you need further help using online resources or finding materials you need please stop by the Reference desk, we will be more that happy to help. And do not forget about our eLearning resources on the library website, which can help with the research and preparation as well. We are also holding a College Financial Aid Seminar at the library on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 6:30pm.

Same Old Tune

December 4, 2015October 26, 2015 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

I am a semi-hard-core Pink Floyd fan. I’ve likely spent more hours listening to them than any other musical group, and I think I know the entire Wall album from memory – lyrics and orchestration. So when David Gilmour, who, along with Roger Waters wrote many of their greatest hits, came out with a new album, Rattle that Lock, of course I had to listen to it.

The album, I must admit, left me with mixed feelings. It’s a varied album, with some pieces (The Girl in the Yellow Dress) being almost classical jazz, and others being such classic Floyd in tone you can almost recognize lines from Learning to Fly (Echoes), and riffs straight from The Wall. Parts of it are cranking rock, and other parts are very ethereal and New-Agey in feel – not unlike inventive Floyd tracks from Dark Side of the Moon. There are even two instrumental tracks. It was good, it was fresh, but I’m still not sure if I liked it. I’m not a jazz person, no matter how hard I try, and though I love my Floyd, it’s 2015, not 1979, and I want to say, “Yes, it’s good, but what are you doing now?”

Which got me to thinking: Why is it often so easy to pick out a band/singer on the radio? Because they are often stuck in the same style that made them famous. Their songs are caught in a groove of sound – it’s a good sound, but it doesn’t change. Sometimes they try but the fans turn away, because it’s not “their” sound. Sometimes they do and it works beautifully (how many heavy metal bands have one or two incredible slow ballads, like Kiss’s Beth, or the Scorpions’ Still Loving You?). Listen to The Police’s Every Breath You Take – the first four songs are almost identical in format, all hits, but identical. I love R.E.M., but they get monotonous if you listen to six albums in a row. As George Thorogood said, “I only know four chords on the guitar, so of course all my songs sound alike.”

According to the internet, some of today’s popular bands are guilty of unoriginality and being one-trick ponies. Not even getting into Boy Bands, or Brittney, or other manufactured stars (it’s fair to place The Monkees here, too), too many artists sound – well, too much like themselves. Pete Townshend’s last albums drifted song to song like a dream; you couldn’t tell where one ended and the next began, and he’s a music legend. Ed Sheeran, Oasis, Ke$ha, Flo Rida, and the often-unfairly picked on Nickelback are among the worst offenders, by internet polls. Having a trademark “sound” is good, but a truly talented musician masters versatility.

So who, then, has successfully changed their tunes and embraced versatility over the years? Both Paul McCartney and Billy Joel have attempted branching out into classical music, but classical music doesn’t rake in money on radio ads. One I would consider would be Cindy Lauper – she’s older than you think. Before she was a shock-haired icon of the 80’s, she fronted a rockabilly band called Blue Angel. They put out one album, Blue Angel (duh), which did well in the Netherlands, but you could see the genius. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36MgP5Hg6KU. To go from Money Changes Everything to Above the Clouds on her Body Acoustic album – she has an impressive range. What a Broadway career she could have had! Oh wait – she wrote all the music for Kinky Boots, winner of 6 Tony awards, including Best Musical and Best Score! She’s not as ditzy as she looks.

Another would be Robert Plant – the former lead singer for hard-rocking Led Zeppelin. Post-Zeppelin he formed the R&B group The Honeydrippers in 1981, and they shot up the charts with their # 3 slow-dance hit Sea of Love. If that wasn’t different enough, he’s recorded several folksy albums with Allison Krauss – my personal favorite being “Trampled Rose” from the album Raising Sand. Truly, no one would guess this soulful folk singer is one of heavy rock’s legends.

A third I would nominate would be David Bowie (yes, I’ve chosen all older musicians, because 40-50 year careers are living, breathing entities). Ziggy Stardust is a far cry from his later success with Suffragette City, and another layer removed from 2013’s The Next Day album, let alone his (in)famous duet with Bing Crosby on The Little Drummer Boy – and the soundtrack to Labyrinth.

So now we know David Gilmour can write and play good jazz, even if it feels like the jazz is being played in the dance hall of a Pink Floyd dream. Is it progress or stagnation? You have to decide that for yourself.

Our Most Popular Non Fiction Series for Children

December 2, 2015October 21, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / 1 Comment

When biography and nonfiction book reports are assigned in school, there is one series that most middle grade readers go to first. Most will head straight for the Who Was biographies and the What Was and Where Is nonfiction series. These books cut straight to the important facts about the subject matter, while making the reading both fun and interesting. In fact, these books are so popular that it is hard to keep them on the shelf even when there are no school projects looming. To see just how few of these popular books actually are in the library right now, check out the small wooden stand outside the Teens Room.

This series is published by Penguin, and covers an extensive list of people, places, and events that are important historically or are currently relevant in pop culture. The books are easily recognizable by the caricature style drawing of biography subjects and bold cartoon work of all their covers. There are also illustrations throughout the books and extra bits of information that make the reading more fun. For big fans of the series Penguin has a website where readers can keep track of which books they have read and test their knowledge.

There is a book club here at the library that meets once a month and focuses on the Who Was series. About a month before each meeting, a librarian will select a book from the series for everyone to read. At the meeting, readers chat about what they discovered in the book and do one or more fun activities inspired by that person’s life. For more info on when the group is meeting check out our events calendar.