Giving Program Expands Book Club Corner Selection

Is your book group looking for great selections for your future meetings?  Don’t forget to check out our Book Club Corner, located in the Fiction Room.  Here you will find 10 copies each of dozens of titles, chosen by our librarians for their suitability for discussion.  The choices range from proven hits like Sara Gruen’s “Water for Elephants” to newer titles such as “The Heretic’s Daughter” by Kathleen Kent. 

To maximize our purchasing power, the Library usually waits until a selection is available in paperback before acquiring it for the Book Club Corner.  But a new giving program is allowing us to respond more quickly to requests for titles that are in demand and in the news. For example, a recent donation from the members of the Westmoreland Book Club made possible timely purchase of hardcover copies of “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett.  The club gets first use of the books, which are then available for other groups to read and discuss.  Bookplates in each copy acknowledge the generosity of the donor club.

Please contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski for more details about this new program or for further information about other library services for community book clubs.

Give Mango Foreign Language Learning System a Try

Interested in learning or becoming more proficient in a foreign language?   The Ridgefield Library is here to support your efforts.  Responding to the proliferation of new products and formats, we are continually looking to expand our language learning collection to serve you better.  

Pimsleur language learning selections are no longer available as part of our NetLibrary downloadable audiobook service.   We are exploring several other options, including interactive computer-based programs, and would like your input.

This month, we are running a trial of Mango Languages, an online language-learning system offering instruction in speaking skills for a wide variety of languages.  Mango uses real-life situations to teach a new language.  By listening to and repeating material from native conversations, the user learns the language and how to use it in practical situations, while being introduced to elements of grammar and conjugation.

You can access the Mango Languages trial by visiting our website at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org, or you can try it at the Library.  Once you have sampled Mango Languages, e-mail your feedback to dlpawl@RidgefieldLibrary.org.  Please include reactions to the Mango 2.0 Technology Preview when commenting about whether this is a resource the Library should consider purchasing. Thanks for your help.

H1N1 Preparedness @ the Library

Along with many others, the Ridgefield Library is preparing to minimize risks to its patrons and staff from the anticipated onset of H1N1 virus, or swine flu.

First and foremost, if anyone in your family shows symptoms that resemble those associated with swine flu – stay home!  Renew items you have out online or by phone; call to let us know you won’t be coming to storytime.  As with any illness, if you are too sick to go to work or school, you are too sick to come to the Library.

Exercise sensible precautions when handling library materials or computers. Have your child wash his or her hands after using a “games” computer, or take advantage of one of the dispensers of sanitizing gel located throughout the building. Use a sanitizing wipe to clean off computer keyboards or tabletops before use.  Our maintenance staff works hard to make sure the Library is thoroughly cleaned each morning, but with more than 1,200 people coming through the doors each day, we can’t keep up with the continuous activity.

Visit our website at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org and click on “H1N1 Information” for the latest from the Town of Ridgefield, the state Dept. of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mystery Book Discussion Group to Launch in November

Murder by the Book – that’s the name of the Library’s newest book discussion group, set to launch next month.  Responding to popular demand, it will be dedicated exclusively to the enjoyment and exploration of the mystery genre.

Meeting on the first Thursday of each month, the group will alternate between traditional book discussions and other mystery-related programs, such as film screenings, author talks and more. Library Assistant Director Mary Rindfleisch will serve as facilitator.

The first session will be on Thursday, November 5^th at 1:00 PM in the Library’s Dayton Program Room, when we will discuss “Shroud for a Nightingale” by P.D. James. This title was selected for our inaugural meeting because of the author’s unique position in the transition between Golden Age writers like Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh and the more contemporary sensibility of Sue Grafton, Elizabeth George and others.

As with all Library book groups, copies of the selection are available at the Circulation Desk, or check Books on the Common to purchase at a 15% book club discount.

If you are a mystery fan, join us in November to help choose forthcoming selections and programs!

Teens Teach Tech October 10th

Where else around town but at the Ridgefield Library do residents of all ages interact positively on a daily basis in so many ways?  Sometimes it is just sitting next to each other at the computers; other times it is being drawn by common interests to a program such as one of Heidi Hammel’s astronomy presentations.  On Saturday morning, October 10^th, we take this intergenerational interaction one step further, with the return of “Teens Teach Tech” in the Dayton Program Room.

A group of tech-savvy teenagers will be on hand to offer one-on-one assistance for tech- challenged adults.  Bring your cell phone to learn how to change that annoying ring tone. Use one of our laptops to find out how to set up an address book or calendar in your e-mail program. Learn texting tips for staying in touch with the younger generation in your family. Get a guided tour of the mysteries of Facebook. You’ll even have a chance to try out the Wii gaming system that has found its way from kids’ rec rooms into myriad adult settings, including health clubs, senior centers and corporate training programs.  Drop in any time between 10 AM and noon.

Celebrate Banned Books Week September 26 - October 3

Can you imagine a high school curriculum or a public library that does not include classics like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and "To Kill a Mockingbird?” Since 1990, the American Library Association (ALA) has recorded more than 10,000 challenges to these and other books, including 513 in 2008. Challenges are not simply an expression of a point of view; on the contrary, they are an attempt to remove materials from public use, thereby restricting the access of others. Even if the motivation to ban or challenge a book is well intentioned, the outcome is detrimental. Censorship denies our freedom as individuals to choose and think for ourselves.

In support of the right to choose books freely for ourselves, the Ridgefield Library is joining the ALA in recognizing Banned Books Week September 26^th through October 3^rd. This year's observance commemorates the most basic freedom in a democratic society—the freedom to read freely—and encourages us not to take this freedom for granted. Here at the Ridgefield Library we will celebrate with educational displays of banned and challenged books throughout the building. Take a look – you might find a few of your favorites. For more information about specific banned or challenged titles, check the Resource Guide at the Fiction Desk.

Online Program Registration Now Available

Online program registration is the latest innovation introduced by the Ridgefield Library. Here’s how it works.

Hear about a program that interests you? Check the event calendar on our website for details (www.ridgefieldlibrary.org, then click on Events). If it is listed as “No registration” then all you have to do is show up (although some popular programs like Ridgefield Folk do fill up, so early arrival is recommended).

If registration is required, you will see a button labeled “Register.” Click on this and follow the simple instructions. Click “Send” and your registration is automatically recorded and a confirmation e-mail is sent to you.

Occasional programs with complex registration requirements may still be handled by staff and will be listed as such in the event calendar.

Want to sign up for something while you are at the Library? Look for the Program Registration button on all our catalog computers, which will take you directly into the event calendar (no need to log in).

Don’t have access to a computer? Call or come in to the Library and a staff member will be happy to enter your registration for you.

Ask at any public service desk for a demonstration of online registration and other helpful features of our event calendar.