Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Nonfiction Summer Fun

What is the Who Was... series?  It’s a series put out by Penguin Publishers that has our youth coming to the Lodewick Children’s Library and combing our Biography section looking for titles they haven’t read yet.  Of our 82 copies of Who Was… titles, 41 were checked out on the day this article was written.  We have two young patrons with a rivalry going to see who can go home with a new title first! Our readers are not the only ones who have discovered this series. The website, www.whowasbookseries.com, had a contest to see who would be the topic of the 100th book, due out in 2015. There were over 67,000 votes tallied. And the winner is… Steve Irwin! Fans may want to come in and discover the series’ new line of books on events in history: What Was… titles. New titles now have their own display shelf in our New Nonfiction area.

The genre of easy chapter book fiction has some wonderful new series too! These are for our readers taking the giant leap from easy readers to chapter books.  Some of the new series are Captain Awesome, Heidi Heckelbeck, Violet Mackerel, and Doreen Cronin’s The Chicken Squad.


All hot series for some fun summer reading!

Contributed by Kathy Cherniavsky, Acting Head of Children's Services

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Book Sale Shelf Is Back

Thanks to the Friends of the Library, our stock of ongoing books for sale is back, located next to the elevator in the Bossidy Commons. Offerings for all ages are selected by the Friends from used book donations, and all proceeds go directly to support the Library.  Prices are modest, and you can pay at the Circulation Desk.  Stop here for goodies to take along on vacation or to the beach!

For a larger selection of summer reading, don’t miss the Friends mini-sale on Saturday the 19th during Summerfest.  Look for these dedicated volunteers and their wares on the wall along Main Street in front of the Library.

Used book donations for the big fall sale are currently being accepted at the Library during open hours.  Collection carts for donated items are located at the Circulation Desk and also in the Lower Level Lobby outside the Friends sorting room.  Please check the donation guidelines on the Friends section of the Library webpage before loading up your car.

Did you know that the Friends also run a very active online sales operation at amazon.com/shops/forl - a great destination for special book purchases in between the semi-annual onsite sales?


Thanks, Friends!

Thursday, July 10, 2014

July Is Swinging @ the Library

There’s a lot going on at the Ridgefield Library.  Not only is our Summer Reading Program in full swing - we are also collaborating with several groups on special events to make the summer even more fun.

Friday, July 11 will see the first Songs at Six presentation by the Ridgefield Music and Arts Center on the Library front lawn.  RMAC musicians have performed these informal concerts at various locations in town in past years, and this summer they have elected to celebrate the new Library by bringing their talents to 472 Main Street.

The Chamber of Commerce’s Summerfest is coming up on July 18 and 19, with a fun theme this year of Ridgefield Rewinds to ’64.  The Library will be participating with 50th birthday celebrations for Maurice Sendak’s Wild Thing, an I Spy-style treasure hunt in the Lodewick Children’s Library, a mini book sale and more.


“Where’s Waldo in Ridgefield?” continues until the end of the month.  The Library is pleased to be one of the 25 locations around town where seekers can find Waldo and mark their passports to qualify for prizes.  Thanks to Books on the Common for bringing this fun family activity to Ridgefield for a third year!

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Teens Invited to Maker Camp @ the Library


This summer, the Ridgefield Library is fortunate to have been selected as an affiliate for the Maker Camp program. Sponsored by Make Magazine and Google, this program encourages teens to “do it themselves” and get creative by, well, making things! Although the Maker Space movement is often associated with 3D printers and computer controllers, in reality, anyone who creates something with their brains and hands is a maker. As part of the Maker Camp program, the Library encourages teens to make things (build a birdhouse, knit a scarf, grow a flower, sew a shirt, code a computer program, paint a picture, digitally edit a photo) and share their creations on Google+.  The Library is on that social network as +Ridgefieldlibrary. From July 7 through August 15, we’ll use Google+ to share things we’ve created, and we want to see what Ridgefield teens come up with! Also, each Friday during those six weeks, there will be a “virtual field trip” at 2pm. Stop in to the Teen Center and we’ll watch on TV as we “visit” the Jim Henson Creature Shop, the Lego factory in Denmark, the cartoon Network studios, and other fun places to inspire teens to make things.

Contributed by Teen Services Librarian Geri Diorio