Celebrating Volunteers

April 23-29 is National Volunteer Week, and we have a lot of talented and generous people to thank for their volunteer service to the Ridgefield Library.  Their involvement ranges from one-time help with a special event like Love your Library Day to a multi-year commitment as a member of our Board of Directors. They come to us as individuals, families, students and groups like National Charity League, Boy and Girl Scouts, Lionsheart and the Boys and Girls Club.  They are young people, retirees and people of all ages doing community service.

One very special group of volunteers is the Friends of the Ridgefield Library, who organize popular used book sales, the proceeds of which support many favorite Library services and collections.  Their spring sale is coming up May 5-7 (children’s books only) and May 12-15.  Don’t miss it!

Teens going into grades 6-12 in the fall are invited to apply before June 5th to volunteer with the Summer Reading Program, assisting younger children with logging their reading and claiming their prizes.  Pick up an application in the Ellis Family Teen Center or print one from our website. 

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has helped us during the past year!

Financial Literacy and Money Smart Week

Financial literacy is the combined knowledge and skills that allow you to manage your personal finances effectively and to make personal financial decisions confidently.

Money Smart Week (April 22-29) is a national initiative among the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and other organizations including the American Library Association to provide financial education programs for consumers.

Libraries play an important role in the education of their community and financial literacy is one of several literacies that libraries strive to support. The Ridgefield Library’s role in Money Smart Week will be to host three financial education programs:Women and Money Roundtable - Retiring Successfully on Tuesday, April 25 from 1:00-2:00 PM; Save Money on Electricity on Thursday, April 27 from 12:00-1:00 PM; First Time Homebuyers on Thursday, April 27 from 6:30-7:30 PM

Please register online at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org or by calling 203-438-2282 x12004.

We also encourage you to browse, either in person or online, our comprehensive collection of personal finance books, magazines, and newspapers. On the Library’s Business & Finance webpage (found by clicking on Research & Reference from the homepage at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org) you may access Value Line and Morningstar online investment resources and find a list of trusted financial websites. 

Contributed by Adult Services Librarian Christie Mitchell

Libraries Transform during National Library Week

In the words of the American Library Association’s theme for National Library Week 2017 (April 9-15), “Libraries Transform.”  While not as easy to quantify as numbers of items borrowed or attendance at programs, individual transformative experiences are at the heart of what libraries today do. And while many of these interactions take place between staff and patrons, libraries are also places where we can all come together to share with and learn from each other. Here are just a few examples observed recently at the Ridgefield Library.

·         An elderly gentleman living alone breaks into a big grin when he encounters an enthusiastic 4-year-old passing through the Bossidy Commons on his way to storytime.

·         Two young mothers, both new to Ridgefield and to parenthood, linger after Baby & Me to exchange contact information and tips about kid-friendly restaurants, shopping bargains and other resources.

·         An experienced computer user at the Library’s Public Access Computers offers timely advice to a nearby neophyte struggling with formatting a business letter in Word.

·         A line forms at the Circulation Desk after Books & Breakfast, as attendees seek out the books their fellow readers have recommended at this popular monthly sharing of what people have been reading.

Introducing our New Children's Librarian

If you have been in the Lodewick Children’s Library in the last few weeks, you may have noticed a new face at the desk and facilitating some programs.  Shay Glass, our new Children’s Librarian, is originally from Georgia, but moved to Boston to get his masters degrees in library science and children's literature at Simmons College. After several years working at libraries in the mountains of North Carolina and in Portland, Oregon, he is excited to be back in New England and settled in one place. In addition to providing reference assistance and reading recommendations, Shay will be purchasing materials for the juvenile fiction (“chapter book”) collection and bringing his experience and fresh ideas to many of our programs, especially STEAM activities such as Lego Challenge, robotics, Maker Crafts and more. Shay  fills the position formerly held by Mary Beth Rassulo, who is now assistant Director at the Easton Public Library.

“I'm thrilled to be here,” Shay says. ”Some of my favorite things include reading children's books and talking about them, so I'd love hear about all the books you're reading and how you feel about them!” We invite you to stop by soon and welcome him to Ridgefield.

New Microfilm Scanner Now Available

Good news for historians and genealogists! The Ridgefield Library has acquired a new ST ViewScan III microfilm scanner to provide improved access to the Ridgefield Press from 1875 to 2003 as well as other microform content needed for research and genealogy. The high-resolution camera allows users to see details more clearly and to digitally zoom in and out. Microfilm content will be scanned into a digital format of your choice such as PDF, JPEG, TIFF or PNG.  You can crop an article, section, or entire page and then enhance and adjust the content further for the best possible quality. 

The resulting files can be emailed quickly and easily or printed in the Library, saved to a USB flash drive, or distributed to Google Drive, Dropbox, or FamilySearch.  

Thanks to the Rotary Club of Ridgefield for a challenge grant to get us started on raising the full purchase price of this much-needed upgrade. Additional donations of any amount are now being accepted and can be made through the Library Wish List on our website at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.

To learn more about this wonderful new resource, join us on Saturday, April 8 at 10:00 AM or 3:00 PM for a demonstration or contact the Adult Services Desk for an individual appointment.