What’s New for the New Year @ the Library

New names:

• The Foundation Center Cooperating Collection hosted by the Library is now the Funding Information Network and still offers great resources for grantseekers. 
•  Books for readers in grades 6-12 now are designated in the catalog and on the spine as “Teen” material, not Young Adult or YA.

New resources:

•   “Best of” lists for 2013 are now available online and in print.  
• Recommended reading lists for children on many topics are now also available online.
• The monthly Nonfiction News is now available online and in print to assist readers of biography, history, memoir and other non-fiction subjects. 

New procedures: 

•  Print and time management for public access computers is now being done on an honor system until the move to the new library.  
• Easy Reader series with multiple volumes are now packaged in neat and convenient sets for borrowing.

Back by Popular Demand: 

•  Drop-in Musical Storytime with Ann for ages 2 and up has returned to Fridays at 11:00 AM. 
•  The Donofrio Inspiring Girls (and Others) in Science series returns with creative computer programming workshops in February and March;  sign up online. 
•  Monthly adult book discussions have new reading lists for the winter and spring; see details online.

OverDrive eReading Room for Young People

Do you enjoy the Ridgefield Library’s downloadable media collection?  Have you put eBooks on your Kindle or iPad? Downloaded an audiobook to your phone or MP3 player?  Now your children and teenagers can enjoy doing all that too! 

The Ridgefield Library has just expanded our OverDrive digital collection website to include an eReading Room for children and teens. Our downloadable collections now have a separate site to provide a safe and easy browsing experience for young people. It includes ebooks and audiobooks, and browsing can be done by subject, reading level or interest level. Of course, this does not mean that our younger patrons are limited to only the downloadable content in the eReading Room. There are many other audiobooks and eBooks in the general OverDrive collection they would like. But the children’s / teen collection site filters the overall digital collection to just show children’s and teen content, so our younger patrons do not have to wade through all the adult titles to find The Hunger Games or Percy Jackson. All you need is your Ridgefield Library card. And downloadables are especially convenient, as titles expire automatically when “due,” so there’s no need to worry about late fees or losing them under the couch cushions.

Contributed by Teen Services Librarian and head of Children's Services Geri Diorio

New Series for Writers

As part of the Library’s mission to help both experienced and novice writers hone their craft, we are presenting a brand new series of workshops and talks aimed at writers of all levels.  The series, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is called Write It! and will continue throughout the year.  

Starting on January 16 Phyllis Ross will return to the Library to present a three part workshop aimed at the beginning writer.  This is strictly for those budding writers who have no prior workshop experience. On February 9 author and editor Adele Annesi will present a program called Life Lines, which will focus on the art of non-fiction writing and then on April 6 she will present a program called The Art of the Essay.  This program will be of special interest to high school students trying to put together that perfect college essay.  Professor Michael White, from Fairfield University, will discuss From Idea to Book on March 6. More workshops are scheduled for the fall, with a workshop on writing for a teen audience and a program on screenwriting in the works.  Also in the fall we are very excited that the New Ridgefield Library will be hosting the second annual Ridgefield Writers Conference. 

Contributed by Adult Program Director Lesley Lambton.

New Year’s Resolutions

It’s the time of year for New Year’s resolutions.  If yours is to make more time for reading, here are some suggestions:

  For some, deciding what to read is the biggest obstacle.  Whether you’re looking for a light or a literary read or something in between, our staff is here to help you find the perfect book for your reading enjoyment and edification.

Listen to an audiobook.  Finding the time to read is often a challenge, and audiobooks provide a great way to enjoy the content of a book while driving, exercising, or multi-tasking at home.  The library offers a large selection of audiobooks on CDS and in downloadable formats that are compatible with most computers, tablets, and smartphones.  

Join a book group.   The structure of a book group can provide the impetus to make time for reading.   The Ridgefield Library offers a variety of ongoing book groups, and their monthly selections offer something for almost every interest.  No membership is required, and new readers are always welcome.  Stop by the library or check our website for more information. 

On our side, our resolution is to continue to provide the best resources for readers in 2014.

Contributed by Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski.