Library Days Return to Books on the Common

It’s time once again for Ridgefield Library Days at Books on the Common the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Just show your Ridgefield Library card at the register and 15% of the proceeds of your purchase will be donated to the Library. To make your holiday shopping even easier, the bookstore will be open Friday the 25^th from 9:30 AM – 8:00 PM, Saturday the 26^th from 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Sunday the 27^th from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

Books on the Common and the Ridgefield Library are partners in many projects, including this fall’s Author Talk series featuring John Burnham Schwartz, Tom Perrotta and Stewart O’Nan (coming December 8^th is Linda Urbach, author of “Madame Bovary’s Daughter”). We are pleased to offer this opportunity for you to support both your community library and a treasured local store through Ridgefield Library Days at Books on the Common.

The Library will be closed on Thursday the 24^th and Friday the 25^th, so be sure to come in before then if you don’t have a library card or have lost yours. Stop by the Circulation Desk today; all you need is proof of Ridgefield residence (such as driver’s license, lease or utility bill).

New Tech Trends and Old-Fashioned Fun @ the Library

Libraries seem to be situated right at the intersection of the traditional and the cutting edge, and the Ridgefield Library is no exception.  This week, on Saturday, November 12, two special programs in the Dayton Program Room illustrate how hi-tech and tradition go hand in hand @ your Library.

From 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, families are invited to celebrate Family Game Day by playing good, old-fashioned board games suitable for all ages, such as Scrabble, backgammon, Battleship, Sorry, Candyland, Settlers of Catan, Blokus, Bananagrams and Connect Four.  Come enjoy a family favorite or learn a new game, so you are prepared to weather the next storm!

In the afternoon, we switch gears to the newest of new innovations, with a hands-on workshop called “Downloading Library E-Books and Audiobooks 101.” Drop in between 1:30 and 4:30, and staff members will be on hand to provide one-on-one assistance with downloading eBooks and audiobooks from our Overdrive service for use on your computer, eReader, mp3 player, smartphone or other portable device. Considering purchasing an eReader?  Stop by to try out a Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader or iPad.  Educate yourself now about these new technologies, before the holiday gift giving season.

Ridgefield Authors Online @ the Library

Ridgefield -dubbed "the Lenox of Connecticut" in the early 1900s--has a proud literary past, with some of the most prominent authors and publishing figures of their time, including: legendary publishers who had summer houses here, such as E.P. Dutton and Henry Holt; influential magazine editors such as Henry Luce; authors–many of whom wrote some of their most important work here–such as Nobel Prize-winner Eugene O’Neill, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Allan Nevins, Pulitzer prize-winning novelist Robert Lewis Taylor, futurist Alvin Toffler, novelist Howard Fast, the notorious newspaper columnist Westbrook Pegler (himself a Pulitzer recipient), journalist/playwright Clare Booth Luce, popular history writer Cornelius Ryan, as well as Roz Chast and Maurice Sendak.

In commemoration of the town’s tricentennial in 2008, the Ridgefield Library created an online directory of these and other Ridgefield authors, past and present. We are now pleased to announce that our directory has been completely revised and updated, thanks to research and writing by author Victoria Secunda and technical assistance from recent RHS graduate Jenna Dubin.  The directory may be viewed at ridgefieldauthors.wikispaces.com/.

Inquiries about being added to our list should be directed to Reference Librarian Christie Mitchell at camitchell@ridgefieldlibrary.org or 203-438-2282 x1016.

Documentaries, etc. @ your Library

While many people know about the Ridgefield Library’s collection of entertainment DVDs, some may not know that there are many nonfiction titles to choose from as well.  Documentaries such as Ken Burns’ series Jazz, Baseball, The War, Civil War and The Brooklyn Bridge are available.  One can find DVDs in many subject areas.  For example,  Meerkat Manor, The Life of Birds and The Dog Whisperer are among the titles dealing with animals.  Science titles include The Planets, Evolution and Planet Earth.   If exercising is your goal, we have many titles at varying skill levels.  Sister Wendy’s Story of Painting, the Art21 series and The Art of Steal are among those on art.  DVD biographical portraits include John Adams, Martin Luther King, Jr., Edith Piaf and Albert Einstein.  For opera fans, we have many titles to choose from including Hansel and Gretel, the Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Rigoletto and more. Dance titles offer a variety from An Evening with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to Kirov Stars: Shakespeare Dance Trilogy to Sleeping Beauty.  

Nonfiction DVDs are shelved with the books in the same subject areas.  Newest additions are found at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org, clicking Catalog and Collections, then Media. 

Contributed by Head of Reference Services Victoria Carlquist

Celebrate National Friends of Libraries Week

The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF), a division of the American Library Association, has designated October 16-22 as National Friends of Libraries Week, and there couldn’t be a more apt time to celebrate our own Friends of the Ridgefield Library (FORL).

The Friends Annual Fall Used Book Sale runs this Friday the 21^st through Monday the 24^th, with thousands of offerings in many popular categories, all at attractive prices.  Look for them at their new location at Yanity Gym, also with expanded Friday hours until 8 PM.

Also ongoing now through October 30 is the Friends Fall Silent Auction, featuring great packages created around the theme “Learning about Ridgefield.”  There are items to suit diverse interests and budgets, so check out the display near the Circulation Desk and place your bids.

Our Friends make possible some of your favorite library programs and services, including Summer Reading, Camp Snooze, Reading Is a Family Affair, Ridgefield Folk, the Poetry Discussion Group, Mango language learning programs, Great Courses on audio and video, e-books and e-book readers.  You can help through your generous support of the Book Sale and the Silent Auction. More information about both is available at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.

eBook Loans for Kindle Now Available @ your Library

The Ridgefield Library’s eBook service through OverDrive is now compatible with the Kindle. These eBooks can also be downloaded to any device with a Kindle app including computers, tablets, and smartphones.

There are over 1,000 current Kindle eBooks to choose from, with new titles being added each month.  To checkout an eBook, go to our website at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.  You’ll find a video link showing the process of downloading, or go directly to the “Help” section on the Overdrive page.    Your Ridgefield Library card barcode allows you to sign in.

Once you’ve selected and checked out a title, click the “Get for Kindle” button.   This will open the Amazon website, where you will be asked to log in to your Amazon account.  Select either a Kindle device or Kindle reading app and click on “Get library book.”   Please note that an active WiFi connection is required for wireless delivery to a Kindle device.   If your Kindle is not WiFi capable, you’ll need to send the eBook to your device via a USB cable.  

The Library also loans out Kindles for those who would like to try one.   Please contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski to reserve, or with any questions about our eBook service.