
Recent
Publicity Releases
ABINGTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWS
March 3, 2010
Gardening
Program
The
Abington Public Library is pleased to announce that avid gardener,
lecturer and writer Suzanne Mahler will
present a Gardening Program on Saturday
March 20 at 1:00 PM in the Copeland Room. The lecture
is called “A Garden for All Seasons” and will discuss effective
and successful garden designs, which are a pleasure to view
all year. Ms. Mahler will showcase a progression of blooms
to carry your garden from spring through fall, in addition
to plants that provide interest during the winter months.
The lecture will take you on a colorful journey through the
year with suggestions for plants that offer multiple seasons
of beauty and how to combine these plants to create a garden
for all seasons. Gardeners are urged to attend and celebrate
spring. Registration is not necessary for this program which
is funded with donations in memory
of Frank Mackiewicz. Refreshments and a gardening gift basket
drawing will be provided by the Friends of the Library.
Suzanne Mahler is the author of the weekly gardening column
‘Green Thumbs Up' which appears in Community Newspapers including
The Patriot Ledger. She is also an overseer for the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society and a member of two local
garden clubs. Questions about this program may be addressed
to Acting Director Deborah Grimmett at ablib@ocln.org
or via telephone at 781-982-2139.
St.
Patrick's Day Story-Craft Workshop
Celebrate
St. Patrick's Day at the Abington Public Library with a festive
Story – Craft! Abington children in grades 1-6 are welcome
to join Miss Emily on Wednesday March 17 at 3:30pm for stories
about the holiday and to make a festive mask while listening
to traditional fiddle music. Registration begins on Monday
March 8. Caregivers with questions should contact Children's
Librarian Emily Miranda at 781-982-2139 or ablib@ocln.org.
This program is funded by the
Friends of the Library.
ABINGTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWS
February 24, 2010
SAT
Math Prep Workshop
Thinking
about taking the SAT? Want to practice your math skills? Then
sign up for SAT Math Prep at the Abington Public Library!
This program is suitable for any High School aged student,
not just for students planning on taking the SAT this school
year. Practice materials and light snacks will be provided.
Participants are asked to please bring paper, pencils, and
a calculator. Join us on Saturdays March 20 and March 27 from
10:15am to 2:15pm. Registration begins on Monday March 8 and
is limited to Abington residents. This
program is funded by the Friends of the Library. Questions
and concerns can be directed to Children's Librarian Emily
Miranda at ablib@ocln.org or 781-982-2139.
ABINGTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWS
February 12, 2010
Thimbles
and Friends Quilt Guild Demonstration Day
The
Thimbles and Friends Quilters will demonstrate their work
for the public on Saturday March 6 from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
in the Copeland Room. This is a great opportunity to
learn about quilting, to see different techniques, and to
meet the skilled quiltmakers who are members of the Guild.
The Thimbles and Friends Quilt Guild meets monthly at the
library from September through May. This event promises
to enliven the late winter season with a burst of color; plan
now to attend.
Book
Talk - Friends Book Discussion Group
Book
Talk ,
The Friends of the Abington Public Library Book Discussion
group, will meet on Monday March 15, 2010 at 10:15 AM to discuss
Sarah's Key by Titiana De Rosnay. The group is led
by Beth Stone Anderson Godfrey and meets in the Copeland Room
at the library. All are welcome to join the group for a morning
of discussion and friendship. The group will also meet on
May 3 to discuss The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.
Books may be reserved at the library. Questions may be directed
to Acting Library Director Deborah Grimmett at 781-982-2139
or via email at ablib@ocln.org
.
Friends
of the Library Meeting
The
next Friends of the Library meeting will be held on Tuesday
March 9 at 10:15 AM in the Copeland Room. All are welcome
to join the group as the Friends begin work on the annual
Spring Book Sale, which is scheduled for April 23 and 24.
ABINGTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWS
January 28, 2010
Winter
Preschool and Toddler Programs
The
Friends of the Library generously fund preschool programs.
The winter session is underway.
Caregivers with questions or concerns should contact
Children's Librarian Emily Miranda at 781-982-2139 or ablib@ocln.org.
Toddler
Time
Toddler
Time is a lap-sit story time for Abington newborns up to age
3. Registration is required. Toddler Time is held
on Wednesday mornings at 10:30am and 11:15 am . During each
program toddlers and caregivers listen to stories, sing songs,
and participate in rhymes and fingerplays. Each session lasts
between 20 and 25 minutes. Parents may contact Children's
Librarian Emily Miranda at 781-982-2139 or via email at ablib@ocln.org
to inquire about Toddler Time.
Preschool
Story Hour
Preschool
Story Hour is for Abington children ages 3 to 5 who are comfortable
separating from their caregiver and meets on Thursday mornings
at 10:15am . Story Hour includes stories, rhymes, and short
crafts. Space is limited to 24 participants and the winter
sesson is full. Registration will begin in March for
the spring session.
Drop-In
Story Hour
Drop-In
Story Hour continues on Mondays at 11:00 AM. Drop-In
Story Hour is for children ages 3-5 who are comfortable separating
from their caregiver. Drop-In Story Hour includes stories,
songs, rhymes, and occasionally crafts. This program does
not require registration.
ABINGTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWS
December 14, 2009
Donation
from the Friends of the Library
The
Board of Library Trustees of the Abington Public Library is
pleased to announce that the Friends of the Library have generously
donated $2850.00 to the Library Gift Account. This donation
will be used to purchase children's books and for other library
needs. At a recent meeting the Friends discussed the reduction
to the library budget and evaluated ways to help. The town
budget appropriation for purchasing library books and audiovisual
materials is now underfunded by more than $15,000 and while
the Friends' primary mission is to provide resources for programs,
and for special materials such as museum passes, the group
has taken the unprecedented step of making an unrestricted
donation for general acquisitions of books for preschool and
early elementary school aged children.
As
part of the certification process, the Abington Public Library
is required to spend 15% of the total library budget on materials
such as books, DVD's and reference databases. Additional monetary
donations are needed to meet this requirement for the current
fiscal year. Donations may be made to Abington Public Library
Gift Account or to the Friends of the Library. The address
for both is 600 Gliniewicz Way Abington, MA 02351.
Donations
of used books do not fulfill the requirements of the Massachusetts
Board of Library Commissioners for library materials expenditures;
however the Friends of the Library are looking for donations
of recently published paperback and hardcover books, as well
as CD's and DVD's for the Friends Book Sale shelf. All donated
materials must be in good condition, and residents are asked
to donate no more than ten items at one time, in accordance
with library policy. Questions may be addressed to Acting
Library Director Deborah Grimmett at 781-982-2139 or via email
at ablib@ocln.org.
ABINGTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWS
November 12, 2009
Library
staff volunteers to take additional unpaid furlough time
Each
member of the Abington Library Staff Association has generously
offered to take 3 more days of unpaid furlough time, for a
total of 10.5 days per staff member for this fiscal year.
The Acting Director has also volunteered to take 3 additional
furlough days, totaling 10.5 days. One part time non-union
employee will also participate; other non-union employees'
hours were severely reduced or eliminated as a result of the
budget reduction voted at the October 26 town meeting. Closing
the library on Monday evenings, and cutting hours on Saturdays
reduced the library salary line by $6,748.00 and the extra
voluntary furloughing of the library staff further reduces
this account by $2,712.00. The reduction to library salaries
voted at the Town Meeting totaled $10,233.00. The Board of
Library Trustees is exploring options for raising the remaining
773.00 necessary to balance the library salary budget. Due
to the necessity of restructuring the library schedule and
the reduction in hours of the Reference Librarian's position,
the Board of Library Trustees announces that there will be
a 20% decrease in children's programming and that library
outreach at the Abington Council on Aging facility has been
reduced by 50%.
Henry
DiCarlo, Chairman of the Board of Library Trustees said: “The
Trustees appreciate this generous and unselfish act on the
part of the library staff. The Union indicated that their
decision to voluntarily take additional furlough hours was
influenced by the support for library services shown by the
Board of Selectmen, the Finance Committee, and most mportantly
the residents of Abington at the Town Meeting.”
Reduced
hours of service at the Abington Public Library began the
week of October 19 th . The library now closes earlier on
both Monday and Saturday. Current library hours are:Monday
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Tuesday 10:00 AM – 8:30 PM, Wednesday
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Thursday 10:00 AM – 8:30 PM, Friday 12:30
PM – 5:00 PM, and Saturday 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM. Library users
with questions may contact Acting Director Deborah Grimmett
at 781-982-2139, or via email at ablib@ocln.org
.
ABINGTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWS
October 19, 2009
Library
Hours Reduced
Hours
of service at the Abington Public Library will be reduced
by 10% beginning the week of October 19 th . Effective immediately,
the library will close earlier on both Monday and Saturday.
Reduced library hours are: Monday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Tuesday
10:00 AM – 8:30 PM, Wednesday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Thursday
10:00 AM – 8:30 PM, Friday 12:30 PM – 5:00 PM, and Saturday
10:00 AM – 3:30 PM. This change in hours was authorized reluctantly,
and with grave reservation, by the Board of Library Trustees
and is necessary due to the impending reduction in the library
budget. Library users with uestions may contact Deborah Grimmett
at 781-982-2139, or via email at ablib@ocln.org
.
ABINGTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWS
Recent and Noteworthy
Email
Addresses Wanted
For
the last few months, the Library staff has been asking users
for their email addresses. For the customer, email notices
eliminate telephone calls at inconvenient times and lost messages.
For the Library, email notices help keep expenses down by
greatly reducing the number of telephone call notifications
made by staff. Due to the conomic downturn, the Library budget
has been reduced, and the Board of Library Trustees are asking
library users to help save money by adding email addresses
to their library accounts. This can easily be accomplished
during a visit to the Library. Please note that for security
and privacy reasons, email addresses must be supplied in person.
Book
a Librarian
Do
you need some help learning to navigate the computer to use
the public library's online resources? Abington residents
may reserve time for a 30-minute training session with the
reference librarian from Abington Public Library. One-on-one
instruction on the following topics is offered: using the
library Web page; searching the online catalog; placing holds
and renewing items online; finding information in databases;
setting up an e-mail account. To schedule an appointment,
call the reference librarian at 781-982-2139 on Mondays from
3 p.m. to 7 p.m. or on Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tumblebooks
Database for Kids
The
Abington Public Library is pleased to announce the arrival
of its newest database, TumbleBooks. TumbleBooks is an online
collection of animated, talking picture books. These e-books
were created by taking existing picture books and adding animation,
music, sound and narration to create an electronic picture
book that you can read or have read to you. This is the first
database the library has offered exclusively for young children.
For more information, or help accessing TumbleBooks please
contact Children's Librarian Emily Miranda at 781-982-2139
or ablib@ocln.org. Visit the
Children's Page to try Tumblebooks Now!
Museum
Pass Reservations Online
The
Abington Public Library is pleased to announce that library
users may now make reservations for Museum passes online from
the Library website, www.abingtonpl.org .
Abington residency and a valid Library card are required to
reserve all museum asses.The Library has a variety of passes
which offer discounted admission to local museums. Attractions
include the Children's Museum in Boston, the Children's Museum
in Easton, he John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, the Museum
of Fine Arts, the Museum of Science, the Mystic Aquarium,
Plimoth Plantation, the Roger Williams Park Zoo, and the Sports
Museum of New England. The Abington Lions Club funds the pass
for the Children's Museum in Boston, the Mystic Aquarium donates
the pass to the Aquarium, and all other passes are provided
through the generosity of the Friends of the Library. Discounts
and admission rules vary for each pass; visit the Library
website for more information.
Library
Wireless Internet Service
The
Abington Public Library provides free Internet access points
or “hot spots” for users with portable computers capable of
receiving wireless signals. This service, provided as
a free community service by Comcast, may be used during regular
library hours and allows users to access the Internet from
their laptop computers when sitting at tables in the main
areas of the library within range of the access points. Printers
however, are not available via the wireless connection.
All
wireless access users should have up-to-date virus protection
on their personal laptop computers or wireless devices. As
with most public wireless “hot spots,” the eless connection
in the library is not secure. Another wireless user could
potentially intercept any information being sent or eceived.
All users of the library's
wireless access are expected to use the service in a legal
and responsible manner, consistent with the educational and
informational purposes for which it is provided. Those choosing
to use this free wireless service are also expected to abide
by the Abington Public Library's Internet Use Policy. Copies
of this policy are available at the circulation desk.
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