VENTRESS VOICE
Newsletter of the Ventress
Memorial Library
Marshfield, Massachusetts
MAY 2013 Volume 20, No. 5
A NOTE FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
. .
We
want to express our appreciation to the Friends of the Ventress Memorial
Library and acknowledge all that this volunteer group does to support the
library including conducting book sales for fund raising, sponsoring public
enrichment programs, offering a best-seller rental book collection and
providing discount passes to many of the area’s finest museums. In March 2013
the Friends gave the library a very generous donation (the second this fiscal
year) to purchase books. The gift is especially welcome because the library’s
book budget has been reduced by almost one-half. We are most grateful to the
Friends for helping the library with this donation to the book fund and for all
the group does to help the library year after year!
A
“thank you” is due to the community as well because Town Meeting membership
overwhelmingly supported library articles presented at the April meeting. The
library requested a transfer of funds from a prior capital project account to
be used for library improvements. As a result of the passing vote, $31, 241.31
has been transferred to the Facility Manager’s account for the sole purpose of
library renovations. Also passed was a request to increase the library Board of
Trustees member count from 5 to 7 positions. In the June “Ventress Voice” we
will provide details of planned renovations and landscaping to improve the exterior
of the building. More to follow next month. . .
To
get a jump start on improving the library’s appearance, a group of three Marshfield High School seniors and two parents
spent several hours here on Friday, April 26 volunteering for the “We Are
Marshfield Project” service day. They worked hard painting the entryway and
cleaning up the yard and grounds in front of the library. Ventress Library was
selected for a team visit along with 26+ other locations around town that
benefitted from the student volunteer service project. The Trustees would like
to personally thank the student workers (Sarah Baker-Slater, Tommy DiGrigoli
and Evan Jastremski) and parents (Corene Jastremski and Patti Epstein) for
their most-appreciated work of prepping,
painting, raking and cleaning to improve the library. The Trustees invite
participation as we move forward with plans to renovate the exterior and
interior of the Ventress Memorial Library. Please send comments and suggestions
by e-mail to Marshfield4RLibrary@gmail.com
Mary
Ann Walsh, Chair
Jeanne
Horan, Clerk
Jean
Christensen, Treasurer
Michelle
Noonan
Robert
Brait
CHILDREN’S CORNER
By Wendy Ward, Head of Children’s
Services
I will be leaving my position as
Children’s Librarian here in Marshfield
this month and wanted to say farewell to all of the wonderful families and
children I have had the great privilege to know over the past thirteen
years. It has been a pleasure to watch
your kids grow from babies and toddlers to young adults, and to be a part of
their journey toward a love of reading and books. I will miss the many friendships I have made
here, and wish all of you and your families the best of luck.
CIRC STATS and CHAT
By Amy
Rosa, Head of Circulation Services
Teen Pick of the
Week
The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent
Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend her life cataloging Unnaturals in her father's Museum of Unnatural History. There is nothing she enjoys more than studying a stuffed Sphinx, or mounting a delicate sylphid. But as she nears seventeen, the dreaded need to become respectable, find a husband, and settle down looms heavily. Just as she is resigning herself to a mundane life, a series of mysterious accidents reveal a terrifying truth: Vespa may be New London's only surviving witch. And in New London, witchcraft is the greatest imaginable heresy, punishable by death. Tiffany Trent writes a thrilling story with a dash of romance, a dollop of adventure, and a world you will never forget.
Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend her life cataloging Unnaturals in her father's Museum of Unnatural History. There is nothing she enjoys more than studying a stuffed Sphinx, or mounting a delicate sylphid. But as she nears seventeen, the dreaded need to become respectable, find a husband, and settle down looms heavily. Just as she is resigning herself to a mundane life, a series of mysterious accidents reveal a terrifying truth: Vespa may be New London's only surviving witch. And in New London, witchcraft is the greatest imaginable heresy, punishable by death. Tiffany Trent writes a thrilling story with a dash of romance, a dollop of adventure, and a world you will never forget.
Fiction Pick of the
Week
The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by
Jennifer Cody Epstein
A lush, exquisitely rendered meditation on war, The Gods of Heavenly Punishment tells the story of several families, American and Japanese, their loves and infidelities, their dreams and losses, and how they are all connected by one of the most devastating acts of war in human history.
A lush, exquisitely rendered meditation on war, The Gods of Heavenly Punishment tells the story of several families, American and Japanese, their loves and infidelities, their dreams and losses, and how they are all connected by one of the most devastating acts of war in human history.
Want to see more “Pick of the
week?” Go to our homepage and check out the library blog! Read a great book
lately? Want to recommend it as “Pick of the Week?” Email aboivin@ocln.org or
leave the suggestion at the circulation desk for Amy Rosa.
Circ Stats: The library circulated 15,056
items in April!
REFERENCE
NOTES
By Chris Woods, Head of Reference Services
eBook Update
·
Did you know that you can read eBooks from the Ventress Library’s website
without being concerned with due dates or fines? That’s right. The library is
assembling a collection of electronic books accessible with your Marshfield library card
to read on a computer or mobile device – even on your smartphone! We are adding
titles that will help you with research, both academic and personal.
- To access go to: www.ventresslibrary.org, click on “Reference Department” tab and scroll down to “Gateway to Gale Databases and eBooks” Enter your library card, if prompted, and you will have access to the complete list to read now or to download to your device to read later. Ventress Library’s eBook titles cover a variety of subjects including: Arts, Biography, Business, Education, Environment, General Reference, History, Law, Literature, Medicine, Multicultural Studies, Nation and the World, Religion, Science, Social Science, Technology and Travel.
- Following is a list of new titles added this month. So log in to the Ventress Library’s virtual Reference Department through www.ventresslibrary.org and start reading! If you need help, please call or e-mail the Reference Desk and we will help you – 781-834-5535/malib@ocln.org.
- St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Macmillan Science Library: Computer Sciences, Macmillan Science Library: Space Sciences, Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Gale Encyclopedia of Diets, Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health, Gale Encyclopedia of Fitness, Encyclopedia of Management, UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Food & Recipes of the World, Biotechnology in Context, Alternative Energy, UXL Complete Health Resource
SHORT TAKES
Feeling Creative?
The Library invites
volunteers to decorate the Program Room window each month. Anyone interested,
please contact the library director Ellen Riboldi at 781-834-5535 or e-mail eriboldi@ocln.org
Ventress Library Cultural Series
Finale Concert
Don’t miss the final
concert of the season on Saturday, May 25, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. with the South
Shore Brass Quintet. Free, no tickets, refreshments served!!
JENKS
JAZZ AND JIVE
By Karen Jenks, Library Assistant
CD of the Month -- Seasons of My Soul by Rumer – POP
Sarah Joyce, known
by her stage name Rumer, is an enormously talented singer-songwriter who is
fond of ballads from the Sixties and Seventies and themes of love won and
lost. Her smooth as silk voice is often
compared to Karen Carpenter, however, Rumer has a style uniquely her own. Born in Pakistan,
her family moved to England
when Rumer was eleven. She worked in
several bands before releasing her debut CD Seasons
of My Soul in 2010. The artist has been
mentored by composer Burt Bacharach and they collaborated on an EP Rumer Sings Burt Bacharach at Christmas. Rumer also performed at the White House in a
2012 tribute concert honoring Bacharach and his lyricist Hal David.
The tune “Slow”
opens the CD with enhancement from a Garritan harp and the heavenly quality of
Rumer’s voice. The Garritan harp is actually a virtual instrument whose sounds
are selected from a software library to produce music so realistic that it
can’t be distinguished from a live performance. The up-tempo song “Am I
Forgiven” is reminiscent of Bacharach’s arrangements that feature a Flugelhorn
prominently in the mix. In fact, you’ll
hear the Flugelhorn in a number of tracks on the album.
The slow tempo
R& B ballad “Aretha” tells the story of a young girl listening to her
favorite artist on her headphones as she walks to school each morning. Aretha’s music is a saving grace for the girl
who doesn’t fit in at school and who can’t depend on those close to her for
help. Music truly offers guidance and
healing in troubled times.
On “Thankful,” with
the piano as its focal point, you’ll be reminded of the purity of Joni
Mitchell’s voice and piano renderings on her Blue CD. Rumer’s sentiment
on “Take Me as I Am” also echoes Mitchell’s lyrics on Blue’s “California” on which she sings, “Will you take me as I am?”
The album closes
with Rumer’s cover of the David Gates (Bread) theme song from the film “The
Goodbye Girl.” This song is a perfect
match to showcase her beautiful voice and her love of classic, timeless musical
compositions.
Rumer released a
second CD “Boys Don’t Cry” in 2012 which is a collection of songs from the
Seventies originally written and performed by male singer-songwriters. The artist has been featured on the cable program
“Live at Daryl’s House” where she and musician Daryl Hall performed an
impeccable duet of the Hall and Oates classic “Sara Smile.”
Hopefully Rumer’s
career will soar as high as her magical voice and talent for writing evocatively
emotional songs will take her.
Ventress
Memorial Library, 15 Library Plaza, Marshfield,
MA 02050
781-834-5535 www.ventresslibrary.org “Like” us on Facebook!
Hours
Mon. – Thurs. 10 – 8, Fri. and
Sat. 10 – 4, Closed Sunday
Closed
Monday, May 27 for Memorial Day
Newsletter
staff: Chris Woods, Editor; Jaclyn
Robinson, Artist
