The final quarter in the U.S. Mint’s 10-year 50 State Quarters program will be released soon, if it hasn’t been already. Aloha, Hawaii!
To commemorate this milestone, the website Walletpop is asking people to vote for their favorite quarters. So far, the results (the numbers indicate the percentage of voters who like the design) look like this: 1. 94% Alaska and Maine (tie) 3. 91% Kentucky 4. 88% North Dakota and Oregon (tie) 6. 87% Arizona and Virginia (tie) 8. 86% Nevada, South... Read Post2008
November 7th 2008
It's not too soon to start panicking, I mean thinking about Thanksgiving. If you're planning to do some holiday cooking and need inspiration, you might want to try one of these: Jacques Pepin's Thanksgiving Celebration DVD 641.568 JACQUES A Thanksgiving Holiday Cookbook by Emily Raabe J641.568 RA Thanksgiving 101: Celebrate America's Favorite Holiday with America's Thanksgiving Expert by Rick Rodgers 641.568 RO Thanksgiving: Festive Recipes for the Holiday Table by Kristine Kidd 641.568 KI... Read Post
November 4th 2008
Artist Arline Young is returning to the Central Library to teach introductory level origami classes. The classes will be held every Monday during the month of November at 7 pm. There is a $5 fee each week to cover material costs, which will be supplied by Arline. Sign up today at the Audio Visual desk or by calling the library at 617-623-5000.
October 30th 2008
Somerville Voting information can be found on the City's website here. If you are not sure where to vote you can enter your address here to find out this information.
Remember to Vote on Tuesday November 4th.
October 15th 2008
the National Month for so many things, from the serious (Breast Cancer Awareness, Gay & Lesbian History) to the silly (Popcorn Poppin', Squirrel Awareness.) Let's choose a few topics and see what the Library has to offer: 1. National Children's Magazine Month. The Library has lots: Dig, Cobblestone, Ranger Rick, Sports Illustrated for Kids, American Girl, Cricket, Highlights for Children, National Geographic Kids, and many more! 2. National Emotional Intelligence Month. Again, we've got... Read Post
September 16th 2008
The Somerville Public Library is hosting an Irish film series this fall. All shows will be held on Tuesday evenings at the Central Library at 6:30 p.m. Dates and screenings are listed below, along with some links to reviews and plot summaries. We hope you can join us!
Sept. 16: The Crying Game
Sept. 30: The Magdalene Sisters
Oct. 7: The Secret of Roan Inish
Oct. 28:... Read Post
August 11th 2008
Ian Frazier is a funny guy. He's so funny that when The Atlantic Monthly published selections from the best writing ever to appear in its pages, Frazier was one of only four authors represented in the category of humorous essays. The others were Mark Twain, James Thurber, and Kurt Vonnegut.
Frazier's latest collection, Lamentations of the Father, exemplifies why he belongs in such illustrious company. The title essay is a list of directives from a father to his offspring couched in... Read Post
July 30th 2008
Enter Somerville, a city packed with stories larger than itself, to salute a heritage that justifies the fierce pride of its citizens. Share a perch on one of Somerville's celebrated hills with Dee Morris and Dora St. Martin and watch the raising of America's first flag and the stringing of its first telephone line. Strolling from neighborhood to neighborhood, this brief history knocks on the doors of everyone from the father of Fenway Park to Missy LeHand, Franklin D. Roosevelt's private... Read Post
July 15th 2008
We are very lucky (and excited!) to have the kids from Kidstock! back again this summer for another series of great theater for children!
The first performance will be “A Conga Line” which will be held on Wednesday, July 16th. The next show will be “The Emperor’s New Kangaroo” on Wednesday, July 30th, and the final performance will be “Surfing Beauty” on Wednesday, August 13th.
All performances are in the library... Read Post
July 14th 2008
Wild Reads is the Massachusetts Summer Reading theme this year and the children's room has some great book ideas to help get you started. If drawing is your thing, we have books to teach you how to draw wild animals, dinosaurs, and underwater creatures. If you enjoy true stories of real animals, you might like reading about Knut, a polar bear cub raised at the Berlin Zoo, or Owen and Mzee, a hippo and a tortoise who strike an unusual friendship. Below is a suggested book... Read Post
June 24th 2008
Here at the Central Library’s reference desk we have a companion – a statue of a Greek boxer who, in accordance with long-standing Library tradition, we call Clarence. Clarence is actually Damoxenus, and he has an interesting history.
“Damoxenus. A boxer of Syracuse, excluded from the Nemean Games for killing his opponent in a pugilistic encounter. The name of the latter was Creugas; and the two... Read Post
June 5th 2008
It's been nearly a year since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in J. K. Rowling's 7-volume saga of "the boy who lived," and while Rowling has assured fans that there's no use expecting any more about Harry from her word processor, it doesn't look as though she's going to have the last word. I'm not talking about Potter fan fiction, crazy amounts of which can be found on the Internet. I mean books - books that don't... Read Post
May 23rd 2008
When I got my first job in a library I was surprised to discover how much nonfiction people read. At that time I read fiction almost exclusively and didn’t see the attraction of nonfiction. Sure, one might occasionally need resume writing tips, baseball stats, or advice on where to stay in Vancouver, but surely these types of books couldn’t account for the huge amount of nonfiction that crossed the circulation desk every day. So what on earth were these... Read Post
May 2nd 2008
Just this: when you buy books (and other items like CDs and movies) at the Friends of the Somerville Public Library's book sale, the proceeds help to fund library programs, including the Museum Pass program. The particular big teeth pictured here belong to a fossil kronosaurus on exhibit at Harvard's Museum of Natural History. Harvard's Museum of Natural History is one of the many museums the Library offers passes to, so that Somerville residents can visit them for free, or at a substantial... Read Post
May 1st 2008
Welcome to the Somerville Public Library Blog! The Library staff hopes to keep you informed, entertained, and in touch with what is happening at the Library. Visit our blog to find out about special Library events, news about Somerville, new books and databases, helpful websites, and book recommendations.
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P.S. We do realize there's no more snow in Somerville,... Read Post