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Goings-on at the Gleason Public Library, Carlisle:
Resident readers enjoyed the spring author series. In February the Friends welcomed Bonnie Krims, color expert and author of The Perfect Palette, The Perfectly Painted House, and Perfect Palettes for Painting Rooms, and then Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked, Mirror Mirror entertained our capacity audience with tales of book to Broadway. Our March author of Cause for Concern, Carlisle's own Linda Kistler, spoke of her new fast-paced self-published novel about the discovery of toxic waste on the campus of an elite university. In April, Lisa Borders, author of Cloud Cuckoo Land, shared readings and publishing tales. Our next author is scheduled for June 9, when Terry Golson, author of 1,000 Recipes Low-Fat Cookbook guides us through the planning for a healthy balanced meal.

Mary Puleo has been appointed Assistant Director of the Everett Public Libraries. Ellen Baird is the new Children's Supervisor at the Parlin Memorial Library.

In the March Newsletter www.nmrls.org/news/mar04/newsabout.shtml, Lawrence Public Library reported on a grant they received through ALA to run a series of Math workshops. The four "Cyberchase" workshops held were very successful. Altogether 35 kids and parents participated in the series over the four weeks - and they seemed to enjoy it!

Save the dates! The Friends of the Pollard Memorial Library in Lowell are holding their annual book sale in May. The preview date for members is Friday, May 21st, from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM. Join or renew your membership at the door to get the first look at what the sale has to offer! The sale will be open to the public on Saturday, May 22nd, from 9 AM to 3 PM. It will be held in the Reception Room, Ground Floor, Pollard Memorial Library, 401 Merrimack Street, Lowell. For more information, call 978-970-4120 or visit www.pollardml.org.

Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library just wrapped up "Manchester Reads", a town-wide book group, sponsored by a LSTA grant, administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Molasses was the theme with over 300 adults reading Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo, and elementary school students reading Joshua's Song by Joan Hiatt Harlow, and preschoolers reading Molasses Flood by Blair Lent. Programs included making a brown sugar facial scrub, a Best Molasses Cookie Bake-off, and a trip to Boston to see the site of the disaster. Speakers included the author Stephen Puleo, Anthony Sammarco, who presented "Boston's Immigrants in the North End" and William J. Brennan, who spoke on the Sacco and Vanzetti case. Our copies of Dark Tide are still circulating, but when they are returned, our library would be happy to send them on for another town to offer a similar program. Fifteen copies will become a book club kit available through the MVLC catalog. This was a great program, promoting reading for all ages and spotlighting the library's role in the community.

The Merrimac Public Library will be closed starting May 3rd and will reopen June 26th with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new library site!

"They call it a mouse?"
On Saturday, May 1, from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM, a free "Internet Fair for Seniors," sponsored by ErgoBoston (a non-profit, volunteer collaboration of Boston area professionals) and the Newburyport Council on Aging, will be held at the Newburyport Public Library, 94 State Street. One-on-one introductory level sessions in the library's Technology Center will afford an opportunity for seniors to learn about the Internet in a relaxed, friendly environment. For further information, please contact Nancy Alcorn, Newburyport Public Library Assistant Director at 978 465-4428, x224, or Ron Perkins, ErgoBoston coordinator at 978 465-6083. (FYI - On May1, similar fairs will be also be held in Belmont at the Belmont Senior Center, and in Winchester at the Jenks Senior Center)

Guinness Record Broken!
On Saturday, March 13, 2004 the Reading Public Library and more than 2,000 supporters broke the Guinness Book of World Records record for the "longest human conveyor belt" passing a book on the history of Reading entitled, At Wood End. The participants were celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Library's move from an old Carnegie building to the current location. The original move 20 years ago was done in large part by a human chain and the Library won the John Cotton Dana award for the accomplishment. Commissioner Elia Marnik, Representative Brad Jones, and Representative Carol Donovan were among the dignitaries lining the route.

Reading Public Library Staff