Dear Reader,



Welcome to May, and the spring weather it ushers in! Consider catching a spot of sun on the newly-scrubbed 2nd floor Library patio—graciously freshened up by the Teen Advisory Board. It's a welcoming setting during these warmer months, as are the front patio and, for those visiting the library with kids, the children's room patio.

As April comes to a close each year, we have the opportunity to hear the finalists in the Poet's Seat Poetry Contest—happily, this year was no different. Poet's Seat, you may well know, is so named in honor of the local mid-19th-century poet Frederick Goddard Tuckerman. Tuckerman was enamored of the natural world. As such, when I taught English Language Arts in the area, I always liked to include the following Tuckerman sonnet on my syllabus. It reminds us that there is much to be learned outside—outdoors and away "from the school's sway." Paul, The Friends of the GPL, and I hope you enjoy the outdoor areas of the library, perhaps even as a respite from work, school, or other obligations. Like Tuckerman, we might "run forth to Nature as to a friend," wresting our days from summoning bells and striking clocks in favor of the patterns of flower-bloom and light-fall, or at least a bit of sun on our faces as we enjoy a book recently-plucked from a shelf.

XXIX

from Sonnets, Second Series

How oft in schoolboy-days, from the school’s sway

Have I run forth to Nature as to a friend,—

With some pretext of o’erwrought sight, to spend

My school-time in green meadows far away!

Careless of summoning bell, or clocks that strike,

I marked with flowers the minutes of my day:

For still the eye that shrank from hated hours,

Dazzled with decimal and dividend,

Knew each bleached alder-root that plashed across

The bubbling brook, and every mass of moss;

Could tell the month, too, by the vervain-spike,—

How far the ring of purple tiny flowers

Had climbed; just starting, may-be, with the May,

Half-light, or tapering off at Summer’s end.



​Many thanks for ​being a friend to the Library,

- Celine & Paul

*notes: If possible, please read this newsletter on your desktop. It's not optimized for mobile devices, though it's certainly readable on them.

As usual, step-step tutorial on how to use the newsletter in tandem with the Library calendar is available in the PDF below. The calendar is not only useful for perusing and tracking events, but it's also where you can register for some of the registration-required offerings mentioned below.

FRIENDS OF THE GPL

EVENTS

Adult Programs and Events

MAKERSPACE "SPRING ROUNDHOUSE SERIES"

Pre-Registration is required for these programs;

please see the library’s website

Simple Rugmaking

Wednesday, 5/7, 5:30-7:30pm

Sewing Patterns Demystified (a lecture)

Monday, 5/12, 5:30-7:30pm

Shrinky Dink Jewelry

Thursday, 5/15, 10am-12noon

Felted Bees

Saturday, 5/17, 10am-12noon

Make a Miniature Coffee Table (dollhouse-sized)

Wednesday, 5/21, 5:30-7:30pm

Collage Shadow Boxes

Friday, 5/30, 2-4pm

MORE MAKERSPACE FUN!

Drop In and Draw with Kemah

Weekly on Tuesdays, 11am-1pm

Drop In Knitting & Crochet

Weekly on Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30pm

GPL Zine Club Presents: Making Comics Workshop

Monday, Monday, May 5th, 6pm

DIY Pride Gear

Wednesday, May 28, 4-6pm

SPECIAL EVENTS IN MAY:

FREE FOR ALL: THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

free movie screening followed by a panel discussion Monday May 19, 6pm Greenfield Garden Cinemas

FRIENDS OF THE GPL BOOK SALE

Saturday, May 10, 10am-1pm

Please support the Friends, who generously fund our library programs, by coming by their ever-popular book sale -- readers of all ages and ilks invited!

COMMON SEED PROJECT

Available the 1st week of May @ the Info Services Desk

Pick up a packet of Provider bean seeds and instructions, while supplies last.

LANGSTROTH’S LITERARY BEE

May 1-31, Local History Room

Celebrating Greenfield’s BeeFest

IN OUR GALLERIES THIS MONTH

Mike Denmo, Photography

Conference Room

Closing Reception: TBD

MONTHLY PROGRAMS

Talk to an Assessor

Tuesday, May 6, 4-5:30pm, Study Room B

Spice Kit: Coriander

Tuesday, May 6, while supplies last

Writer’s Workshop

Wednesdays at 6pm in the Local History Room

WordPress Meetup

Wednesday, May 14th, 6pm in the Conference Rm

Greenfield Ukulele Players

Fridays, May 2 + 16, 1-2:30pm, Conference Rm

Moving Forward: a grief support group

Monday, May 12, Study Room C, 2 Floor

LOCAL AUTHORS

Matte Kramer: The Untended

Tuesday, May 13, 6:30pm

Community Mtg Rm

LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Data Theft Protection

Friday, May 13, 10am, Community Mtg Rm

Planning for Medicare

Wednesday, May 21, 6pm, Community Mtg Rm

CONVERSATION GROUPS

Community Conversations 413

Casual Conversation for English Language Learners. Everyone

Welcome! Wednesdays at 4:15pm, various locations

Conversational Italian

Monday, 5/5 at 6:30pm in the Local History Room

Conversational French

Tuesday, 5/27 at 5:30pm in the Conference Room

BOOK DISCUSSIONS

Children of the Night: Horror Readers Discussion Group

This month’s theme is “Horror at Sea”

Monday, May 19, 6:30pm, Local History Room

Exploring Nonfiction: The Explorers

Tuesday, May 20, 6:30pm, Conference Room

GAMES

Library Chess Club

Mondays 5:30pm - 7:30pm in the Board Game area

Drop-in Scrabble Night

Tuesdays May 6 & 20, 4:30pm - 6:30pm, Board Game area

INFORMATION SESSIONS IN THE MAIN LOBBY

Master Gardener’s Association: Info & Soil Testing

Saturday, May 3, 10am-12noon, GPL front patio

MassHire Employer Spotlight: Nam’s Taekwondo

Thursday, May 15, 10am-12noon

Greenfield Community College

Tuesday, May 20, 10-11:30am

Greenfield Recycling Program

Tuesday, May 20, 2-4pm

Homeworks Energy

Tuesday, May 20, 2-4pm

Thursday, May 29, 10am-12noon

LifePath

Thursday, May 22, 2-4pm

Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority

Thursday, May 22, 2-4pm

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:

PROGRAMING FOR ADULTS, TEENS, TWEENS & CHILDREN

Children's Author Visit:

Jessica Montalvo-Jackson

Saturday May 17, 10:30am

Children's Room

Meet Jessica Montalvo-Jackson, children’s book author and educator with a local connection, on Saturday, May 17 at 10:30 am. Listen to her read her books Mimi Can’t Camouflage and The Otter in Charge, followed by a craft activity.

For more information, contact Ellen Lavoie at ellen.lavoie@greenfield-ma.gov or call (413) 772-1544 x5104.

This program, made possible through the generosity of the Friends of the Greenfield Public Library, is free and intended for ages 4 - 8.

Free For All: The Public Library

Monday, May 19, 6:00 pm

Greenfield Garden Cinemas

Join the Greenfield Public Library on Monday, May 19 at 6:00 pm, for a free screening of the documentary Free For All: The Public Library, at the Greenfield Garden Cinemas.

Directed by filmmakers Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor, Free for All: The Public Library tells the story of the quiet revolutionaries who made a simple idea happen. From the pioneering women behind the “Free Library Movement” to today's librarians who serve the public despite working in a contentious age of closures and book bans, this documentary introduces those who created a civic institution where everything is free and the doors are open to all.

After the film, stay for a panel discussion with members of our local library community:

Anna Bognolo, Greenfield Public Library

Misha Storm, Dickinson Memorial Library

Chelsea Jordan-Makely, Griswold Memorial Library

Abigail Barnes, Western Massachusetts Library Advocates

Timothy Cherubini, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

Sanda Erdelez, Simmons University

For more information, contact Pamela McBride at librarian@greenfield-ma.gov, or call (413) 772-1544.

This event, in collaboration with Greenfield Garden Cinemas, is free and open to the public. Help show your support for our local movie house with a purchase (or two) from the Cinema’s Concession Stand

LIBRARY

GENERAL INFO

&

GREAT RESOURCES

Click for lots more about the Greenfield Public Library!

Select Library Services, with links:

• GPL Notary Services
• Meeting Room Policy/Request Form
• Mobile Hotspots
• Program Proposal Form (for presenting programs at the library)
• Study Rooms (one reservation/day; up to 3 reservations/week)

Quick Links to More GPL Resources:

• Consumer Reports (GPL cardholders)
• Craftsy (Greenfield residents only)
• Gale Legal Forms (All CW MARS cardholders)
• Greenfield Recorder archives
• Hoopla (GPL cardholders)
• Kanopy (GPL cardholders)
• Libby/Overdrive (All CW MARS cardholders)
• New York Times subscription (GPL cardholders)
• Transparent Languages (All residents of MA)
• Museum Passes

Volunteer at the GPL