December 20, 2013

Wowbrary! Ta-daow!


We’re pleased to announce a new service called Wowbrary which enables you to see what new books, audiobooks, music CDs, and DVDs have been added to our combined Amherst collections each week.

You may sign up to receive a weekly e-mail or view the list anytime at Jones Library.org by clicking on “Books Etc” and then selecting “New Books.”

Read about our new items in categories ranging from Arts to Cooking and from Travel to DVDs, and be among the first to place holds on new items.

December 19, 2013

All Members Welcome!

Dear wonderful Friends,

We will be having our annual board meeting on Monday, January 6th at 8:00 a.m.  Please come join us in the Woodbury Room at the Jones Library to hear what we've been up to and what we're going to be up to.  Maybe you could even share with us ideas you have for what the Friends can do...?

And, of course, you can find out if there really is a secret Friends of the Board password that will open all the doors of Amherst to the select few who know it.

Come into the library through the back door by the gardens.  We'll see you there!

Love,
the Friends


Tonight: "The Retrospective" by Abraham Yehoshua


Please join us TONIGHT, Thursday, December 19; 7-8:30pm; in the Amherst Room of the Jones Library as John Clayton, University of Massachusetts Amherst emeritus, leads a discussion of "The Retrospective" by Abraham B. Yehoshua.



For a review of the book, click here.

To see the list of upcoming discussion dates/titles which will be a part of this scholar-led series, please go here.

To watch a video of a cat riding on a Roomba, go here.

December 16, 2013

Ellen and George Goodwin Room dedication


The Jones Library has named the most elegant (and elevated) room in its building for long-time Friends of the Jones Library board members Ellen and George Goodwin.  

Below are some pictures from the dedication ceremony.

Tina Swift opening the ceremonies.

Katie George with fond memories of Ellen and George.  Olé and bravo!

Katie and Emily Goodwin, one of Ellen and George's daughters.

George receiving the children's books donated to the library in honor of the Goodwins.

Trustee President Austin Sarat presenting the key to the library to George Goodwin.

Grazie! Thank you! Merci! Danke! Gracias! Takk!


On Valley Gives Day YOU, you wonderful people, you gave us $700!  We can do quite a lot with that.  We're very grateful to you for your generosity.  Thank you, thank you.

MWAH! XOXO!

December 13, 2013

SWAG


If you're looking for a gift for that Special Someone this holiday season, look no further than the Jones Library!  That's right!  The Friends of the Jones Library is offering handy totes, beautiful stickers, warm mugs for your hot cocoa, and, of course the FOTJL magnet.  If that's not a conversation starter, we don't know what is!



The most expensive item is $15, the least expensive is $5.  You can see everything on display by the circulation desk.  And right here in the photo.  You can pay in the main office.  Easy as pie.

And for that person who has everything?  They don't have a Friends tote yet!

Come on by, shop for the holidays, return your books, and go home and enjoy a nice hot beverage in your very own Friends of the Jones Library mug.

Ho ho ho.

Legos, Legos, Legos!


The Jones Library's Lego Club meets TOMORROW, Saturday, December 14, at 3 pm in the Woodbury Room.

For more information, please call the Children's Room at 413-259-3091 or email Theresa Atteridge at atteridget@joneslibrary.org.

Be there or be a little plastic brick! 

December 12, 2013

Valley Gives Day!




It's here!  It's here!  Valley Gives Day is finally upon us!  Please, won't you help the Friends?

Click here to give and help support prizes for reluctant readers in the three libraries' Summer Reading Clubs or send a second grade class to explore the Jones or open the doors to local museums with a library museum pass!

 Just think of all the good you can do!

December 11, 2013

It's TOMORROW!!!!


That's right, Friends!  The Big Day is nearly here!  Mark your calendar, set your alarm, tie a little string around your pinkie.  Do whatever it takes to remember THIS!


December 6, 2013

Less than one week!



That's right!  You have less than one week until Valley Gives Day.  12.12.13.  It's pretty exciting around Friends of the Jones Headquarters as we gear up for Valley Gives Day.  We hope you're marking your calendars and marking this link.

And we really hope that on Thursday of next week, you'll give to the Friends of the Jones Library so we can give back to our community.



December 4, 2013

Virtual Ascendance: Video Games and the Remaking of Reality

Thursday, December 5, 2013
7pm
Woodbury Room of the Jones Library

Please join us as local author Devin Griffiths presents a reading from his new book,Virtual Ascendance: Video Games and the Remaking of Reality.



Virtual Ascendance examines the cultural influence of video games and the industry behind them, illuminating the ways games and gaming are impacting society and changing how we work, play, and live.  The book introduces readers to gaming in a broader context, detailing both the expanded use of video games and the audience for them.  Though it’s written predominantly for self-described non-gamers, the book offers insight to casual and hardcore gamers as well.

Devin C. Griffiths has been writing all his life and gaming almost as long.  He studied science journalism at Hampshire College, and launched his own PR and marketing company, Catamount Communications, in the early 2000s.  He lives in Belchertown with his wife and son, and is still an avid gamer.  His first book, Virtual Ascendance: Video Games and the Remaking of Reality, chronicles his six-year journey down the rabbit hole of video games and the industry behind them.

This program is free and open to the public.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.


For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at 413/259-3223.

December 2, 2013

Valley Gives Day



It’s on! The Friends of the Jones Library is gearing up for Valley Gives on 12.12.13. During Valley Gives, western Massachusetts nonprofits (like us!) collaborate with the goal of getting thousands of Valley residents to support their favorite nonprofits.  (Like us!)  By donating here, you help charities become eligible for special prizes totaling $200,000. 

The Friends raise funds to make our libraries welcoming places for all.  We make possible free public programs featuring the talented musicians, poets, chess teachers, writers, and artists who encourage learning for all ages.  We fund activities that give our children and teens safe, enjoyable things to do after school.  The Friends museum pass program opens doors to cultural institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Mass MOCA in North Adams, and the Erin Carle Museum right here in Amherst.

This year all donations to the Friends through Valley Gives will go purely to children’s programming and museum passes.  Learn more about where your Valley Gives dollars will go here.

Last year, more than 6,000 individuals donated over $1 million through Valley Gives.  Won't you help the Friends help our community?

Library closings




The Jones Library will close at 3pm this Friday, December 6, so that library staff can attend the annual Town Employee Holiday Party.

The North Amherst Branch Library, however, will remain open so that residents.

If you happen to have some extra cookies and eggnog, maybe you should bring them by the North Amherst library and do a little caroling for the lovely librarians missing their holiday party for us.

Sadly, the Munson Library in South Amherst is always closed on Fridays, due to budget cuts. Bah humbug!