Friends of the Jones Library System News

A NY Times article discusses how people who read artistic stories or essays are actually changed by what they read. So cuddle up with that work of fiction without guilt. You're doing good stuff for your grey matter .

·         The first book, "Gallows Hill" by Rory O’Brien of Salem, MA, will be available for check-out at the Library’s Reference Desk on January 5, 2015. ·         Participants will meet on January 14, 2015 at 3 pm to discuss the first half of the book. ·         On January 28, 2015 at 3 pm, author Rory O’Brien will meet with us to discuss his book and autograph your personal copies. This event has been funded by the Friends of the Jones Library System!

Do you use a PC? Apple? E-reader? Tablet? Want a little help?  The Doctor is IN! PC Software Doctor Hank will be holding a series of FREE clinics from 3-5 at the Munson Library on Tuesday afternoons starting December 30th and going through May 26th. Just bring in your device and the Doctor will be with you shortly. Questions? 413.259.3095 after 2 p.m. Brought to you by your friendly, neighborhood Friends. Ho ho ho.

Monday & Tuesday December 22 & 23 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Zanna , 187 North Pleasant Street, Amherst Bring in any/all of your holiday gifts for wrapping and make a donation to the Friends of the Jones Library System ! Zanna will provide the space, paper and trimmings.  Volunteers from the Friends will provide the wrapping. Happy Holidays !

on good books to read? NPR's got a dozen they've enjoyed.

The Friends couldn't  agree more .  Especially with #7.

Go support the Friends AND a local business while getting gorgeous clothes! It's a win-win-win situation!

Once the hullabaloo of the holidays dies down, you're going to go into party withdrawal.  You'll miss the buzz of a roomful of people.  You'll miss the plastic cup in your hand filled with a slightly warm seltzer.  You'll miss seeing folks in their Fancy Clothes. Fear not! The Jones has your back! Please come join us on Thursday, January 22, from 2-3 pm in the Goodwin Room of the Jones Library.  Come and meet ... (drum roll, please) ... our new Head of Special Collections Cynthia Harbeson ! (Cue Kermit the Frog exiting stage left from the Muppet Show stage to wild applause.) See you on the 22nd! Wear your fanciest Christmas sweater!

An article from Time Magazine last year highlights a couple of studies proving that people who often read fiction "appear to be better able to understand other people, empathize with them, and view the world from their perspective." The Friends feel it goes without saying that it also makes them better looking. Go forth and read, Friends!  You're making the world a better place!

How about a subscription to jubilat ?  Local, intellectual, compostable. What more could you want?

Check out the most beautiful sentences in literature .

Read with a pen in your hands . Engage in your book.  Make it an active experience. Unless it's a LIBRARY book. Then? No pen. No. pen.

A recent NY Times article discusses the classic Swedish heroine Pippi Longstocking and race.

Do you ever stare at bookshelves in a bookstore and draw a complete and utter blank? Do you wander library stacks chanting over and over (quietly, in your head, because it's a library), "What to read? What to read?" Do you slip into a hot bath in defeat with only a lousy magazine because you couldn't find a book you wanted to read? Flounder no more , dear Friends!

We already know YOU'RE a bookworm. Maybe you should send this link to that special someone in your life, though.

Yesterday the Friends gratefully received $685 in donations during Valley Gives Day.  We are so very thankful for each and every one of you who contributed to the Friends of the Jones Library. Thank you.

Saturday, December 13,   2:30 pm Woodbury Room “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is a well-known holiday carol, whose familiar verses and repetitions seem to conjure a jolly English holiday party.  Yet some scholars think the lyrics hold deeper symbolic meaning and tell a coded story.  Dr. Thomas Bernard will lead us on an historical exploration of the possible hidden meanings behind these verses.  Dr. Thomas Bernard is a professor emeritus of psychology at Springfield College.  Having become intrigued by the lyrics of the carol, he began to research the words, their meanings, and the evolution of the song from its earliest manuscript.  He is the author of a book on this project,  The Twelve Days of Christmas: The Mystery and the Meaning , published by University Press Division of St. Charles Place. Free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at  413/259-3223 .

Need some holiday book gift recommendations for the wee ones in your life?

This Thursday, Dec. 11, from 7:00-8:30 in the Amherst Room at the Jones Library, come be part of a discussion on Seize the Day by Saul Bellow.  UMass emeritus professor John Clayton will lead the talk. For a review of the book, click here .

is a terrific way to contribute to the Friends ! Tomorrow's your chance to help support museum passes, poetry readings, book clubs, Every Child a Reader, art classes, author talks, Amherst Reads, and so much more! Together, we can all lift a blue elephant with a red balloon.

... what books have been banned at Guantanamo?  The Friends have, too. Now you know.

or cut and paste: http://valleygives.razoo.com/story/Friends-Of-The-Jones-Library-System?referral_code=share

7 year-old takes publisher to task over branding of "boy books"  -- and wins!  You go, girl!

Proof that there's something for everyone at the Friends of the Jones Library book sale.  This dog lover is probably looking for titles to suggest at his next book club meeting . Are you a kindred spirit?  We've got some recs for you right here !   Happy reading! Ruff, ruff!

The moment you've all been waiting for! The Friends membership raffle drawing for free passes to the movies! Drum roll, please... Let's all raise our glasses to Nancy D and Kelly E , both of Amherst! Enjoy the movies & thanks for supporting the Friends! Also? Many thanks to the Amherst Cinema for supporting the Friends of the Jones Library System!

(click on image to enlarge) Emily Dickinson, an artist, and a library. Get yourself to the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City before January 11 and you, too, can see this very cool exhibit .

Valley Gives Day

Donate to FRIENDS OF THE JONES LIBRARY SYSTEM INC at Razoo

Thursday, December 4,   7 pm Woodbury Room Join us for a screening of  Latinos Beyond Reel: Challenging a Media Stereotype , the third in a film & discussion series to be held over the next several months which will look at issues of race.  A facilitated discussion will be held after the screening. Latinos Beyond Reel  examines how US news and entertainment media portray - and do not portray - Latinos.  The film challenges viewers to think critically about the wide-ranging effects of these media stereotypes, and to envision alternative representations and models of production more capable of capturing the humanity and diversity of real Latinos. Free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at  413/259-3223 .  This film series is co-sponsored by the Jones Library and The Coming Together Project.  More information about The Coming Together Project can be found at  http...

If you'd like to visit a local-ish museum (as far away as the Clark, Mystic Aquarium, and Mass MoCA, actually!), first visit your local library.  You can check out museum passes giving you free or reduced admission to all these places below: (click on either image to enlarge) Want to learn more?   Click here !  And you can reserve 'em online, too. No excuse not to get your culture on now!