Friends of the Jones Library System News

Who knew there was even a contest for that?  Apparently a bunch of Aussies did...

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A new book by Rachel Dolezal , the civil-rights activist who was accused of misrepresenting herself as black last year, will discuss people being caught between boundary lines of race, culture, or ethnicity.

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...we love this book .  The fact that the Washington Post review says it's non-fiction that "reads like a thriller" doesn't hurt either.  P.S. There are 43 copies available from the Western Mass library system. Go check one out.

From the Special Collections Sleuth: We have many unidentified photographs in our collections. Each month we will post a different image in the hopes that someone will be able to provide us with clues to help us identify it. Will you be the one to solve this month's mystery? Here's what we know: This photograph, dated 1917, is in a folder of Amherst clubs and organizations. The man in the front row wearing a straw hat may be Daniel Shay. Do you know who these people are? Do you know anything about this baseball team? Contact Special Collections with whatever you've got!

You're wonderful.

"It's nice to know the library's there, close by, and in its way, somehow looking out for them." How Visiting My Local Library Makes Me a Better Parent .

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy translated by Rosamund Bartlett Perhaps it is time to do some rereading, and I most highly recommend a new translation by Rosamund Bartlett of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I have read the book a couple of times and I picked this off the shelf at the Jones, thinking just to see how she handled the opening chapters. Before I really stopped to think, I had read the whole book. The graceful, thoughtful translation by Rosamund Bartlett is a pleasure to read from start to finish. I find I am most interested in a different character each time I have read this book, so it really seems upon rereading like a brand new book. Enjoy. -- Edith, member, Friends of the Jones Library System

Wouldn't it be great to see these sprout up this spring,  alongside the daffodils?

This guy returned a library book 49 years late . Kinda renews your faith in all of us, doesn't it?

Save the date!  Mark your calendar!  Do that thing with the string on your pinkie! Valley Gives Day ! May 3! But you? You can give any time . WOOT!

** Jones Library Director Sharon Sharry asked the Friends to post this letter from Jones Library Trustee President Austin Sarat. ** Garden Statement from the Trustees of the Jones Library 3-28-16 I am writing on behalf of the Library Trustees to offer a brief update on the opening phase of a renovation and construction project designed to improve the Library’s usability for all town residents. Our design team includes one of the leading historic preservation oriented architectural firms in the Commonwealth (Finegold Alexander Architects), which has partnered with local architects Kuhn, Riddle. From the outset, the design team has been told that the Library’s external spaces – the gardens and other open areas – are important components of the project. The Library will not seek to expand more than is necessary to meet patron needs over the next twenty to fifty years. The standards for the Building Program that we are following derive from national guidelines as applied by the ...

Excellent article from the Guardian .  Another example of hard-hitting journalism. But honestly? Do you ever need  a reason?

Rather than go with Tom (Wolfe), Dick (Francis), or Harry (Potter), the Friends have found a list of baby names  for you that haven't already been used a gazillion times. Plus you might find some new-to-you books to check out!