Friends of the Jones Library System News

Make your reservations now: 413.253.3811! Tomorrow night is the July Literary Feast at Chez Albert ! (Click on image to enlarge.) And? They have sangria...

The July Literary Feast, baby! (Click on image to enlarge.) Take your favorite dining companion along with you on July 27th and dîne Chez Albert . Enjoy a kir on the terrace. Have a burger at the bar. Cozy up with your cutie in a booth. No matter what, you'll be eating tasty food, helping a local non-profit, and supporting the good folks at a local restaurant. You'll feel as virtuous as that time you let someone with only two items in front of you in line at the grocery store. Maybe even better.

July 22, 2016 10:00 am - 4:00 pm  FREE Admission Come celebrate picture books with art activities, special story times with authors/illustrators Lita Judge and Brian Lies, films, music by the Harmaniacs, and more! Click here for more information.

It's too hot to cook.  Next week go enjoy a lovely dinner at Chez Albert instead!  (Click on image to enlarge.) It benefits the Friends, a local restaurant, and your AC bill.

An Illustrated Guide to the Best Places to Read with Children Especially the third.

Instead of banning books, many school districts are simply not purchasing controversial books for their libraries and asking authors of those books not to visit . "When we decide a book is inappropriate for a school library because it deals with a tough subject, we're telling kids in that situation that their problems can't even be talked about."

Even Barnes & Noble is going to start tending bar.  The Friends think this is an idea whose time has come .  We're looking at you, Jones Library.

The New York Times nails it: "Far from becoming irrelevant in the digital age, libraries in New York City and around the nation are thriving: adding weekend and evening hours; hiring more librarians and staff; and expanding their catalog of classes and services to include things like job counseling, coding classes and knitting groups." Just a little food for thought, Friends.

Summer is a time for creating memories, while also revisiting past adventures and remembrances. One of the things I most look forward to in summer is sitting outside with my best friend on Adirondack chairs, sipping a glass of Prosecco and watching our children play together. We have done this for several years now, and while the basic tableau remains the same, there are nuances and changes from year to year as our children grown and the bounds of our friendship unfolds in its various permutations. Like this summer tradition, each time I reread The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, something new and different unfolds, while also remaining consistent. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton was the first book by a female author to win the Pulitzer Prize. The descriptions of the physical world in which Newland Archer and Ellen Olenska inhabit are visually palpable. Her characters' intentions, flaws and struggles are some of the best ever written. Since reading this book in high...