This holiday season, the Children’s Department at the Nevins Memorial Library is collecting the following items to donate to the nursery and the pediatric ward at Lawrence General Hospital:

• Pacifiers (latex free)

• Preemie Sleepers

• Baby Blankets. 

All donations may be brought to the Children’s Department between November 19th and December 29th.  Thank you for your support! 

 Original Paintings, Photography, Prints and Cards.

Tuesday, October 20th thru Saturday, November 10th.

Monday – Thursday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

Friday and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Closed Sundays.

Reception and Award Night – Thursday, November 1st.  6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Music, Refreshments – Free – Public invited.

Proceeds from this event will benefit area art students through scholarships. 

Potential tutors must participate in an 18-hour training program.  Tutor training will take place on Thursdays from September 20th – October 25th.  These sessions will take place at 6:30 pm in the Lower Level Meeting Room.

Contact Kirsten Underwood, Literacy Coordinator for more information or to register as a volunteer.  Please call
978-686-4080, extension 32, or email her.

Friday, October 19, 2007 @ 7:30 pm 

Join us as we congratulate local author, Jay Atkinson on the launch of his new book, City in Amber. 

Jay has been called “the bard of New England toughness” by Men’s Health Magazine.  He is the author of The Legends of Winter Hill, which spent seven weeks on the Boston Globe bestseller list. Ice Time: a Tale of Father’s and Sons, and Hometown Heroes, was a Publisher’s Weekly notable book of the year, and reached #9 on the New England Bookseller’s Association bestseller list.  He also wrote the critically acclaimed Caveman Politics.  Jay’s story “Jailbird” won Boston magazine’s fiction contest in 1995.  He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times. Jay teaches at Salem State College. He lives in Methuen, and is the father of a twelve-year-old son.

In City in Amber, Atkinson has created a compelling story of Lawrence, Massachusetts, a planned industrial city built around the cloth and garment industry, moving from the city?s construction and founding before the American Civil War to the sporadic conflagrations that plagued Lawrence in the 1990s.

Critical Praise for City in Amber:

“Known for his narrative non-fiction written with a novelist’s keen ear and eye, Jay Atkinson’s skill for indelibly rendering a place and its people is on full display in the wonderful City In Amber.”     Chuck Hogan, author of Prince of Thieves

Fall will soon be upon us.  Children will return to school, the air will turn crisp, leaves will change their colors, and book groups at the Nevins Memorial Library will begin meeting again. 

There is nothing to heighten the senses like reading a good book and discussing it with others.  The Nevins Memorial Library offers several book discussion groups for a variety of reading preferences. 

The Afternoon Book Group discusses fiction titles on the third Wednesday of the month at 1:00 pm in the Trustees Room at the Library.  They will meet on September 19^th to discuss Rebecca’s Tale by Sally Beauman.  This gripping novel begins twenty years after the fire that destroyed Manderley and the death of Rebecca. Fans of Du Maurnier’s original tale will want to follow the tale of the de Winter family. 

Copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk.  New members are always welcome.  For more information, visit the group’s web page at http://www.nevinslibrary.org/wednesday_afternoon_book_group.htm, or contact Elaine at 978-686-4080, extension 16. 

Our Evening Book Group discusses both fiction and nonfiction titles, and meets on the first Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm in the Garden Room.  This group will meet on Thursday, September 6^th for a summer reading round-up.  Join in for a discussion of all the books you loved – and hated, over the summer.

 New members are always welcome.  For more information, visit the group’s web page at http://www.nevinslibrary.org/thursday_evening_book_group.htm, or contact Krista at 978-686-4080, extension 10. 

The Nonfiction Book Group meets on Friday mornings.  Join them as they discuss Biographies, Memoirs, and various nonfiction titles. The first meeting will be held on Friday, September 28^th at 1:00 pm.  The title to be discussed is Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, by Julie Powell.  Join the author as she recounts her attempt to cook all 524 recipes out of her mother’s dog-eared copy of Julia Child’s 1961 classic, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”  

 Copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk.  New members are always welcome.  For more information, visit the group’s web page at http://www.nevinslibrary.org/nfbookgroup.htm, or contact Cynthia at 978-686-4080, extension 12. 

Our GLBT Book Group meets the second Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm in the Trustees Room, to discuss quality GLBT literature and nonfiction.  We will meet on Thursday, September 13^th to discuss In the River Sweet, by Patricia Henly.  This National Book Award Finalist tells the engrossing tale of a woman whose long-held secret transforms her life and her marriage.   

Copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk.  New members are always welcome.  For more information, visit the group’s web page at http://www.nevinslibrary.org/GLBTbookgroup.htm , or contact Nanci at 978-686-4080, extension 14. 

Mystery aficionados won’t want to miss our Murder Most Sweet Mystery Book Group.  Rather than discussing one title, this group investigates a different mystery sub-genre each month.  A list of authors and titles that fit into the monthly sub-genre is given to members a month before hand.  Copies of this list is also available on the group’s web page at http://www.nevinslibrary.org/murder_most_sweet.htm  Members read any title they wish off the given list, and come to the discussion ready to share their thoughts on what they’ve read.   This group will meet on September 27^th at 7:00 pm (please note that this is a change from the original September 20^th date), to discuss Killer Crafts (mysteries that involve crafts in some way). 

New members are always welcome.  For more information, contact Nanci at 978-686-4080, extension 14. 

The Nevins Memorial Library is located at 305 Broadway in Methuen.  For directions, visit our website at http://www.nevinslibrary.org/hours_and_directions.htm 

Meets Tuesdays from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm on September 4th, September 18th, October 2nd, October 16th, October 30th, November 6th, November 20th, December 4th, and December 18th.

Meets Tuesdays from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm on September 11th, September 25th, October 9th, October 23rd, November 13th, November 27th, and  December 11th.

For more information contact Cynthia Christie at extension 16.

Adult Scrabble Club – Attention wordsmiths!  Join the Nevins Memorial Library Adult Scrabble Club.  Meets Wednesdays from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm on September 5th, September 19th, October 10th, October 24th, November 7th, November 28th, and December 12th.   All competition levels welcome. For more information contact Fran Magro at extension 19.

Senior-i-Tea – A social hour for senior citizens and their guests.  Please join us as we discuss the latest books, books on CD and movies that have peaked our interest.  Whether we give a thumbs up or down to the item being reviewed, we always have a good time.  Meets Fridays from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on September 28th, October 26th, November 23rd, and December 28th.

For more information, contact Sharon Morley at extension 20.

Introduction to Computers – One-on-one tutoring is available to orient patrons with the computer.  This class includes an introduction to the use of a mouse, the start menu, and the desktop.  Please call the Reference Desk at
978-686-4080, extension 12 to reserve a spot.  Tutoring is available on the following dates and times:

• Monday, October 1st from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Tuesday, October 9th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Monday, October 15th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Tuesday, October 23rd from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Monday, October 29th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Tuesday, November 6th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Monday, November 19th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Tuesday, November 27th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Saturday, December 1st from 10:00 am to 11:30 am
  

• Monday, December 3rd from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Tuesday, December 11th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  

• Monday, December 17th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

 Introduction to the Internet - One-on-one tutoring is available to introduce patrons to the Internet.  This class includes basic training in searching, bookmarking, the toolbar, and site evaluation.  Patrons will create a free Email account.  Please call the Reference Desk at 978-686-4080, extension 12 to reserve a spot.  Tutoring is available on the following dates and times:

What can you do with Literary Reference Center?

• Browse authors
• Browse most cited authors
• Browse works
• Browse most cited works
• Read the following books:
  Literary Contexts in Novels – Volume II
  Literary Contexts in Poetry and Short Stories – Volume II
  Literary Contexts in Plays, Essays, and Memoirs
  Literary Contexts in Collections
  Regional Folklore (North American Folklore)
  British Folk Tales and Legends
• Use the Literary Historical Timeline
• Consult the Encyclopedia of Literature
• Learn how to cite works properly
• Learn how to write a research paper
• Read about the “Author in Focus”
• Check out the “Content Spotlight” section

To utilize this resource, either from the library or from home, visit the library’s web site at http://www.nevinslibrary.org.  On the left hand side, click on the “Database” link.  Once you are on the database page, choose the “Books and Reading” link, then click on “NoveList” link (as if you were entering from your home computer).  Enter your library card number.  Once you are on the EBSCO page, you will choose “Literary Reference Center,” then you will be ready to explore! 

Still need help?  Contact the Reference Department staff at 978-686-4080, extension 12.

September 19, 2007 – Rebecca’s Tale, by Sally Beauman

April 1951. It has been twenty years since the death of Rebecca, the hauntingly beautiful first wife of Maxim de Winter, and twenty years since Manderley, the de Winter family’s estate, was destroyed by fire. But Rebecca’s tale is just beginning.

Colonel Julyan, an old family friend, receives an anonymous package concerning Rebecca. An inquisitive young scholar named Terence Gray appears and stirs up the quiet seaside hamlet with questions about the past and the close ties he soon forges with the Colonel and his eligible daughter, Ellie. Amid bitter gossip and murky intrigue, the trio begins a search for the real Rebecca and the truth behind her mysterious death. 

For the dates and times of discussions for the rest of the year, visit our Wednesday Afternoon Book Group Page.

September 6th – Summer Reading Round-Up
Join us for our annual book-review-fest of all the books we read this summer that we loved and hated!  Come prepared to talk about at least one or two books you read this summer, and armed with a pencil to jot down suggestions from group members.

For a complete list of dates and titles, visit our book group’s web page.  For more information, contact Krista McLeod at 978-686-4080, extension 10.