Wilton Library Association Newsletter
November 2006
in this issue -- Audio Books are Downloadable!
Hi! I hope you all are enjoying the fall here in New England. The turning leaves and crisp blue skies draw thousands of visitors each year, and we are lucky enough to see the show as we look out our own windows! Traveling is definitely on my mind, however, for the Library is sponsoring a series this month about many aspects of going beyond your own backyard and into the world beyond (see below) and I am particularly excited to be part of it. Melissa Friedman (who runs our Circulation Department in addition to serving as a reference librarian) and I will provide one installment of the four-part series and we are so excited to share our tips and experiences with all of you. Other speakers will include Jane and Michael Stern, Daryl Hawk, Judy White, Judy Zucker and Joan Pendergast... and all have wonderful, entertaining and enlightening things to share on Thursday evenings this month. Please join us - the "admission tickets" for all legs of our journey are free! (More details of the programs are below.) I look forward to seeing you at the Library...
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Wilton Library is pleased to bring you downloadable audiobooks from NetLibrary and Recorded Books. You can now access over 1,500 books 24/7 through the Internet via the library's website. They can be played on any desktop computer or portable device supporting Windows Media Player Version 10. You can access full information on this wonderful new service by going to http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/books/downloadableaudiobooks/validation.htm. Unfortunately, due to licensing requirements, iPods are not supported. However, we have purchased a number of MP3 players that you may borrow. We know you will love this addition to the services you receive from the Library! |
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On Sunday, November 12th, from 2-3 pm, Brendan Hanrahan, publisher of Road to Discovery Series guides to the natural history of Connecticut, will describe how living in Connecticut provides opportunities for families to explore wild places and wildlife in a program entitled Giving Your Kids the Best: Spending Time in Wild Connecticut. Presented for parents, this session will be accompanied by a craft and story time program in the adjacent room. Please register separately for the Giving Your Kids the Best seminar and craft programs. |
We know the program will be popular and space is limited to the first 150 attendees. Doors will open at 10 am and seating will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. Please join us for an entertaining and educational experience! |
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Ben Van Vechten will lead the Senior Center discussion about the classic Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis. Join him on Tuesday, November 28th at 11 am at Comstock Community Center on School Road. Please call the Senior Center at 834-6240 to let them know you’re coming. Ann Martin will continue her series on the impact of war on society and individuals with sessions on Mondays, November 6th, 13th, and 20th from 10:30 am to noon. Titles remaining to be discussed are Dawn by Elie Wiesel, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, and The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford. Please let us know you are joining the seminar. On Wednesday, November 29th from 7-8:30 pm, our Literature of Other Lands discussion group will talk about Wales and the book, Rape of the Fair Country, by Alexander Cordell. The discussion leader will be Raye Forsey, a native of Wales who moved to Wilton in 1997. Welch finger foods and desserts will be served. Please register in advance in person, by phone, or online. |
Dick Rauh came to botanical painting in retirement, after a career in motion picture special effects. The certificate program in botanical art at the New York Botanical Garden led to illustration work for a number of scientists. Ignorance of botany caused him to pursue a graduate program in plant sciences, and he earned a doctorate in 2001 from the City University of New York. Illustration of Carol Levine's Guide to Wildflowers in Winter sparked his interest in the dry fruits and other remnants of out-of-season natives, which he paints in enlarged versions to demonstrate their architecture. A collection of this work received a gold medal from the Royal Horticultural Society in January 2006 and a Best in Show award. He has a number of paintings in the exhibit Connecticut Invasives, currently at the Peabody Museum in New Haven, Connecticut, and in the touring show New York Invasives. As a fellow of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society, he has drawn a number of specimen trees in the living collection, including several in the Garden's important collection of bonsai. Please stop by to see his amazing and beautiful work. |
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On Friday, November 24th, movies at the Library sponsored by the Louis Dreyfus Corporation will be free and fun! At 10:30 am we’ll show Curious George and at 2 pm the feature will be Cars. Free popcorn and lemonade make the program simply irresistible. No registration is necessary - just stop by!
Please note that the Library will be closed on Thursday, November 23rd, for Thanksgiving Day. |
We’ll travel by comfortable minibus (seating is limited to 24), leaving the Library’s parking lot at 9:30 am and returning by 5:30 pm, traffic permitting. A docent-led tour will be available and a list of area restaurants will be provided for maximum flexibility. You won’t want to miss the new MOMA – truly a fantastic collection now housed in spectacular surroundings. Reserve and pay in advance for this final fall outing co-sponsored by the Church and the Library. A guided tour is available and pricing for the trip depends partly on whether or not you make it part of your experience. The total cost per person for bus, tour, and admission is $57 for adults and $54 for seniors (without the tour, the charge will be $46 for adults and $43 seniors). |
Founded in 1981, the Group is a non-profit organization of composers living in or having ties to Connecticut. Featured on the program will be songs by Dave Brubeck himself performed by soprano Jennifer Foster and Allen Brings, both of whom will also perform songs by Allen Brings. First performances of Elizabeth Lauer’s Two Rags a la française will be given by the brilliant Italian-born pianist Sandro Russo together with settings both new and old of the poetry of Kabir by Howard Rovics sung by soprano Christina Rovics accompanied by the composer. Eugénie Rocherolle’s An American Rhapsodie, written for the Wilton Arts Council’s “A Biennial Celebration of Music” and given its first performance in Wilton in 2002, recently took second place in the 2006 Biennial Music Competition of the National League of American Pen Women. It will be performed by Trio Esprit, an ensemble of outstanding students from high schools in Westport, Easton and Trumbull. Please stop by, call, or register in advance online if you plan to come - our last concert was performed to a standing room only crowd! |
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Please let us know you are coming - stop by the Circulation Desk to sign up, phone us at 762- 3950, or register online. The panelists will include: Owen Williams, Wilton resident and history/philosophy scholar (Yale), Enid Oresman from the CT Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board, and Paul Burnham from Wilton's Council on Ethics. Additional dates and topics for the League/Library series are February 7th--Illegal Immigration and April 12th--Energy Crisis. |
For more information about the program, please call the Agency at 855-8765. Please register in person, by phone or online. |
Our English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes are going full tilt and we will soon be working with Jan Galletly and Literacy Volunteers of America to recruit and train more tutors, as the supply of prospective students has overwhelmed those we have available to teach them. Rosetta Stone will serve to supplement the group lessons and provide a ready resource for anyone who wants to improve vocabulary, pronunciation and other speaking and reading skills. If you have any questions, please call Mary Anne Mendola Franco at 203-762-3950, Ext. 210 or email at mamfranco @wiltonlibrary.org. |
email: kathy_leeds@wiltonlibrary.org phone: 203-762-3950 |
Do you enjoy the portability of audiobooks but hate carrying around tapes or CDs? Have you ever finished an audiobook and wanted another immediately but found it inconvenient to get to the Library? 
We are so fortunate to have Dr. Stacy Robertson of the South Wilton Animal Hospital with us on Wednesday, November 1st at 3:30 pm to talk about taking proper care of pets. She’ll bring along a dog, but speak about all sorts of pets – how to feed them, groom them and keep them happy and healthy. If you and your family have a pet or are considering adopting one, this program will get both kids and parents off to a great start. We need to limit registration and attendance to 30 parents and kids, so reserve your spot immediately in person, by phone or 
On Thursday, November 2nd from 10:15-11 am, we’ll hold a very special program for parents entitled Living with Your Young Child. Early childhood consultant Inge H. Maerowitz, M.A., will lead an informal discussion about the developmental milestones to watch for in your two-year old and help parents develop strategies for this sometimes challenging year. The two-year olds themselves will be able to enjoy story time in an adjacent room – what a wonderful use of our story and crafts spaces! Registration for this first dual session is limited to 12 parents, so again – register only the parent's name immediately in person, by phone or 
Families will want to flock to the Brubeck Room on Tuesday, November 7th, at 10:30 am to see the Lost Ark environmental and research program. Lesa Scheifele is bringing several live creatures to the Library to teach kids about endangered species as part of an initiative funded by the Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation.
On Wednesday, November 8th, from 4-5:30 pm, we’ll co-sponsor a program with Mid-Fairfield Hospice entitled Hospice Enrichment at the End of Life. Executive Director Cynthia Roy, MSW will lead a discussion on the merits of hospice care. The series of grief and bereavement seminars will continue throughout the winter months, providing insight and understanding to adults who are grieving the experienced or anticipated loss of a loved one. Please register for this session in person, by phone or 
More than 125 people were inoculated at the last flu clinic held at the Library in October. We have scheduled two more this month and professionals from Nursing & Home Care will be on hand to administer the shots at the Library: 
The Library’s own discussion group, Wilton Library Readers, will tackle Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami on Wednesday, November 8th from noon to 1:30 pm. Discussion leader extraordinaire Susan Boyar will lead the exchange about what John Updike called “a real page-turner, as well as an insistently metaphysical mind-bender.” No registration is necessary and all are welcome - simply come and be part of what promises to be an illuminating discussion. 
Our new art exhibit will feature the exceptional work of Dick Rauh and is entitled A Botanist’s View: Drawings and Paintings since Retirement. His talent and love for plants will be apparent throughout the month, but we will hold a reception in his honor on Sunday, November 12th from 11:30 am to 1 pm. Refreshments will be served. Many of the works will be offered for sale and purchases will benefit the Library’s Art Fund which is used to buy materials about art and art instruction for our collection. 
We’re planning a great lineup of programs about travel this month and hope you’ll be able to attend. All presentations will take place at 7 pm on Thursday evenings:
From Wednesday, November 15th to Saturday, November 18th, the Children’s Library will have drop-in sessions of Thanksgiving crafts all day for kids of all ages. There’s no need to register and the program is free. 
On Wednesday, November 15th, the Library will collaborate once again with St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church to visit a nearby museum. 
Another treat for the senses will take place in our Brubeck Room on Sunday, November 19th at 4 pm. The second in our series of free Sunday afternoon classical music concerts will feature the Connecticut Composers Group.
We are once again offering babysitting training for teens – an incredibly popular class run by the American Red Cross. The two-part class will take place on Tuesday, November 14th and Wednesday, November 15th, from 4-7 pm for 11- to 15-year olds. Payment of $50 must be made at the time of registration and space is limited, so please come in to sign up as soon as possible. This is a great way for teens to build both competence and confidence in what is often their first “official” job. 
The Wilton League of Women Voters and the Library will join forces to bring you a fascinating look at the issue of ethics in our lives. An outstanding panel has been assembled to present views and field questions in what is sure to be a lively discussion. Join us on Tuesday, November 14th, at 7:30 pm to register your own position and listen to the views of others.
On Wednesday, November 15th, from 10:30 am to noon, Lea Mintz from the Family & Children’s Agency in Norwalk will discuss the full continuum of in-home services offered for seniors in our area including homemakers and companions, carpenter and chore services, transportation and home health aides to full-time live-in services. Ms. Mintz will provide tips and strategies for keeping seniors safe and independent using affordable services. 
For those who want to learn English as an additional language or sharpen their English-language skills, Wilton Library has signed up for a web version of Rosetta Stone, a language learning tool. We will shortly be promoting this new service on our homepage. Look for it and we hope you find it as helpful and exciting as we do! If you know anyone who would be interested in using this program, please let them know.