Here are some resources if you are looking for information about loved ones in Haiti, or if you are looking to help. My thoughts are with anyone affected by the earthquake.

Information Regarding Locating Relatives and Loved Ones

• Boston.Com list of resources
• Boston Public Library’s list of resources, including
  • Red Cross Family Links for people seeking to restore contact with family members after the earthquake
• Haitian Consulate (Boston) 617-266-3660
• Haitian Embassy (Washington, DC) 202-332-4090
• U.S. State Department 1-888-407-4747
• Boston Haitian Reporter
• Association of Haitian Women in Boston
• Center for International Disaster Information

Relief Organizations (Donation Pages)

• American Red Cross
• Oxfam
• Grassroots International
• Doctors without Borders
• Plan International

posted by Laura

I can’t imagine how many books my co-workers read over the past 12 months, but I do know what their favorite reads were and now you do too. Not all of these books were written in 2009, but they were all read by one of us in 2009.

Jeanette: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter.
Gerry: The Woods by Harlan Coban
Maureen: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.
Paula: The Help by Kathyrn Stockett
Virginia:  Wicked Prey by John Sandford
Nancy R: Leonardo’s Shadow by Christopher Peter Grey
Janet: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.
Laura: Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Todd: Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan
Kate: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Louise: Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh
Marie: The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris
Jan: The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck
Doreen & Marjorie: The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Marialice: Miss O’Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with the Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved by Chris O’Dell
Pat A: Pieces of Happily Ever After by Irene Zutell
Deb: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Cathy: The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr

Have a great 2010!

At the library, we often get questions regarding “free credit report” sites. Despite what the ads say, many of the sites are not actually free. Check out this site from a federal government blog regarding information on obtaining free credit reports.
http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/entry/keep_your_free_credit_report

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, the Governor’s office called to reserve the library’s lecture hall for a public forum on the Fiscal Year 2011 state budget:

Anyone who would like to be part of a conversation about state budget strategies and priorities is invited to attend. A series of hearings and forums are scheduled throughout the state “to ensure that all feedback can be taken into account in developing the Governor’s budget recommendations, which are due in late January.”

For more information and a schedule of all 19 events, see www.mass.gov/governor/forum.

I recently checked in at the rear circ desk.

The Power of Nice and The Pessimist’s Handbook.

The titles intrigued me; the subjects suggest opposite attitudes.

The Power of Nice (How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness) by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval
Some of the Chapter titles included:
The Power of Nice
Bake a Bigger Pie
Sweeten the Deal
Help your Enemies
Tell the Truth
Shut up and Listen
Create a Nicer Universe

The book was 127 pages long and published in 2006.

and

The Pessimist’s Handbook (A Collection of Popular Essays)
by Arthur Schopenhauer

Some of the Chapter titles included:

On the Suffering of the World
On Education
Of Women
On Noise
On Books and Reading
Human Nature
Government
Worldly Fortune
The Ages of Life

The book was 798 pages long and published in 1964.

Wow! I wonder how much longer an updated version would be?

Kind of sad I think, we need to SMILE more, a little positive thinking couldn’t hurt either!!

posted by Jeannette

On Friday evening , October 30th, over 150 guests filled the library after hours.  They enjoyed performances by actors from the Hovey Players based on Poe’s writings, were treated to food and wine, and entered raffles for prizes from over 50 merchants, individuals and organizations.

The Cask of Amontillado

Thanks to all who attended and made the event so successful.  Special thanks to Ronni Marshak and everyone from the Hovey Players, who donated their time and talented energies;  Karen and Tom Condor, who conceived the idea for the evening and donated countless hours to ensuring everything ran smoothly; the culinary program at Waltham High School who received high praise for the catering; Vanessa Hargrove and Lela Chiavaras for organizing the raffle; the Waltham Garden Club for the flower arrangements; and the dozens of Friends and staff who donated their time (and desserts).

Click here to see more photos of An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe

Click here to see the program, including cast and donor listings

A guest

Mr. Poe

Everyday people enter the Waltham Room, looking to learn about an ancestor, a friend, and various aspects about the history of Waltham. We are lucky to have so many great resources for our patrons, including old yearbooks, annual listings, newspapers,  pamphlets (this list can go on forever).

One item that I am particularly excited that we own is the oral histories that were recorded for Waltham Rediscovered. I really enjoy listening to people tell their own stories.

For those of you who also enjoy this, I want to recommend two websites.  One is NPR’s  StoryCorps - If you listen to NPR, you might already be familiar with this one.  The other is the BBC’s Memory Share. Since anyone can post on Memory Share, finding good content might take  a bit of digging, but when you find a good one, it is worth it.

posted by Todd

The Friends of the Waltham Public Library recently wrapped up another successful two-week annual book sale, raising over $13,000 to enhance and support public library services in the City. Happy customers walked away with thousands of bargain books, audio books, music and video recordings.

The Friends of the Waltham Public Library raises funds to provide extras that are beyond the reach of the City budget, such as laptops for free computer classes at the library, supplies for the Children’s Summer Reading Program, free and reduced-cost passes to area museums, and free programs such as workshops for job seekers, concerts, lectures and author appearances. A department of the City of Waltham, the library is available to all thanks to the citizens and elected officials of Waltham, who understand the importance of the public library as an essential tool for the educational, cultural and economic development of our community. The Friends is dedicated to supporting strong City-funded Library services, applying its funds to projects that are above and beyond the basics.

Book Sale Co-Chairs Betsey Greenman and Parrish Rice worked long hours planning and organizing their team of volunteers, and were rewarded with a 15% increase in sales over last year’s event. A small planning group met in the summer to discuss ideas for improving the sale for customers – the Friday night preview in particular - and decided on several changes to the room layout, rules of etiquette, and publicity. Others spent hours unpacking, sorting, shelving and selling the mountains of donations. Janet Welch and Dr. Helene Day appeared to have moved into the library for the duration of the sale: they were always on hand to be sure the books were in order and the cash box was tended. Many others devoted countless hours to the cause as well, including: Margaret Allen, Lela Chiavaras, Mary Connaughton, Joan Garniss, Rita Guardabassio, Jerri DeKriek, Elizabeth Hannon, Tom Jewell, Teresa Lorden, Norm MacDonald, Don McAdam, Juana McDougall, Jeanne O’Connell, Deb Savarino, Joan Sheridan, Maureen Taddeo and Graeme Williams.

The Book Sale Committee is especially grateful to the library staff for their help and cooperation. Head of Maintenance Gary Smith, ably assisted by Bill Sutherland and Matthew Harvey, sorted and stored donations all year long, then set up the room and supplied the volunteers with the books and materials they needed before and during the sale.

Thank you to all of those who donated items for the sale and to all the customers who make the annual sale such a profitable and fun event.

Sincerely,

Kate Tranquada

Library Director

Spend an evening with Edgar Allan Poe at the Friends of the Library October 30th fundraiser: enjoy hors d’oeuvres, wine, desserts, and performances by actors from the Hovey Players. And that’s not all! Enter raffles (six tickets for a mere five dollars) for an impressive array of prizes — take a look at the list of donors below.

Join us for this one-of-a-kind benefit at the library:

735 Main Street
Friday, October 30th at 6:00 PM.
$15 at the door
Costumes are welcome…

Raffle prize donors include:

Aalok International
Albert’s Photo Studio
AutoZone
Back Pages Books
Barsom Rug Center
Bon Worth
BJ’s Wholesale Club
Costco Wholesale
Descar Jewelry Design, LTD.
D&L Discount Liquors
Doubletree Guest Suites
Dunkin’ Donuts
Embassy Cinema
Fiorella’s True Value
Fitz’s Bar and Grill
Friendly’s
Gore Place
Green Papaya
Huntington Learning Center
Jake & Earl’s Dixie Barbecue
John Brewer‘s Tavern
Joyce Funeral Home
Marcou Jewelers
Margaritas
Michael’s Fine Wine
Moody Street Nutrition
More Than Words
Naked Fish Restaurants, Inc.
New England Mobile Book Fair
New Mother India
Newtonville Camera
Nickerson & Hills, Inc.
Omni Salon & Spa
Panera Bread
Park Lodge Hotel Group
Party Needs
Photo Quick
Ponzu
Russo & Sons, Inc.
Ryan’s Wine Shop
Salon Excellence
Sato Restaurant
Shaw’s
Super Shag Dance Studios
Solea
Tango Mango
The Tea Leaf
Thomas H O’Connor
Tom Can Cook
Upper Crust
Watch City Brewing Company
Watertown Savings Bank
Westin Hotels & Resorts

Do you have any near-and-dear (OR maybe not really so near or dear!) relatives from Waltham? Did they pass away sometime between 1912-1960 but you haven’t been able to find out exactly when? Try out our new link “Deaths in Waltham from City Directories: 1912-1960″ available on our website. It’s a fully searchable list of deaths cited in the pages of the Waltham City Directories. From our homepage just go to Library Departments/ Local History/ Genealogy Resources, scroll down to “Waltham Materials” and click on “Deaths in Waltham…” to bring up the PDF file. To search, either click on the binoculars or press Control-F and put the name in the search box. You can easily advance from one entry to the next. Once you then have a date to go by you can easily look for an obituary, if wanted, in our library microfilm collection.
posted by Janice