Library News for June

June Highlights – see below for details
June 11th – Children’s Author
June 13th – Garden Day
June 17th – Lil’ Folk Farm
June 18th, 19th – Babysitting Course
June 24th – Live Theatre

New Library Hours
The Trustees of the Upton Library are pleased to announce that starting in July, the Upton Library will be open 40 hours per week, 2 hours more than last year.
As of July 1st, our new hours are
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday : 10am-8pm
Friday, Saturday : 9am-2pm
Sunday, Monday: Closed.
We hope you are able to take advantage of our new earlier opening time on Friday and Saturday.

Library Fact of the Month
The Upton Town Library provides three computer workstations for public use. The computers offer internet browsing and word processing, with printing available for a 10cent per page fee. Each week, an average of 42 people take advantage of this service to stay in touch with friends, obtain information from websites, submit legal forms, make travel plans and much more!

Garden Day at the Library!
Saturday, June 13th is garden day at the Upton Town Library!
Bring a plant to exchange at our plant swap, browse for gardening books to borrow from the library or purchase from the Friends’ booksale. Children can plant a seed of their own, and register for the Summer reading program.
Garden Day is also the pickup time and location for home composters purchased through the Board of Health. If you are interested in buying a low-cost compost bin, contact Diane at the Board of Health.
The growing season is here, so celebrate with us on June 13th, 10am-2pm.

Library Book Discussion Group
The library supports a monthly book discussion group, which alternates between fiction and non-fiction titles. All titles are selected by the members, and copies of the book are available at the Library. Meetings are held at 7:00pm on the fourth Wednesday of each month in the media center at Memorial Elementary School. On June 24th, join us to discuss “Bringing Down the House” by Ben Mezrich. This book, basis for the film “21” is the true story of an M.I.T. professor who developed a system for winning millions playing blackjack and recruited students to put his scheme into action.

Senior Book Group
The Senior Book Group meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 12:45 in the Upton Senior Center. Donna Kempton from the library staff leads the casual, entertaining discussions. Titles chosen are usually gentle, character-driven novels. Copies of each month’s book are available at the library in both regular and large print. Please call the library directly at 529-6272 to request a copy of the Senior book group title.

Library Table at the Senior Center
Each Wednesday from 11:00-12:00, a librarian will be at the Upton Senior Center with a small selection of our materials available. If you have difficulty getting to the library and it would be more convenient for you to pick up books, movies, audiobooks or magazines at the Senior Center, call us at 529-6272 and we’ll bring a personalized package of suggested titles for you.
This program is free of charge, and is open to all Upton residents.

Children’s/Young Adult Programs:
For information about children’s programs, visit the following site: http://UptonStoryTime.blogspot.com or email Lisa at UptonStoryTime@yahoo.com.

Get Ready for an Out-of-This-World Summer Reading Program!
The theme for this year’s statewide Library Summer Reading Program is Starship Adventure and you will NOT want to miss out! Registration for the program begins on Saturday, June 13th and will be ongoing throughout the summer. Each child who registers will receive a registration packet containing all of the info needed to participate, including a Starlog to track their reading time in order to earn prizes from the treasure chest! Also included in the packet are discount coupons from Southwick’s Zoo, Davis’ Farmland, Sweetwilliam Farm and Kaleidoscope Bookstore. Highlights of this year’s program include a couple of activities for ALL AGES to enjoy: You will create a ‘Space Buddy’ to travel with you this summer, and send photos of you with your space buddy for us to display at the Library. Another assignment is to read any book related to space and then create a project about it to display at our Summer Artist Exhibit on August 15th. All the info is included in the registration packets, so come to the library on or after June 13 to sign up, and then get ready to BLAST OFF on your own STARSHIP ADVENTURE!

Special Event: Meet the Author!
On Thursday, June 11, Massachusetts author Carol Weis will visit the Upton Town Hall at 1:30pm to read her children’s book When the Cows Got Loose. The story is appropriate for preschool age children, and following the story the author will lead us in a cow-related craft activity! Copies of this book will be available to purchase at the event for the author to sign. Please visit her website for more information: http://www.carolweis.com/ As with all Library-sponsored programs, admission is Free! This event is being funded by a grant from Circle of Friends Community Partnership for Children.

Special Event: Meet the Animals!
Lil’ Folk Farm will be returning for their annual visit, bringing their traveling corral filled with adorable, friendly farm animals! This year’s visit will coincide with the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL in Upton, Wednesday, June 17. The animals will be on the Library’s Lawn from 2-4pm and the Friends of the Library will be providing sno-cones, face painting and other special treats. Celebrate the beginning of Summer vacation and register for the Starship Adventure Program while you’re here! This event is being co-sponsored by a grant from Circle of Friends Community Partnership for Children and the Friends of the Upton Town Library.

LIVE Theatre Performance!
The Little Red Wagon will once again roll into town to perform for us on the lawn behind Nipmuc HS! This summer’s show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will be held on Wednesday, June 24, beginning at 6:30pm. This promises to be a wonderful family event, so bring your blankets or lawn chairs, invite your friends, and prepare to be entertained! The Friends of the Upton Town Library, sponsors of this event, will have refreshments available for purchase. (In the event of rain, the show will be held in the HS auditorium.)

BabySigns Program
TinyTots LapSit StoryTime will not be held during the Summer. This program will begin again in September. In its place, for the month of June, we will be offering a special Baby Sign Language program on Wednesday mornings at 10:30. Paula Flaherty Bolotin, an independent certified BabySigns instructor, and owner of Little Ones Can Sign, will lead this class for babies up to age 3 along with a parent or caregiver. This program is being sponsored by a grant from the Upton Cultural Council. Space is very limited, so preregistration is required. Call or email Lisa at the Library for more information.

Story & Craft Time for children ages 3-6 is held in the library on Thursdays at 10:30am and 1:30pm. Each week has a different theme. Join us in June as we begin preparations for our Summer Starship Adventure by reading some books about the moon and stars! Parents are asked to register for either the morning or afternoon session, on a monthly basis. Please note that the afternoon session will not be held during July and August.

Teens @ the Library
ULTRA (Upton Library’s Teen Readers’ Advisory) will hold its next monthly meeting on TeenTuesday (June 16th), beginning at 3pm in the Library. ULTRA membership is open to all 12-18 year olds who are interested in helping to make the Upton Town Library an “ULTRA-cool” place for teens, by planning and/or assisting at events, making suggestions for material purchases, and volunteering on an as-needed basis. Several ULTRA members have already volunteered to help with this year’s Summer Reading program and more are always welcome! For more info about ULTRA, visit http://uptonULTRA.blogspot.com, contact Lisa at UptonStoryTime@yahoo.com, or join ULTRA on Facebook!

Red Cross Babysitting Course
The next session of the Red Cross Babysitter certification class will be held on Thursday and Friday, June 18-19, from 9am to 12:30 both days. This class is open to both boys and girls ages 11-16 and the cost is $55. Checks made payable to American Red Cross are due at time of sign up. Preregistration is required, and will be done on a first-come first-served basis at the Library. At the time of this writing, there are still a few spaces available.