CHILMARK PUBLIC LIBRARY
April Newsletter
OFF-SEASON HOURS**
SUNDAY: CLOSED
MONDAY: CLOSED
TUESDAY: 10:30 - 5:00
WEDNESDAY: 10:30 - 6:00
THURSDAY: 10:30 - 5:00
FRIDAY: 10:30 - 1:30
SATURDAY: 10:30 - 5:00
The library will be closed on Tuesday, April 18.
We have moved to the Aspen Discovery platform to enhance and enrich your experience.
Aspen makes searching for books and resources easier, pulling all library resources together in one search. Patrons can create and share lists of materials and online content or peruse curated lists created by their local library staff. Readers can easily find a title in every format available, read book reviews, and even rate items and see how others rated them. If a book or other item is unavailable, a “While you wait” feature offers suggestions for similar titles. These are examples of the many features in Aspen.
To log on go to chilmark.clamsnet.org. Please call 508-645-3360 with questions or if you have trouble logging in.
The Chilmark Free Public Library is pleased to offer individuals, groups, or organizations the opportunity to display their art exhibits.
Goals of the exhibits in the library include:
- Supporting community cultural and artistic activities
- Encouraging individuals to contribute to the appreciation of the arts
- Broadening horizons by presenting a wide range of art, collections, or displays
- Nourishing intellectual, aesthetic, and creative growth
- Reaching non-traditional library patrons
Exhibitions typically run for 3 weeks in the summer and 1 month during the rest of the year. The summer is defined as June, July, and August.
Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org for the application and rules. or call 508-645-3360 for more information.
New Adult Programs
Please email chil_mail@clamsnet.org to sign up, get Zoom invite, and/or ask questions.
Explorations on Sustainability with the Chilmark Library
Questioning everyday decisions, actions, and habits helps create awareness and stewardship rather than blind consumerism and waste. Join the Chilmark Library as we explore ways to include sustainability in our everyday lives with this series of in-person and virtual talks and workshops.
Energy Resiliency & Climate Change, Saturday, April 15, in person with Robert Hannemann.
Backyard Bees II, Saturday, April 22, 4:00 PM, online with Steve Judd, beekeeper.
BiodiversityWorks Natural Neighbors, Wednesday, May 17, 5:00 PM, in person with Rich Couse.
Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org to sign up and get the Zoom invite.
Free. Sponsored by the Friends of the Chilmark Library. 508-645-3360
Saturdays, April 1 and 29, 1:00 PM: Writing for Young People: Join our Group!
Are you working on a picture book, Middle-Grade, Young Adult story, or nonfiction for young people? Or, have you always wanted to? Join our monthly virtual group and share your work, critique, and discuss favorite books in today’s and yesterday’s marketplace. Come experience the joy that is creating stories for kids. All levels welcome! Facilitated by Tracy Thorpe, programs coordinator at the Chilmark Library and MFA, Creative Writing for Young People, Lesley University.
Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org to sign up and get the Zoom invite.
Free. Sponsored by the Friends of the Chilmark Library. 508-645-3360.
Thursdays, April 6, 13, and 27 at 10:30 AM: Memoir Workshop with Moira Silva.
In this course, a blend of exercises, readings and discussions will connect writers with their writing and themselves. Participants will form a supportive community while sharing in-process work. We will honor whatever is created, be it essays, songs, letters or entirely new genres. After five weeks, writers will leave lighter in spirit and richer in purpose. No writing experience required.
Moira Convey Silva is a writing instructor, writing consultant, yoga teacher, community activist, and award-winning writer who, for over 10 years, has freelanced for national and local periodicals. Focusing on features and essays, especially ones that relate to sustainability, Silva’s writing most notably appears in the Boston Globe, Women’s Running and Taproot. She, arguably, always has the loudest laugh in the room.
Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org to sign up and get the Zoom invite.
Free. Sponsored by the Friends of the Chilmark Library. 508-645-3360
SESSION 3 April 12th:
Asking for inspiration from others and ourselves. It’s not just ok to borrow musical and lyrical ideas, it’s inevitable! We will select words from a favorite poem or prose that members will write music for, and do the same selecting either a melody or chord progression from a favorite song or piece of music that they will write lyrics for. Members will ask themselves “what is the most important thing for me to communicate in a song this week?” Having selected it, members will write that song during the week.
Saturday, April 15, 4:00 PM: Now Comes The Hard Part: Energy Efficiency And Electrification with Rob Hannemann and representatives from Vineyard Power.
The Island has made considerable progress in addressing the implications of our changing climate. All six towns are now Green Communities, and in 2020 the towns adopted the 100% Renewable Martha’s Vineyard goals of eliminating as far as possible the use of fossil fuels by 2040 and filling our energy needs with renewable energy – “greening the grid”.
This talk will outline what comes next – and what comes next represents significant challenges for our Island community. Our primary focus needs to be transforming our energy system and making it significantly more resilient in the face of the increasingly severe weather events expected as a result of climate change. At the town level, improving the energy efficiency and electrifying the HVAC systems of our town buildings, upgrading building codes, and moving to new technologies to ensure the operation of critical services in the case of moderate and severe power outages needs to be a primary focus. This is also true for individual homeowners and renters as well as businesses. The energy transformation required will not happen overnight, but we need to start now if we are to meet our 2040 goals!
The talk will conclude with a question-and-answer session with representatives from Vineyard Power focused on signing up individuals for a FREE home energy assessment and on answering questions on the practical issues associated with solar arrays, batteries, heat pumps, and electric vehicles.
Rob Hannemann is a member of Chilmark’s Finance Advisory Committee and chairs the Town Energy Committee and the Island-wide Vineyard Sustainable Energy Committee. He taught climate change and sustainable energy courses at Tufts University before becoming a full-time resident of Chilmark.
In-person at the Chilmark Library. Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org for more information.
Free. Sponsored by the Friends of the Chilmark Library. 508-645-3360.
Tuesday, April 18, 6:00: Expedition Bigfoot with Ronny LeBlanc.
The search for proof of Bigfoot’s existence continues. A regular speaker and researcher, Ronny LeBlanc is a globally recognized figure in the world of paranormal, Bigfoot and UFOs. His critically acclaimed “Monsterland: Encounters With UFOs, Bigfoot and Orange Orbs,” details the history and connection between the various phenomena, highlighting his experience and a research area called Monsterland in central Massachusetts.
Ronny LeBlanc stars in two shows for Discovery+ & Travel Channel, EXPEDITION BIGFOOT and PARANORMAL CAUGHT ON CAMERA. has appeared on Coast to Coast AM, CBS and cover stories for Boston Herald, Sentinel & Enterprise and Telegram & Gazette.
Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org for the Zoom invite.
Sponsored by the MV Libraries.
Four Fabulous Women Artists You Probably Never Heard Of: Art Talk Series With Janet Mandel. Virtual.
Wednesday April 19: 6:00 PM: Ruth Asawa
American sculptor, educator, and arts activist Ruth Asawa is known for her extensive body of work including paintings, printmaking, public commissions, and especially her wire sculptures that challenge conventional notions of material and form. A firm believer in the radical potential of arts education, she also devoted herself to expanding access to art-focused educational programs by co-founding the Alvarado Arts Workshop in 1968 and the first public arts high school in San Francisco in 1982. Come and hear about this pioneering and inspirational artist.
Janet Mandel taught in New Jersey’s public schools for 32 years, where she taught English, art history, World Languages and Cultures. Now retired, Janet presents illustrated talks on a variety of art history topics at adult schools, libraries, museums, senior centers, community centers, and similar venues.
Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org or amcdonough@clamsnet.org to sign up and receive the Zoom invite.
Free. Sponsored by the Vineyard Haven and Chilmark Public Libraries.
Saturday, April 22, at 4:00 PM: Part II: Backyard Beekeeping with Steve Judd, a two-part online workshop.
You know you’ve always wanted to keep bees in your yard, right? Did you know beekeeping does not require a huge time commitment?
And did you know that wholesale conversion of habitat on tropical islands and in coastal areas for sugar production has led to significant environmental damage particularly a loss of biodiversity. Sugar mills produce wastewater, emissions and solid waste that impact the environment. The massive quantities of plant matter and sludge washed from mills decompose in freshwater bodies, absorbing all the available oxygen and leading to massive fish kills. In addition, mills release flue gases, soot, ash, ammonia and other substances during processing.
Learn about the sweet alternative your own honey. Join beekeeper Steve Judd in a two-part beekeeping program.
Saturday, April 22, 4:00 PM: Learn the equipment of beekeeping, and discover sources for bees, the tools you’ll need, and resources for support.
Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org to sign up and get the Zoom invite.
Free. Sponsored by the Friends of the Chilmark Library. 508-645-3360.
