@Blue Hill Library

Tuesday, January 20, 2015-- In this issue:

•  Events this week... 
•  The Shocking Truth
•  Don't forget to give us your opinion...
•  Exhibit: Shelf Life
•  Exhibit: Miss Pearson Brings the World to Blue Hill
•  Opera Preview: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
•  Camden Conference Discussion Series

• The public is invited to participate in the Library's Play Reading Group TOMORROW! Wednesday, January 21 from 6:30 to 9:00 PM. This month's play is Moss Hart's Light Up the Sky (1948). More info here.

• There are still spots available in "Radical Robotics" which starts THIS SATURDAY January 24 from 10:30 AM to 12:45 PM. Girls and boys in grades 5 to 8 are invited to sign up for this wonderful opportunity to learn about, and build your own robots. Three Saturday meetings. More info and to sign up, check here.

If you've had trouble accessing our online catalog lately, well, there's a good reason. Last Wednesday the server that houses our catalog and database got shocked into oblivion by the series of power outages that occurred that afternoon and which knocked most of the peninsula out for a few hours.

Sheri and Rich working hard to try to fix the server on Thursday.

We are partially back up and running now, and are grateful our backup system worked! We are busy processing the backlog of transactions from the past several days and should be caught up shortly. Pretty soon you should see a catalog on our website again, and some digital services should be back up and running.  Thanks for your patience!

Our online survey only takes a few minutes, and we would love to have your thoughts on future Library funding and range of services.   We want to hear from you, whether you are hear all year round or a part time resident of the peninsula.

The Library has a new exhibit on displayin the upstairs Howard Room glass cases, Miss Pearson Brings the World To Blue Hill, with items and photographs from a 1938-39 around-the-world trip by Library benefactor Adelaide Pearson and her associate, Laura Paddock. The two were gone for six months. 

The purpose of the trip to was to study ceramics in the Far East, and bring ideas and gain expertise for their new endeavor, Rowantrees Pottery, which had opened in Blue Hill in 1934.  On this trip, Laura Paddock, who had studied ceramics and glazes at the Philadelphia Art Museum School, wrote several "Pottery Reports" based on their visits, and Adelaide Pearson took innumerable photographs and shot more than 4000 feet of motion picture film, some of which is running on a loop next to the exhibit.  They explored many ancient sites, busy cities, temples, gardens, and met potters of all types along the way.  They also met Mahatma Gandhi, and took photos of him, a few of which are in the exhibit.

Pearson was determined to bring the world to Blue Hill; many of the items she collected on her travels found a permanent home at the Library, and are now part of its museum collection. Upon returning, she worked with Librarian Anne Hinckley to apply for funding from the Public Works Administration to build the Library a new building. This year the Library will be celebrating 75 years on Parker Point Road with a series of programs and exhibits focusing on local history.

 

The Bagaduce Music Lending Library and Friends of the Blue Hill Public Library will present a preview of Jacques Offenbach's opera Les Contes d'Hoffmann at 1:00 PM on Friday, January 30, at the Blue Hill Public Library. A live performance of the opera will be simulcast at the Grand in Ellsworth the following day, Saturday, January 31, from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Erin Morley as Olympia in Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann." Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera.

According to the Met website, "Vittorio Grigolo is the tortured poet and unwitting adventurer of the title in the MET's kaleidoscopic production. Hibla Gerzmava faces the operatic hurdle of singing all three heroines-each an idealized embodiment of some aspect of Hoffmann's desire. Thomas Hampson sings the shadowy Four Villains, and Yves Abel conducts the sparkling score."

Local opera enthusiasts Linda Lesko and David Porter will summarize the plot, introduce the music and offer some ideas of special ways to enjoy the Saturday simulcast. All are welcome, no previous opera knowledge is needed, and admission is free. For more information, call the Library at 374-5515.  

The Library will be holding a three session discussion series in connection with the 28th annual Camden Conference (February 20 to 22 in Camden). The theme of the conference is "Russia Resurgent." The discussion sessions are free, and will take place on three Mondays, February 2nd, and 9th, and March 2nd, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM at the Library. This series is designed to help participants achieve optimal benefit from participation in the Camden Conference.

 

The Camden Conference was founded in 1987 as a nonprofit, non-partisan educational organization whose mission is to foster informed discourse on world issues. In the years since, it has convened its annual Conference on the third weekend of February in the historic Camden Opera House, drawing some of the best minds on foreign policy to share their insights and expertise on a range of global issues with the community.

 

The sessions will be moderated by Bob Sargent, a former U.S. diplomat whose overseas assignments included Belgium, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey and Vietnam. Mr. Sargent is a former member of the Camden Conference Board of Directors and Advisory Board and a three-time conference program chair.

 Space is limited for the Blue Hill Library series, so participants are asked to register using the Library's interactive web calendar found at www.bhpl.net or by calling the Library at 374-5515. For more information and suggested readings, check the event listing on the library's calendar or call the Library at 374-5515. More information about the conference itself can be found at www.camdenconference.org.  

Don't hesitate to call us for more information at 207-374-5515.