@ Blue Hill Library
There is always something to do at the Blue Hill Public Library!
Cool insects, rocks and sea shells to look at through the microscope in the Larchwood Children's Room. We also have microscopes that you can check out and take home!
Welcome to our library events newsletter!  Many of these free events are made possible by generous funding from the  Friends of the Blue Hill Library. If you like what you see, thank a Friend. Or better yet, become one!
Events this week...
Roberto Alagna in the role of Lt. Pinkerton. Photo: Marty Sohl/ Metropolitan Opera
  • Infants and toddlers are invited to a special weekly music and movement program during the first half hour of "play group" starting TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY March 30 at 10:30 AM led by early childhood music educator Deborah Reinke. Regular playgroup will start at 11:00.
  • The public is invited to a preview of Giacomo Puccini's opera, Madama Butterfly at 1:00 PM on THIS FRIDAY, April 1.  A live performance of the opera will be simulcast at the Grand in Ellsworth the following day, from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. more info here.
  • Join Friends of the Library for their monthly book sale THIS SATURDAY April 2 from 9 AM to 2 PM. More info below.
Tell us what you think about library hours!
We would like to know your thoughts on the library's hours of operation.survey  Do you wish we were open more? or do you think our hours are just right?

Take this very brief online survey and tell us what you think!

March Food Drive: Thanks!



A heartfelt thanks to all who donated to the annual Hancock County Food Drive!drive The cart did get filled, and the donations will go to local area food pantries. 
 
Book Sale This Saturday!
The sale has 7 volumes of the "Saturday Book," which is, according to Wikipedia, an annual miscellany, that provided literary and artistic commentary about life in Britain during the Second World War and the ensuing decades
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Friends of the Library will hold their first-Saturday-of-the-month book sale on April 2 in the Library's basement "book nook" from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.Sale Since it is clean-up, paint-up, and fix-up time of year, all "how-to" books are half price. Mini collections include horses and horsemanship, Saturday books, and lots of new travelogue titles. Library-withdrawn novels will be just 50 cents!

The Friends wish to thank the many donors who keep the library supplied with quality book donations.  Book sale proceeds enable the Friends to sponsor many of the programs offered at the library, and to make special purchases of books, dvds, etc., and equipment for the library. To donate books that are in good condition or for more information, contact the Library at 374-5515.
Annual Student Art Show
Enjoying the 2014 exhibit.








The Library will be hosting the annual Student Art Show during the month of April.art Schools and homeschoolers from Peninsula communities have been invited to participate with the goal of sharing the talent and creativity of local young people -- expressed in watercolors, pen and ink, ceramics, sculpture, collages, yarn and woven items, and much more. Creative energy will abound throughout the entire library, on almost every wall and counter, upstairs and down.  This show is a favorite with the public every year.

Everyone is invited to a reception to celebrate the artists and their teachers on Friday, April 8, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Supported by the Friends of the Library, this reception is a good time to view the artwork, meet some of the artists, thank the teachers and enjoy some refreshments.  For more information, please call Libby at 374-5515.
Live & Learn: Grow Your Own Organic Garden


Are you interested in learning how to grow your own vegetables in a sustainable manner?garden The Library will host an evening-long workshop on how to grow your own organic garden Wednesday, April 6 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Topics that will be covered include basics of soil science, how to enrich your soil to produce healthy, high-yielding plants, the fundamentals of making and using compost, the principles of crop rotation, and how to incorporate green manures and manage nutrients in the garden. Other topics will include basic weed control strategies, common insect pests and methods of natural insect control.

The workshop is sponsored by the Library, in addition to Adult Education of Maine, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) which will be offering the workshop at over 30 locations in Maine all on the same evening.

Jo Barrett will lead the workshop. She has been teaching, farming, and homesteading on the Blue Hill Peninsula for over 30 years. All levels of gardeners are welcome, from first-timers to experienced gardeners who want to experiment with new techniques. The workshop is free, but space is limited, so participants are asked to register using the library's interactive calendar or by calling the Library at 374-5515.
Live & Learn: Creating a Native Plant Landscape
A humming bird enjoys the nectar from a Cardinal Flower in a native plant garden. Photo by Leslie Clapp.


Blue Hill landscape gardeners Avy Claire, Pam Johnson, and Cathy Rees will present a talk on the use of native plants in home landscaping at the Library on Thursday April 7 at 7:00 PM.native The talk is sponsored by the Library and Native Gardens of Blue Hill, a local nonprofit. The group has been designing and landscaping a public garden at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library's new location on South Street in Blue Hill.

They will use the design and planning process for the public garden at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library site to illustrate where, why and how native plants can be used in a home landscape. The program will show how to handle a variety of landscape situations such as gardening on a disturbed site, grooming an existing forest edge, landscaping around existing trees and buildings, and designing with native plants for all season interest.

There is no charge for this event, and everyone is welcome. For more information call the Library at 374-5515.15.
Author Event: The Once and Future Ocean


The Library and Blue Hill Books will present a program by Sedgwick resident and World Ocean Observatory founder and director Peter Neill to introduce his new book The Once and Future Ocean: Notes Toward a New Hydraulic Society, on
Friday April 8 at 7:00 PM.neill

Peter Neill says that his book aspires to do "nothing less than transform our relationship with the world's most promising and imperiled natural element: the ocean and the inter-connected cycles of water, essential for all aspects of human survival in the 21st century. It explores the ocean's impact on climate, fresh water, food, energy, health, security, sustainable development, community living, and cultural traditions.

The book also provides a persuasive argument for "why the ocean matters" and how its sustainability and careful use can establish a new paradigm for value and social behavior around which to build a new post-industrial, post-consumption global community.

Peter Neill is Founder and Director of the World Ocean Observatory, a web-based place of exchange about the ocean and its relation to climate, fresh water, food, energy, health, security, economic development, policy, governance, and cultural traditions. He is the past Director of the Connecticut Marine Science Consortium, the Maritime Preservation Program at the US National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the South Street Seaport Museum (New York). He is the author of three novels, numerous books on maritime art, history, and literature, and the ongoing audio feature, World Ocean Radio.

Books will be available for sale and signing. This event is sponsored by the Library. There is no charge, and everyone is welcome. For more information, call the Library at 374-5515.
So Many Ongoing Events for Kids and Adults!
Preschool Story Time Craft
  • Preschool Storytime for kids up to age 5, Tuesdays 10:30weekly
  • Playgroup - up to age 3: Wednesdays 10:30 to noon.
  • Rainbow Warriors Writing Group for 12 & up: Tuesdays 4:00 PM
  • 52 Weeks of Giving for all ages: Fridays, 4:00 to 5:30 PM
  • Inklings Book & Movie Club, 8 & up: last Saturday, 2:00 PM
  • LEGO Club, ages 7 to 12: 1st Saturday of the month 2:00 PM
  • Beyond Labels Discussion Group: Mondays, 10:30-12:30 AM
  • Play Reading: 3rd Wednesday of the month 6:30-9:30 PM
  • Film Series: 2nd Thursday of the month 7:00PM
  • Pickup Games of Chess: Thursdays 5:30 to 8:00 PM
  • Book sales in the basement "Book Nook": 1st Saturday of the month, 9 AM to 2 PM.

 We love your suggestions.  

Current Exhibits
Don't miss our ongoing exhibits: Artist book, One Hour Book, from The Art of the Book (below, in the Howard Room cases through March 30); oil painting from Landscapes Unfurled, by Maria Matthews (lower left, in the Britton Gallery and Howard Room through March 31); and Common Periwinkle shells from Treasures from Maine Shores, from the collection of Dr. Alison Dibble (lower right, in the Children's Larchwood Room through April 30). exhibits
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