• Fine art photographer Jeffery Becton will talk about his career, artwork and the new book written about him, The Farthest House, by Carl Little, at the Library THIS THURSDAY! August 11 at 6:30. More info here.

• Join us for an art opening for A Wider View, featuring the work of seven local artists THIS FRIDAY August 12, 4:00 to 7:00 PM. More info below.

• Don't miss the Friends of the Library weekly book sale THIS SATURDAY! 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Come see the work of (from the top): Louise Bourne, Heidi Daub, Annie Poole, Cynthia Wining, Melissa Greene, Rebecca H. McCall, and Goodie B. Wiseman. The group is known locally for their annual winter event: a show of all 10 x 8 inch works. This summer, the artists joyfully unite to offer a more comprehensive, "Wider View" of their creative endeavors.

Former Paris bureau chief at the New York Times Elaine Sciolino will talk about and read from her recent book, The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue Martyrs, at the Library on Wednesday August 17 at 7:00 PM.

In this book Sciolino invites us on a tour of her favorite Parisian street. "I can never be sad on the rue des Martyrs," she explains, as she celebrates the neighborhood's rich history and vibrant lives. While many cities suffer from the leveling effects of globalization, the rue des Martyrs maintains its distinct allure. Sciolino reveals the charms and idiosyncrasies of this street and its longtime residents-- the Tunisian greengrocer, the husband-and-wife cheesemongers, the showman who's been running a transvestite cabaret for more than half a century, the owner of a 100-year-old bookstore, the woman who repairs eighteenth-century mercury barometers-- making Paris come alive in all its unique majesty. The Only Street in Paris will make readers hungry for Paris, for cheese and wine, and for the kind of street life that is all too quickly disappearing.

Elaine Sciolino is a contributing writer and former Paris bureau chief for The New York Times, and a regular contributor to Travel & Leisure magazine, based in France since 2002. The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs, published by W.W. Norton & Co. in November 2015, was a New York Times best seller. The Wall Street Journal called the book "a sublime stroll...elegiac;" The New York Times said that "she has Paris at her feet;" the Chicago Tribune called Sciolino "a storyteller at heart." The Telegraph listed it as one of the best books of the year.

Books will be available for sale and signing. This event is sponsored by the Library and Blue Hill Books. There is no charge, and everyone is welcome. For more information, call the library at 374-5515.

Retired historian and professor of philosophy, Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. will discuss and read from his new book, Creating Acadia National Park: the Biography of George Bucknam Dorr at the Library on Thursday, August 18 at 7:00 PM. The Library is an Acadia Centennial Partner, and is presenting this special program, along with Blue Hill Books, as part of the 100th anniversary celebration of Acadia National Park.

Although he is known as the "father of Acadia," and founder of the oldest national park east of the Mississippi River, Dorr's seminal contributions to the American environmental movement have gone largely unacknowledged. This biography is the story of Dorr's pioneering role in the establishment and development of a unique conservation model that dovetailed with the evolution of the US National Park Service-which shares its 2016 centennial with Acadia.

The first biography of George B. Dorr ever written, this book is based on painstaking research both in the US and abroad, including federal, state, and private archives. Newly-discovered and previously uncatalogued sources are supplemented by in-person interviews.

Dr. Epp's research over the last two decades into the Massachusetts families that influenced the development of conservation philanthropy has resulted in publications and talks to regional and national organizations. He served as a consultant for the Ken Burns documentary America's Best Idea: the National Parks.

Books will be available for sale and signing. There is no charge, and everyone is welcome. For more information, call the library at 374-5515.

Adults:

*    Beyond Labels Discussion Group: Mondays, 10:30 AM-12:30

 *   Pickup Games of Chess: Thursdays 5:30 to 8:00 PM

 *   Basement Book Sales: Saturdays, 9 AM to 2 PM