April 4-10, 2016
In This Issue
Library Closed Saturday for Great Expectations Gala
Ridgefield Library Community Survey
Job Opening: Fundraising Assistant
Celebrating Shakespeare
National Poetry Month: Ira Joe Fisher
Tech Topics: Facebook for Business
Making STEAM: Maker Groups, Adult Coloring
Volunteers Sought for Sewing Projects
Book Discussions this Week
Parenting Lunchtime Discussions
Shutterbugs
Bolshoi Ballet in HD @ The Playhouse
AARP Tax-Aide
Book Discussions this Week
Seussical the Musical @ The Playhouse
Weekly Drop-In Children's Programs
Time for Teens

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Library Closed Saturday for Great Expectations Gala
The Library will be closed all day Saturday, April 9th to set up for our Great Expectations gala honoring Philip and Christine Lodewick with the 2016 Hope H. Swenson Visionary Award. Click here for information and ticket purchase.


Don't forget to check out all the resources at our "virtual branch" at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org whenever the Library is closed.
Ridgefield Library Community Survey
Now that we are completing our second year in our new facility on Main Street - designed specifically to respond to the changing role of libraries in America - we would like to learn more about your and others' experience with the new Ridgefield Library. 

We invite you to add your voice to this effort by taking this survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/RLSurvey2016. Thank you for your help!  Survey closes April 10, so do it today!  Thanks.

Job Opening: Fundraising Assistant
Non-profit fundraising assistant (full-time) sought to be part of dynamic team working to raise funds for Ridgefield Library. Principal duties include database maintenance, donor communications and special events.Application deadline April 15. Click here for details.
Celebrating Shakespeare!
We have an entertaining and educational line-up of lectures, films, book discussions and more scheduled for April and May in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of the Bard. Here are some highlights:

April 6, 7:00 PM Dr. Mark Schenker lectures on Shakespeare's Major Tragedies.

April 13, 3:00 and 7:00 PM Benedict Cumberbatch stars in the National Theatre's Hamlet in HD @ The Ridgefield Playhouse.

Click here to see the details and to register.
National Poetry Month: Ira Joe Fisher
Sunday, April 10, 2:00 PM
Main Program Room
It Could Be Verse: An Afternoon of Poems and Ponderings by Ira Joe Fisher (and his heroines and heroes in the world of letters)
Join us to celebrate National Poetry Month with Ridgefield's favorite poet Ira Joe Fisher.
Ira was awarded two regional Emmys for television writing. He is the author of Remembering Rew, a poetry chapbook, and the full-length collections Some Holy Weight in the Village AirSongs From an Earlier Century, and The Creek at the End of the Lawns.  Ira has a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from New England College.  He has taught poetry, communications and broadcast history at New England College; he lectures and teaches at the University of Connecticut (Stamford, Waterbury, and Torrington) and Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Please register.
Tech Topics:Facebook for Business
Monday, April 4, 10:30 AM
Donofrio Family Technology Center
5 Foolproof Ways to Promote your Business on Facebook 
Your business may have a solid marketing strategy, but are you an effective Facebook Marketer? Facebook estimates that it is home to more than 40 million active small-business pages. How will yours get noticed? Did you know that not everyone who has Liked your page will automatically see your posts?  Join Kate Fitzpatrick for 5 Foolproof Ways to Promote your Business on Facebook. Please register. 

Tech Topics presentations are made possible by the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.
Making STEAM: Maker Groups, Adult Coloring
Wednesday, April 6, 5:00 PM
Donofrio Family Technology Center
Maker Group for 4th - 8th Grade
Would you like to learn how to design objects that can be 3D printed?  Then this is the perfect group for you!   Under the guidance of artist Chris Iorillo, you'll learn how to take an idea from your imagination and create a finished, 3D printed object.  Chris will teach the basic and advanced CAD (computer-assisted design) skills needed to use Tinkercad, a free web-based program.   The group will meet for five sessions from 5-6:30 PM on the following Wednesdays:
Wednesdays: April 6th & 27th, May 11th. June 1st & 8th; please note that registration is for ALL FIVE SESSIONS.   These sessions are for beginners in Tinkercad. Registration required.

Wednesday, April 6, 6:30 PM
Maker Group for Adults: Intro to Arduinos
Join us for the first official meeting of our Adult Maker Group.  This will be a hands-on session covering a basic introduction to Arduinos and will include a demonstration of some examples of projects utilizing these microprocessors including measuring distance using sonar and measuring the speed a motor is turning. This group is for those 18 years of age and over.  
Registration required.

Friday, April 8, 1:00 - 3:00 PM
Dayton Program Room
Adult Coloring
Coloring for adults is all the rage and has been shown as a great way to foster relaxation and creativity. Come join us in the Dayton Program Room between 1:00 and 3:00 to color and chat. We'll provide all the materials you need, plus coffee and tea. Registration recommended but walk-ins welcome.
 
Making STEAM @ Ridgefield Library is our new initiative to offer activities and programs in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math to the community.
Volunteers Sought for Sewing Projects
needle-thread.jpg Do you like to sew?  Would you like to put your skills to use at the Library?

Thanks to Stitch in Time of Danbury and Darien, the Library now has two sewing machines.  We are looking for volunteers with sewing skills to help us in offering programs for both beginning and experienced sewers.  If you love sewing and have some time you could spare,please contact Adult Services Library Dorothy Pawlowski at 203-438-2282 x11003 or dlpawl@ridgefieldlibrary.org
Book Discussions this Week
Tuesday, April 5, 7:00 PM
Dayton Program Room
The Nonfictioneers
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War by David Halberstam (March 1, Part 1 to 5 and April 5, Part 6 to end)

Thursday, April 7, 10:30 AM
Randolph Room
Murder by the Books
The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro
More about this and upcoming Murder by the Book selections

No registration required for Library book groups - new readers always welcome. Ask at the Circulation Desk about copies of this month's titles, or purchase at a special book club discount at Books on the Common.
Parenting Lunchtime Discussions
Tuesday, April 5, 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Dayton Program Room
Brown Bag Lunch Discussions
Open to the public.  Join us for follow up discussions of topics raised during our Parenting the Selfie Generation series. No registration.

This program is part of a series of talks designed to help parents navigate the often-complicated waters of child-rearing. The series, Parenting the Selfie Generation: Raising Successful Adults, is a joint collaboration between Ridgefield Public Schools, the Ridgefield Council of PTAs, Project Resilience, Silver Hill Hospital and the Ridgefield Library. 
Shutterbugs
Saturday, April 9, 9:00 AM
Offsite
Shutterbugs Meeting
The Ridgefield Library's photography group meets monthly to discuss their craft and/or head out on their many field trips. New members are always welcome.  Please contact Mary Harold at 438-7350 or email ridgefieldshutterbugs@yahoo.com if you are interested in joining the group and to find out the location of this week's meeting.
Bolshoi Ballet in HD @ The Playhouse: Don Quixote
Sunday, April 10, 12:55 PM
Ridgefield Playhouse
Bolshoi Ballet in HD: Don Quixote 
The Library is pleased to join the Ridgefield Playhouse in bringing to Ridgefield great stories, told through opera, ballet and drama by the greatest performing companies in the world - the Metropolitan Opera, Bolshoi Ballet and National Theatre of London. Come to the Library to learn more about the history of these masterworks and their creators, then experience extraordinary performances on the big screen in HD @ the Playhouse.

Ridgefield Library cardholders receive the Playhouse member discount price of $20 on tickets to these HD cultural series - just show your card at the box office.  College students pay only $15 and students 18 and under attend FREE, so introduce your favorite young person to these classics. Contact the Playhouse at 203-438-5795 for information and tickets. 
AARP Tax-Aide
news.jpg
Thursdays through April 14
8:15 AM - 12 noon by appointment only
Dayton Program Room
AARP Tax-Aide
Volunteers from the AARP will offer free help with income tax filing for low- and moderate-income taxpayers, especially those 60 and older.Tax-Aide sessions will be held at the Ridgefield Library on Thursday mornings through April 14th BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. Tax-Aide is not a Library program.  For appointment or information please call 203-438-4288.
Get your Passport to Connecticut Libraries
Did you know that you can use a Ridgefield Library card throughout the state?  During the month of April, we will be participating in the Passport to Connecticut Libraries program to encourage cardholders to visit and explore the amazing diversity of the state's public libraries. 

With sponsorship from the Connecticut Library Association, over 120 libraries will be participating.  Starting on April 1st, pick up your passport and the list of participants at any of our service desks. Then take along your passport as you travel to other libraries and receive a stamp and a token gift from each place you visit.

If you have stamps from at least five participants by April 30, you will be entered into a statewide drawing for a chance to win a $150 Visa Gift Card (for adults 18 and over) or a $100 Visa Gift Card for children and teens (under 18).   A total of four winners will be randomly selected from two categories; the first is for those who have visited at least five libraries and the second is made up of those from each library with the most passport stamps.
Children's Special Programs: Seussical the Musical @ The Playhouse
Saturday, April 9,
2:00 PM and 4:30 PM
Ridgefield Playhouse
From Page to Stage: Seussical the Musical 
The Library is pleased to join the Ridgefield Playhouse in bringing to Ridgefield live stage adaptations of beloved children's books.  Come to the Library to check out the originals or hear them read at storytime, then experience them live @ the Playhouse.

Contact the Playhouse at 203-438-5795 for information and tickets.
Weekly Drop-In Children's Activities
Monday, 10:30 AM
Leir Children's Program Room
Drop-In Storytime
Children ages 3 and up are invited for stories, songs and a short book-based film.

  Mother GooseTuesday, 10:15 AM
Leir Children's Program Room
Mother Goose
Mother Goose is a language enrichment program for "walkers" ages 12 months through age 2 including finger plays, music and movement.

Wednesday, 11:30 AM
Leir Children's Program Room
Baby & Me 
Finger plays and songs for newborns through age 12 months with a caregiver.  Parents of infants are invited to network with each other. 

Wednesday, 2:00 PM
Leir Children's Program Room
Time for 3s and 4s
A program just for the three- and four-year-olds including stories, songs and a short film.  Children may attend alone or with an adult.
Time for Teens
Wednesday, April 6, 4:30 - 5:30 PM
Ellis Family Teen Center
Teen Crafternoon Program 
People in grades 6 - 12 are invited to come get their craft on the first Wednesday of each month from 4:30 to 5:30 PM in the Teen Center.
Drop in, no registration required, a different craft each month. This month we'll make book hedgehogs!

Also check out the listings above for Wednesday's Shakespeare lecture by Dr. Mark Schenker, the Bolshoi Ballet in HD on Sunday (students admitted free with school ID) and new Maker Group for 4th-8th graders.
CONTACT US:           www.RidgefieldLibrary.org              203/438-2282            news@RidgefieldLibrary.org

Email is the main way we communicate with our patrons about programs, services and other news. To help make sure you are getting information of most interest to you and not being overwhelmed with things you don't care about, we are now offering you a choice of subscription lists. Just click on the Update Profile link below and choose from weekly e-news, adult programs, children & families, teens and technology