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The library will be closed on Sundays for the summer. Sunday hours resume on September 8.
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Sometimes things change... check the calendar
 for event information!
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What's happening at the library?

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activity kit
NEW! Multimedia backbacks are here - check these awesome activity kits out! Seriously-you can check them out, take them home, and have some fun with them! There are 15 backpacks full of books and games and other activities, all with different themes!

Stop in and ask about them or search our catalog (search Dewey Call No. "KIT J") to see what themes we have available. We're so excited about these kits-we hope you love them as much as we do! Try them out today!

 

 We've got some great programs lined up for June! Meet a local author, learn more about your world, enjoy some yoga, and get your legal questions answered. Get details below, and reminders and updates from our Facebook page and calendar

 

James Blackstone Memorial Library - more than books!

Featured Children's Event

Summer Reading Signup at the Branford Festival 

Saturday, June 15

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 

 miss mary and miss carly  

Meet Miss Mary and Miss Carly on the Branford Green to sign up for summer reading! We will be sharing programs for all ages along with our summer events schedule. This will be an excellent way to keep track of what you have read throughout the summer. We cannot wait to see you there!

   

.  gggg

Education First Information Session 

Saturday, June 1 @ 3:00 p.m. (Auditorium)

Tuesday, June 4 @ 6:00 p.m. (Large Print area)

 

world map

Education First is a foreign exchange student program looking for host families in Branford for 2 1/2 weeks this summer. Consider attending to find out more about how you can help.

 

 

    

Yoga Class with Nelie Doak

Mondays, June 3, 10, 17, 24 

5:00 p.m.

 

yoga pose
Photo by Flickr user myyogaonline

Start the week off right with our Monday yoga classes! 

 

Nelie Doak leads an evening yoga class on Mondays at 5 PM. Cost is $10 per class; please bring your own yoga mat.

 

Estate & Probate in Connecticut

Tuesday, June 4

2:00 p.m.

 

estate and probate image
Photo by Flickr user Theophilus Photography

Learn how probate works in Connecticut, how it will affect you and how to eliminate the major costs of probate.  This is a course for anyone who has any assets. A probate attorney will be available to answer specific questions. Presented by Tom Perrone.

 

To register for this event, call 1-888-211-3662 (recorded line).

    

 

 

Mystery Book Club 

Wednesday, June 5  

3:00 p.m. 


mississippi trial book cover The Mystery Book Club meets the first Wednesday of every month. The title for June is Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe
 
 
Questions? Contact Maryann Hall at 203-488-1536.

 

 

ESL Conversation Class 

Wednesdays, June 5 through July 31

6:00 p.m.

 

people
Photo by Flickr user NJLA: New Jersey Library Association

An English conversation group for adult English language learners will meet every Wednesday from June 5, 2013 until July 31, 2013 in the Lucy Hammer Room. The ESL conversation class offers a comfortable environment for adults with limited English language skills to practice speaking and listening in English. Walk-ins are welcome!

  
 Facilitated by Jessica Lynch, Literacy Volunteer Tutor. Program is free and open to the public.
It's Hip to Knit
Wednesdays, June 5, 12, 19, 26
6:00 p.m.
Yarn swirl
The Blackstone Knitting and Crocheting Group meets at the library every week. This informal gathering is for knitters, crocheters, and other fiber craftspeople of all ages and abilities. First-time knitters welcome; coaches available.

 

Book Reading, Discussion, and Signing by Branford Author Rod Keith

Saturday, June 8

2:00 p.m. Reading & Discussion 

3:00 p.m. Book Signing 

 

book cover Join us for an afternoon book reading, discussion, and signing. Branford Author Brad Keith will be discussing his new book release Agony in Cambodia: A War Story.

 

About the book: It's September, 1963, during the early stages of the Vietnam War. S/Sgt. Bill Harper and his A-Team are in Cambodia for one last mission before going back to the States. His team encounters small arms fire and RPG strikes that bring them down on the banks of the Mekong. Captured by a merciless enemy, his team decimated, the only question in his mind was this: could he live long enough to escape? 

 

Program is free and open to the public.

 

New Plays at the Blackstone  

Monday, June 10

7:00 p.m. 


stage

Are you an actor or a playwright? Join us for the monthly gathering of New Plays at the Blackstone. Our group has two primary goals: to nurture individual theater artists, and to develop new plays by local writers.These monthly meetings give playwrights the opportunity to hear their works read by local actors. New Plays at the Blackstone also produces staged readings for the benefit of local charities.  

 

For additional information, email [email protected]

  

Medicaid Planning 

Tuesday, June 11

2:00 p.m.

 

 

medicaid image Learn how the Medicaid system works and how to protect your assets while still getting assistance. Questions about individual planning will be addressed. Presented by Tom Perrone.

 

To register for this event, call 1-888-211-3662 (recorded line).

 

Second Tuesday Book Club
Tuesday, June 11
6:45 p.m.  

book voer New members are welcome. Books available for loan in advance of the discussion. 
Group meets in the Lucy Hammer Room the second Tuesday of each month. 

June's selection is: The Language of Flowers 
by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

Click here to reserve your copy today!
Film Showing: A Place at the Table 
Tuesday, June 11
5:30 p.m.  Reception
6:00 p.m. Film Screening

film poster

A Place at the Table is a 2012 documentary film directed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush, with appearances by Jeff Bridges, Raj Patel, and chef Tom Colicchio.

 

50 million people in the U.S. - one in four children - don't know where their next meal is coming from, despite our having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all Americans.

 

A Place at the Table shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides-as they have in the past-that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all.

 

Film is free and open to the public.

 

Sponsored by Menunkatuck Audubon:

The Tangled Fates of Plants, Caterpillars, and Birds 

Wednesday, June 12  

7:30 p.m.  


book coverJune is the perfect time to learn about caterpillars and their importance. Menunkatuck Audubon presents "The Tangled Fates of Plants, Caterpillars, and Birds" with Dr. David Wagner, UConn professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

 

Learn about the various associations of plants and caterpillars and the importance of caterpillars to birds. You'll enjoy spectacular images of caterpillars and gimmicks they use to avoid being detected and eaten. Copies of Dr. Wagner's incredible book, Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History, will be available for sale.

 

Program is free and open to the public. Refreshments served. For information: 203-457-1699 or [email protected].

 

Community Discussion: Mental Health Services & Gun Violence

Monday, June 17

6:00 p.m.

 

US Flag

Will Better Mental Health Services Reduce Gun Violence?

 

"A deliberate, lifelong effort to find people to tell him why he might be wrong is one of the keys to Warren Buffett's success." - Wall Street Journal

 

Some believe that funding mental health services to prevent gun violence will make us safer. Others believe that it will cause serious damage. In this session of monthly community discussions, we will not only debate the topic, but as we do each session, we'll examine the often unrecognized assumptions that guide us in deciding what's the right thing to do. We will also learn about and discuss the relevant ideas of selected moral philosophers. Program is free and open to the public.  

 

Moderator: Marc Schwartz. For further info, call 203-315-8056.

 

MS Support Group
Wednesday, June 19
5:30 p.m.
 
 

holding hands MS Support Group meets on the third Wednesday of every month, new members are welcome. For information, contact Cheryl Horner at 203 535-3053.

  

 

twitter.com/BranfordMSGroup  

 

facebook.com/groups/BranfordMSGroup/ 

 

[email protected] 

  
Ask A Lawyer
Thursday, June 20   
6:00 p.m.
Justice & Scales

Meet with a lawyer for free! Lawyers will be here for a 2-hour period ready to consult with you. They offer free 15-minute consultations in the privacy of the Lucy Hammer Room on the main floor. No advance sign-ups; register upon arrival. 

Provided as a public service by the members of the New Haven County Bar Association. Information: 203-488-1441, ext. 318.
 

Menunkatuck Audubon Film Showing: 

Last Call at the Oasis 

Saturday, June 22

2:00 p.m.

 

film poster Water. It's the earth's most valuable resource. Our cities are powered by it, countless industries depend on it, and all living things need it to survive. But it's very possible that in the near future, there won't be enough to sustain life on our planet.

 

The global water crisis will be the central issue facing our world this century. We can manage this problem, but only if we are willing to act now. Last Call at the Oasis is a powerful new documentary that shatters myths behind our most precious resource. 

 

Firmly establishing the global water crisis as the central issue facing our world this century, the film posits that we can manage this problem if we act now.

 

Film showing is free and open to the public.


CT Works @ the Library

Tuesday, June 25
Networking Group - 10:00 a.m.   

  

Led by CT Works, held in the Lucy Hammer Room. The Networking Group is an opportunity for you to make connections, talk about what's worked for you and what hasn't, and workshop ideas for moving forward. 

 

Questions? Call Reference at 203-488-1441 ext 318.

      

Tassy Awards: New Voices in Children's Literature

Wednesday, June 26
7:00 p.m.

illustration
Illustration by Marcela Staudenmaier, the recipient of the 2012 Tassy Walden Award: New Voices in Children's Literature (Shoreline Arts Alliance, CT)
The New Voices in Children's Literature: Tassy Walden Awards competition encourages and nurtures the creation of exceptional quality books for children by unpublished Connecticut writers and illustrators. 
 
Judges may present a $250 prize to a winner in each of five categories: Picture Book (text only), Illustrated Picture Book (art and text), Children's Book Illustrator Portfolio, Middle Grade Novel, and Young Adult/Teen Novel.
 A reception for the finalists and awardees will be held in the auditorium. All are invited to join us as the finalists are honored and awards presented, as determined by the judges. Program is free and open to the public.
 
Children's Events - Happening Monthly
No Registration Required

Mondays
Play Stories - ages 3-5 
10:30 a.m. 
 
Tuesdays
Stories for 2's
10:00 a.m.     

  

Wednesdays
Stories and Music for Babies - up to 23 months
10:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. 

  

Thursdays
PJ Stories for Babies - up to age 5
6:30 p.m. 
 
Saturdays
Make It and Take It Craft for All Ages
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  
Interested in more Blackstone Library events and book groups tailored for kids in different age groups? Check out the Youth Services page for more information.  
James Blackstone Memorial Library  
...
more than books!  
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The James Blackstone Memorial Library provides essential access to information, resources, and unique shared experiences to help ensure Branford is an educated and enriched community.
 
758 Main Street, Branford | 203-488-1441 | www.blackstonelibrary.org