Library Events - April 2009

Food Bank Always Needs Donations!

The library continues to be a drop-off site for the local food bank in Peterborough. Donations have dwindled a bit in the last few weeks so next time you go shopping, consider buying an extra jar of peanut butter or any of these other items for the food bank: instant oatmeal, applesauce, pineapple, Spam, spaghetti and spaghetti sauce, pears/peaches/fruit cocktail all 15 oz. cans, canned soups, stews, and/or vegetables, evaporated and/or condensed milk, and pancake mix. Thank you!

Tuesdays March 31, April 7, 14, 28 from 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Nature Writing and Art for Middle School Students

Express yourself through observing and noticing the unfolding of nature around you. Join Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol and Hancock Children's Librarian Britton Kennedy for 4 afternoons of roving and rambling through the quiet bends and curves of Hancock in search of natural inspiration. Writing, drawing and creating individually and together, we'll awaken our senses to the world around us. Celebrate National Poetry Month and Earth Day through art. For students in grades 5 through 8. At the Hancock Town Library (students from GBS can take the bus to the library). Cost $40 members/$60 non-members. Co sponsored with the Hancock Town Library. Call 525-3394 to register.


Thursday April 2nd at 7:00 pm
The Great Sheep Boom and its Enduring Legacy
on the NH Landscape ~ A NH Humanities Program

In a brief 30-year period in the early 19th century the New Hampshire countryside became home to hundreds of thousands of sheep. Production of wool became a lucrative business, generating fortunes and providing the only era of true agricultural prosperity in the state's history. It left behind a legacy of fine architecture and thousands of miles of rugged stonewalls. Farmers overcame enormous challenges to make sheep husbandry succeed, but force from behond New Hampshire were to doom the industry, with social consequences that would last a century. Steve Taylor traces this history and its impacts on New Hampshire today. Steve Taylor is a farmer, journalist and longtime public official. He operates a dairy and maple farm in Meriden Village, has been a newpaper reporter and editor and served a quarter century as New Hampshire's commissioner of agriculture. He is a lifelong student of the state's rural culture. This program is co-sponsored by the Hancock Historical Society and made possible by a grant from the NH Humanities Council. For more information, call the library at 525-4411.

Tuesday April 7th at 7:00 pm
First Tuesday Book Club

Join us as we discuss the book Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life by Steven Johnson. Next month's book will be Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky, a series of novellas written contemporaneously with the events they describe, the occupation of France during World War II. Nemirovsky's daughters discovered and published the book in 2004, 62 years after Nemirovsky's death at Auschwitz in 1942.

Thursday April 9th at 7:00 pm
Borderlands of Northern New England with Edie Clark

Does spending millions on increased security along our Canadian border make us any safer? Last summer, Edie Clark traveled the length of what was once known as "the friendliest border in the world" and reported on what she found for Yankee magazine (see the March/April 2009 issue - it's here at the library). Hear her stories. Edie Clark has written extensively about New England in award-winning feature stories for Yankee magazine for the past thirty years.

Saturday April 11th, 10 - 11:30 am
Art Time with Melody Zahn Russell

Running the second Saturday of every month through June, the library will host Melody Zahn Russell, MEd and her World Tales art classes. Every class will include a story, a demonstration and art activity inspired by different cultures. There will be watercolor, drawing and collage opportunities. Suggested ages 5-10. There is a $15 fee per child per class. Please register at least a week prior to class. Call the library at 525-4411.

Wednesday April 15th at 7:00 pm
State Representatives Report on the Legislative Session

State Representatives Philip Harvey, Ronald Mack, and Gilman Shattuck will be at the library to report on the 2009 legislative session and answer your questions.

Friday April 17th at 7:00 pm
Cheap Date Night Film: La Femme Nikita

"From director Luc Besson comes this 1990 thriller about a vicious street punk turned sexy, sophisticated and lethally dangerous assassin. Starring Anne Parillaud, Jeanne Moreau and Jean Reno, La Femme Nikita is "slick, stylish and tremendously entertaining" (New York Times)!" In French with English subtitles. Free admission and popcorn thanks to the Friends of the Library.

Monday April 20th 7 - 9 pm
Spring Break: ROCK BAND@THE LIBRARY!

ROCK BAND will return to the Hancock Town Library for Spring Break. Be prepared to sing, play the drums, guitar and bass for a rocking two hours! Bring your friends. There will be junk food.

Wednesday April 22nd, 10 - 11:15 am
Earth Day Poetry Workshop for Children
with NH poet Alice B. Fogel

On Earth Day, come celebrate the bounty and beauty of nature with poetry. We'll read a few poems about our earth, including one on what it might look like to creatures from outer space; we'll talk about what the poems make us see or feel or think of; and then we'll write some poems of our own. Bring your notebook and pencils, and an object from nature-a seed, an acorn, a feather, a rock-anything you like. If you're interested in science, nature, words, or wonder, you'll have a good time observing the world through poems on this Earth Day. Suitable for children ages 7 - 11. Alice Fogel is a poet, teacher, and artist-in-the-schools whose most recent book of poems, Be That Empty, was #8 on the national poetry best-seller list for 4 weeks in 2008. She lives in Acworth, NH. Please register at the library (or call us at 525-4411) in advance as class size is limited.

Thursday April 23rd at 7:00 pm
Resume & Cover Letter Workshop
with UNH Career Counselor Louise Ewing

What are today's employers looking for in a resume and cover letter? How can you present your talents and experience in the best way? Learn how to make your resume sharper and your cover letter more convincing with Louise Ewing, career counselor at the University of New Hampshire. While Ms. Ewing won't be able to work on individual resumes, she will cover a wide range of helpful information. Louise Ewing works with students, alumni, and staff members who are in different stages of their career development. She is currently in her fourth, but not final, career. This program was made possible by the University of New Hampshire Speakers Bureau.

Friday April 24th at 7:00 pm
Spring Break Movie: WALL E

"After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, the curious and lovable WALL E discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named Eve. Join them and a hilarious cast of characters on a fantastic journey across the universe." Free popcorn!

Coming in May....

Monday May 4th at 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Kind and Firm: Setting Limits for Your Young Children
Register today with the Grapevine: 588-2620

In this discussion for parents of children under 6, we will be talking about what makes a reasonable limit for kids this age regarding use of language, play behavior, following directions, understanding family rules. We'll discuss the importance of creating a positive environment, of being clear about expectations, and of following through consistently . We want children to take their parents seriously without parents having to be "mean" about it!

Thursday May 7th at 7:00 pm
Cows & Communities with Steve Taylor
Co-sponsored with the Hancock Historical Society

Friday May 8th at 7:00 pm
Arrivals and Departures -- a celebration of life's great and small changes in poetry, prose and music with Jane Eklund, Howard Mansfield, Sy Montgomery, Julia Older and Steve Schuch. Co-sponsored and hosted by the Harris Center.

Thursday May 21st at 7:00 pm
The Hourglass Readers present Cyrano de Bergerac

Thursday May 28th at 7:00 pm
Judith Stout's tour with the Peace Corps

Don't foget, we now offer the loan of a Kill-A-Watt and an MP3 player (you provide your own earbuds). Call ahead to see if these items are available.