What’s happening…

Building for the Future:  Book-a-Brick Renovation Campaign

The building officially opened to the public September 13th.  We returned to full Pre-Covid hours on October 1st!  BML staff are enjoying welcoming our patrons back into the library. Masks [worn over the nose and mouth] & social distancing required. 

Click for library safety requirements.

Saturday, Oct 23! 11:00 AM

Tricks! Treats! Music! Ages 2-8

Watch the Haddam First Selectman’s Forum

Many thanks to First Selectman Bob McGarry (R) and candidate Sean Donlan (D) for their participation in the First Selectman’s Forum.

Watch it here.

Special thanks to Chris Morgan of Valley Shore Community TV for recording and hosting the event.

The forum is also available on Apple TV, Roku, & Fire TV via the Cablecast Screenweave app. Choose VSCTV from the list of channels.  It is scheduled to air on Comcast channel 19 Fri. 10/22 at 10am & 8pm, as well as additional times over the weekend and next week leading up to the election, still to be scheduled.

Announcing the Crafting Connection!

Thanks to the generosity of the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, the Griffin Family, and the Peach Pit Foundation we are pleased to launch the Crafting Connection.

Over the next 6 months, we will offer monthly crafting kits and programs seeded by a unique $1,000 grant designed to share joy and cheer with the community.  BML purchased a Cricut, an advanced cutting machine for paper, card stock, vinyl, & more.  With this capability and other materials from our “Library of Things”, we will offer take-home craft kits for the following projects:

October: Crochet kits, November: Greeting cards, December: Cookie making, January: Cricut Crafts, February: Candy making, March: Cross-stitch

But there’s more to the Crafting Connection!  A portion of each month’s crafts will go to local organizations, to share the good in our community.

          Watch for the kits announcements here or on our Facebook and Instagram feeds.  October crochet kits are available now.

Poetry book by Haddam Poet Laureate available for check out or purchase

“Still Life with Wings” by Lorraine Riess

Ask at desk to borrow or purchase to own for $16.00.  Your purchase supports the Friends of BML.

“Written with insight and a careful grace, these poems offer themselves with a characteristic humility and sly humor.”

Margaret Gibson, Poet Laureate
State of Connecticut

Wicked Apothecary! 

Monday, November 1st at 7pm

Join us for an evening of diabolical concoctions with the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum. Some of these mixtures and compounds may be familiar from murder-mysteries, while others may surprise you. Learn about historical poisons in their collection during this Zoom presentation, which includes a virtual tour of the historic apothecary, and a deeper dive into collection items connected to plant-based medicines and poisons.

The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum in Alexandria, Virginia is noted for its outstanding collection of medicinal herbs, shop furnishings, and apothecary bottles and equipment. Most of its collection is original to the 141-year-old family business, reflecting how medicine, the business, and Alexandria changed through the centuries.  Please register here.

Meandering in the Meadows: Saturday, October 23rd 9:30am

Do you like to talk about books? Walk and hike? BML announces a new book club! Meandering in the Meadows. We meet at 9:30am on the 4th Saturday of each month at the silo at Haddam Meadows State Park. Join us to walk the loop and enjoy the outdoors, with stops along the way to discuss this month’s book. It is not necessary to have read the book. Copies available at the library. Call 860-345-2204 or email library@brainerdlibrary.org to reserve one. For more info email Laurie at lgardner@brainerdlibrary.org.  Register Here!

The threat of inclement weather will postpone. Announcements will be made via our Facebook, Instagram, website, & email to participants.

September: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate… by Peter Wohlleben
October:    Two Old Women: an Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival. by Velma Wallis                                                                    November: The Book Women of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson

 Must Read Books for Nature Lovers

Teen Yarn Bracelet Kits!

A new craft for teens and tweens is now available! Learn the basics of crochet by making a beaded yarn bracelet. Stop by the Teen Room to pick out your materials, then take this craft home with you to enjoy.

Nintendo Switch games are now available for checkout!

Here’s what we have – with more games to come! Please call 860-345-2204 or email us at library@brainerdlibrary.org to start a new adventure today!

BML is pleased to announce:   We have 2 new passes to the Hill-Stead Museum!

The passes may be checked out and provide 50% off general admission for 2 adults & 2 children. List of Museum Passes

Link to Hill-Stead Museum Website

Hill-Stead was the first architectural project of Theodate Pope Riddle (1867–1946), one of the first licensed female architects in the U.S.  The Colonial Revival mansion is one of the few remaining representations of early-20th-century country estates with 152 acres. Hill-Stead gives a personal view of renowned masterpieces, textiles, and decorative arts. The museum’s collection of paintings includes: Monet, Degas, Whistler, Manet and Cassatt.

Want to know what’s new in our YA collection?

Sign up for this newsletter to learn about the new books we get each month! Each newsletter will include pictures and a brief synopsis of each new book.

Teens and adults looking to sign up can email kmoore@brainerdlibrary.org to get on the mailing list.

Opening Day—October 13, 1908

Brainerd Memorial Library announces the approval of a $675,000 construction grant by the Connecticut State Library. This money will fund half of the phase two renovations, which will transform and modernize the interior of our building, unchanged since the 1996 expansion.

We look forward to the Town of Haddam’s support for 1/4 of the remaining costs, with the rest of the total, $1,350,000, to be funded by the Library. This investment is in addition to the current work in progress, which is near completion, and has been fully paid by the Library.

Let’s Play!

Visit our games & puzzles page!  There are daily puzzles, online games like Tetris and Mahjong Solitaire, jigsaws [even create your own] and more fun distractions to try.

Live Ongoing SCORE Webinars

Get strategies from industry experts to help your business succeed.

For more Job Related Resources [Search Sites, Webinars, Resume help] visit our Job Search page!

Try Something New!  Click right Icon for more…

Get intelligent writing assistance from Microsoft Editor

River Runner

Spend a minute or two with River Runner, a site that allows you to “drop a raindrop” anywhere in the contiguous United States and then shows you a visualization of the downstream path to where the raindrop ends up.

How to Use Split-Screen in Google Maps

The Google Maps app now has a split-screen street view option on Android. Turning it on lets you use Street View and the map simultaneously, which makes finding and navigating to a destination—or virtually exploring the surrounding area—much easier than relying on the map or the street view alone.

Microsoft Office Training – Microsoft offers free online tutorials for MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access & more.

GFCLearnFree.org –provides quality innovative online computer learning. Whether you are new to the computer, require review or just want to gain more skills, these free tutorials can help. From Computer Basics to Microsoft Office, choose from dozens of free training topics.

How to Tether your Mobile Phone Internet to your Laptop 

If you’re traveling or do not have an Internet connection, you can connect by using your phone. Perhaps you’ve heard of a personal hotspot, but don’t know how to set it up. This article will explain how to tether an iPhone or Android phone to another device, via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB.  Note: Setting up a personal hotspot may affect your wireless data plan and you may need to speak to your mobile phone carrier.  It may be as simple as turning it on in your phone and plugging the USB cable into your laptop! Link to Android only phone tethering directions

Open Library and Internet Archive

Non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.

SkyView® Lite

Brings stargazing to everyone! Simply point your iPhone, iPad, or iPod at the sky to identify stars, constellations, satellites, and more!

Links direct you to a free app on the Apple Store site.

SkyView® Lite [Google Play App for Android Devices]

Find stars and constellations! Open SkyView® Free and let it guide you and identify them. SkyView Free is a beautiful, intuitive stargazing app that uses your camera to spot and identify celestial objects in sky, day or night.

Libby by Overdrive

JobNow

“Resume lab” and live, online job coaches help job seekers: target suitable jobs, prepare and practice for job interviews.  The Adult Learning Center provides: career-enhancing skills through test preparation (including GED and the U.S. Citizenship Test) and live, online academic tutors for writing assistance, computer literacy, and software assistance.

BOOKTALK

Poetry Blog

KEEPING QUIET by Pablo Neruda Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still. For once on Read More