Friday, July 28, 2017

Evening Lecture Series: August Events

These programs at the Vineyard Haven Public Library are free and open to the public. Please join us!

7pm Tuesday, August 8th
Norm Lazarow, MD, PhD, JD: Navigating the Medical System
Dr. Lazarow tells his personal story of the difficulties of helping a loved one with a life-threatening disease through the medical system. Dr. Lazarow’s story can give hope, ideas and resources to other patients and caregivers facing similar situations. 

7pm Thursday August 10th
Peter Brannen: The Ends of the World
Peter Brannen is an award-winning science journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, the Washington Post, Slate, the Boston Globe, Aeon, and the Vineyard Gazette. He was a 2015 journalist-in-residence at the Duke University National Evolutionary Synthesis Center and a 2011 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Ocean Science Journalism Fellow. He will discuss his new book, The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions.

7pm Tuesday, August 15th
Alexander Hamilton: A Study  in Resiliency
Wayne Nichols will present his study of Alexander Hamilton. Unlike other founders who can seem more like myths than men, Hamilton strikes us as a human: flawed, fearless and reckless, an uneducated orphan who sailed to America with big plans and bigger dreams.

7pm Thursday, August 17th
Donald Berwick, MD: Health Care as it Should Be
Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, is also former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. A pediatrician by background, Dr. Berwick has served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and on the staffs of Boston's Children's Hospital Medical Center. Tonight he will be talking about Health Care as it Should Be. Bring your questions! 
This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theater, 51 Spring Street.

7pm Tuesday, August 22nd
Thomas Dresser: Hidden History of Martha’s Vineyard
Tom will speak about the Island as Noepe, the Underground Railroad on the Vineyard, critical shipwrecks in Vineyard waters including rum running, prominent buildings and finally a look into Vineyard graveyards.

7pm Thursday, August 24th
Dr. Henry Kriegstein: Digging for Dinosaurs in the Badlands
Dr. Kriegstein pursues his passion for paleontology, organizing private digs in the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana and collecting dinosaur fossils. Every summer, Henry returns to the badlands and continues his search for fossils. He considers it  a philosophical perspective on the mystery of life and the beauty of the colors of the mineral-laced fossils.

Programs and facilities for lifelong learning at the Library are supported by the Stephen C. Luce Foundation, a generous bequest from the estate of Ruth Redding, and by ongoing support from the Friends of the Library.

Additional programs this Summer are being offered as part of the Library's "Pushing the Limits" series, exploring ways that scientific ideas intersect with everyday life. This nationwide program is funded through the National Science Foundation and was created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation. For more information visit:
http://vhpl.blogspot.com/2017/07/pushing-limits-reading-viewing-and.html

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Daniel Goleman: Altered Traits

On Monday, July 24th at 7pm, Vineyard Haven Public Library will host a free talk by Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., the bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence, Focus, and A Force for Good (written with the Dalai Lama). Dr. Goleman will discuss his forthcoming book, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Transforms Mind, Body, and Brain. A reception will follow the talk. The library will close at 5:30pm Monday and reopen at 6:30pm for this event only.

This program is being offered as part of the library's "Pushing the Limits" series, exploring ways that scientific ideas intersect with everyday life. Other programs in the series include a reading, viewing and discussion group held on Monday afternoons, and a variety of lectures by prominent scientists. Please visit the library website for a full schedule of events.

Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., an internationally recognized psychologist known for his bestselling books on emotional intelligence, has a long-standing interest in meditation dating back to his two years in India as a graduate student at Harvard. A psychologist who for many years reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times, Dr. Goleman has received many journalistic awards for his writing, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize for his articles in the Times, and a Career Achievement award for journalism from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Goleman's newest book, Altered Traits, unveils cutting-edge research that shows us the truth about what meditation can really do for us, as well as exactly how to get the most out of it.

"Pushing the Limits" is a nationwide program funded through the National Science Foundation and created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

"Pushing the Limits" Reading, Viewing and Discussion Series

Vineyard Haven Public Library has received a grant for our community to participate in a nationwide reading, viewing and discussion series for adults called Pushing the Limits. Since the beginning of time, humans have imagined and achieved ways to push the boundaries of the physical world.  We want to be stronger, smarter, more aware; and we create stories to bring those dreams to life. But many of those stories are no longer just stories; and with great new advances in science and technology, we are finding ways in which all of us are able to push the limits every day. The Pushing the Limits program will explore these ideas in discussions that will include recommended popular books and feature film quality videos featuring authors, scientists and everyday people who thrive on exploring the natural world.

Our first discussion group will be held at 3pm on Monday, July 17, focusing on the theme "Nature" and TC Boyle's novel When the Killing's Done. Please join us as to discuss the book and view two short videos, including one from the author made especially for this program. Refreshments will be served.

Copies of books for the series will be available at Vineyard Haven Library or may be ordered through CLAMS. Additional discussion events will be held on the following topics and books:

Monday, August 7, 2017 3 pm
CONNECTION:  Erik Larson, Thunderstruck

Monday, August 28, 2017 3 pm
SURVIVAL:  Clive Cussler, Arctic Drift

Monday, Sept 11, 2017 3 pm
KNOWLEDGE:  Jean Auel, The Land of Painted Caves

Other programs in this series made possible by the grant include author Jonathan White's talk on June 29th on his book Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean, and Daniel Goleman's talk on Monday, July 24th on his forthcoming book Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Transforms Mind, Body, and Brain. Future programs featuring prominent scientists will be scheduled over the summer and early fall.

This nationwide program is funded through the National Science Foundation and was created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation.

Monday, July 3, 2017

Sunday with Friends: Amor Towles

WE REGRET THAT TICKETS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR THIS EVENT

On Sunday, July 16th at 2pm, the Friends of the Library will present an afternoon with Amor Towles, author of Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow. The library will open at 1:30pm for this event. Mr. Towles will be introduced by Arnie Reisman, and a book signing and refreshments in the library garden will follow the talk. This is a ticketed event, and free tickets will be available at the library beginning Wednesday, July 5th (limit of two tickets per person). The library is not able to reserve tickets by phone or email.

Born and raised in the Boston area, Amor Towles grew up spending summers in his family’s home in West Chop, and at age twelve wrote the West Chop column for the Vineyard Gazette, during the summer of 1977. He graduated from Yale College and received an MA in English from Stanford University. His first novel, Rules of Civility, published in 2011, was a New York Times bestseller and was named by The Wall Street Journal as one of the best books of 2011. His second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, published in 2016, was also a New York Times bestseller and was named as one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. Having worked as an investment professional for over twenty years, Mr. Towles now devotes himself full time to writing in Manhattan, where he lives with his wife and two children.

The Friends of the Library support a variety of programs for both adults and children throughout the year, including an annual summer event honoring an author with ties to the Vineyard. Past honorees have included Geraldine Brooks, Art Buchwald, Stephen Carter, Phil Craig, Jules Feiffer, Lillian Hellman, John Hough, Jr., Ward Just, David McCullough, Cynthia Riggs, Rose Styron, William Styron, and Shakespeare for the Masses creators Nicole Galland and Chelsea McCarthy.

Saturday, July 1, 2017

Evening Lecture Series: July Events

These programs at the Vineyard Haven Public Library are free and open to the public. Please join us!

7pm Tuesday July 11
Martha Hall Kelly, Author of Lilac Girls    
Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, Martha Hall Kelly powerful debut novel reveals an incredible story of love, redemption, and terrible secrets that were hidden for decades. This is an amazing book and you will want to meet Martha.

7pm Wednesday July 12
Play Reading: The Grand Manner by A.R. Gurney        
Nicole Galland and Wayne Greenwell will direct the Luce Play Readers in a staged reading of The Grand Manner by  A. R. Gurney. The play is a love letter to the great stage actress Katharine Cornell, and a heartfelt look back at the glorious heyday of the Broadway Theater. Presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York. Appropriately, this event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theater, at 54 Spring Street.

7pm Tuesday July 18
Dr. Elliott Dacher: Science, Spirituality and Integral Health
Dr. Elliott Dacher studies and teaches the principles and practices of health and healing with a special focus on inner development and human flourishing. He will give a talk on science and spirituality and how they are inseparable aspects of the human experience, both in their origin in human consciousness and in their complementary role in health and healing.

Art in the Stacks: Alida O’Loughlin

The Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library are pleased to present "Moments of Light", an exhibit of photographs by Alida O’Loughlin. The exhibit will be on display on the lower level of the library during regular library hours throughout the month of July.

Alida O’Loughlin grew up in Holland, close to the North Sea, "where" she states, "there was always a special interplay between the sky, the clouds, the wind, the water and whatever sunlight might bring shadows". She now lives and works on Martha’s Vineyard where many of her more recent photographs are taken.

Alida came to professional photography late in life. She is self-taught and uses both a simple non-digital camera as well as a digital. She does not use any kind of photoshop. In 2003 she won first prize for Professional Photography in both the Landscape and the Seascape category at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair. Her work is included in the Martha's Vineyard Hospital Art Collection.

The Vineyard Haven Public Library's "Art in the Stacks" space features rotating monthly exhibits and is managed by the Friends of the Library. The library also has a permanent collection of artworks that are displayed throughout the year, including 12 paintings by Vineyard artist Captain John Ivory. Artists interested in showing their work may contact the library at (508) 696-4210.