New CLAMS Online Catalog Experience Coming Soon!

 

CLAMS Libraries will soon unveil a new catalog. 

We are moving to the Aspen Discovery platform to enhance and enrich your experience.

Aspen makes searching for books and resources easier, pulling all library resources together in one search. Patrons can create and share lists of materials and online content or peruse curated lists created by their local library staff. Readers can easily find a title in every format available, read book reviews, and even rate items and see how others rated them. If a book or other item is unavailable, a “While you wait” feature offers suggestions for similar titles. These are examples of the many features in Aspen.

The CLAMS Aspen Discovery catalog will launch on February 27th. 

For more information visit our FAQ page:

https://info.clamsnet.org/new-catalog-coming-soon/

Visit the Library to see a demo version of Aspen!

Senior2Senior Google Workspace Training Class

 [In-person] 1-3 pm Sunday February 19th

Google Workspace: Addressing Sole Proprietorships and Small Businesses

This Senior2Senior class will show how Google Workspace (and its integrated apps) can support your business without breaking the bank.

As a small business owner, you’re used to juggling lots of different tasks. One minute you’re emailing a customer, the next, you’re scheduling a series of meetings. With the right digital tools, you can streamline tasks so you can focus on the work that matters most to your business.

What makes Google Workspace effective for small businesses is how the different apps are connected and work together. For example, with your email, calendar, and video chat all connected, you can easily schedule meetings, send invites, sync calendars, present over the video, and more. 

You can easily extend Google Workspace to meet your team’s unique digital marketing needs in the areas of:
- Personalized email campaigns
- Announce your internet presence
- Create a website
- Use Slide to present your products
- Survey your customers
- Collect customer feedback
- Develop marketing materials
- Collaborate with your team online
- Secure backup and security

This exciting opportunity will be led by Paul Gentile, whose career at Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation focused in the areas of strategic planning and IT. While in upstate New York, he worked at Cornell University and helped establish their first digital archiving conservation project before moving to an administrative position in the School of Engineering. A Cape Cod resident since 1999, he has worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in IT. Most recently, he held the position of Energy Coordinator for the Town of Falmouth where he still coordinates various energy-related projects. He has taught classes at WHOI, the Oak Bluffs Public Library, Mashpee Senior Center, Falmouth New Comers Club, Falmouth Community School,  Barnstable Senior Center and the Town of Falmouth. 

This program will take place in the Program Room (lower level) at the VHPL and is co-sponsored with the Chilmark Public Library. To register or for more information, contact Program Coordinator Anne McDonough at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org. 

Tax Forms Now Available at the Library

 

The Library now has 1040 federal tax forms and 1040-SRs (an optional alternative form for people 65 and older) as well as state forms and instructions. We can also print out additional schedules and forms as necessary (we cannot print out instructions.)

Looking for tax help? You can borrow J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2023: For Preparing Your 2022 Tax Returns or consult our second reference copy in the library at any time. 

To obtain tax forms not available at the library:

Order forms be delivered by mail:
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/forms-and-publications-by-us-mail
or Call 1-800-829-3676

Download from the IRS website:
https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions

Go paperless: Electronic Filing Options for Individuals:
https://www.irs.gov/filing/e-file-options

Free tax return preparation help is available from volunteers through the  AARP on March 6th and 10th at the Tisbury Senior Center (as well as other dates and locations on the Island.) For more information, please call the Tisbury Senior Center at 508-696-4205.

Songwriting Series Starts in February

 [In-person or online at VHPL] 2 pm Wednesdays (monthly), February - May
Songwriting with Peter Halperin

Yip Harburg who wrote the lyrics for “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” said “Words make you think, music makes you feel, songs make you feel your thoughts”. To which I add “and think your feelings.” This workshop explores ways in which we can facilitate this interaction between our thoughts and feelings to create songs. This exciting songwriting opportunity wil be led by Peter Halperin, who brought down the house at the Chilmark Jam last November. This program will run both in person (at the Vineyard Haven Library) and via Zoom, but will not be recorded.

This workshop consists of 4 classes. Please try to attend them all!

SESSION 1: 2 pm Wednesday February 8th
Songs harness the power of preconscious feelings and thoughts in the form of music and words. We will explore techniques to tap into this reservoir and “invite” songs to come. Members will capture at least a fragment of a song with music and lyric everyday.

SESSION 2: 2 pm Wednesday March 8th
What makes a “good song lyric” and “good song music” can only be understood in terms of how they interact with each other. Most great songs are made neither from great poems or great pieces of music. It is how they come together that makes a successful song. Members will write a complete song in week 2.

SESSION 3: 2 pm Wednesday April 12th
Asking for inspiration from others and ourselves. It’s not just ok to borrow musical and lyrical ideas, it’s inevitable! We will select words from a favorite poem or prose that members will write music for, and do the same selecting either a melody or chord progression from a favorite song or piece of music that they will write lyrics for. Members will ask themselves “what is the most important thing for me to communicate in a song this week?” Having selected it members will write that song during the week.

SESSION 4: 2 pm Wednesday May 10th
Songs must be sung!! Members will select one of the songs they have written during the 4 months and share it with or without instrumental accompaniment. When possible, we will all sing harmony with the songwriter. 

This series is brought to you in collaboration with the Vineyard Haven, West Tisbury, and Chilmark Public Libraries. To register or for more information, contact Program Coordinator Anne McDonough at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org. 

Tisbury Master Plan Commercial District Presentations & Community Survey

The second public workshop for the Tisbury Commercial District Visioning process will present design alternatives for the future of the waterfront, downtown, and B2 State Road commercial districts. Plans and diagrams will illustrate different possibilities for the physical design of each area. The alternatives will explore issues like: transportation, land use, housing, economic development, land use, and climate resilience.

The meeting will provide ample time for community members to provide input about the alternatives with the goal of identifying which alternatives the consulting team should refine further for each location. The design ideas presented in this workshop will build on public input gathered during a series of community workshops held in Tisbury on October 21-22, 2022.

These meetings cover the same content. Please feel free to join one or both gatherings, both of which are virtual (on Zoom).

Registration, strongly encouraged but not required

February 13, 2023 5 - 7 pm 2/13:
https://tinyurl.com/TisburyCommercialDistricts2-13

February 16, 2023 6:30 - 8:30 pm
https://tinyurl.com/TisburyCommercialDistricts2-16

Take the Community Survey!

The Tisbury Master Plan Committee invites you to help shape our Town’s future! Tisbury is creating a new Master Plan with a long-term vision, goals, and policies, and a ten-year action plan. Your contribution to the planning process will help Tisbury set goals and priorities for conservation and development. Pick up a printed survey at the library, or complete it online

For more information on the Tisbury Master Plan, visit www.tisburymasterplan.com

Great Decisions Foreign Policy Discussion Group Starts Feb. 2

 

The Vineyard Haven Public Library's foreign policy discussion group will be starting on Thursday, Feb 2nd at 6 pm and will meet weekly for a total of 8 sessions. Participants in Great Decisions read materials and watch videos prepared by the Foreign Policy Association on weekly topics in advance of each meeting. Registration is required, and you may registered by clicking here. Once registered, you may purchase a book of the articles for $25 by making a check payable to the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library and picking up the book in person downstairs at the reference desk. You may also purchase the briefing book directly from the Foreign Policy Association by clicking here. If you have any questions, you may email Ruth Konigsberg at rkonigsberg@clamsnet.org or by calling 508-696-4211, x 115. 

The meetings will take place in the library with a Zoom option, and masks are recommended for all in-person library programs. The dates and topics of the sessions are:

Session #1: Thursday, February 2, 6 pm: Energy Geopolitics

Session #2: Thursday, February 9, 6 pm: War Crimes

Session #3: Thursday, February 16, 6 pm: China and the U.S.

Session #4: Thursday, February 23, 6 pm: Economic Warfare

Session #5: Thursday, March 2, 6 pm: Politics in Latin America

Session #6: Thursday, March 9, 6 pm: Global Famine

Session #7: Thursday, March 16, 6 pm: Iran at the Crossroads

Session #8: Thursday, March 23, 6 pm: Climate Migration

For more information about each topic, you may click here. 

Free Access to LinkedIn Learning Online Training Resource

 

Anyone who lives, resides part-time to attend school, owns property, or works in Massachusetts can access additional Boston Public Library's online resources by registering for a BPL eCard. Online eCard registration is easy and free, and provides access to all of thelibrary's digital resources including LinkedIn Learning.

LinkedIn Learning is a premier online learning resource featuring 16,000 courses from recognized experts in their fields, covering software, technical skills, creative techniques, business strategies, career development, and more. Learning is self-paced and courses and tutorials are broken up into short videos, so it’s easy to squeeze in just a few minutes of learning a day if that’s all the time you have. Courses are offered in English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Mandarin, and Portuguese.

To use the free collection of LinkedIn Learning courses, do not visit LinkedIn Learning directly. Always follow links from bpl.org to access the subscription portal. LinkedIn Learning requires that users be at least 16 years old, but a public LinkedIn profile is not required for access.

LinkedIn Learning can also be used on your mobile device with an app available in the Apple App Store and Google Play. When you sign in on the app, don't enter your email. Click "Sign in with your library card" instead. When asked for the Library ID, enter bostonpubliclibrary (all one word) so LinkedIn knows you're a BPL user, then log in with your library card and PIN.

Access LinkedIn Learning on the BPL website:
https://www.bpl.org/learning-tools/online-courses/

Virtual Event: 70 Years of TV News, with Brian Rose

 

[Online] 7 pm Tuesday, January 24th
And That's the Way It Is: A Look Back at 70 Years of TV News, with Brian Rose
    
Television news has undergone some remarkable transformations over the decades. Brian Rose, professor of Communications and Media Studies at Fordham University, will give a presentation on the history of broadcast television, including the Camel News Caravan, Walter Cronkite, and the 24/7 news cycle. We will learn about MSNBC and the Fox News Channel, which introduced a more partisan approach to news coverage that would have enormous implications for American political life. The talk will also look at these sweeping changes and examine the impact (both positive and negative) of television journalism over the past seven decades. 

This program has been generously funded by the Friends of the Edgartown, West Tisbury, Vineyard Haven, Chilmark, and Oak Bluffs Public Libraries.

For more info and to register, click here.