Vineyard Haven's First Friday is at Martha's Vineyard Museum This Month!

 

First Friday at MVM is Back! Join the Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District at the Martha's Vineyard Museum this Friday, December 1st from 5-8pm for food, drinks, music, vendors, and more!    Reminder: parking on the Museum's campus is extremely limited. Please consider carpooling, walking, biking, or utilizing public transportation.

Meet the new CLAMS Library Network app!

Have you missed having an app to access your CLAMS account, place holds and check out e-materials? The wait is over! Find our new app in Google Play or the Apple App Store by searching for "CLAMS Library Network" and download today!

Use the new app to:

• Manage your account
• Create and view lists
• View hours & contact info
• Search the collection
• Browse and discover
• Check out e-content *

...and more!

* The CLAMS "Libby" app will still be available for selecting and reading eBooks and other downloadable content!

Register for "Known & Unknown Worlds: Fictions of the 21st Century" with Phil Weinstein

REGISTER ONLINE or by calling the library.

Beginning in January, Philip Weinstein, the Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of Literature at Swarthmore College, will present a nine-part seminar, Known and Unknown Worlds: Fictions of the 21st Century. 

Programs will be held online via Zoom twice monthly from 6pm - 7:30pm, beginning Thursday January 18th (subsequent sessions will be on Wednesday evenings). Prior to the first class in January, registered participants will receive a welcome email with Zoom access information.  A limited number of copies of the books will be available for pickup at the library, or can be requested through CLAMS. All sessions will be recorded.

Additional course description, readings, and class dates appear below.

***

What might be a central tenet drawing together the six novels I have chosen for my next course at the Vineyard Haven Library? A syllabus comprised of Franzen's The Corrections, Sebald's Austerlitz, Jones's The Known World, Egan's A Visit from the Good Squad, Patchett's The Dutch House, and McCann's Apeirogon looks more like an out-of-control enterprise: these writers are so different from each other!

My candid answer is that no common theme or procedure joins together these six books. Rather, I find them the most resonant novels published (in English) in the 1st two decades of our new century. It's too early to call them classics, but (like classics) they stay in the mind long after an initial reading. The impression they make--on this reader at least--is intricate, powerful, lingering. With the exception of The Dutch House, each is difficult to categorize. Indeed, Austerlitz, The Known World, and Apeirogon escape all familiar novelistic frameworks. The Corrections and A Visit from The Goon Squad operate in more recognizable territory, but both are capable of startling you. As for The Dutch House, it is, while neither unfamiliar nor surprising, simply perfect.

We will devote two sessions each to the three longer novels (The Corrections, The Known World, Apeirogon), and a single session each to the three others. I cannot predict what you will come away with, but I can say this: together, they comprise an unforgettable set of readings. Rather than expertise--who is an expert on 21st century fiction?--I shall offer what guidance I can. A remarkable experience--in equal measures challenging and rewarding--lies ahead.

Dates and reading assignments:

Thursday Jan 18 2024: Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections (1st of 2 sessions)

Wednesday Jan 31 2024: Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections

Wednesday Feb 14 2024: W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz

Wednesday Feb 28 2024: Edward P Jones, The Known World (1st of 2 sessions)

Wednesday Mar 13 2024: Edward P Jones, The Known World

Wednesday Mar 27 2024: Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad

Wednesday Apr 10 2024: Ann Patchett, The Dutch House

Wednesday Apr 24 2024: Colum McCann, Apeirogon (1st of 2 sessions)

Wednesday May 8 2024: Colum McCann, Apeirogon

Philip M. Weinstein is Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of English Emeritus at Swarthmore College. His numerous publications include Faulkner’s Subject: A Cosmos No One Owns (1992), What Else But Love? The Ordeal of Race in Faulkner and Morrison (1996), and Becoming Faulkner (2009). His newest book is a collection of essays entitled Soul-Error, published in May 2022. Professor Weinstein has been offering literary seminars in cooperation with the Vineyard Haven Public Library since 2012, and is the Honorary Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign for Vineyard Haven Library's expansion and renovation project.

REGISTER ONLINE or by calling the library.

Steeped in Secrecy: The Boston Tea Party 250 Years Later

 

On the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773), learn about the brewing political problems tea presented in its history with Claire Evans, author of High Tea and the Lowdown. Then, genealogist and librarian Debra Dudek examines the history of the Boston Tea Party’s most famous partiers (and phonies), as well as how to trace bona fide participants through lineage societies and historical groups. Debra M. Dudek is Head of Adult and Teen Services at the Fountaindale Public Library District in Bolingbrook, IL. She holds a post graduate certificate in Genealogical, Palaeographic & Heraldic Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. On Zoom only, please register here to get link. 

COVID-19 and Flu Vaccination Bus at MV High School on Sunday December 10th

 

The Vaccination Bus is Back!

Ônibus da Vacinação está de volta!

COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines for adults and children ages 6 months and up

COVID-19 e vacinas contra a gripe para adultos e crianças a partir de 6 meses de idade

Sunday, December 10th 2023

Domingo, 10 de dezembro de 2023

(9am-5pm) - (9h00 - 17h00)

Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School

100 Edgartown Vineyard Haven Rd

Oak Bluffs,MA

Please Register online/ Por favor registre-se online:

https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/cdrmaguire/startFlow?calendar=aa9d0268-9500-4181-8977-19a4bd83ecf8&site=marthas-vineyard-regional-high-school-cdr

Public Meeting December 6th for Department of Transportation Beach Road Study

 

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is conducting a study of Beach Road, Lagoon Pond Road, and the Five Corners intersection in Tisbury. This study will develop conceptual alternatives intended to improve climate resiliency, safety, and the public realm. This planning study precedes the project development process and will include opportunities for public input on existing conditions and proposed alternatives. A Working Group of local stakeholders will inform the MassDOT team on local perspectives throughout the study.

A public information meeting will be held on Zoom on Wednesday, December 6th at 6:30 p.m.
Register to attend

This meeting will present the study team's review of existing conditions in the area of Beach Road and Five Corners, including flood vulnerability, road safety and operations, and existing infrastructure. There will be the opportunity for public comment. The study team will also provide an overview of next steps.

Public comments can be submitted via email to: planning@dot.state.ma.us.

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours at Martha's Vineyard Libraries

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours at VHPL: 

Closing early at 1pm on Wednesday November 22nd
CLOSED Thursday November 23rd & Friday November 24th
OPEN Regular hours Saturday & Sunday 

BOOK SALE BENEFIT THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

 BOOK SALE BENEFIT THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

Save the Date! Book Sale to Benefit the Library at 11 Pine Tree Lane



A local family is holding a book sale benefit for the library on Saturday November 25th from 9am to 3pm. The sale will be held at the residence at 11 Pine Tree Lane, Vineyard Haven, and all proceeds from the sale will go to the Vineyard Haven Library Building Fund.

PLEASE NOTE BOOK DONATIONS FOR THE SALE ARE NOT ACCEPTED

Friends of the Library Annual Membership Drive

 

Enjoy books? You will enjoy being a Friend of the Library! Members pay annual dues of $25 to provide financial support for the library and its programs. Volunteer opportunities are also available -- volunteering is an great way to meet island neighbors while helping to support the library! Our monthly meetings are open to all, so come and learn what you can do to support and help.

For more information or to join, download our brochure and membership application, or pay dues online using Paypal.

Home Energy Assessments & Induction Cooking Demos!

 HOME ENERGY ASSESSMENTS AT THE LIBRARY!

 4 to 5 pm Tuesday, November 7th
5 to 6 pmTuesday November 14
2 to 3 pm Sunday November 19
4 to 5 pm Tuesday November 28th

Want to learn how to make your home or business more energy efficient? Vineyard Power will help you and your neighbors gain access to no-cost home energy assessment, rebates for energy efficient home heating appliances, assistance in adopting renewable energy resources, such as solar, and other incentives available in our island transitions away from fossil fuels. Bring your latest electric bill (or electric account number) to sign up for the assessment. You can also sign up by calling 1-800-797-6699 or visiting CapeLightCompact.org.

INDUCTION COOKING DEMONSTRATION!

During each of these sessions there will also be a demonstration of cooking with induction! Vineyard Power has generously donated funds for the purchase of a portable induction cooktop that will eventually be available for patrons to borrow with their CLAMS card. Learn more about induction cooktops including an available rebate here.