Ring in the Chinese Lunar New Year with Family Puppet Program!

Note time change for this event: performance begins at 6:30pm

 

In anticipation of the Chinese lunar new year,  Vineyard Haven Public Library will present an exciting free family event on Thursday, February 8th at 6:30 pm. Behind the Mask Studio will perform "Monkey King Makes Mischief in Heaven", the tale of a boisterous and unlikely hero in search of immortality, who causes havoc in Heaven and Hell. Boston-based puppeteers Eric Bornstein and Margaret Moody will use a combination of masks, music, storytelling, and dance to tell the story.

Bornstein received his MLA from Harvard, studied mask-making in Bali and Italy, and founded Behind the Mask Studio in 1990. Over the past thirty years, his masked characters have appeared in a variety of venues including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Ballet, the Peabody/Essex Museum, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Windsor School, and Young Audiences of Massachusetts, and, for fifteen years, were a highlight of Boston’s First Night celebrations. Bornstein explains that “mask-making is about rich storytelling and fascinating characters—human, animal, magical. When I create a mask, I celebrate the depth and diversity of the stories I love, the natural and the mystical worlds we inhabit, and my very own soul.”

Puppeteer and voice actress Margaret Moody will also be adding her talents to the program. Margaret loves old stories and the characters that inhabit them. She studied traditional puppetry in Taiwan, and often uses traditional Chinese choreography and small puppets in her work. Margaret’s multitude of characters, hand, rod and life-sized puppets, act as windows into folktales, fantasies, and historical stories and bring history and heritage to her performances.

This free family event is made possible by a grant from the New England Roundtable of Children’s Librarians and the Massachusetts Library Association. The Jordan Miller Storytelling Grant is awarded bi-annually to a New England library to bring storytelling to its patrons. The award is named for Alice M. Jordan (1870-1960) who was the first Supervisor of Work with Children at the Boston Public Library, serving from 1900 to 1940. In 1906, Jordan founded NERCTL to provide a meeting ground for the profession. Since 1960, NERTCL and the MLA have sponsored the Jordan-Miller Grant in recognition of her commitment to storytelling.

The hour-long program is suitable for ages 4-94 and begins at 6:30 pm. Seating is limited.

"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.

Library awarded $10,000 Grant

Vineyard Haven Public Library has been awarded a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant for $10,000 from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). The grant program, called "Mind in the Making," supports the development of innovative programming and spaces that encourage invention and tinkering, where children ages 0-6 can explore simple concepts in tactile, real ways. This kind of space fuels a child's natural curiosity and teaches valuable lessons by helping them develop fine motor skills, problem solving abilities, and peer relationships. Vineyard Haven Library will use the funding for enhancements to the Children's Room and Children's programming, and creativity kits that can be borrowed by parents and caregivers, or used in local preschools.

Libraries use LSTA grants from the MBLC in a variety of ways, including implementing literacy programs that benefit all ages, increasing library access to underserved populations, providing advanced automation services, training staff, and preserving valuable historical documents. Two other Martha's Vineyard libraries also received LSTA grants this year: West Tisbury, for Health Literacy, and Oak Bluffs, for Serving People with Disabilities.

In addition to the direct library grant program, the MBLC uses LSTA funds to support statewide programs and services, including summer reading programs, databases, the Commonwealth eBook program, the Commonwealth Catalog (the new virtual catalog), and mass.gov/libraries which provides information and resources for residents. LSTA is administered on the federal level by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in the Commonwealth by the MBLC. More information about LSTA can found at www.mass.gov/mblc.