Changes to Public Computers Coming Soon

Beginning May 16th, 2012 Vineyard Haven Public Library will be using EnvisionWare software to manage public computers and printing at the library. This software will ensure equitable access to VHPL public computers, and help the library more responsibly manage its resources.

One-hour computer sessions will no longer start and end on the hour -- library patrons may start a session whenever a computer is available. Library users may reserve a computer and pay for printouts at a convenient self-service kiosk (cash only). Reservations may still be made one day in advance at the library.

Patrons will need to bring their CLAMS card with them to use the one-hour computers and printers. Guest passes will be available for visitors to access to the 30-minute computers.

The EnvisionWare software manages time and printing, but does not record Internet usage or other work done on the computer. At the end of the day, all patron data is deleted.

The library will be CLOSED on Wednesday May 16th for the software installation and staff development. 

Art in the Stacks: Alida O’Loughlin, "Moments of Light"

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

Alida O’Loughlin came to professional photography late in life. She was early 70’s when she showed for the first time any of the photographs she had taken in the course of her lifetime - time spent on demanding careers while raising three children by herself. She is self- taught and uses a simple non-digital camera.

In 2003 she won first prize for Professional Photography in both the Landscape and the Seascape category at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair.

Alida 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.


"Art in the Stacks" is an initiative of the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library, to provide individual artists an opportunity to show their work, and for library patrons to enjoy art at the library throughout the year.

Have you ever checked out an e-book from your public library?

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit research organization in Washington, DC, is conducting an online survey of public library patrons who borrow e-books. If you have checked out or downloaded e-books from a public library, please consider taking Pew Internet’s survey, available at the link below. All responses will be confidential, although your answers may be quoted anonymously in a future report. The survey should take about 15 minutes.

To take the survey, visit: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-borrowers

The Pew Internet Project will also be doing broader surveys of public library patrons general, as well as people (including non-library-users) who own e-readers or tablet computers. If you want to participate in those, you can sign up to be notified of future surveys here.

To learn more about the Pew Internet Project’s research on e-reading and public libraries, which is entirely free and available to the public, visit libraries.pewinternet.org.

Monthly Book Sales Held Third Saturday of Each Month

The Friends of the Library hold "mini" book sales at the library, from 1pm-3pm on the third
Saturday of each month. The April sale will be held on Saturday, April 21st.

Proceeds from these sales benefit library programs for children, and other library services supported by the Friends. Sales are also planned for Saturday, May 19th, and Saturday, June 16th, from 1pm-3pm.

Tisbury Town Elections to be Held on Tuesday, April 24th

Tisbury's town elections will be held at the General George W. Goethals American Legion Post #257 at 47 Martin Road, on Tuesday, April 24th from noon to 8pm.

The selectman's race between candidates Tom Pachico and Jonathan Snyder is the only contested office, however the FinCom has three open seats and one candidate, so the other open seats may be filled by write-in candidates.

Question 3 addresses an article that was passed at town meeting, but still requires a vote: Shall the Town of Tisbury be allowed to assess an additional $90,000 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of funding a new step on the wage scale for Town employees under the terms of the Union Contract with the Tisbury Employee General Union, for the fiscal year beginning July first two thousand and twelve?

Question 2 concerns a Proposition 2.5 override to fund the proposed connector road between Holmes Hole Road and the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, however this article did not pass at town meeting.

Question 1 is a non-binding public opinion advisory ballot question, asking: Should a roundabout be built at the intersection of the Edgartown/Vineyard Haven Road and Barnes Road (blinker) intersection?

2012 Pulitzer Prizes Announced

These 2012 Pulitzer prizewinning titles are available from CLAMS libraries:

FICTION: No award. Finalists: Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux); Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (Alfred A. Knopf); The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace (Little, Brown and Company).

HISTORY: Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, by Manning Marable (Viking)

BIOGRAPHY: George F. Kennan: An American Life, by John Lewis Gaddis (The Penguin Press)

POETRY: Life on Mars, by Tracy K. Smith (Graywolf Press)

GENERAL NONFICTION: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, by Stephen Greenblatt (W.W. Norton and Company)

A complete list of winners and finalists is available at http://www.pulitzer.org/.

National Library Snapshot Day on Martha’s Vineyard

On, Thursday April 12, Martha’s Vineyard libraries will join libraries across the Commonwealth and the nation to provide a “snapshot” of what happens in a day in the life of libraries. How many books are checked out? How many people receive help finding a job? Doing their taxes? Doing their homework? During Snapshot Day, libraries will collect data and photos that help demonstrate the value of libraries and raise public awareness that libraries are busier than ever.

Everyone can participate just by doing their regular library business, such as using the Internet, checking out books, doing research, or attending a program. Programs at the Vineyard Haven Library will include afterschool crafts for children ages 5 and up at 3:30 pm, and a screening of a popular new release movie at 6 pm. Children ages 3-5 can attend story time at 10:30 am. at the Edgartown Library or West Tisbury Library.

New this year is online participation. Patrons can go to mass.gov/libraries and post comments about the ways they use the library. “With so many people using our online resources, we wanted to include them in the fun.” Last year residents downloaded more than 9 million articles from trusted library resources.

Nationally, Snapshot Day is supported by the American Library Association which will compile state data to provide a national look at a day in the life of libraries. Busy days are the norm at libraries across the state. Over the past decade, libraries in Massachusetts have experienced a dramatic surge in usage, including a 50% increase in library visits and a 29% increase in circulation.

Massachusetts Library Snapshot Day is presented by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Massachusetts Regional Library System, the Massachusetts Library Association, the Massachusetts School Library Association, and Boston Public Library. Visit: mass.gov/libraries or contact your local library for more information.