MARCH Into the Library

Technology changes all the time and often makes our lives richer.  Want to make your life a little easier?  Why not consider signing up for e-mail notices from the library?  E-mail notices include notification that an item you requested is available for pick-up, notification three days before an item is due at the library and notification that items you have checked out are overdue.

It’s very easy to get your email address added to the MidYork site for these notices.  Just send an email to:  librarynotice@midyork.org with your name and library card number.  Then, watch for MidYork’s reply to your email within five business days and you are set to begin receiving email notices from the library. 

Users who decide to receive notices via email should alter span or junk mail filter settings to allow mail from MidYork.org.  To get current information on things you have requested, you can check your account by signing into the e-library catalog at www.midyork.org or follow the link from www.canastotalibrary.org.  Please be assured that the library will never use your email address to send you other information without your specific permission.

The library offers books, periodicals, DVDs and so much more to the community.  When was the last time you stopped into the Canastota Public Library?  Perhaps one of these upcoming programs will have you marching into the library in March!

Therese Gena is the artist for the month of March. Her display is titled, “Art without Rules.” Therese works with a variety of mediums and styles from realism to abstract and continually explores new techniques, styles, and methods. “When it comes to creating, re-making, discovering, or learning a new technique, I am pro-active.  I think of myself, both as the learner and the teacher.” This experimentation, trial and error, and a “never afraid to fail attitude” provides valuable lessons which Therese readily teaches to her students or shares with other artists.   An Artist’s Reception will be held on Tuesday, February 4 at 7pm.  At the reception, Therese will provide an art demonstration.  The reception and show will be held in the Lawson Community Room.  The art will be on display there all month long.

On Monday, March 10, at 7 pm, the Canastota Canal Town Museum and the Canastota Public Library will host an enjoyable and meaningful Canalside Talk by Madison County Historian, Matthew Urtz entitled “The Contribution of Madison County Women to History” at the Canastota Public Library.  In honor of women’s history month, Urtz will showcase Madison County’s history of progressive women who worked to better the world they lived in.  Hannah Palmer, a distinguished Civil War nurse, is just one of many women highlighted.  The talk is free and open to the public. 

On Tuesday, March 11 at 7 pm, Susan Goodier will visit the library to discuss her book, “No Votes for Women:  The New York State Anti-Suffrage Movement.”  “No Votes for Women” explores the complicated history of the suffrage movement in New York State by delving into the stories of women who opposed the expansion of voting rights to women.  Goodier is a Scholar-In-Residence at Hamilton College and also is also a museum consultant at the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation in Fayetteville, NY.  Books will be available for purchase at this event.

If you love writing short stories, songs and poetry, why not attend our Open Mic Night on Wednesday, March 12 at 7pm.  An open microphone format will allow anyone who writes to join in by reading or performing their poetry, songs and short stories.  Master of Ceremonies Glenn Miley will begin the festivities with a performance of some of his writing.  This is the second year that the Evening Writer’s Group has hosted an event such as this.  If you plan to participate, please contact the library so we can add your name to our roster of speakers.

The Canastota Central Schools is hosting their annual Heath and Wellness Fair on Thursday, March 20^th from 6 – 8pm.  Stop by and visit us at our booth.  We’ll be giving some items away and want to talk to you about the library!  And, you will want to check out all the other businesses and programs that will be attending.  There will also be student displays and presentations that night.  Hope to see you there.

On Tuesday, March 25 at 1pm, our Book Chat will talk about the book, “Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker,” by Jennifer Chiaverini. The novel explores how the former slave, Elizabeth Keckley bought her freedom and came to Washington and became a famous dressmaker to the important women in the city.  The novel also probes her relationship with both President and Mrs. Lincoln.  We hope you will stop in and join the Book Chat discussion.  The group meets in the Carnegie Room on the library’s second floor.  It is accessible by the elevator.

“CNY Reads One Book Initiative” is reading the book, “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri.  Anyone participating is asked to read the book between January and March 2014.  The book, named a “Best Book of 2003” by The New York Times, USA Today and Entertainment Weekly includes themes of the immigrant experience, culture clashes and difficulties between generations.  The Canastota Public Library will show the movie, “The Namesake” on Monday, March 31 beginning at 6pm in the Lawson Community Room.  If you’ve read the book, you might want to stop in and watch the movie!

If you are interested in learning about other programs at the library, please refer to our website at www.canastotalibrary.org or call us at 697-7030.  Our website features our weekly programming as well as special monthly programs.

The library is located at 102 W. Center Street in Canastota and is a place of community pride and service.  It is a living treasure and has been providing services to the community since 1986. 

Be A Friend

           The Canastota Public Library is is still working on it's ongoing “Friends of the Library” 2014 Membership Drive.  This annual “Friends Membership Drive” helps to support our library both financially and through the talent and work of the Friends!  By joining the Friends you indicate your support for the Library as a community resource available to everyone.  While the library does receive funds from government entities, not all of the library’s financial needs are met.  Membership dues from the Friends of the Library help the library to purchase additional resources and to provide programming for the entire community. 

          For more than thirty years, the Canastota Public Library has had tremendous support from it’s’ “Friends of the Library” group.  The Friends help the Library in a variety of ways.  They conduct the “on-going” book sale in the Public Access Computer Room, keeping the bookshelves stocked and attractive.  In the spring and summer months, the Friends group helps with the garden by planting new flowers, as well as weeding and mulching in the garden.  Friends’ members assist the Library staff with public programs when needed and hold a large annual book sale in the fall.  During 2013, the Friends continued to support the “Library Knitters” who meet Friday mornings in the Lawson Room and the Thursday Evening Knitters.  Both these groups continue to attract new members.   Due to their success with this year’s Annual Fall Book Sales, the Friends contributed money to the Library’s Endowment Fund, purchased new computers for the Public Access Computer Room, donated additional money to support the local efforts of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and sent money to the Mid-York Library System for the purchase of eBooks.  The eBooks would be available for borrowing to any patrons through the Mid-York System. 
 
            Yearly membership dues for the Canastota Public Library Friends Group are $3.00 for an individual or $10 per family – of course, additional gifts are always welcome.  The Friends of the Canastota Public Library welcome program suggestions and volunteers.  The Library needs a strong group of Friends!

         

 The Canastota Public Library is located at 102 W. Center Street in Canastota.  To join the Friends of the Library, stop into the library and fill out one of our “Friends” forms.  Or, call the library at (315) 697-7030.

Books Anyone? We Need Donations!

Are you in the process of reorganizing and cleaning out your house and book shelves?  The Friends of the Canastota Public Library are looking for a few good books! On a year-round basis, the Friends operate a year-round book sale in the lower level of the library.  The group also runs a large book sale during the month of October.  The funds raised from these reasonably priced donated books will be used to sponsor library programs and/or library needs.

Right now, the group has found that they are running low on all types of books, from newly released paperbacks and hardcover books, particularly children’s books and adult fiction.  If you have books that you are interested in donating to the library, just bag or box them up and drop them off at the library’s circulation desk during regular library hours.

Books should be in good condition, without any rips, tears, markings or mildew.  If you are donating, the Friends of the Library have noted that the books that sell best are those that are newer and very gently used.  Unfortunately, the Friends cannot accept encyclopedias, text books or Reader’s Digest Condensed books as they have found that there is no market for the resale of these books.

If you have any questions about book donations, please contact the library at (315) 697-7030.  If you need assistance with moving your books into the library, just call us prior to your arrival and we can meet you in the parking lot to help with the delivery of the books.  The Canastota Public Library is located at 102 W. Center Street.  Books can be dropped off any time the library is open.  

Fiction and Life

        

         

          When I was growing up in Western Pennsylvania, I was one of the “middle” children in our neighborhood.  Those older than me were five or ten years older than me.  And, those who were younger than me, also seemed to be at least five years younger than me.  I spent a lot of time by myself or with my Mom.  I don’t remember playing with toys or dolls at all.  I must have had a Barbie or two, but I just don’t remember them.  I remember reading.  I can remember Mom taking me to the Grants store and buying me coloring books and reading books.  I was enchanted. 

          As I grew older, I continued reading Little Women, The Little House Series, Trixie Beldon and more.  Books were friends.  They took me places and allowed me to see more than the tree in my backyard.  At about twelve, I discovered romance novels and I devoured them.  How glorious, to always have a happy ending!  I loved it that true love always won out.  Then, I started reading Mary Stewart and Mary Higgins Clark.  From Mary Higgins Clark, I learned that I loved a mystery and if there was a love interest involved, so much the better.  Sometimes I wondered if I would have become a different person, if I had read non-fiction.  I might have been a little more cynical, a glass half empty sort of girl. 

          The fiction novels allowed me to find a world were happy endings were always possible—no matter the odds.  I could become the heroine and save the day, whether putting out a fire, assisting a homeless pet or loving a child that wasn’t my own.  Those novels made me believe that reality could be what I wanted it to be. 

          Somewhere along the way, life can really get us feeling down.  And, we think that we can’t reach our goals.  We can’t find our way in the storm.  We will NEVER be able to try something new with our lives.  Every negative thought that comes our way stops us in our tracks.  We settle for the lives we think we were meant to live.

          I think that our lives should be more like those fiction novels.  Where the evil is always triumphed against and the demons of life are slain.  Like those books, we should be able to find our way in the storm.  We should be able to change our lives in mid-stream, to find a better way for us and for our families.   Fiction offers us hope; we need to accept that challenge.

Living Changes in 2014

We rang in the New Year, like many families, at home watching the ball drop at Times Square. We sat in the living room, eating junk food and drinking soda and were entertained. We hollered and whooped and there were hugs and kisses all around. My husband turned to me at midnight and said, “Well, we made it through another one.”

I’ve been thinking about that comment for a few days now and I have to admit that while I agreed with him, I’ve decided that I am troubled. With our current economy, the news focused on terrorism, unemployment rates at an all time high, high snowfall and cold weather and more, a person has to feel great frustration in the day to day routine. I’m sure there are many of us thinking the same as my husband. But, “Making it through another one” just doesn’t do it for me. I want to do more than just survive. Don’t you?


In spite of our tribulations, we have countless opportunities available to us. This is a great time to look at our goals, lifestyles, pastimes and be able to make changes. Not resolutions to change but change itself. Change, while sometimes frightening, can be a good thing!


While the cost of living seems to keep rising, our family budget has decreased.  My husband took a significant cut in pay this past year to keep his job. Mealtime planning has become very interesting. I now make a weekly “menu” before I leave for the grocery store. How do I decide on the meals? I’ve got a list of family favorites and I’ve been experimenting by checking out cookbooks and cooking magazines from the library. Some of my favorites are The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith, Once A Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and The Freezer Cooking Manual: From 30 Day Gourmet: A Month of Meals Made Easy by Tara Wohlenhaus. I look for ways that I can save and still provide a healthy, nutritious diet for the family.


From that menu, I only add to the grocery list those things that we absolutely need. By using a grocery list, I find that I don’t spend extra by impulse shopping. Clipping coupons and checking store circulars while I am working on my menu for the week also help me in keeping the costs down. I buy what is on sale and use that in my menu options. And, if it is possible, I may buy extras of those items that are on sale to use in a future week’s menu cycle.


This past weekend, I took our youngest son with me on the menu planning and weekly shopping trip. He has started to make some of our meals and help in meal preparation so I thought this was a good idea. Since he can be a picky eater, it was helpful to have him with me to support the menu/food changes that we are making.


It also gave us some great quality time to spend together. While he wasn’t ‘feeling the love’ for some of the items that we bought, he understands that change is important. I was surprised to note him checking the prices on some of our old “staples” like name brand cereals and breakfast items. He quickly checked coupons and then decided on ‘store brand’ if coupons weren’t available.


We’re living changes—not making resolutions to change. And, it is due to our family’s economy. This is a great opportunity! The dietary changes are healthier for us. We are spending less, experimenting in the kitchen together and having fun creating new meals.