What other books do you think should be on the list???

Have you checked out our gallery space lately? Located behind the reference desk on the second floor, the gallery showcases a new artist every month.

The exhibit for November is up and if you like wildlife photography, you’ll love this! Brooks Mathewson is showcasing his photography and his exhibit features work from his two ongoing projects. The first is documenting birds local to Cambridge and Boston, and the second is capturing the salt marshes, mudflats, and barrier beaches in southern Rhode Island.

If you haven’t stopped by the library lately, you might not realize that our new cafe is open and ready for business! Not only does the cafe have a light and dark roast everyday, they also have espresso, fresh pastries, juices, and sandwiches.

Also, while you’re having your snack, check out our large selection of used books. We have some really popular titles, and the materials are in great condition.

Read more about the cafe in the Watertown Tab’s Blog!

According to event organizer, Deborah Porter, Boston, up until now, was the only major American city without a book fair.

No longer!

This coming Saturday, October 24, from 10am-6pm, the Boston Book Festival will be taking over Copley Square. You can go to bostonbookfest.org to read up on all of the events and authors who will be present.  You can also read the interview with Ms. Porter here, on bostonist.com.

It looks like a great festival, including appearances by John Hodgman (from the Daily Show and the Mac vs. PC commercials), Ken Burns, the well-known documentary film maker, and authors such as Anita Diamant (The Red Tent), Richard Russo (Empire Falls), and Ben Mezrich (The Accidental Billionaires).

There are also some really great events for kids and teens, which can be found here.

The entire schedule of events can be found here, and be sure to note that some events require tickets. Those events are, however, still completely free!

We’ll we’ve gone and signed up for a twitter account. If you aren’t sure what Twitter is, you can read about it here, and sign up for your own account here.

Basically, twitter broadcasts a short message to anyone following you. Some people use twitter to let people know how their day is going. Others use their accounts to broadcast news, traffic, or celebrity happenings.

The library twitter stream will contain mostly news about upcoming events, new/popular book releases, and anything relevant to the library user. To follow us, sign into your account, go here and click “follow.”

By now, most of you have probably heard about ebooks and audiobooks, but you might not know about Playaway books.

Playaways are devices that already have audio books pre-loaded. All you need is a set of headphones and you’re ready to go!

The Watertown Library has been lending Playaways for over 2 years now and we have 318 titles just in the adult  department alone! Our children and teen departments also have playaways and we are all busy with plans to purchase more.

The devices themselves are smaller than a deck of cards, so they’re great for when you have to ride the bus to work, or for evening walks!

Wondering what we have available? Check it out here. You’ll notice we have lots of language learning titles, but if you look down the list, you’ll find novels and all sorts of offerings.

Check it out!

No one likes to look for a job (or, at least, no one I’ve ever met).  And while the Internet is an important resource, do you know the best ways to search for information? And, even more importantly, can you tell which sites are ones to trust?

The Watertown Library is trying to help. We started by setting up a display of books we felt were good resources for those on the hunt. If you’re at the library, this display is located behind the reference desk, before the stairs to the gallery.

In addition to our display, we’re also offering a number of classes that might be useful for those looking to brush up on their skills. Most importantly, we offer a workshop specifically about the online job search once a month. We also cater to those who are not yet comfortable with computers with our “Intro to Computers Class,” and for those who want add some technical skills to their resume, “Intro to Word,” and “Intro to Powerpoint.” These classes happen monthly, and are popular. Space is limited, so be sure check out information on our homepage and sign up before they’re full.

We also have many public computers available to help you with your search. If you’re at the library and the computers are all full, you can make a reservation and one will be available to you in just 5 minutes!

If you’ve had experience with certain programs, like Word and Excel, but haven’t used them in awhile, a good way to remind yourself of what you already know is to check out something like the Step By Step books Microsoft offers.

Are you writing your resume and having a hard time describing your proficiency/skill levels with certain tools, be sure to look at Learning Library Express, one of our databases you can use while at the library. This incredibly helpful site offers practice tests, skill-forming exercises, and courses to increase your knowledge.

Are you not even sure what field you want to work in? Another database we offer, that you can even use from home, is Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center. This site explains what jobs are in high demand, what categories jobs fall into, and even what skills are required to obtain certain jobs in the field you would like to work in.

If you’re not able to attend one of our classes, and want to use the internet for help, just remember, before you spend tons of time writing your resume or cover letter, to take your time and read over lots of good examples, not just one.

If you’re from the area, be sure to use local resources, like Mass Resources, which offers links to employment assistance and job training. Also, check out CareerOneStop for great advice and links on the job search.

If you have a favorite resource, please feel free to share it in the comments, so others can check them out!

Most of all, stay positive and GOOD LUCK!

Sept. 26 – Oct. 3 marks this year’s Banned Books Week.

It may not come as a big surprise that Catcher in the Rye, Brave New World, To Kill a Mocking Bird, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were all challenged or banned in the past. Would it surprise you to know that they were each challenged or banned this year as well?

What else have you read this year that some might consider inappropriate? You can see this year’s list of banned and challenged books here, in the catalog of banned and challenged books of 2008-2009.

Who challenges books? Why? These graphs, from the American Library Association break down some of those statistics.

What do you do when you read something strikes you as objectionable? This article, The Secret Life of Book Banners, from the September 27 Chicago Tribune, discusses one woman’s experience from childhood to adult with banned material.

UPDATE: check out this interactive map of banned books in the US! Banned Books Map!

Gwendolyn Hallsmith

For the kick-off event of this year’s One Book, One Watertown series, Gwendolyn Hallsmith will be speaking about community sustainability and local environmental issues. Ms. Hallsmith is the Director of Global Community Initiatives, and is the other of The Key to Sustainable Cities, which discusses new approachies to city planning.

Her writing and speaking share many common themes with this year’s selected book, Hot, Flat and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman.

Join Lorena Prime at Tuesday, June 23 at 7 PM in the Lucia Mastrangelo Meeting Room for a workshop on how to keep organized.

Ever wonder how some people can be so organized? Being disorganized is not a character flaw! As a child you may not have learned the skills to be organized, but you can learn them now.

With the 5-step “C.L.E.A.R.” methodology, you can organize anything at work or home including your papers, things, and space. It’s easy once you know how. Through this 45-minute workshop, you will discover new abilities that you can apply immediately to your life and reap the rewards of a more calm, productive, and enjoyable day.

There will be plenty of time for questions and answers to help solve your own hot areas.

Please register for this free workshop by stopping by or calling the Adult Services Department, 617-972-6436.