Dungeons and Dragons is back at FPL!

We are very excited to have our Dungeons and Dragons club back at the Falmouth Public Library! Starting on Tuesday, 8/20, Cian McEneaney will bring patrons on an adventure of their own design. The only thing you need to bring is an open imagination. Cian was previously the Dungeon Master at the CapeCon this past June and is excited to bring his enthusiasm, knowledge, and animated self. We gladly welcome him back to continue the adventure!

The program will run every Tuesday from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM in the Young Adult room. The program is designed for patrons 12 and up! Young adults, adults, and anyone else who loves Dungeons and Dragons or would like to learn are welcome. We have a set limit of 5 players at once. Please sign up on our events page:

falmouthpubliclibrary.org/events, or call 508-457-2555 x 7.

If the program is full, please register for the waitlist as some players may leave the campaign for whatever reason. We will then contact you and you are welcome to jump in!

Dungeons and Dragons is one of the longest running role playing games and has been enjoyed by thousands throughout the years. It can be enjoyed by anyone with a wild imagination or someone that is more grounded. They are both important!

As always, Falmouth Public Library is devoted to creating a safe space for all. The Dungeons and Dragons campaign will remain appropriate for ages 12 and above but will not be censored in order for all ages to enjoy!

Free Online Job Seekers Networking Group

The Massachusetts Library Collaborative’s 50+ Job Seekers Group meets via Zoom on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, from 9:30am to 11:30am. Informal networking takes place from 9am to 9:30am and 11:30am to noon. If you are unemployed and actively looking, underemployed, seeking a new career direction, re-entering the job market after a long employment gap, or recently retired and looking for your “Encore Career,” this networking group program is perfect for you! Remember, 85% of jobs are found through networking!

Each biweekly meeting is facilitated by Deborah Hope, MBA, PCIC, an experienced executive career coach. Deborah is a former Fortune 500 executive, investment banker and entrepreneur. She transitioned to executive coaching over 12 years ago. Deborah has coached with Harvard Business School Executive Education programs and the Massachusetts Conference for Women. She has been trained or certified in a variety of coaching models and assessment tools. Deborah has facilitated 50+ job seekers networking groups since 2016. 

Register directly on Zoom HERE. This group is sponsored by approximately 50 Massachusetts public libraries.

Meeting Schedule:

  • Aug. 7: Self-Assessment
  • Aug. 21: Career Story
  • Sept. 4: LinkedIn
  • Sept. 18: Resumes
  • Oct. 2: Cover Letter/Using AI
  • Oct. 16: Thinking Outside the Box
  • Nov. 6: Networking
  • Nov. 20: Interview Strategies
  • Dec. 4: Interview Practice
  • Dec. 18: Marketing Plan

    RECORDING NOTE:
    This program will be recorded.
    All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

*50+ indicates 50 years old and up! 

 

Welcome Hiveclass to FPL’s Online Resources

Hiveclass is an e-learning platform that features bite-sized, engaging videos that teach skills in various sports, physical activities and wellness exercises. The content is led and created by professionals and gives patrons access to practice in their own comfort zone.

Hiveclass is available via FPL’s online resources. Hiveclass provides fun, easy, and high-quality educational videos that walk patrons through improving their skills at field hockey, soccer, and other athletic activities. Along with physical education Hiveclass provides access to video walkthroughs on mindfulness and yoga.

The classes are available in both English and Spanish. It can be accessed on tablets, phones and computers! All you need is your library card number to start your adventure with Hiveclass!

 

 

Postcards from Falmouth: Falmouth Schools

Rites of passage, secret passages, iconic teachers. Let Jim Kalperis and Otis Porter take you on a tour through the history of Falmouth’s schools, from tiny Lawrence Academy to the much newer facilities of Falmouth High School. In conversation with Barbara Kanellopoulos, they recount staff and student stories, and the many transitions that shaped Falmouth’s public school system.

Former faculty member Jim Kalperis remembers that one of those transitions, from the old Lawrence High School to its successor on Lakeview Avenue, was accomplished with a bit of student legwork. “The students all assembled in the old high school,” he says, “and whatever they could bring and carry by hand, they all marched from that school over to the new Lawrence School.” Library staff and visitors now park where the old building stood, and the high school has moved on again – not once but twice.

Watch the oral history recording here.

Explore the postcard collection here.

New Version of CLAMS Catalog Coming Soon!

CLAMS announced recently that all consortium libraries will be switching over to the new Aspen Discovery catalog, which will debut for the public on February 27. At the Falmouth Public Library staff have been preparing for the transition and training on the new software, and we’re very excited about the new features that Aspen will bring!

  • One search will retrieve the book you’re looking for in all possible formats – print, large print, audiobook, ebook, or e-audiobook.
  • We’ll have a customized catalog that shows the things we own in Falmouth first, before things that are at another CLAMS library.
  • If something you want is currently checked out, the system will suggest similar titles that are available now.
  • You can create your own lists of things to read later, or browse librarian-created lists of books organized by theme, genre, and more (think: ‘suggested children’s books for Black History Month’ or ‘popular contemporary romances for Valentine’s Day’).

What won’t change?

  • What you currently have checked out, including ebook and e-audiobook titles in Libby.
  • Your library card number and account information (you will need to re-set your PIN the first time you use the new catalog.)
  • Your Reading History, if you use it, will transfer over but it will not be available on the first day the new catalog launches.
  • Access to the CLAMS mobile app.
  • Access to all library online resources like Kanopy, hoopla, and Consumer Reports (some resources may need you to log in again after the transition happens; Libby will need you to update your password to match your new library PIN).

What’s the Timeline?

  • We’ve already temporarily paused new requests for ComCat and ILL items; new requests will be accepted February 27.
  • The big data transfer occurs the weekend of February 25-26, so the libraries will be closed those days. The old catalog will still be visible to search, but you won’t be able to place any new requests, and you won’t be able to renew things.
  • Everything will be shiny and new on February 27! And we’ll be at the library to show you the new system.

Want to know more? CLAMS has an even more detailed list of FAQs plus links to the Aspen Discovery Quick Start Guide and video tutorials.

 

 

Falmouth Enterprise now Online 1896-2017, featuring A Party at the Dump!

We are excited to announce that we now have a new host for the digital Falmouth Enterprise, and instead of stopping at 1962, the entire range from 1896-2017 is now searchable online. We are grateful to the Enterprise for their permission to put these recent years online, and to the Board of Library Trustees for their support of this project. Library staff have tested it thoroughly by serarching for themselves (and finding some amusing childhood memories, among other things) – give it a try yourself! Contact us at the Reference Desk if you need any help getting started.

Of course, the first thing I did was to search for information about that party at the dump question from last July. Back then, we took to Facebook to ask for help finding articles in the Enterprise about a party held at the town dump:

Apparently some time in the later 1960s or early 1970s, there was a large benefit party that was black tie but was held at the Town Dump. Paul E. White was not invited, but decided to dress up in 1920s attire, drive a 1920s vehicle with “Dump or Bust” painted on the side, and crash the event. He was allowed to attend. His daughter Rena is sure there were articles in the Enterprise about both the benefit party, and the crashing of it by her father. 
 
Many did have a memory of this event, and suggested years and people involved (notably Al Lawrence, which was correct), but nobody could pin it down. I searched April-October in the microfilm Enterprise for the years 1968-1972 without success.
 
It turns out I would never have found it even if I’d gotten to 1973, because the party took place in March! A party at the Town Dump in March – that month of shivers, and either snow or mud? Indeed it was. With a tent, and furs, and black tie, and champagne, and arrival by helicopter, and an Air Force band! Read on…
 
First notice of the party appeared in an article published February 16, 1973, reporting on the events of the benefit auction in support of the Heart Fund. Four hundred people were in attendance, but the excitement of the evening was clearly the bidding for a “cocktail party for 25 at the Town Dump,” put forward by Al Lawrence, and won by Francis L. Empey with a high bid of $500.
 
The excitement was already building before the day of the party. On Friday March 9 the Enterprise declared, “Guest List Grows for Party of Year, Champagne and Lobster at the Dump.” This front-page article described the widespread interest (including from Channel 6 news), and listed the expected attendees by name.  
 
The reporting after the party continued the gleeful tone. On Tuesday March 13 the story was page 1, with a photo, captioned “What a Dump: Champagne and Furs at the Sanitary Landfill.”
 
 
The article went on to describe the party in detail. About 30 couples officially attended, all in formal attire (although some wore work boots with tuxedoes), but some 1000 more people also turned up, perhaps to legitimately drop off items, as the dump was open for business, perhaps just to look on. Heavy traffic was reported in the area, and Edmund T. McClung directed traffic in a high hat and tails. Did I mention this party was a daytime party, occurring between 11am and 2:30pm?
 
The guests arrived by helicopter, ten-ton sanitation truck, wheelbarrow, hearse, and Rolls-Royce. They drank eight cases of champagne and ate 50 pounds of lobster salad. They danced to music provided by the Four Aces. They took rides on dump vehicles at $10 a pop as an additional fundraiser, and the table centerpieces, created from dump materials, were also auctioned off. I blame the champagne for the fact that “a syndicate formed inside the tent and bid a couple of hundred dollars for one of the guests’ tuxedo trousers.” Overall an additional $1500 was raised for the Heart Fund.
 
Later that week the town was still talking, as a page of photos appeared on p. 15 of the Enterprise for March 16, 1973. Here are just two of them:
 
The one disappointment of this story is I could find no mention of the remembered crashing of this party by Paul White. It may well have occurred, but the Enterprise did not report on it! 

Kanopy Movie Club

A Book Club But For Movies!

The Falmouth Public Library has a new movie club!  It’s like a book club but for movies!  Watch the selected movie from the comfort of your own home prior to the movie discussion meeting using Kanopy which is free with your Falmouth Public Library card.  Then join us in-person at the library for an in-depth discussion of the movie.

The Kanopy Movie club meets on the last Thursday of the month from 3pm-4pm in the Bay meeting room.  This winter we will be discussing Award-Winning and Film Festival Nominees.  To register to attend a movie discussion, click on the registration links below or call Adult Services at 508-457-2555 ext. 7.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016/PG-13/1h 41m) …… Register Here

Our first movie discussion meeting will be on Thursday, January 26 at 3pm in the Bay meeting room where we will discuss Hunt for the Wilderpeople directed by Taike Waititi. Watch this movie prior to our meeting on Kanopy by clicking this link: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/1490627.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople had 25 award nominations with 22 wins including 2016 Best Narrative Feature at the San Francisco Film Festival, 2016 Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival/Independent Film Festival of Boston and 2017 Best Film at the New Zealand Film and TV Awards.

Movie synopsis: “Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky (Julian Dennison) gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella (Rima Te Wiata), the cantankerous Uncle Hec (Sam Neil), and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws are forced to put aside their differences and work together to face their options.”

The Farewell (2019/PG/1h 40m) …… Register Here

In February we will be discussing the movie The Farewell directed by Lulu Wang on Thursday, February 23rd at 3pm in the Bay meeting room.  Watch this movie prior to our meeting on Kanopy by clicking this link:  https://www.kanopy.com/en/falmouth/video/6440402.

The Farewell had 105 award nominations with 35 wins including 2020 Golden Globe Winner for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, 2020 Best Independent Film from Hollywood Critics Association and 2019 Audience Favorite at the Sundance Film Festival (London).

Movie synopsis: “Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to Changchun to find that, although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch, Nai-Nai (Shuzhen Zhao), has been given mere weeks to live, everyone has decided not to tell Nai Nai herself. To assure her happiness, they gather under the joyful guise of an expedited wedding, uniting family members scattered among new homes abroad. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations and proprieties, she finds there’s a lot to celebrate.”

Columbus (2017/NR/1h 40m) …… Register Here

Then in March we will discuss the movie Columbus directed by Kogonada on Thursday, March 30th at 3pm in the Bay meeting room. Watch this movie prior to our meeting on Kanopy by clicking this link: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/5480974.

Columbus had 33 nominations with 12 wins including 2017 Narrative Feature at the Independent Film Festival of Boston, 2017 Special Jury Award at the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asia Pacific Countries and 2017 Best Cinematography in a Feature Film at the Rahway International Film Festival.

Movie synopsis: “When a renowned architecture scholar falls suddenly ill during a speaking tour, his son Jin (John Cho) finds himself stranded in Columbus, Indiana; a small Midwestern city celebrated for its many modernist buildings. Jin strikes up a friendship with Casey (Haley Lu Richardson), an architecture enthusiast who works at the local library. Burdened by the future, they explore both the town and their conflicted emotions and find respite in one another and the architecture that surrounds them.”

Legal Forms via the Library

If you’ve ever tried to look for a blank copy of a simple legal form you know that your online search can results in a lot of ads and a lot of confusion. You just want a simple rental lease, or a blank health care power of attorney! But you get sent to sites with vague advice and a lot of clicking to see the form. And how do you know these forms are authentic and appropriate for your state?

Thanks to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Falmouth Public Library now provides access to Gale Legal Forms, an online resource that gives you easy access to blank forms for all purposes, customized to follow Massachusetts state laws.

You can search using the general name of the form, or browse by category (for example, divorce, real estate, or wills and trusts). A search for power of attorney gets several results, but only one that covers health care living wills:

Just one click and you can get some basic information about this form, and download copies in multiple formats. Most forms are available in Spanish as well as English, and many give you the option of filling out a web form and then downloading the completed document.

Access is free when you follow the link from the Falmouth Public Library’s online resources (look under Research Resources). Need help learning how to use this resource? Ask at the Reference Desk or call and make an appointment with one of our staff who can get you started.

Test Preparation Tools at the Library

Fall means crisp leaves, apple pies… and standardized testing for high schoolers thinking about college or careers, plus college graduates, or soon-to-be graduates, thinking about graduate school.

Thanks to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Falmouth Public Library now provides access to Peterson’s Test Prep, an online resource that allows you to take practice tests. Yes, it has the PSAT, ACT, SAT, and ASSET tests, as well as the MCAT, LSAT, and GRE. For those new to the United States, it offers practice content for the TOEFL and US Citizenship exam. For those considering careers instead of college, there are practice tests for licensing exams in fields from nursing to law enforcement to cosmetology.

In addition to the alphabet soup of practice tests, Peterson’s Test Prep also offers tools for students looking to explore higher education or careers. There are checklists and advice for students (and their parents) who are contemplating college, scholarship searches, and advice about financial aid applications. For job seekers there’s a whole section on career exploration, including a trade school search and resume advice.

This online resource asks you to create a username and password, because it saves your college scholarship searches and progress on your test practice. But access is free when you follow the link from the Falmouth Public Library’s online resources (look under Education!). Need help learning how to use this resource? Ask at the Reference Desk or call and make an appointment with one of our staff who can get you started.

Kanopy: Access Free Films and TV Shows

 

With your Falmouth Public Library card, you can now access over 30,000 films and TV shows, including critically acclaimed movies, inspiring documentaries, award winning foreign films, kids content, and more for free using Kanopy!

With the Kanopy app, you can stream their content on your favorite devices including desktops, iOS and Android phones and tablets, Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, Chromecast, Roku, Fire TV and Fire tablet.

To start streaming today, go to Kanopy, click on “Add Library Card” and follow the prompts to enter in your Falmouth Public Library card information. 

To view all Falmouth Public Library online resources, click here.