News – Adults – Page 4 – Springfield City Library

Mayor Sarno Recognizes our Springfield City Libraries During National Library Week

April 24th marks National Library Workers Day. Thank you to all our dedicated Springfield Library workers for your tremendous service.

April 25, 2023:

Happy Library Workers Day!

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the City of Springfield are proud to join with Library Director Molly Fogarty, Deputy Director Jean Canosa Albano and our Springfield City Library team to celebrate National Library Week this year from April 23 – 29, 2023. Make sure to visit your library this week, or even check out a new library you’ve never been to. Find all Springfield library locations and hours here: Locations and Hours – Springfield City Library (springfieldlibrary.org)

There is a lot to celebrate when it comes to our libraries which are a hub for free access to information and technology, social and civic engagement, and support of personal enrichment, well-being, and lifelong learning. Today, April 24^th, marks National Library Workers Day. Thank you to all our dedicated Springfield Library workers for your tremendous service. We can all show gratitude to a Springfield City Library worker who “shines” by nominating a stellar library worker for the American Library Association’s Galaxy of Stars by completing a brief nomination form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SubmitAStarforNLWD

Mayor Sarno states, “Our libraries and library employees are truly a wonderful and valuable resource for our community. From the leadership with Director Molly Fogarty and Deputy Director Jean Canosa Albano to each and every member of our library staff, we are extremely proud and grateful for our library system across the city and the important role they play in our community. This week especially, let us all take a moment to recognize how important our libraries and library employees are to our Springfield. They have so much to offer – remember, it’s all yours, just ask!”

Springfield City Library collecting pajamas for Boston Bruins drive (WWLP)

The Springfield City Library has partnered with the Boston Bruins to take part in the Bruins PJ drive that benefits children. The drive runs through March 15 at all nine library locations in the city.

Check out the story and video from WWLP

March 1, 2023:

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)– The Springfield City Library has partners with the Boston Bruins to take part in the Bruins PJ drive that benefits children through the Department of Children and Families’ (DCF) Wonderfund and Cradles to Crayons.

The PJ drive runs through March 15 at all nine library locations in the city. They are looking for new pairs of pajamas for babies, children and teenagers.

“It’s hard to imagine that so many kids and teens don’t know the comforting feeling of putting on PJs before settling down to sleep. We’re happy to be part of an effort to change that” said Jean Canosa Albano, Assistant Director of the Library.

The goal of the PJ drive is to collect 5,000 pairs of new pajamas. DCF is estimated to be working with agency that assist more than 50,000 babies, children and teenagers.

The Bruins PJ drive began during the 2007-08 hockey season with Forward P.J. Axelsson and his wife Siw as a way to give back to the community. Since 2014, libraries across the state have joined in on the effort and have collected over 53,000 pairs of pajamas since.

For more information, visit Bruins PJ Drive website.

Springfield Library offers online series for adult job seekers (WWLP)

This series, running from January to June, is to help support older adults that are looking for a new job or a new career direction. Anyone that is age 50 or older can do these free biweekly skill-building and networking group meetings on Zoom.

Check out the story from WWLP

January 3, 2023:

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Springfield City Library offers an online 50+ Job Seekers Networking Group series. This series is to help support older adults that are looking for a new job or a new career direction, according to a news release from the Springfield City Library.

Anyone that is age 50 or older can do these free biweekly skill-building and networking group meetings on Zoom. The series is from January through June, and a new topic will be discussed at each meeting. The 1st and 3rd Wednesdays are from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The 2nd and 4th Wednesdays are from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Jinnie Trabulsi, the reference librarian, says, “We are thrilled to offer this valuable opportunity to residents of Springfield and beyond! Job search information for older adults is a specialized area, and Debbi Hope, the professional coach, is a fantastic expert.”

Library members can check out a Wi-Fi hotspot and a Chromebook from Library if they don’t have a computer, or they do the online networking sessions using the Zoom app on a smartphone. To register, go to their website to get the Zoom links.

Visit our webpage for the 50+ Job Seekers Networking Group to find out more and register!

Springfield City Library collecting mittens, hats and scarves (Masslive.com)

New or handmade items are preferred. Items of all sizes are needed; more adult-sized items are needed at most locations. The Springfield Library system has been collecting since Dec. 1 and will continue through Dec 31.

12/22/2022 – SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield City Library is circulating a special way to help its neighbors this winter: Patrons are donating mittens, hats, scarves and gloves to be distributed to neighborhood charities.

The “mitten trees” in all library branches give residents “the opportunity to see the Springfield City Library as a good neighbor, one that clearly cares about the quality of life of folks in our community,” said Diane N. Houle, adult and youth information services manager and manager of the Mason Square Branch Library. “The library can be a vehicle of change in the city, and by collecting winter accessories, it gives everyone involved a sense of community. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

Last year, the libraries collected more than 250 items; the hope is to reach at least 400 this year.

“Items are usually donated to neighborhood charities so that branch libraries can impact the quality of life in their neighborhoods,” Houle said.

For example, goods collected in Indian Orchard may go to the Survival Center. Items collected in Brightwood may go to Grey House. Each library has the opportunity to decide where the items may go.

New or handmade items are preferred.

Items of all sizes are needed; more adult-sized items are needed at most locations.

The Springfield Library system has been collecting mittens, gloves, hats and scarves since Dec. 1 and will continue the collection through Dec 31.

The libraries have undertaken the mitten tree program for nearly 30 years.

“Some families make an annual donation and come to the library early in December to drop the hats and mittens off and take a photo,” Houle said. “Even the smallest donation is helpful. It’s an easy way to give back to the community.”

One person in the Mason Square knitting group on Friday afternoons makes sure that the tree is well stocked. “She will spend extra time making hats so that we have plenty of items to give to our charity,” Houle said. “Receiving organizations are always grateful. It’s always nice to have these kinds of items available for folks who need them.”

For more information on the Mitten Tree project, call 413-263-6828, ext. 293.

Read more at Masslive.com.

Springfield City Library gets almost $500,000 grant for materials, programs and facilities (Masslive.com)

All nine branches of the Springfield City Library will benefit from the state aid grant.

12/16/2022 – SPRINGFIELD — Molly Fogarty, director of the city library, said the city’s Library Department intends to use the nearly $500,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners on programming, library items, facility upgrades, professional development, salary and wages.

“We’ll make sure that money is used in the best possible way to serve our residents in Springfield,” Fogarty said.

The city’s Library Department has already accepted the grant and is requesting authorization from the City Council during its Monday evening meeting to expend the grant funds.

City Councilor Jesse Lederman said that anytime funds are brought into the city, the council has to approve the acceptance of the grant, which is fairly routine for the council. If all is in order, it will be a “routine passage,” he said.

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners awarded the library a $499,059 State Aid to Public Libraries grant at its Dec. 1 meeting. The first payment is in the amount of $250,683.35 and if approved by the City Council, the library will receive the remainder of the grant in the spring of 2023.

All nine branches of the Springfield City Library will benefit from the state aid grant.

Read more at Masslive.com.

Springfield City Library To Host Beloved Local Photographer’s Exhibit

Edward Cohen presents photographs of James Baldwin’ 60th Birthday Celebration. The exhibit will be kicked off with a free reception Sunday, December 18th from 1 to 4 PM at Central Library.

December 6, 2022 — The Springfield City Library is set to host an upcoming photography exhibit curated by local beloved photographer, Edward Cohen, and the exhibit will be kicked off with a free reception Sunday, December 18th from 1 to 4 p.m. Located at 220 State Street, Springfield, MA, The Central Library will be home to Cohen’s photography exhibit celebrating the late American writer, James Baldwin. Photos of Baldwin’s 60th birthday celebrations at the UMASS Campus Center and Amherst College, along with friends such as Maya Angelou, will be on display.

Ed Cohen is a Springfield, MA based freelance photographer who has been photographing in the Pioneer Valley since 1975. He attended UMass Amherst and received a degree in Communications Studies with a concentration in Afro-American and Diversity in Communications. Cohen is a published author, exhibition curator, and an accomplished political demonstration, musical and community events photographer; having participated and captured many local monumental moments for the city of Springfield and surrounding areas. He takes pride in presenting diversity in his imagery.

Cohen received a grant from The Springfield Cultural Council in order to showcase Baldwin’s birthday celebration. He says, “I had the honor of being given permission to take photos at James Baldwin’s birthday celebrations in August of 1984. In 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown I edited several of the negatives of Baldwin and his close friend Maya Angelou and had time to publish a photo book and eventually to create a photo exhibit of the Birthday party events. James Baldwin remains an important figure because of his activism around racial and sexual discrimination and his literary genius. I felt it was a great time to have an event to feature the photos to generate a discussion about James Baldwin and the issues that he was so passionate about.”

UMass Professor Emeritus, Ekwueme Michael Thelwell, will serve as reception speaker. A pioneer in Afro-American Studies, in 1970 Thelwell became the founding chairman of the W.E.B. Du Bois Department. The Jamaican-born writer, activist, educator, came to the United States in 1959 to attend Howard University and went on to do his graduate work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Ayana Irene Pierre-Maxwell, currently a freshman at University of Miami, will present a painting based on a photo taken by Cohen at a UMass Commencement in 1978 where Baldwin received an honorary degree.

Pierre-Maxwell says, “While I did not take the photo, I am honored and delighted to have painted this image of the inspirational James Baldwin. I hope that when people view my art they are able to separate themselves from their world and enter mine [and] my work can evoke an emotion in those who view it.”

The exhibition is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible. This exhibit is supported in part by a grant from the Springfield Cultural Council, a local agency of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The Springfield City Library, and Monson Savings Bank. The exhibit will be on display through the end of Black History Month in February 2023.

Founded in 1857, the Springfield City Library provides over 800,000 free print, physical, and digital resources for public enrichment. To learn more, visit www.springfieldlibrary.org.

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For more information about this event, visit our exhibit opening webpage!

Springfield City Library to host information session about librarianship careers (Masslive.com)

For the first time, the staff of the city’s library is giving the public an opportunity to learn about what it takes to be a librarian.

10/13/2022 – SPRINGFIELD — For the first time, the staff of the city’s library is giving the public an opportunity to learn about what it takes to be a librarian.

“Because the job market has changed, people are thinking about different opportunities available,” said Jean Canosa Albano, assistant director for public services at the library. “A lot of times, we find that people don’t know everything that goes into being a librarian.”

“So you want to be a librarian,” the name of the event, is an information session on Oct. 20 to give residents a chance to learn about careers in librarianship.

Canosa Albano added, ”This could be a way for some more local folks coming right from the community to consider library work.”

Speakers at the information session include Eric Poulin, assistant professor of practice and coordinator of the Simmons University Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Mayra Quinones, branch supervisor at the Springfield City Library, and Anne Gancarz, assistant director at the Chicopee Public Library.

. . .

The information session which begins at 5:30 p.m. next Thursday and will be hosted at the Mason Square Branch Library, located at 765 State St.

Read more at Masslive.com.

Community Paint Party at Mason Square Branch Library

Fresh Paint Springfield held a community paint party Saturday over at the Mason Square Library.

09/11/2022 – SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Fresh Paint Springfield held a community paint party Saturday over at the Mason Square Library.

Everyone came to grab a paintbrush and participate in the mural movement that was originally designed and created by AfriCOBRA artist Nelson Stevens.

“We’re keeping his memory and soul alive and I’m sure he’s proud because I am not an artist, but I’m here today to paint a part of one of the murals that he did back in the 70s,” said Theresa Cooper-Gordon of Holyoke.

The community mural is done in a paint-by-number style, using polytab to mesh together all of the pieces, allowing the community to paint together and commemorate Stevens’ Legacy throughout the city.

Springfield Libraries Eliminate Late Fees (Masslive.com)

Patrons of all Springfield City Library branches will no longer be penalized if they don’t return books and other materials on time.

SPRINGFIELD — Patrons of all Springfield City Library branches will no longer be penalized if they don’t return books and other materials on time.

The Springfield Library Commission voted unanimously in 2019 to remove all late fees on library items, but held off on making an announcement on the change due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Springfield City Library employees and Mayor Domenic Sarno called a press conference at the Brightwood branch, 359 Plainfield St., to announce the news Thursday.

“In the last fiscal year, we collected about $7,000 in our fines and fees account and only about $700 of that was for late fines. The rest of it (was for) replacement costs,” said Jean M. Canosa Albano, assistant director for public services. “For anyone concerned that we’re just letting everything go, no, you still have to bring back the materials you returned, but if you’re late, it’s OK.”

Canosa Albano went on to say that after a set period of time, the patron will receive a message in their mail and other alerts to remind them they are in possession of an overdue item, but will still not be charged for it, as long as the item is returned in good condition.

Read more at Masslive.com.