Hingham Public Library News

This course is offered in conjunction with the Osher Life-long Learning Institute at UMass-Boston. Hingham residents may enroll free on a seat available basis. To inquire about participation please call 617-287-7312.

The course will develop a basic understanding of geologic materials; i.e., minerals and rocks and processes such as faulting. We will examine specific rock formations such as the Braintree Argillite, the Quincy Granite, The Dedham Granite and the Hull Volcanic sequence. The role of these formations in the early economic development of the south shore will be investigated. One to three field trips will be part of the four-meeting course. Rock samples will be collected and worked on in the lab.

Facilitator: David A. Nellis David Nellis was on the faculty of University of Massachusetts-Boston for about 25 years before retirement. During that time he taught geology courses and conducted many field trips throughout the South Shore area. He is well acquainted with most significant geologic sites in the area. Because of his background, he believes that a course of this sort would be very interesting to people who wish to learn more about the geological environment of the South Shore and its role in the early economic development of the area. He has taught Physical Geology, Mineralogy, Petrology, /Structural Geology, Field Methods, Ground Water, and Geomorphology.

Hingham Public Library this fall welcomes Anthony Sammarco, who will present a four-part, Saturday afternoon slide lecture series called “What You Don't Know about Boston.” A popular author and lecturer, Sammarco specializes in bringing overlooked corners of local history to light.

The first program, “Molasses: From the Slave Trade to the Great Molasses Flood", takes place on September 11. Sammarco begins by describing the importance of molasses to the colonial New England economy, where it played a key role in the “triangular trade” that encompassed the shipment of slaves from West Africa to the Americas . The story culminates in Boston 's disastrous Molasses Flood of 1919, when a 2 million gallon holding tank collapsed in the North End, unleashing a wave of molasses that swept buildings off their foundations, killed 21, and injured 150. In local mythology, on hot summer days the smell of molasses still lingers in the vicinity of the blast.

On September 23, the topic is “The Great Boston Fire of 1872,” another little-known catastrophe in the city's history. The conflagration began on a November evening in the basement of a commercial warehouse on Summer Street. Before it was brought under control late the next day, it had consumed 776 buildings on more than 65 acres of the city's most valuable commercial real estate and had caused more than $73 million in damage.

The North End of Boston, the city's oldest residential community, is the focus of the October 9 program. Though small in geographic terms, the North End has played an outsized role in the city's history, from Paul Revere's ride to the Great Molasses Flood to the infamous Brink's robbery, and has absorbed successive waves of Irish, Jewish, and Italian immigrants.

On October 23, Boston 's Back Bay is the topic of the final program. Now one of the city's most elegant neighborhoods, the area acquired its name because it was once an actual body of water, a tidal bay stretching between Boston and Cambridge . Beginning in 1857, a neighborhood was created by filling the tidewater flats of the Charles River , part of a reclamation project that doubled the size of Boston 's original peninsula and would have been impossible under current environmental laws. The stately brownstones lining the streets of the Back Bay are some of the most well preserved examples of 19 th century urban architecture in the U.S.

All programs, which begin at 3 p.m., are free and open to lifelong learners of any age who are interested in exploring events and places in the life of the city.

Solo performance by Steve Marchena leads off Saturday Sounds Special Series on 9/18 @ 3 pm

Classical guitarist Steve Marchena will perform at the Hingham Public Library on September 18 at 3:00 p.m. The free concert is part of the Saturday Sounds Special series sponsored by the Boston Classical Guitar Society and the Hingham Public Library.

Steve Marchena is a Magna cum Laude graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in music performance. He has studied with John Mason, David Newsam, Bill Bounocore and John Finn. Marchena is equally at home performing classical, rock, jazz and traditional blues. In addition to performing regularly as a classical solist, he also performs with the rock band Hypaspace. He was one of the founding members of the Back Bay Guitar Trio. Marchena is a respected teacher of electric, acoustic and classical guitar styles. More information about Marchena's background may be found at www.stevemarchena.com .

Come learn about Downloadable Audio and eBooks at Hingham Public Library starting 9/23

One of the most popular ways to enjoy a book these days is to download an audiobook or eBook to any one of a number of portable devices. Yet with that popularity comes a new set of instructions and steps to learn. It's a fairly straight-forward process, but a little assistance can certainly make things easier. In September and October, Reference Librarian Peter Thornell will be offering classes to help patrons explore and enjoy downloadable Audio and eBooks. As each medium has more than enough issues to discuss, separate sessions will be held for each format.

For anyone new to these formats, eAudio is a form of audiobook you can download through our website straight to your personal computer and then transfer to a portable device like an iPod, MP3 player, or SmartPhone. An eBook is an electronic version of a book you can download through our website and read on a device like the Barnes & Noble Nook or the Sony E-Reader. nook

A one-hour introduction to eAudio will be held in the Whiton Room on Thursday, September 23 at 7:30 pm , and again on Saturday, October 30 at 10 am .

A one-hour introduction to eBooks will be held in the Whiton Room on Saturday, October 2 at 10 am , and again on Thursday, October 21 at 7:30 pm .

Peter will take patrons step-by-step through the searching and downloading process using an iPod and MP3 player for eAudio, and the Nook and E-Reader for eBooks. Registration is not necessary, but

if you'd like more information, please contact the Reference Desk at 781-741-1405 x2650, email hiref@ocln.org , or text your question prefaced by the phrase HPLREF to 66746.

Transcendentalism and the Magic of Poetry and Painting: 6 session course begins on 10/4

This course will explore the history of the Colonial, Puritan, and Unitarian antecedents of Transcendentalism and the way this New England philosophical movement fostered the poetry of Emily Dickinson and informed the literary and artistic works of so many New England writers, artists, thinkers, and activists. It will also explore the way the music and message of poetry and the beauty and skill of painting enhance our appreciation, understanding, and enjoyment of both as well as the times, places, and themes of the subject matter they portray. This course will focus on poets with a New England connection, including Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Mary Oliver. Painters and paintings will be selected which complement and broaden the appreciation of the poetry selected. Class members will be encouraged to suggest the poets and painters they enjoy, to bring in the work of their favorites, and to read aloud the poems they love.

Facilitator: Kathleen McGovern is a retired Verizon computer specialist with a lifelong love of literature and the arts. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Boston University and a Master of Education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She runs a writing group at Thayer Public Library in Braintree, Massachusetts.

We will read short stories by contemporary writers who are working today, including Alice Munro, Dan Chaon, Allegra Goodman, Richard Bausch, Junot Diaz, Amy Bloom, Sherman Alexie, Tim O'Brien, and Jhumpa Lahiri. All stories assigned will be available free on the Internet. We will discuss the stories, and examine the authors' use of character, conflict, theme, voice, and plot. We will also look at what makes a good short story succeed, and try different writing exercises that will lead students to create their own stories.

Facilitator: Kathleen McKenna is about to complete her second year as an MFA student at UMass Boston, in the creative writing/fiction program. In the fall she begins her thesis project, which is a collection of short stories of her own. She has been a freelance journalist (mainly for the Boston Globe ) for many years, and she is an avid reader and writer of short stories. While living in Italy in the 90s, she taught creative writing to a group of ex-pats. More recently, she has taught literature and writing classes to children and high-school students.

The Back Bay Guitar Trio to perform in concert on Saturday, October 16th at 3 PM

The Hingham Public Library and the Boston Classical Guitar Society are pleased to present the Back Bay Guitar Trio in a free concert on Saturday, October 16 at 3 pm. Seating will be limited to 80.

The Back Bay Guitar Trio formed in 2002 and has performed at Dartmouth College, Longy School of Music, Berklee College of Music, St. Anselm College, University of New Hampshire, The House of Blues and at the world renowned Boston Hatch Shell. The BBGT have also been featured artists in the Boston Classical Guitar Society concert series, the North Shore Leider concert series in Rockport, Massachusetts and opened up for guitarist Al Dimeola at the Lebanon (NH) Opera House. The Back Bay Guitar trio toured Germany in the summer of 2009 and is now booking concerts for the 2010-2011 season. The trio plays a mixture of popular jazz, well loved classical selections, and timeless songs.

David Newsam currently works as an assistant professor in the guitar department at Berklee where he has taught since 1989. He is also employed as a senior lecturer in music at Dartmouth College in Hanover , NH where he teaches guitar and jazz improvisation.

John Mason studied at Middlebury College , graduating in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in music. He furthered his music education at the Berklee College of Music the following year. In 2002, he won the Guitarmageddon National Championship at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland . He is currently on faculty at Westfield State College, Holyoke Community College and the Northfield Mount Hermon School . In addition to being in the Back Bay Guitar Trio, John performs with the improv group Solo Mission with drummer Gary Rzab.

Sharon Wayne, the trios newest member, is the former Artistic Director of the Boston Classical Guitar Society. A former member of the guitar faculties at San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Santa Clara University , she currently serves on the faculty of the Community Music School in Springfield , MA.

HPL is pleased to announce the addition of the Mango Languages online language-learning system to our website. Mango is free of charge to patrons, and offers a fun, fast and convenient solution to our community's growing language learning needs.

Click the Mango logo to connect.

Mango's online language learning system focuses on teaching actual conversational skills for a wide variety of languages. Each lesson combines real-life situations and audio from native speakers with an easy-to-follow interface and simple, clear instructions. Because it's completely web based, you can learn anywhere there is an internet connection - at the library, a coffee shop, or even relaxing on the sofa at home. It's so effective and easy to use, you may be speaking a new language after just one lesson! Users from outside the Library will need a Hingham Public Library card to access the service.

Mango Languages currently offers 48 language courses. Here is a sampling: Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Greek, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, ESL for Polish speakers, ESL for Spanish speakers, and ESL for Brazilian Portuguese speakers - with more on the way.

Text a Librarian is the newest way to get answers to any & all of your questions!

HPL is happy to announce a new way to get your Reference questions answered. With the Text a Librarian service, you can access the Reference Desk from wherever you are, simply by sending a text through your cellular phone or mobile device!

The first time you use the service, all you have to do is text our library's ID - HPLREF - followed by your question, to the number 66746. All questions come through with an anonymous ID attached, so your name and phone number are kept private.

If you use the same device to ask any questions in the future, you do not have to include the library ID, as your phone number will be recognized by the system and directed to Hingham Public Library.

It would be a good idea, however, to save this number in your device under the name "HPLREF," in case you need to remember the phone number or the library ID in the future, or for use on another device.

You can also follow the instructions in the animation on the phone to the left.

We hope this service allows even greater access to our Reference Department, and we look forward to all of your questions!

OCLN has added eBooks to the Overdrive Collection!! The new format is compatible with the Sony Reader, B&N Nook, as well as with Internet-enabled Windows Mobile 5 or 6 devices. Click here for a list of compatible devices with our service. Other readers, not as yet tested with our service, may also work but check with manufacturer before purchasing. Our DRM-protected Adobe EPUB and PDF eBooks are currently incompatible with the following devices:

OCLN has purchased over 100 eBook titles and has plans to purchase many more! Our eBook titles will be offered in the 2 most popular eBook formats EPUB and PDF.

Do you ever ask yourself, "Have I already read this?" or "What was the name of that book I read last month?" If so, you might be interested in saving your reading history, a new service available beginning Tuesday, July 6 from the Old Colony Library Network.

To keep a list of what you have borrowed, log in to your library account in the library catalog, select My Reading History, and then choose the Opt In button. A policy statement about how the reading history option works, including information about your privacy, will display. Once you have read and agreed to the statement and completed the Opt In process, any items you borrow from Old Colony libraries will be recorded.

If you decide to save your reading history, everything you borrow (books, DVDs, CDs, etc.) will be added as soon as you return them to the library. Reading history information can only be seen by someone with your library card number and PIN number. Library staff cannot see your reading history.

If you try this option and later change your mind, you can opt out of the service at any time and your reading history will be purged from the system.

Library Trustees dedicated a sculpture created by Susan Luery on Sunday, January 13, 2008

The Trustees of the Hingham Public Library dedicated a sculpture created by internationally recognized sculptor Susan Luery . The dedication ceremony took place at the main entrance of the Library on Sunday, January 13, 2008. Hingham Town Moderator Thomas L. P. O'Donnell was the event's keynote speaker. Shown below are sculptor Susan Luery [seated left] and the models who sat for the sculpture. Photos courtesy of Library Trustee Edward Boylan.

The sculpture is a gift to the Library from Hingham residents Pat and Jim MacAllen . The MacAllen family has a four-generation association with Hingham and its public library. The sculpture is dedicated to the memory of “Thelma and William MacAllen and their love of Hingham”. The MacAllens selected the Hingham Public Library for their gift because they believe “the Library fosters a celebration and love of reading that can be shared by parents and their children throughout their lives”.

The Trustees of the Library commissioned Hingham resident Susan Luery to create a life-sized bronze sculpture depicting a young mother and her daughter enjoying a “story-time” while seated on a two-tiered base formed from Deer Isle, Maine granite. The sculpture is located adjacent to

Susan Luery was born in Baltimore and attended the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her gift for sculpting was refined in Carrara, Italy, where she worked with Alberto Sparapani, Maestro sculptor of Italy's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Luery's best known sculptural works may be Babe's Dream”, the 16-foot monument to Babe Ruth located in front of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and the Cal Ripken, Jr. monument that welcomes fans to his museum in Aberdeen, Maryland. Her works also can be found in private, public and museum collections throughout the world.

Getting bagged at the Library can be a good thing. The Hingham Public Library now has an attractive tote bag for sale that will enhance your reputation as an HPL supporter and user. In fact, we dare say you'll become a trendy bag fashionista and make your friends and neighbors go green with envy. Our new canvas tote is the perfect holiday gift-giving. Here's the story on our totes.

Massachusetts painter and illustrator T.A. Charron's pen and ink sketch of Susan Luery's sculpture located at the Library's main entrance graces the Library's new tote bags on sale for $15.00 at the main desk and in the Children's Room. The 15 ounce natural canvas bags with black trim and handles are a roomy 22”x14”x 6”. The bags also feature a handy inside zippered pocket to store your library card, keys, etc.

According to Library Director Dennis R. Corcoran, "the library is very pleased to have worked with T.A. Charron to not only make this bag unique but as a work of art in its on right." Corcoran adds, " we have Library Trustee Arthur Garrity, Jr. to thank for bringing us together with T.A."

Charron studied with painters Norman Baer and Walter Marks at the Art Institute of Boston and graduated in 1972. He also studied sculpture at Providence College and stone lithography at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts , Boston . He has studied with some of North America 's prominent artists; portrait painter Daniel E. Greene, Canadian wildlife artist Robert Bateman, painter Richard Schmid and Boston School eminent senior member Robert Douglas Hunter.

Nationally, Charron has received over 90 awards for excellence in both painting and drawing. His work has been shown with many of today's prominent America painters. Charron has been elected into many important American art societies and organizations including the Salmagundi Club in NYC, the Copley Society of Boston, Lyme Art Association in Connecticut , North Shore and Rockport Art Associations in Massachusetts . His artwork is in the permanent collections of museums and many other public and private collections worldwide and his commissioned painting of Dr. Martin Luther King and other prominent portraits have been unveiled to thousands of people. His paintings have been published in four historical books. Charron's art also has been featured nationally on PBS.

To learn more about Hingham sculptor Susan Luery and her beautiful sculpture at the Hingham Public Library, please click here.

The Book Group of the Hingham Public Library meets at 7:30 pm on the last Tuesday of each month, except for December, in the Fearing Meeting Room. The building is fully handicapped-accessible.

Book Selection: The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew-Three Women Search for

Newcomers are welcome to drop in at any meeting. Library staff will be pleased to help readers place reserves

on current book selections. For more information, call the library reference desk (781-741-1405, x2650).