Art Reception & Opening At the Library

You are Cordially Invited to an Opening and Art Reception for the works of

Frank Sullivan

new paintings & pastels

November 7, 2009

through

December 31, 2009

Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library

39 Second Street, Presque Isle, ME

Opening Reception

Saturday November 7, 2009 at

3:00pm to 6:00pm

For more information, please see Frank Sullivan's blog, http://rainbarrowstudio.blogspot.com

Behind the Easel by Artist Jeffery St. Peter

The Sky Takes A Visit, 22x30 Pastel on Paper, Wallagrass, Maine

You are cordially invited to attend an

Opening Reception for

Behind the Easel with Artist Jefferey St. Peter

September 12, 2009 from 3:00-6:00PM

at the

Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library

39 Second Street

Presque Isle, Maine 04769

Exhibit will remain through October 30th, 2009 and can be viewed during normal business library hours. For more information, please call 207.764.2571 or see the artist's blog at http://jefferyonline.blogspot.com

Sponsored by Full Circle Healthcare

Website Being Reworked

I like to think that even the most inconvenient things happen for a reason, and I am applying that optimism toward the sudden hiatus that our official library website has suddenly decided to take. It gives me a chance to resurrect this sorely neglected blog, and hopefully gives us a chance to explore how we want our website to look and act in the future. Do please stay tuned for updates on that.

Meanwhile, we are pleased to report an excellent turnout for our annual book and bake sale at Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library in Presque Isle. Peter Rabbit visited, and we had a book signing by noted local author Wendy Koenig. The weather has been dicey all summer, as we who live in Maine know, and we eventually moved the sale into the Multi-Purpose Room, which allowed us to run it a little longer. Much of this year's success is also largely due to the efforts and time of our volunteers, and we cannot thank them enough.

Much has been happening here at the library:

Children's Librarian Sue McPherson and Assistant Children's Librarian Dr. Richard Asam recently received a Barbara Bush Foundation Literacy Grant which will enable the library to provide literacy services to families in our area. Already we have two trained and certified tutors on staff. Please contact Sue or Rick at (207) 764-2571 with quewstions about this program.

We have also received notification of a grant award from the AAAS Skin Deep Project, thanks to efforts from Young Adult Librarian Dianna Leighton, which will allow the library to partner with local agencies in presenting a Public Library Skin Health Program. This program is still in its planning stages, so please do watch this site for updates on this. The program will take place in the fall.

Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library and the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance are once again partnering for The Big Read, scheduled for Thursday, October 1, 2009, at 6:00 pm in our library's Multi-Purpose Room. This even helps to promote awareness for Banned Books Week, which is September 27 - October 3, 2009. Details will be posted as available.

Look for the library to make an appearance in the city of Presque Isle's Sesquicentennial Parade on Saturday, August 15th. Happy 150th, Presque Isle, Maine!

Follow Presque Isle Library for updates on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PresqueIsleLib and on Facebook (search Presque Isle Library).

Turner Memorial Library Expanding Outreach in New Year

For those of you familiar with Twitter, you can find regular real-time updates about events at Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library on Twitter. If not, it is a quick, easy and free sign-up at www.twitter.com.

The library has electricity usage meters available for check-out to library card holders thanks to the Kill-A-Watt program. Patrons may check out a meter for up to a week and measure the energy usage in their homes to help keep their electricity bills in check.

January 11 through 17 has been officially recognized as Maine Libraries Week. Celebrate free and open access at your local library and ward off the cold by joining us at Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library on Wednesday, January 14, for hot apple cider all day.

The library received news this week that the Citizens Energy Initiative heating assistance program has been re-funded. Beginning January 19, 2009, people in need of help with heating costs may apply by telephone or online at http://www.citizensenergy.com/english/pages/OilHeatProgram. This is not a LIHEAP program. It is separate funding and very easy to apply for. Those approved receive a coupon for 100 gallons of heating oil from their regular oil dealer.

Tax forms are now available at the library. If you need additional forms or instructions from the IRS, please see Reference Librarian Lisa Shaw for assistance.

The library is still processing passport applications. Days for application through the library are Sunday through Thursday, regular hours. Please do call ahead at (207) 764-2571 if you need to make sure the processing agent will be here, as meetings and appointments do occur. Remember also that the library offers notary services (including weddings!) during these same hours.

We have posted an opening for an Assistant Youth Services Librarian, part-time. The position includes evenings and weekends, and the successful candidate will be very comfortable with Web 2.0 applications. If you have questions about this position, please contact City of Presque Isle Human Resources at (207) 764-2522. The listing closes January 14, 2009.

We look forward to another year of service to our community. There are many more exciting events coming up, so please keep checking back!

Holiday Season at Turner Memorial Library

Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library has had several activities going on to help pass the winter months. Recently, Stew Libby from Stew's Downtown Sight & Sound held an information meeting in our multi-purpose room about the upcoming digital television conversion. He has offered to return in February when the changeover goes live in case anyone is still having problems. Author Dr. Mark Varnum gave a very well attended reading and signing of his book Hawk's Cross. The Turner Book Club is meeting twice monthly. The Turner Writers Group meets one Monday per month. A local bell-ringing group will be performing Christmas songs at the library in our multi-purpose room on Thursday, December 18, at 6 pm. And there will be a reception for artist Cheryl Lovely on Friday, December 19, at 6 pm in our art gallery.

For those of you who follow our library's activities in Second Life, we recently has a reading by author Mark Budman from his book My Life at First Try. We have copies of this excellent novels available at our physical library on 39 Second Street in Presque Isle as well. We also have two new virtual libraries going up in Cybrary Square, one dedicated to the music of the Big Band Era and one to help job seekers and employers access some helpful services available on the Internet.

The library will be closed on Thursday, December 25, and again on Thursday, January 1. We will also be closing at 1:00 on Wednesday, December 24.

Gaming, Genealogy and Veterans Events

Whatever your area of interest, there's a very good chance you will find an appealing event at Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library.

This past Saturday, October 25, Turner Memorial Library had a booth along with the Aroostook Medical Center Library, at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Health Fair. Hundreds of people came by our table to get library READ bags, bookmarks, informational brochures, and apples kindly donated by the Presque Isle Regional Vocational Center School Farm.

We had seven people in attendance at our last Turner Writers Group meeting. The next one is scheduled for Monday, November 10, at 6:00 pm.

Two area Vietnam Veterans will speak to the public about their harrowing war experiences on Thursday, November 13, at 10:00 am in the Multi-Purpose Room. Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient Peter Main, as well as Marine Veteran and former Navy Chaplain Jim Morgan will gives talks, and a representative from the Caribou Veterans Center also plans to be on hand. The library also plans to show attendees the D.A.V's site in Second Life. There are two sims for the general public to visit and two sims that are for veterans only.

The Library Book Club has two meetings scheduled for November. The first will start earlier than usual, at 4:30 on Thursday, November 6, where Dr. Nan Amadeo, emerita, will show a William Faulkner film and give a talk. The club then will discuss Faulkner's As I Lay Dying at 6:00. The Book Club will also meet on Thursday, November 20, at 6:00 pm to discuss Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

Library Genealogist Ann Cushman will be giving a presentation to all those interested in the basics of genealogy on Saturday, November 22, at 10:00 am in the library's Multi-Purpose Room. Please do let the library know if you plan to attend. You can send a message here or call (207) 764-2571 or e-mail me at lisashaw@presqueisle.lib.me.us.

The ALA and Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library are teaming up to bring you National Gaming Day @ your library on Saturday, November 15, from 12 noon to 6:00 pm. We plan to have a Nintendo Wii on hand as well as a couple of PS2s. Pizza and drinks will be served.

The library recently received a generous donation of several Reader's Digest large print books. Library members are greatly enjoying this new collection.

Have a safe and happy Samhain/Hallowe'en!

Technology and Health Fairs

Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library was very pleased to be able to have a booth at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Tech Fair on Friday, October 10. There were several excellent presenters in attendance. The library was able to showcase our virtual library in Second Life, which caught the attention of several people passing by. We also were able to let people know about a new link we have set up, which will be available in the Online Services section of the library's website, which links to many, many free and/or open source utilities and applications on the Internet. You can access that link below:

Free Web Utilities Reference Link

This is something we will be able to update continually with a couple of simple mouse clicks. If you have any questions or comments about the tools or sites that are listed there, please do let us know.

Our Seniors Group is next meeting on Wednesday, October 15, from noon until 2 pm. Our presenter this week will Michelle Sandelier, who is Vice President of the Clan MacKay. We thank her very much for the last-minute scheduling. The group will meet in the Multi-Purpose Room.

The library will also be having a booth along with The Aroostook Medical Center on Saturday, October 25, from 8 in the morning until 12 noon at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Health Fair. We have several wonderful prizes and give-aways lined up, with deepest thanks going to the Presque Isle Elks Club for making that possible.

For those who have inquired, we are still making plans to show the film “Quid Pro Quo” and have a discussion following that with a community educator from the Aroostook Mental Heath Center. Please watch this space for a date and time.

We are also working to bring our next featured artist into the Multi-Purpose Room and Art Gallery, hopefully in time for the holidays. Again, please watch this space for further details as we get them.

Finally, you will notice an item at the top of each blog entry now which says “Listen Now.” We are trying a new feature on our blog which translates text to audio, which can then be played straight from your computer or added to an mp3 player or iTunes. We are in hopes that this might be of some help to those who like to keep up to date on the go or who might have issues with vision. Odiogo offers this service. Again, we welcome your feedback as always.