Space Shuttle Program

The final flight of the Space Shuttle Program lifted off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida today. Atlantis' final flight will cap off an amazing 30-year program of exploration.

NASA's space shuttle fleet began setting records with its first launch on April 12, 1981. Starting with Columbia and continuing with Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, the spacecraft has carried people into orbit repeatedly, launched, recovered and repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge research and built the largest structure in space, the International Space Station.

The NASA website: www.nasa.gov offers a number of excellent pages covering all aspects of the space shuttle, including its history, past missions, benefits, technologies, photographs, computer wallpaper, and much more

Read Magazines at the Library or on Your Computer (No More Expensive Subscriptions!)

One good way to save money is to read your favorite magazines for free at the library or on your computer through the Framingham Public Library website!

Framingham Public Library subscribes to hundreds of magazines for adults, teens, and kids - everything from GamePro to Seventeen, People to Consumer Reports, American Girl to Sports Illustrated for Kids. If you like to keep up with current news events, celebrities, sports, health, fashion, business, science, finance, cooking, decorating, or many other topics, we have a magazine for you. Current issues can be read in the library, or check out any issue that is not the current one and take it home to read at your leisure for two weeks.

Looking for a specific journal or article?

Framingham residents can also access many magazines through their computers as well. Search by title or browse by subject to access over 11,850 electronic journals, magazines and newspapers. From our website click on Catalog and then on EJournals Finder in the “Research and Information Box”. Type the magazine title in the search box and hit the Enter key to get a list of databases the magazine is indexed in. Choose a database, select a date for issues you would like to see - and you're set to enjoy!

Free Admission to Museums!

Every Friday for nine weeks during the summer the Highland Street Foundation is providing free admission to museums and cultural attractions across Massachusetts.  Beginning  Friday, July 1st we will sponsor 36 free venues including the Museum of Fine Arts, Franklin Park Zoo, Old Sturbridge Village, Plimouth Plantation and 32 more.  These venues will be absolutely free, no tickets or advanced reservations necessary.
View this link for more info.


 

SaferProducts.gov

Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually.

In an effort to identify product hazards quicker and provide consumers with safety information on products in and around the home, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has launched a new centralized federal database of people’s safety complaints about thousands of products. Consumers can use the site to report safety concerns or injuries linked to common products ranging from children's toys to power tools. They also, for the first time, will be able to easily search through recent reports about safety issues involving specific products. The database is accessible through the Commission’s website and directly at http://www.saferproducts.gov/. Previously, to get access to the same information, people had to file Freedom of Information requests for data, a cumbersome and lengthy process.

The CPSC will continue to collect reports of dangerous product incidents from multiple channels, including telephone, email, postal mail, and online, just as it has done in the past. The CPSC has up to 5 days to review a report to ensure that it does not offer materially inaccurate or insubstantial information. If the report is adequate, the CPSC will refer the report to the product’s manufacturer. The manufacturer then has 10 days to address the complaint and, if it chooses, can post its response in the database. After this review process, the original consumer complaint and any manufacturer response is made public online. Information about mandatory or voluntary recalls of the product will also appear in the database. CPSC has said that submitted reports will not become public if they are incomplete, “materially inaccurate,” or expose confidential information. Reports submitted anonymously will also not be made public.

The new database is intended to reduce risks and injuries by informing the general public of a potentially dangerous product earlier in the complaint process.

JAWS Software now available

Thanks to a generous donation from the Town of Framingham Disability Commission, the Library now has a computer equipped with JAWS software.  JAWS is a screen reader, a software program for individuals with low vision or blindness, whose purpose is to make personal computers using Microsoft Windows accessible to blind and visually impaired users. It accomplishes this by providing the user with access to the information displayed on the screen via text-to-speech or by means of a Braille display and allows for comprehensive keyboard interaction with the computer.
For more info, visit the Reference Department or call us at (508) 532-5570 ext. 4361.

Bob Dylan turns 70

Singer and songwriter Bob Dylan is recognized worldwide for the impact he has had on rock music since his career began in the early 1960s, and he has maintained his popularity among fans and critics alike over the ensuing decades. Although known primarily for his caustic and candid lyrics that reveal a defiant stance on authority, politics, and social norms that was prevalent in America in the 1960s, Dylan's fans come from a variety of age groups, all of whom identify with the raw human emotion expressed in his lyrics. As further evidence of Dylan's broad appeal and the magnitude of his contributions to music, he performed in Bologna, Italy, in September of 1997, after receiving a special invitation from Pope John Paul II. The notoriously private artist revealed more of his personal life with a documentary film and autobiography published in 2005.

Dylan has composed more than 500 songs since early 1960s; recorded with rock groups including The Band (1975), The Traveling Wilburys (with Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Roy Orbison, 1988 and 1990), and The Grateful Dead (1989); solo singer and musician in concerts since early 1960s, including appearances at Newport Folk Festival in 1962 and 1965, Woodstock Festivals in 1969 and 1994, and Live Aid benefit concert in 1985.

For full article visit our website www.framinghamlibrary.org and follow the Databases & Articles link to the Gale Biography in Context database.

Source Citation:
"Bob Dylan." Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 58. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 24 May 2011.

Dale Chihuly at the MFA

With passes from the Framingham Public Library to the Museum of Fine Arts, you will be able to visit “Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass” without additional cost.  At the MFA until August 7, 2011, this amazing exhibit showcases both new and archival work of this master glass artist.

Born in Tacoma, WA, and now based in Seattle, Chihuly received a Masters in Fine Arts and taught for many years at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.  His work is exhibited in over 200 museums worldwide, and is included in many private and commercial collections.  Want more info? Look here!

To reserve passes to the MFA or a variety of other places, start at our web page, http://www.framinghamlibrary.org/ and follow the links to Museum Passes.  You can book the passes yourself, or call us at (508) 532-5570, ext. 4361.