Job Hunters: New Career Help in Framingham

The commonwealth's Office of Labor and Workforce Development (http://www.etrcc.com/) has opened a new One-Stop Career Center in Framingham. They provide workshops, job search help, help with filing for unemployment, and other services, including employment help for people with disabilities.

It is located at 1671 Worcester Rd., near the intersection of Route 9 and California Street, just west of the Sheraton Hotel. The MWRTA Bus #9 does stop close by (at California St.), but has a very limited schedule.

Resume and Job Search help is also available at the Main Library on Tuesdays 10:00am -12:30pm, and every other Saturday, 10:00am-11:30am.

Help for Libraries Affected by Hurricane Sandy

The libraries in some areas of New York City were hard hit by the storm and some have been devastated. There are a number of libraries in Queens which have suffered extensive damage and whose collections have been wiped out. When libraries are flooded the books on the low shelves (where little hands can reach them) get hit the worst.

Urban Librarians Unite is seeking help to build a new collection of materials for New York City libraries as well as putting books directly into the hands of young victims of this storm.

All donations of new and good quality used books should be sent to:

Urban Librarians Unite

45-06 Queens Blvd

Suite 120

Sunnyside, NY 11104

The campaign will runs until January 1, 2013.

Some materials will seed damaged library collections, most will go directly to kids and families hit by the storm.

 

2012 National Book Award Winners

Announced on November 13th, the winners are:

Fiction: Louis Erdich, The Round House

Nonfiction: Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity

Poetry: David Ferry, Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations

Young People's Literature: William Alexander,  Goblin Secrets

National Book Award Nominees announced

The following books have been nominated for the National Book Award, with the winners being announced on November 14th.  Follow the links to reserve your copy!

Fiction:
Junot Diaz, This is How You Lose Her
Dave Eggers, A Hologram for the King
Louise Erdich, The Round House
Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds


Non-Fiction
Ann Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1945-1956
Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 4
Domingo Martinez, The Boy Kings of Texas
Anthony Shadid, House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East 

Poetry:
David Ferry, Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations
Cynthia Huntington, Heavenly Bodies
Tim Seibles,  Fast Animal
Alan Shapiro,  Night of the Republic
Susan Wheeler,  Meme

Young Peoples Literature:
William Alexander, Goblin Secrets
Carrie Arcos, Out of Reach
Patricia McCormick, Never Fall Down
Eliot Schrefer, Endangered
Steve Sheinkin, Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon

Be a rebel: Read a Banned Book!!

Sept. 30-Oct. 6 is Banned Books Week. Now is a perfect time to celebrate the Freedom to Read with by reading a book that's been challenged or banned. You can choose from the Top 10 Challenged Books by Year (2001-2011), the 100 Most Challenged Books by decade, and a list of Banned and Challenged Classics, courtesy of the American Library Association.

A few titles to whet your appetite: The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Giver by Lois Lowry, the entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, and Halloween ABC, by Eve Merriam.

Curious if you can find them in Framingham? Just search by title or author in the online catalog (http://www.mln.lib.ma.us/). If it's not in Framingham, you may be able to request it from another Minuteman library by hitting the "Request" button, or we'll see about borrowing it from another US library through interlibrary loan.

Questions? Contact the Reference Department  at http://www.framinghamlibrary.org/asklib.htm or fplmail6@minlib.net, or call 508-532-5570 ext. 4361).

Scott Brown-Elizabeth Warren debate tonight!

Senator Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren, candidates for U.S. Senator, will be debating tonight at 7:00 pm. The debate will be shown on WHDH-TV (Channel 7), NECN, and CSPAN. Boston.com, BostonGlobe.com, and “Political Intelligence” will provide a live blog during the candidate back-and-forth. The candidates also will debate on Oct. 10 in Springfield, and on Oct. 30 in Boston.

To find out who is running for US Representative, State Senator and State Representative, and other state offices, and find information on ballot questions for Massachusetts voters, go to: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/.

Still not registered to vote? You have until October 17th to register, by mail (http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleifv/howreg.htm) or at the Framingham Town Clerk's Office in the Memorial Building at 150 Concord Street, Room 105.

Interested in finding something on Massachusetts history or election history? Come to Reference and we'll help!

It's that time of year again and students are trying to find their required textbooks without spending a fortune.  We generally do not carry textbooks, and we can't get most through InterLibrary Loan, but there is some relief.
Chegg textbook rental, www.chegg.com, can save students money by offering rental texbooks. For instance, a 2010 Excel textbook sells new for $105.00. On Chegg, the student can rent it for $63.00 or get the electronic version for $40.49. And, they can access it for 7 days online while they wait for it to arrive.
The site also states that there is a "21 day satisfaction guarantee".
Chegg also welcomes your used textbooks.