Library eBook borrowing surges in 2011
BRATTLEBORO - According to the most recent report from the Pew Internet and Life Project, the number of Americans owning at least one tablet computer, eBook reader, or other digital reading device jumped from 18 percent in December to 29 percent in January.
Brooks Memorial Library patrons love to download. In 2011, library members borrowed 721 titles, ranking it third in Vermont behind Rutland (743) and Essex Free Library (761). Of the 139 libraries using Overdrive - the eBook and eAudio website - there were over 17,000 checkouts of e-books in 2011.
Access to eBooks and eAudio is free with a Brooks library card. For Brattleboro residents, the card is free. For non-residents, the cost if $48 per year or $25 for 6 months.
On Friday, Feb. 3, at 3 p.m. in the library's meeting room, Library staff will offer a free guided tour of Overdrive, including how to download book files to a compatible device.
The library also offers four Kindles to borrow with pre-loaded content.
Compatible devices include desktop PC and Mac computers; mobile devices such as Kindle, Kindle Fire, Android, Blackberry, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Windows Mobile; and eBook readers that include the Nook, Kobo, Literati, NextBook, Pandigital, PocketBook, and Sony Readers.
Bring your reader and share your experiences. Instructional handouts will be available.
Community suppers begin in Athens
ATHENS - The Athens Community Supper, sponsored by Grafton Cares, is a monthly gathering in the basement of the Athens Community Church. It is held at 6 p.m. on the first Friday of each month.
The menu for the Feb. 3 meal includes beef stew, cornbread, and coleslaw, along with a great community dessert table. There is no charge, but donations are welcome. For more information, contact Dennis and Karen Hunt at 802-869-2674.
Woodworking traditions celebrated at the Winter Farmers' Market
BRATTLEBORO - Are you are tired of cutting, splitting, hauling, or just looking at firewood? Winter Farmers' Market on Saturday, Feb. 4 will show you wood in a whole different way.
Works in Wood will be the theme this week at the market. Visitors will see woodworking artistry - traditional Windsor chairs and other handmade furniture, the beauty of wood turning in action, and more. Come to see what else a chunk of wood can be transformed into - a wooden bowl, a birdhouse, wooden toys, a wine stopper, handmade pens, or a shaving brush.
In addition, more than 25 regular market vendors will be on hand, and there will be live local music from 11 a.m to 1 p.m.
The Winter Farmers' Market is sponsored by Post Oil Solutions and is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, 153 Main St., every Saturday through March 31.
Email organizers at www.rockingham.lib.vt.us.
Boys and Girls Club hosts youth poetry slam
BRATTLEBORO - A youth poetry slam will take place Saturday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m., at the Boys and Girls Club, 17 Flat St. All middle- and high-school poets are welcome.
Youth may sign up to participate in the slam competition (with judges) or in the open mic session (no judging).
For more information, contact Teri Young at teriyoung3@gmail.com or 802-258-9054.
'Souper Bowl' champ to be determined at West Dover Congregational Church
WEST DOVER - While the Patriots and Giants fight it out in Indianapolis, the West Dover Congregational Church will be naming the 2012 “Souper Bowl” Champ here in Vermont on Sunday, Feb. 5.
As a church divided between diehard Patriots and Giants fans, its members saw the upcoming Super Bowl match-up between the two teams as a heaven-sent opportunity to help neighbors.
From now until Feb. 5, the church will collect food items for the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry and invites those donating to put their items in either the Patriots box or the Giants box. During halftime on game day, organizers will count the donations in each box and determine which team is the true “Souper Bowl” champ.
Organizers also invite the community to join them at a potluck at the church during the game, which will be shown on a large screen in the church's activity center. The event will be alcohol free and family friendly.
For more information, contact the Rev. Emily C. Heath at 802-258-1143.
Author to discuss Tea Party movement, 2012 elections
MARLBORO - Ronald Shaiko, a senior fellow and associate director for curricular and research programs at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College, will discuss the tea party movement in a public lecture at Marlboro College.
Shaiko will discuss the genesis of the tea party movement and the movement's impact on the 2010 elections, on Congress through the Tea Party Caucus, and on the Republican Party during the ongoing elections.
He has authored and edited three books, written numerous journal articles and book chapters, and produced more than a dozen program assessments of the U.S. government agencies.
The free event takes place on Monday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. in Ragle Hall at Marlboro College.
In case of inclement weather, call the Marlboro College Events line at 802-451-7151.
Next tobacco cessation workshop at BMH starts Feb. 7
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will host another installment of “Fresh Start: Tobacco Cessation Workshop” in the BMH Room B on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
The free, six-week class offers help to participants who wish to stop smoking. A trained facilitator from the Vermont Department of Health Access will run the four-week class, which takes place every Tuesday through Feb. 28 from 9 to 10:30 a.m.
To register or get more information, call 802-251-8456.
Emergency medicine primer presented at Grace Cottage
TOWNSHEND – If you're curious to know what it's like to work in a hospital emergency department, come to Grace Cottage Hospital's “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Emergency Medicine But Were Afraid to Ask” presentation.
This free presentation on Thursday, Feb. 9 runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m., at the Grace Cottage Hospital Community Wellness Center, 133 Grafton Rd. (Rte. 35). It features Grace Cottage Emergency Department physician Dr. Richard Meyer, and the session will include time for questions from the audience.
To register, call 802-365-3649.
Fresh Air Fund seeks volunteers, host families
BRATTLEBORO - The Fresh Air Fund's Brattleboro area committee is preparing for the arrival of New York City children this summer. The Fund seeks volunteer members and host families so visiting inner-city children can enjoy new experiences and lasting friendships.
Each summer, nearly 4,000 New York City children from New York City's low-income communities, ages six to 18, enjoy vacations for up to two weeks with volunteer host families in suburban, rural, and small-town communities across 13 Northeastern states and Canada. Local Fresh Air Fund volunteers recruit and interview host families, check references, and coordinate group program activities in their communities.
For more information, call Tom Kosiba at 802-282-9933 or The Fresh Air Fund at 800-367-0003, or visit www.freshair.org.
Renaissance, Rotary offer fundraising raffle for $1,000 gift certificate
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Rotary Club and Renaissance Fine Jewelry are offering a raffle for a $1,000 gift certificate for a Renaissance store credit. The raffle is a fundraiser in memory of Norm Kuebler, a longtime community member, businessman, and Rotarian who died in April 2010.
Proceeds from the raffle will be split between two of Kuebler's favorite organizations: the Brattleboro Boys and Girls Club, and Pure Water for the World. The drawing will take place on Feb. 3, during Gallery Walk at the store at 151 Main St.
Tickets are $5 each or five tickets for $20, and can be purchased at Renaissance, at Howard Printing on Putney Road, or from any Brattleboro Rotary Club member.
For more information, visit www.brattlebororotaryclub.org.