This past weekend we set our clocks back one hour as we do every year. Ideally when we get up in the morning it will be a little lighter, and, not so ideally, after we work we'll all be stumbling home in the dark. But why do we do this? Supposedly Benjmain Franklin first proposed daylight saving time (DST) as a way to save candles, but he also suggested waking the public by firing cannons at sunrise, so it's difficult to say how serious he was. The idea in its modern systematized form was... Read Post
News
June 8th 2016
Last Sunday marked the beginning of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim year. If you're a non-Muslim and don't know anything about Ramadan, this brief article at Vox.com covers the essentials. Muslims believe Ramadan to be the month God revealed the first verses of the Quran to Mohammed. It's a time of contemplation and celebration. There are an estimated 3.3 million Muslims in the United States, so there's a possibility you know someone or will run into someone who's observing it. As a... Read Post
March 3rd 2016
A few weeks ago I posted about resources to help you determine the truth of what you see, hear or read in the media.
Here are 3 more fact-checking resources to consider: Media Matters for America, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, and The Washington Post's Fact Checker.
August 12th 2013
It's official: Whitey Bulger has been found guilty - of a whole lot of stuff - and will presumably be spending the rest of his life behind bars. Many of us would like to forget all about the notorious thug but, human nature being what it is, a fair number of us want to know all there is to know about Whitey and his doings. To that end, here's a list of relevant books available through the Minuteman Library Network.
Whitey: the Life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss by Dick Lehr... Read Post March 15th 2013
Our thanks to the mayor for recognizing the essential and ever-changing role libraries play in the life of this city:
http://www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/36202
March 6th 2013
Courtesy of storycorps.org
It should come as no surprise to this city’s residents, but members of this diverse and vital community have a story to tell. And your library is going to help them tell it – thanks to a grant from the American Library Associaton and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which will enable us to launch our own version of the “StoryCorps @ your library” program.
StoryCorps is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving, and... Read Post
December 7th 2012
In a recent Somerville News column reflecting on the career of former Mayor Eugene Brune, Mayor Curtatone quoted a Boston Sunday Globe insert (below) from October 17, 1965 entitled, "The New Somerville--Colonial Birth, Space Age Rebirth," extolling a "new Somerville" with state-of-the-art infrastructure and institutions emerging from one of the birthplaces of America.
But as the mayor pointed out, the insert mentions developments and transit plans that didn't get very far. And the Somerville... Read Post
July 31st 2012
Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Director of Libraries, Maria Carpenter, announced today that the City of Somerville has been approved by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) to be placed on a waiting list for an $18 million construction grant to partially fund a new public library in the heart of Union Square. Fourteen other communities were listed, but Somerville received the highest grant award in the state and placed first in the second round of review. Eight more... Read Post
March 29th 2012
At the March 22, 2012 Board of Aldermen meeting Mayor Curtatone
requested the following transfers from DPW Snow Account:
$21,600 to replace the pipes and rugs in the Children's Room in the West
Branch.
$36,086 to repair the elevator in the Central Library.
$59,500 to repair/replace the East Branch Library roof and front
entrance.
All three requests were approved by the Board.
Our thanks to the mayor, the Board of Aldermen, and a very mild winter.
February 1st 2012
"Cup o' Joe with Joe" is the City of Somerville's employee recognition program to acknowledge the efforts made by those employees or departments who have gone above and beyond in their usual job responsibilities. This month's winners are the Library's own Jim and Thy! Congratulations guys, you earned it!
May 1st 2008
Welcome to the Somerville Public Library Blog! The Library staff hopes to keep you informed, entertained, and in touch with what is happening at the Library. Visit our blog to find out about special Library events, news about Somerville, new books and databases, helpful websites, and book recommendations.