LibraryAware

The Greenbush Bookmark for Adults

May 2021

In this Issue: Pen to Pandemic Winners, May Events,

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, & More

We are thrilled to share the winners of the Pen to Pandemic short story contest! Word from the judges is that they were impressed by the range of offerings and had a hard time narrowing down to the winners.

Keep an eye out for information about a reception and story-reading event to be held in June.

In May we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage. See our reading and viewing recommendations below.

Enjoy yoga? Trivia? Cooking? Talking about books? Visiting museums? We've got you covered with some great May programs and events.

Please note that we've added some additional morning hours: the library now opens at 9 a.m. on Mondays and 10 a.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays. Come visit!

Best wishes from your Adult Services Librarians,

~ Elizabeth, Catherine, Jody, Barbara, & Lauren

Congratulations, Story Contest Winners!

At the East Greenbush Community Library, we love our local authors! In support of our home-grown talent, the Library, in partnership with the Town of East Greenbush and the Hart Cluett Museum, hosted a short story competition in March 2021. The theme, “Pen to Pandemic," enticed over 40 writers to submit their unpublished, original works of fiction set in Rensselaer County during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stories were judged anonymously by a joint committee which included Roberta (Bobbie) Reno, East Greenbush Town Historian, Kathy T. Sheehan, County & City Historian at the Hart Cluett Museum, and Frankie Y. Bailey, Professor at the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Albany (SUNY) and published author.

We thank everyone who participated. This was a very hard decision for the judges to make. All the eligible entrees told a tale of survival of the COVID 19 Pandemic in Rensselaer County. The stories showed our area has many talented writers.

Two winners and two runners-up were chosen (one from each age group; 18-49 and 50+). Winners will present their stories at a reception in their honor and will be included in the publication New Authors Journal.

1st Place Winners

Eva Dacier 18-49 Category: "When Maddie Met Hazel"

James Chicoine 50+ Category: "Things Have Gone Crazy in the Manor"

Runners-Up

Kelly Gallagher 18-49: "The Falls"

Julie Lomoe 50+: "The Zumba Barn"

May Programs

Virtual Armchair Traveler: NYS Museum

Friday, May 7 | 1 pm

Online | Register now

Virtual Morning Yoga with Lisa

Tuesday, May 11 | 9 am

Online | Register now

Virtual Trivia Night

Wednesday, May 12 | 7 pm

Online | Register now

Monday Night Book Chat

Every Monday | 7-9 pm

Online | Facebook

Monday Book Discussions (AM or PM)

Register: May 17 | 10 am

Register: May 17 | 7 pm

"All-Star" Virtual Cooking Class

Thursday, May 20 | 6:30 pm

Online | Register now

Friends of the Library Grab-and-Go

Book Sale

Saturday, May 22 | 11-1

More information

Virtual Armchair Traveler:

Fenimore Museum

Friday, June 4 | 1 pm

Online | Register now

Weekly Farmers' Market begins on June 9!

Wednesdays | 4 - 7 pm

More information

From Our Partner Organizations

Let's Get to Work Workshop Series
Multiple dates, Spring 2021

Online
Career and tech classes from the Upper Hudson Library System.

May 13 | 7 pm | Introduction to Excel
May 27 | 7 pm | Introduction to Windows 10
June 10 | 7 pm | Survey Says! Polling, Quizzing, Signups and More with Google Forms
Register here

AARP Driver Safety

AARP Smart Driver Course is available online. No in-person courses are currently scheduled. Get a 25% discount by using discount code: DRIVINGSKILLS. More info.

Mental Health Awareness Month Webinars

May | Online

The Mental Health Association in New York invites you to join them for these free webinars during Mental Health Awareness Month in May.

May 5 | 12 pm | Mental Health & Wellness 101
May 13 | 2 pm | The Practice of Self-Compassion for Mental Health
May 26 | 12 pm | Cultivating Resiliency
See the full webinar calendar and register

3 Word Book Reviews

Find more #3WordBookReviews on Instagram

Staff Picks Reading Recommendations

Recent reads that we really enjoyed. We hope you will, too!

A Bookshop in Berlin: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman's Harrowing Escape from the Nazis
by Françoise Frenkel

Recounts the author's experiences as a French bookshop owner in Berlin in the years preceding the second World War, discussing her story of survival and resilience as she traveled through Europe evading Nazi persecution

Recommended by Marianne | Also available on Overdrive

Moonflower Murders: A Novel
by Anthony Horowitz

Helping run her boyfriend’s small Greek island hotel, a homesick London editor is irresistibly drawn to the story of a murder on the Suffolk coast and the wrongful incarceration of an innocent immigrant.

Recommended by Roseann | Also available on Overdrive

The Porpoise: A Novel
by Mark Haddon

When a young man attempts to rescue the daughter of a wealthy man who is imprisoned on her father's estate, the attempt goes awry, sending him off on a fantastical sea voyage.

Recommended by Elizabeth | Also available on Overdrive

Trace of Evil
by Alice Blanchard

A rookie detective in a small New York community investigates the whereabouts of nine missing transients while navigating painful memories about her sister’s unsolved murder years earlier.

Recommended by Marion

We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year
by Charles J. Wheelan

What would happen if you quit your life for a year? The Wheelan family decided to find out, leaving behind work, school, and even the family dogs to travel the world on a modest budget. Equal parts "how-to" and "how-not-to," We Came, We Saw, We Left is the insightful and often hilarious account of one family's gap-year experiment across six continents with three teenagers. What could go wrong?

Recommended by Catherine | Also available on Overdrive

Find More Reading Recommendations

East Greenbush Community Library Staff Picks
NoveList reading recommendations (requires valid East Greenbush/Schodack library card)
Library Reads: Top 10 books published each month as voted on by librarians
Personalized Recommendation Service for Readers (requires valid East Greenbush/Schodack library card)

Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Looking for ways to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month? Try these resources.

Overdrive's Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Collection of ebooks and audiobooks

The National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Web Site offers events, images, exhibits, collections, audio and video resources

NY State Virtual Town Hall and Listening Sessions for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, May 13

PBS Programs and Video for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Helpful-to-Know Info

Libraries have a long history of connecting people to the information they seek. A modern twist on this tradition, now necessary in our age of information overload, has libraries sifting through the information noise to find and highlight the best material. Here's our most Helpful-to-Know Info for May.

New York State Camping Guide 2021

Craving more outdoors?

The 2021 New York State Camping Guide, digital version has just been released. This helpful online tool to explore the120 campgrounds operated by New York State Parks and the Department of Environmental Conservation.

This accessible digital flip-book version features photos, amenities, information on how to reserve a stay, a statewide map, and more!

Emergency Broadband Benefit Enrollment Begins May 12

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is a Federal Communications Commission program to provide temporary assistance to households who do not have or cannot afford high speed broadband in their place of residence. Eligible households will be able to receive up to a $50/month discount on an eligible internet service plan. Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) participating in this program are also offering discount on the purchase of certain devices.

Emergency Broadband Benefit Fact Sheet.

Beginning on May 12 households can apply in three ways:

1. Contact your preferred participating broadband provider directly to learn about their application process.

2. Go to GetEmergencyBroadband.org to apply and find participating providers near you.

3. Call 833-511-0311 for a mail-in application.

Claim Your Stimulus Payment by May 17th

American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) Economic Impact Payments are currently being distributed through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to eligible recipients. But there are still millions of people who haven’t received the first or second payments and may not receive the third because the IRS does not have their account information or address. If you haven’t received one or multiple payments, you still have an opportunity to claim the financial relief you’re eligible for, but you must take action by filing a tax return or filing for an extension by May 17, 2021.

See the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complete guide to the COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) for answers to these and other questions:

E-Resource Roundup

NoveList Plus
Book database and reading recommendations

*Requires an East Greenbush/Schodack card

Overdrive & Libby
Ebooks, audiobooks, magazines

Hoopla
Ebooks, audiobooks, movies, music, comics

*Requires an East Greenbush/Schodack card

Tech-Talk
Learn technology skills!

User & PW: eglibrary

Webucator

Self-paced tech classes. Call the library for access code.

Research Databases
Search for journal, magazine, encyclopedia, and newspaper articles

Ancestry from Home

Good news! Remote access to Ancestry has been extended for East Greenbush/Schodack residents. Not a resident? Devices connected to the library's Wi-Fi network can also access content at https://ancestrylibrary.com. And for all New York State residents, portions of Ancestry content are available from home with a free Ancestry.com New York account.

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