Rhythm Kids Drumming Class
Sat. Feb. 4th, 2 pm

Come drum with us!  Learn to play upbeat African rhythms on your very own drum!  Tom Foote and Greg Nikitas will be joining us from Rhythm Kids for an interactive, fun, high-energy program in which every child will drum, dance, play, groove, sing and have a great time!  Geared for ages 2-6, but all ages are welcome! 

All Ages Music Program
Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association Chinese Music Youth Ensemble
Saturday, February 11th at 2:00pm in the Large Meeting Room

Lego Club

Ashland kids are invited to join the Lego Club which meets at the Library every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month from 3:00 – 4:15 p.m. to build a creation using the Library’s huge stash of Legos. Kids younger than Grade 3 must be accompanied by an adult. Drop-in style.

Children's Lap Sit for Infants and Toddlers

Every Wed. from 10:15 to 10:45 am
Drop-in style. Join us for stories, songs & fingerplays. Space is limited.

TumbleBooks

The Library has recently added a subscription to TumbleBooks, a website where kids can read and listen to animated e-books. TumbleBooks can be accessed from any computer, either in the Library or at home.



Try TumbleBooks for yourself by going to http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/home_tumblebooks.asp (username: ashlandpl  password: libra)  The Library’s subscription has been provided through an early literacy federal grant, administered through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The grant was written by Betsy Salomone, Early Childhood Coordinator/Team Chair for Grades Pre-K-2.

"We are What We Build"

Photographs by Howie Axelrod

January 17th - March 1st

Ashland resident and intrepid traveler Howie Axelrod has been photographically documenting his travels for many years and the library has been very pleased to exhibit his work on a regular basis for the past 5 years. This exhibit is a collection of 25 images taken over the past decade of his travels on 6 continents.

 “Although I am not an architectural photographer, I am always impressed by the structures that we as humans have built. A simple observation is that the largest man-made buildings on earth are religious structures, sporting arenas, and military installations. This appears to be constant throughout our history, and perhaps says a great deal about our priorities as higher order beings. Many creatures are builders, but man alone builds for both function and beauty, often going to great lengths and expense to adorn buildings whose primary purpose is function. This behavior is not seen in the animal kingdom, making us unique among builders. I present here man-made structures from around the globe having been built from 430 BC to modern times.  Some are the most simple of dwellings having been built from whatever materials were available. Others are mighty forts and religious structures where no expense seems to have been spared in terms of function or adornment.

I hope you enjoy this photographic journey and welcome your comments.”

Howard S. Axelrod 508-881-6597 highwind1@comcast.net

Upstairs Display Case
"Inspiration Comes from Everywhere"
Deborah Elizabeth Stone

January 7th - March 3rd

Marlborough artist Deborah Elizabeth Stone has been working with beads for many years. A few years ago she had a wonderful exhibit of her work at the library and was greatly enjoyed. She is returning with a new exhibition of her most recent work, much of it inspired by several 20th Century artists including Kandinsky, Klee and Frank Lloyd Wright. She is also exploring  more sculptural pieces. As Deborah said to me  “Remember, anything with a hole in it is a bead”.

In Ms. Stone’s words:

“I have been beading for over 22 years. I got started when a company in San Francisco was looking for people to do piece work: making the same earring over and over again. Once I made the first pair and found out how wonderful beads are to work with I couldn't do the same thing twice...I think that the hardest part of working with beads is that your hands can't work as fast as your brain...I am always making notes and incubating ideas, some projects take longer than others to come together. Many projects start with just an idea and a rough picture in my head. Once I get started the beads guide me so that they end up exactly where they are supposed to be. It is a fascinating creative process to remember where you started and see where you finish.” 

Example of Deb Stone's Work

Main Circulation Area
"In Circulation"
A site-specific installation created by Janet Shapero for the Ashland Public Library
September through January 2011

In designing and creating this installation, Ms. Shapero has this to say:

"As one of the original Carnegie Libraries, the Ashland Public Library provides not only the site but also the inspiration for ‘In Circulation’ an installation that will inhabit the library from September through January, 2012. Based on the idea of public access to books and knowledge, I have designed an installation that reaches out to the public through the very windows of the Library. The windows serve both as visual and metaphoric means of illumination, and as pages in an ongoing story of transformation.

In this time when the very future of libraries and of physical books is in transition, I have decided to focus on books and on their predecessors – scrolls. Using three key book sizes; folio, quarto, and octavo as a reference, I have created series of sculptural pages that are not physically bound together, they appear to float through space – overlaying the environment with their luminous color. Sizes, shapes, colors and configurations will shift and change over the course of the installation creating a visual symphony for library patrons and viewers - who will be invited to participate through sharing their experiences – online."

"In Circulation" by Janet Shapero

 On Monday, January 30^th the group will discuss Moloka’i, by Alan Brennert.  A novel about the life of a resilient Hawaiian woman, who as a child was taken from her home and family and sent to a quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka’i.

The Friday Night Films Series, entering its fourth year, has shown 170 films from 18 countries such as the USA, Mongolia, France, Spain, Denmark, and Sweden.  The Friends of the Library subsidize the public viewing license and the audience's donations provide the films which then go to the library's film collection.  Most films are shown closed captioned.

Date	Film Title and Description
Jan 6	Friends in High Places Brunetti’s housing nightmare begins when a clerk from the land registry office tells him that his apartment lacks the necessary paperwork.  Then the clerk dies and Brunetti suspects murder. The detective learns how the real estate market in Venice really functions.
Jan 13	Central Station (Portuguese/Brazil) classic film about a lonely retired schoolteacher who takes under her wing a boy who has witnessed the death of his mother.  Played by the great Fernanda Montenegro, she searches with the boy for his father. (106 min.)
Jan 20	Barney's Version  Three decades of a man's life.  Paul Giamatti, Minnie Driver, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike.  (134 min.)
Jan 27	Kings of Pastry  The actual pastry competition in Alsace--the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France--the Nobel Prize for pastry (84 min.)

All interested citizens are invited to attend.

Committees for marketing, permits/regulations, and vendor selection have been formed. Citizens are encouraged to participate so that a farmers’ market can open in June 2012.

“It is great to have other Farmers Markets nearby,” says Matt Marshquist, one of the organizers, “but those markets do not draw customers to our downtown businesses and they do not provide a venue for our civic groups to engage with the community. By creating a new farmers market in downtown Ashland we will create that space and also create a venue for new farmers to market their product directly to consumers.”

There is interest in having locally produce and fruit vendors in addition to those selling products like baked goods, meat, eggs, cheese, honey, maple syrup, and coffee and tea.

For more information, contact Steve Mitchell, 508-576-1029, stevenmitchell@verizon.net or Cynthia Whitty, info@ashlandfarmersmarket.org.

Sat., June 2nd from 10:00am to 2:00pm

Please join us to browse our extensive collection of books for sale and sample delicious cupcakes ($1.00 each)

Books are $1 for hardcover and trade paperbacks. Mass-market paperbacks and children's books are 50 cents.