June 2024 Library News and Events

BPL Jobs
Do you need a job? The Boston Public Library is hiring system-wide. They have MANY positions that need to be filled. The sooner we fill the vacancies, the sooner we can look forward to a second late night, faster building repairs, and a less stressed staff!
https://www.bpl.org/jobs-at-the-bpl/

Many Thanks
Thanks to the Roslindale community for supporting the Friends of the Library through your book donations and purchases at our sales.  The May Book Sale raised over $3,200 even while the price of the books remained quite affordable.

We are always open to your ideas for programming or building improvements—send suggestions to [email protected]. Enjoy the furniture we were able to add to the outdoor space and the programming, museum passes, books, and equipment that we fund to keep our library humming with resources for all.

Thanks also to the branch staff for their support, flexibility, and cheerfulness. And to a team of students from Nobles and Greenough who ran a book drive and toted tons of boxes.

The gray bins in the library lobby always welcome donations of recent fiction, nonfiction, children's, and young adult books.

Back at the Farmers Market
The Friends will be selling books at the Market this year on June 22, July 13, August 10, and September 14.  Stop by to browse or chat!

June Events

Ann Turley Retrospective Exhibit
Through June 7 in the Community Room Gallery
Celebrate 60 years of Roslindale artist Ann Turley’s work.

Teacher Book Giveaway!
The Friends benefited from a book drive run by suburban high school students. We have many Young Adult and Children’s books. Classroom teachers are welcome to come select books for free at the Roslindale library during the following times over the next few weeks. Staff can assist you in locating the books. If you are a teacher, please share this information with your colleagues.

• Saturday, June 1, 9 AM - 2 PM or 3 - 5 PM
• Monday, June 3, 10 AM - 1 PM
• Tuesday, June 4, 12:30-1:30 PM or 3:30-4:30 PM
• Wednesday, June 5, 12-4 PM
• Thursday, June 6, 12-6 PM
• Friday, June 7, 11:30-1:30 PM or 3:30-5 PM

These times are subject to change due to subsequent room booking. Call 617-323-2343 if you want to confirm.

Teen Time
Monday, June 3, 4 – 5:30 PM
Enjoy pizza and share your ideas of what you want to do at the Roslindale Branch Library. Any questions, ask Miss Celeste or Miss Mary.

Book Discussion Club: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Wednesday, June 5, 11 AM – 12:00 PM
Thursday, June 6, 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Select one date to attend. Email [email protected] to join.

Please note that: July’s Book Discussion Club Book is James (2024) by Percival Everett. Meeting dates are Wednesday, July 10 at 11:00 am – 12:00 pm and Thursday, July 11 at 6:30 – 7:30 PM
In this “virtuoso reworking of Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it's the enslaved Jim who tells the tale” (Library Journal). Email [email protected] to register.)

VITA Free Tax Preparation
Saturdays, June 8 & 22
(2nd and 4th Saturday of the month through October 2024)
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
VITA (Volunteer Income Tax assistance) will be at the Roslindale Branch Library with free drop-off tax assistance.

•     Taxpayers must show the Social Security cards and IDs of all adult individuals in the tax return. VITA does not prepare taxes for visa holders and states only forms. VITA will prepare only the tax years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Tax returns for the years 2020 and 2021 will be mailed by the taxpayer to the IRS and State.
•     Taxpayers will leave income documents for tax preparation.
•     All documents will be returned when the taxpayer comes back to pick up the completed Federal and State tax forms on the following service day. The completed tax return forms can also be emailed to the taxpayer for approval.
•     Household income limit is $70,000

For more information, contact VITA: Telephone/Text: 617-838-8089 (leave a message) Email: [email protected]. Registration is not required.

Scrabble Club
Saturday, June 8, 1 – 3:30 PM
Thursday, June 13, 6 – 7:30 PM
Join our Scrabble club! Players of all levels are welcome. If you have a board to bring along, that would be great (but it’s not a requirement). For ages 18 and up. Registration not required. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Doug Sondak at [email protected].

Immigrant Heritage Month Intergenerational Art Program
Saturdays, June 8 – July 13, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
June is Immigrant Heritage Month! Join us in celebrating with a six-week intergenerational art workshop. Participants of all ages are invited to explore, express, and honor the stories and experiences of immigrants. Registration is not required.

Author Talk & Reading: Lin Sartori
Saturday, June 8, 2 – 3 PM
Lin Sartori is the author of The Nanchang Connection, a historical thriller, The People’s Republic of China: Beyond Research, a travel guide, and Father’s War, a historical fiction novel that begins in the present day. Lin will discuss her books and her writing process, followed by a book signing. Books will be available for purchase, and light refreshments will be served. Registration is not required.

Cribbage Club
Wednesdays, June 12 & 26 at 2 – 3:30 PM
Join us to play this unique and addictive card game. Players score points by collecting different combinations of cards, and the score is kept by putting small pegs in holes in a board. Players of all levels are welcome. Registration is not required.

Free Legal Clinics for Immigration Assistance
Thursday, June 13, 3 – 7:00 PM
Rian Immigrant Center’s expert legal staff and pro bono attorneys will offer free, drop-in legal consultations for immigrants. Translators will be present to assist. (Please note that attorneys cannot review or fill out forms.) Registration is not required.
Book Signing: Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu
Saturday, June 15, 1-2:30 PM
Rozzie Bound, 739 South St
Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu will sign her young adult thriller, Ride or Die. She was born in South Africa and raised in several places, including Boston, where she currently resides. She graduated from the University of Cape Town with a BA in English literature and film and media production, and she uses those skills to write stories, pitch media, and watch movies. Ride or Die is her debut novel.

Mah Jongg Club
Thursday, June 20, 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Play the American-style variant of this tile-based game that originated in China and requires skill, strategy, and calculation. Players with knowledge of the game are preferred, but it is a friendly group, and beginners are welcome. Email [email protected] to register.

Rozzie Reads Poetry and Open Mic
Thursday, June 20, 7 PM
Live at Roslindale House, 120 Poplar Street
Featured readers: Daniel Johnson, Gloria Mindock

Beyond Borders Book Club: A Body Across Two Hemispheres (2022) by Victoria Buitron (NEW!)
Thursday, June 20, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Beyond Borders Book Club will explore the immigrant experience, highlighting the voices and stories of those who have lived in two worlds. Join us to discuss Victoria Buitron’s 2022 memoir, A Body Across Two Hemispheres, describing her coming-of-age between Ecuador and the United States as she explores her ancestry, learns two languages, and searches for a place she can call home. It portrays not only the immigrant experience but the often-overlooked repatriate experience while interweaving facets of depression, family history, and self-love. Email [email protected] to register. Copies of the book are available to check out at the library’s central desk.

Hidden Histories: Juneteenth History
Thursday, June 27, 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Educator Muqeedah Salaam discusses Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Registration is not required.

John Garfield – Breaking Point: Film Series
John Garfield was one of the leading male stars of the 1940s and early 1950s, but he died tragically and suddenly in 1953 at the age of 39, just after learning he would be Blacklisted. His intense method of acting training led to several roles in some of the best Film Noir-styled movies of the era, and his rugged portrayal in these films is etched with existential anguish. Join Barry Marshall, Senior Affiliated Faculty member in the Visual and Media Arts Department at Emerson College, to view and discuss four films starring John Garfield.

Monday, June 3, 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Force of Evil (1948)
An unethical lawyer who wants to help his older brother becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket. Directed by Abraham Polonsky and starring John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, and Beatrice Pearson. 1 hr 19 min.

Monday, June 10, 1:30 – 3:30 pm
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
A married woman and a drifter fall in love and then plot to murder her husband. Directed by Tay Garnett and starring Lana Turner, John Garfield, and Cecil Kellaway. 1 hr 53 min.

Monday, June 17, 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
Ex-GI Nick Blake gets involved in a scheme to fleece a rich, young widow but finds himself falling for her, much to the displeasure of his racketeer cohorts. Directed by Jean Negulesco and starring John Garfield, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Walter Brennan. 1 hr 40 min.

Monday, June 24, 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Breaking Point (1950)
An otherwise moral captain of a charter boat becomes financially strapped and is drawn into illegal activities in order to keep up payments on his boat. Directed by Michael Curtiz and starring John Garfield, Patricia Neal, and Phyllis Thaxter. 1 hr 37 min.