Blog
Nov 01

Novemer 2020 Library News and Events

November 2020 Library News & Events

All programs are free of charge unless noted otherwise. Learn more at friendsofroslindalelibrary.org.

Upcoming Election!
If you are voting in person on Tuesday, November 3, Election Day, you can find your local polling location on the Secretary of State's website.  The City of Boston has installed ballot dropboxes at most open library branches around the city. Because the Roslindale Branch is closed, there isn't a dropbox there.  The only dropbox in Roslindale is at the BCYF Menino Community Center on 125 Brockway Road.  To find other dropboxes, go to the city's website.  You have until 8 PM on Election Day to drop off your ballot.  You can track your mail-in ballot through the Secretary of State's website.  The deadline for in-person absentee voting is on Monday, November 2 at 12 PM.

Online Holiday Book Shopping!
Now more than ever, it is important to support local independent bookstores and public libraries. The Friends haven't been able to do any of our book or yarn sales because of the branch's closure and the pandemic, which is a big part of our income.  We have teamed up with Rozzie Bound to create a unique shopping experience with our special holiday gift lists!  We carefully curated three booklists - adults, teens/tweens, and children - featuring over 200 giftable books with a wide range of interests, topics, and genres that fit everyone's budget.  This is a great option for those of you who plan to do most of your holiday shopping online.  You can even order and send as gifts to other addresses.

Best of all, everyone wins here when you buy from our lists:

1. You support a local bookstore
2. The Friends receive 20% of sales from every book sold from the lists
3. You stay safe while shopping online
4. The recipient gets a thoughtful gift!

Give the gift of reading and buy your holiday gifts here: https://bookshop.org/shop/rozziebound

Online Race and Inclusion Book Discussion:
So You Want To Talk About Race
Saturdays, November 7, 14, and 21
9:15 - 11 AM (Morning) or 2 - 3:45 PM (Afternoon)
Sign up soon.  Spaces are filling up! We will discuss Ijeoma Oluo's book, So You Want To Talk About Race. Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to "model minorities" in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism and how they infect almost every aspect of American life. The discussion will happen on Zoom and will be led by local educator Josh Frank.  You can get the book from bpl.org (which has a very LONG waitlist) or an online bookstore like Rozzie Bound, which will be donating ALL sales from this book to the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, a Dorchester-based nonprofit that serves as "a center of healing, teaching, and learning for family and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief, and loss."  As a matter of fact, Rozzie Bound will donate all its proceeds from its "Racial Justice Bookshelf" to the Peace Institute. You can find the virtual shelf here: https://bookshop.org/shop/rozziebound.

Because this is a very popular book, we will have two sessions with 20 participants each on the three dates.  Times: Morning session at 9:15-11 AM and an afternoon session at 2 -3:45 PM.

To register, please email JP Branch librarian Laura Pattison at [email protected].  Please write "Ijeoma Oluo Book Discussion" in the subject line when you RSVP.

  • You only need to register once for all three dates, even if you think you might miss a date.
  • Please choose the morning or afternoon time, and you will be registered for that same time for each date.
  • Laura will register the first 40 people, 20 each for the morning and afternoon groups.  You will get an email if you are registered.  If you do not get an email from Laura, please assume that you are not registered.

This discussion is co-sponsored by the Friends of the JP Branch Library.

Online Rozzie Reads Poetry and Open Mic
Thursday, November 19, 7 PM
Featured poets: Sandra Lim and Connie Nelson. Sign up for this Zoom program by emailing [email protected].

Support Local Poets!
Because these poetry readings are on Zoom, it’s more challenging for poets to sell their books.  Many have been readers at the monthly Rozzie Reads Poetry Series on Zoom.  So the Rozzie Reads Poetry group has also set up their own list of giftable poetry books for the holidays!  Their books can be ordered online. Prices listed do not include shipping.

Activist Kids Book Club with Mari Copeny
Saturday, November 21, 4 PM
In this special Activist Kids Book Club meeting, 13-year-old Mari Copeny, also known as "Little Miss Flint," will join us to talk about her fight for getting access to clean water in Flint, Michigan, and elsewhere. When the Flint water crisis began, Mari decided to use her voice to help out her community instead of feeling helpless. Since then, she has expanded her effort to help communities across the nation dealing with toxic water. After her presentation, Mari will answer some preselected questions. If you have a question for Mari, please include it in your registration!  Register here: https://bit.ly/2TA6TKH. Note that this week’s session has a separate registration from the regular series.  The program will be held on Zoom. Registered participants will receive the Zoom link the morning of the program.

Activist Kids Book Club
Saturdays, 4 PM
Calling all kids interested in working to make the world a better place! Through the 26-week Activist Kids Book Club, we will focus on a different page in A is for Activist, read other picture books about the issues and movements discussed in the book, learn about kid activists throughout history and today, and talk about what we can do to make our world a better place for everyone. This group is best for kids ages 6 and up. We will send out a Zoom link 24 hours before the program and again an hour before it starts. To make sure you get a link, please register by 10 AM on Saturday. Register once for the whole 26-week series here: https://bit.ly/35KunCy. You will receive reminders and the Zoom link every week. Questions can be directed to the Roslindale Branch Children's Librarian Miss Celeste at [email protected].

Preschool Storytimes
Tuesdays, 4:30 PM
Children’s Librarian Celeste Bocchicchio-Chaudhri continues her weekly Preschool Storytime series on Zoom. Join us every Tuesday at 4:30 for songs, stories, and fingerplays that reinforce early literacy and school readiness skills! Register at bpl.org/events.  Preschool Storytime is part of the Boston Public Library’s Future Reader’s Club! The Future Readers Club is for children ages birth to kindergarten and their caregivers, a club to support reading aloud to the very youngest children with a goal of reading 1,000 books together before the child begins kindergarten. You can register for our app to track your reading and review books here.

Buy Bulbs, Support The Friends
We are fundraising with Dutch Mill Bulbs to earn money for art, and other enhancements to our future renovated branch. All items are guaranteed to grow and bloom, and our group earns 50% of the profit on every sale.  It’s easy!  Make your selections, provide billing and shipping information, and enter the Friends in the group name.  Please go to
https://groups.dutchmillbulbs.com/shop/?affiliates=friendsofroslindalebranch, and you’ll be directed to our custom page. The items you select will be sent directly to the shipping address you provide, and shipping fees will be added to each order.  You can even order and send as holiday gifts to other addresses. Please place your order by November 30.

Children’s Book Bundles
Roslindale Children’s Librarian Celeste Bocchicchio-Chaudhri and Jamaica Plain Children’s Librarian Barbara Rhodes are working together to create custom book bundles for kids to pick up at the Jamaica Plain library. We know it is hard to know what books to choose for your kids without browsing the shelves. Since the library buildings will remain closed for the time being due to escalating COVID cases in the city, book bundles are the next best thing to browsing! Fill out one of our request forms, or email the information to [email protected], and we will prepare a stack of books just for your kid!

After-hours Book Drops Are Now Open
While the Roslindale Book drop is still unavailable due to the ongoing construction, the after-hours book drops at the other city branches are now open. You can return books at your convenience.

Virtual Homework Assistance Program
The Boston Public Library’s Homework Assistance Program has gone virtual this year. Students in grades K-8 can meet with high achieving high school students on Zoom to get help with school assignments. There are four different Zoom rooms for different areas of the city. Roslindale is in Zoom 3. The Homework Assistant Program can be accessed via computer, smartphone, tablet, or telephone.

Get Headspace
Experience the benefits of meditation through guided meditations, animations, articles, and videos. The BPL has a limited number of licenses to assign to BPL cardholders. Licenses expire on the 1st of each calendar month, but you may return there to obtain a new license.  This resource requires you to register for an individual Headspace account.  Get more information here.

Online Resource Highlight: AtoZ World Food and Gale Culinary Arts

Just in time for Thanksgiving!

AtoZ World Food contains traditional recipes and covers food culture for 174 countries of the world in six categories: National Cuisine, Regional Cuisine, Daily Meals, Dining Etiquette, Special Occasion Foods, and Food Trivia.  Click Here.

Gale OneFile: Culinary Arts has cooking and nutrition magazines, culinary journals, and reference books, including industry information and thousands of searchable recipes and restaurant reviews.  Click Here.

Corporate Donations!
Thanks to recent donations from Google and John Hancock, we are able to continue doing online programming during the pandemic.  We welcome donations large and small to help defray costs to keep us going.  If you work with a company that offers donations and corporate matches to 501c3 nonprofits like the Friends, please consider contacting your human resources or external giving department and email us at [email protected].

Amazon Holiday Shopping with the Friends!
If you are doing more Amazon holiday shopping during the lockdown, please consider registering with our Friends' AmazonSmile account.  For eligible purchases at AmazonSmile, the Friends receive 0.5 percent of the purchase price year-round.  There is no additional cost to the Friends or to AmazonSmile customers. You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for donation” on their product detail pages. The shopping experience is identical to Amazon.com with the added benefit that the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate that percentage to the Friends!  The percentage might seem minuscule, but this adds up if you are a regular Amazon customer who makes purchases several times a week or month.  Of course, if you just want to donate directly to the Friends, you can do so on our donation page or become a Friends member.  Every dollar and cent counts!

BPL To Go
The BPL is offering limited pickup services for physical library materials at most branches when put on hold.  Library cardholders — including e-card holders — will be able to safely pick up their items much like picking up takeout from a restaurant, and return items using designated bins.  No other physical services at the library will be available, but branches will continue to offer a wide range of online programming and resources.

Late Fee Moratorium 
The Boston Public Library is extending its moratorium on assessing late fines through the end of the year. The BPL instituted the moratorium in March in the wake of the pandemic, originally planning to reinstate fines in September, but has decided to continue the practice in the coming months. This extension applies to all adult library cardholders at all BPL branches. Patrons across the library system under the age of 18 are already exempt from late fines. Read more about it here.


Online Resources at BPL.org
There are many ways to use the Boston Public Library during this period. You can sign up for a BPL library card at bpl.org/get-a-library-card to get an eCard. The eCard provides access to millions of ebooks, audiobooks, movies, newspapers, magazines, journals, databases, and other online resources, including OverDrive, Kanopy, and Hoopla. All you need is a computer, phone or tablet, and an internet connection to access these resources and then log in to bpl.org with your eCard or physical library card.  The BPL is also offering a full listing of online services.  Send your questions to [email protected].   Please leave your gently-used donated books in any little library in the Roslindale Community Library Network.

Computer Access at the BPL
Mayor Walsh and the Boston Public Library launched two new initiatives designed to help bridge the digital equity gap in the City of Boston. The Public Computer Access program will allow residents to sign up for a two-hour appointment to use library computers in a socially distanced space within the Central Library in Copley Square. The Outdoor Wi-Fi Program provides 24-hour outdoor internet access at nine BPL branch locations across the city, allowing users to socially distance while accessing the Internet for free.


Museum Passes
The Boston Public Library also announced it is reinstating a version of the Museum Passes program, granting BPL patrons access to free and discounted passes to Massachusetts museums and cultural institutions. As museums continue to open in Phase Three of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan, the library will add more institutions to the program. For more information on COVID-19 safety requirements when visiting these organizations, patrons can call or visit their websites directly.

Printing To Go
Printing To Go, a free print-on-demand service is now available at all BPL branches not currently under construction.  Patrons can upload documents they need to be printed by filling out a form at bpl.org/printing-to-go, selecting their location, and picking up their print jobs 72 hours later at the branches, or 24 hours later at the Central Library in Copley Square. Printed items can be picked up during branch hours of operation, a reservation is not needed.  The service is limited to 10 pages per patron per day. Documents will be printed in black and white, single-sided, on 8.5" x 11" paper, and should not include personal information, such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or other similar information. Print requests must comply with the Library’s Internet Use Procedures and Guidelines.

New WiFi Hotspots
The Boston Public Library has invested in new wifi hotspots that can be checked out from the library. If you do not have internet access at home you can check out a hotspot for three weeks. The hotspots have unlimited data and can support up to 15 devices. You can place a hold on a hotspot online or by calling your closest library branch. Since the Roslindale branch is closed for construction, you can place a hold to pick up a hotspot at Jamaica Plain (617) 524-2053 or West Roxbury (617) 325-3147, or any other branch that is convenient.

Books of the Month

Each month we feature themed booklists grouped for adults, teenagers/young adults, and children, and can be borrowed as an ebook from bpl.org!

Books about Native American Heritage
November is Native American Heritage Month! Check out this list of books highlighting Native authors or the Native American experience.

Books about True Crime
True crimes books are all the rage these days, and here is a listing of some of the best ebooks in this genre.

Highlighting Intellectual Diversity
We are trying to feature more books by conservative and libertarian authors.  We created a list.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to add your own book suggestions.

Highlighting Intellectual Diversity
Someone on our email list asked us to feature more books by conservative and libertarian authors.  We created a list featuring all of the emailer's suggested books, as well as our suggestions.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to add your own book suggestions.

Sharing is Caring
The best way to know about upcoming offsite Roslindale library programs, special events, news, and renovation updates is to stay on this email list, like our Facebook page, and regularly visit friendsofroslindalelibrary.org and bpl.org.  If you know anyone who would like to join our email list, please tell them to sign up on our website's homepage at friendsofroslindalelibrary.org.  We would also appreciate it if you forward our emails and share and like our Facebook posts with your networks to help get the word out.

Support the Friends!
We are a volunteer-run organization. All the work we do for library programming, publicity, and building improvements is done with support from the community. There are many ways to support the Friends, like donating, becoming a Friends member, and even shopping on Amazon!

Contact the Friends
For information about the Friends, contact us.  We also share information about upcoming events, photos from past events, and other library news on Facebook, and on our blog!

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