Winter Holiday Hours

Peace

Library hours for the end of December and early January will be

• Thursday, December 22:  12:30 pm - 3:30 pm
• Saturday,  December 24:  Closed

• Monday, December 26:  Closed
• Tuesday, December 27:  11 am - 3 pm
• Wednesday, December 28:  Noon - 7:00 pm
• Saturday, December 31:  9:30 am - 1:30 pm

• Monday, January 2:  Closed
• Return to regular hours on Wednesday, January 4:

Monday                     3 pm - 7 pm
Wednesday              Noon - 7 pm
Saturday          9:30 am - 1:30 pm

New books in early December

A few of our new books. More on the way. Click each picture to enlarge the image.

Take a look at our latest arrivals here: https://bark.cwmars.org/eg/opac/results?bookbag=23355

Heath Agricultural Commission Survey

[Survey closed December 7, 2016.]

The Heath Agricultural Commission is conducting a survey for the Towns of Heath, Charlemont and Colrain and ask that you complete this survey now either electronically (see below for link), or PAPER copies will be available in the Heath Town Hall and Library. A post card will be sent out this week for more information – Thank you for your participation!

Here’s the link! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TriTownFood

Numerous farms and small-scale food businesses are located in Heath, Charlemont and Colrain, producing eggs, beef, cider, maple, poultry, hops and much more. The purpose of this survey is to 1) find out what items consumers would like to purchase locally, 2) determine what farmers and food businesses need to be able to produce and/or sell more products and 3) to find out if nearby restaurants and other businesses are interested in purchasing more products locally. It is hoped the answers to this survey will help shape the priorities of the Heath Agricultural Commission, as well as strengthen the economic viability of agricultural and food production in Heath, Charlemont and Colrain, and improve access to and demand for more local food in the tri-town area.

Let's Talk Turkey

The covers of the November cooking magazines are touting their delicious Thanksgiving dinner recipes. Come in, check one out, and add a new dish to your holiday repertoire this year.

Cooking not your thing? We have over 32 magazine titles to choose from, with topics ranging from American Archaeology to Yoga.

Early Voting in Heath

Early voting hours in Heath have been posted by Hilma Sumner, Heath's Town Clerk. Early voting is new to the state of Massachusetts voters this year, and according to Secretary of State William Galvin it could "relieve some of the lines we anticipate having on November 8."

Early voting will take place at Heath Town Hall (Sawyer Hall) at 1 East Main St., in the second floor Town office space.

• Monday Oct. 24, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Tuesday Oct. 25, 9 a.m. to noon 
• Thursday Oct. 27, 9 a.m. to noon 
• Saturday Oct. 29, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
•  Monday Oct. 31, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. 
• Tuesday Nov. 1, 9 a.m. to noon 
• Thursday Nov. 3, 9 a.m. to noon

You may also wait and vote on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, 2016 from 7 a.m to 8 p.m. at the Heath polling site in the downstairs of Community Hall (Senior Center.)

Find early voting locations and dates for other Massachusetts communities here: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/EarlyVotingWeb/EarlyVotingSearch.aspx

Massachusetts voter and election information here:   http://www.sec.state.ma.us/EarlyVotingWeb/EarlyVotingSearch.aspx

Copies of the 2016 official Information for Voters booklet may be picked up in the lobby of Sawyer Hall, upstairs in the Town offices, or in the library. Versions are available in English, Spanish, and Large Print English. Links to downloadable PDF versions, a web version, and an audio mp3 version may be found here:  https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/ele16/ballot_questions_16/IFV_2016_versions.htm

Please exercise your right as a citizen and vote!

2016 Heath Fair Photos at the library

The Heath Library has eight years of Heath Fair pictures on CDs from local photographers for you to borrow and view on your computer. Art Schwenger donated three discs in 2009 and has contributed over a thousand photos each year since then. This year Art provided us with two discs containing about 1300 photos. Other photographers who have contributed over the years are Doug Mason (recent years have included aerial shots from his drone mounted camera,) Bob Viarengo, and Ron & Tiger Waterman.

Children's Summer Reading Program Raffle & Prize

The raffle prize winners will be drawn on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at noon. Please bring in your reading logs to receive your 5 raffle tickets.

Summer is nearing the end and we are asking all the children who signed up for the Summer Reading Program to return their Reading Logs by September 3 to receive their prize (a $10 gift certificate to a World Eye book store) and 5 raffle tickets. The raffle prizes are

1. Two tickets to the Big E (Springfield, MA)
2. Two Yankee Candle Wax Hands (South Deerfield, MA)
3. Pass to the USS Constitution Museum for up to 9 people (Boston, MA)
4. T-shirt, size 4T
5. T-shirt, size children's Small
6. T-shirt, size children's Medium
7. A giant plush Peeps pillow 
8. Draw-string backpack 
9. T-shirt, size adult medium

The raffle prize winners will be drawn on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at noon.

Artists' Reception July 9, 2016

Paintings by five Heath Seniors are displayed in the Heath Library. The paintings were done at the Monday Open Art Studio sessions in the Heath Senior Center during the Spring of 2016, facilitated by Eileen McVay-Lively.

The paintings may be viewed from July 9 through August10 whenever the Library is open.

An Artists' Reception will be held on Saturday, July 9, 2016 from 11:00 AM to noon. The event is free and open to the public.

Library Closed on Independence Day

The Library will be closed Monday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day.

Children's Summer Reading Program

Parents: please sign your children up for the Summer Reading Program! Keep track of the books your child reads or reads with a family member this summer with your Reading Log (ask Don or Lyra for one!) Later in August bring in your filled out log to receive a gift certificate to World Eye Book Shop, prizes, & enter a free raffle!

Be sure to visit the Heath Library Kids page for information about hikes and yoga classes being offered this summer.

On Your Mark, Get Set ... READ! is sponsored by the Heath Free Public Library, the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Special thanks to our local sponsors, The Friends of the Heath Free Public Library.  This program is supported in part by a grant from the Heath Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Saturday Movie Matinee at the Heath Senior Center

Heath Senior Center Presents

Movie Time at the Senior Center

Saturday, June 25, 4:00 p.m. 

Public Invited - Free Admission

Please come for a showing of a British comedy/drama/romance. On V.E. Day in 1945, as peace extends across Europe, two English Princesses are allowed out to join the celebrations. It is a night full of excitement, danger and the first flutters of romance. Inspired by true events. Rated PG-13.

Call or email Eileen Tougas (337-8558  heathseniorcenter@gmail.com) for more information about the movie or the event, or see the poster at the Senior Center.

Mark Your Calendar: Heath Art Show

The library is pleased to be able to help spread the word about an upcoming art exhibition in Heath.

September 3 through 10, 2016

Heath Community Hall.

Reception Sunday, September 4, 2 - 4 PM.

Featuring works by 22 Heath artists. Many medias represented, including:

• watercolor painting 
• oil painting 
• acrylic painting 
• photography 
• glassblowing 
• wood 

Contact Harry Hallman for more information.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Heath Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Reminder: Library Closed on Memorial Day

The Library will be closed Monday, May 30 in observance of Memorial Day.

Bake Sale (and more): Saturday, May 28

The Friends of the Heath Free Public Library

Memorial Day Weekend Bake Sale 

Saturday, May 28, 2016 

10:00 am – Noon 

On the front porch of Sawyer Hall 

If you would like to bake something for the sale please deliver it Saturday morning.

Please come and support your library by treating yourself to some of the best baked goods in town!

If the weather is good, there will also be two or three tables of used books for sale, also to benefit the Friends of the Heath Free Public Library.

Other events in Heath Center on Saturday, May 28 ...

HEATH TOWN-WIDE TAG SALE from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Heath Center. Over 20 individuals will be selling all kinds of items from their spring clean-out, crafts, toys, etc.

HEATH FARMER’s MARKET will be open from 10 a.m. to Noon. Some produce, baguettes, cheese, meats, flowers – available items for sale vary weekly.

DINING WITH HISTORY: "EARLY FAMILIES OF HEATH" presented by the Heath Historical Society, 5pm-7pm, in Heath Community Hall. Come enjoy a potluck supper with friends and family as you hear about Heath families from then and now. Please bring a dish to share. All are invited!! Contact Nancy Thane with question: 337-5580.

… see you in Heath Center this Saturday!

Thinking About Your Garden?

There are lots of book at the library to help you get started, whether you are planting a vegetable garden or rejuvenating the old flower beds. Come in and have a look on our "green thumbs" shelves.

A few of our new titles:

• Gardening with less water (library catalog)
• Attracting native pollinators (library catalog)
• The seed garden: the art and practice of seed saving (library catalog)
• The soil will save us (library catalog)

More garden related resources at the library (catalog results searching by Subject: Gardening.)

The first 4 results in a list of 301 results.

Saturday Movie Matinee at the Heath Senior Center

Heath Senior Center Presents

Movie Time at the Senior Center

Saturday, April 30, 4:00 p.m. 

Public Invited - Free Admission

By Currier & Ives - [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2538472

The Heath Senior Center kicks off its Movie Matinee series with a sea-faring tale that is based on the true story behind Herman Melville's classic "Moby Dick."* The movie tells the story of the whaling ship Essex that sailed in 1820 from Nantucket to the Pacific ocean, where it was attacked by a sperm whale and sank, followed by the harrowing tale of the survivors. The movie is rated PG-13. It was in theaters in 2015 and the DVD was released for sale in March 2016.

Call Eileen Tougas (337-8558) for more information about the movie or the event, or see the poster at the Senior Center.

* Licensing regulations forbid the disclosure of the movie title, character names, producer, or studio name in any promotion outside of the Senior Center.

Spring is in the air

It must be spring: the birds are nesting in the apple branch in the children's area of the library!

Stop by and pick up a gardening book, a new novel, or a DVD to relax with after a busy day out in the fresh air.

Our newest boardbook to share with your toddler.

Sugaring Resources

Sugaring season is nearly here (or already started for some!) and we have a few things at the Heath Library to help you get started if you are thinking about trying it yourself.

Books

• The sugarmaker's companion : an integrated approach to producing syrup from maple, birch, and walnut trees / by Michael Farrell
• Maple sugaring at home : [a guide to collecting maple sap and making maple syrup at home] / Joe McHale 
• Backyard sugarin' / Rink Mann
• Sugartime : the hidden pleasures of making maple syrup with a primer for the novice sugarer / Susan Carol Hauser 
• The sugar bush connection : maple cookery--"sweet water" folklore--sugaring off facts, sucré d'érable recettes délicieuses / compiled by Beatrice Ross Buszek

Children's Books

• Anytime Mapleson and the hungry bears / by Mordicai Gerstein
• Ininatig's gift of sugar : traditional native sugarmaking / Laura Waterman Wittstock 
• Sugar on snow / Nan Parson Rossiter 
• Sugaring / by Jessie Haas 
• Sugaring time / by Kathryn Lasky 

 DVDs

• Maple production for the beginner [videorecording] / produced by the Cornell Maple Program  
• Where we live [videorecording] / films by Steve Alves

 E-book

• The Sugar Season : A Year in the Life of Maple Syrup, and One Family's Quest for the Sweetest Harvest [E-book] Whynott, Douglas   

Closed for Washington's Birthday February 15

 The library will be closed on Monday, February 15, 2016 in observance of Washington's Birthday.

Painting Exhibition

More than twenty paintings by Heath Seniors are on display in the Heath Library. The paintings were done at Open Art Studio sessions in the Heath Senior Center during the Fall of 2015, facilitated by Eileen McVay-Lively.

The paintings may be viewed whenever the Library is open through February 2016.

An Artists' Reception will be held on Saturday, January 23, 2016 from 11:00 AM to noon. The event is free and open to the public.



Click on each photo for a larger view.

Proposed Heath Veterans Memorial

Artist's sketch of the proposed Heath Veterans Memorial

A binder with information about the proposed Heath Veterans Memorial is available to review in the library. The information was presented by the Heath Veterans Memorial Committee at a Public Informational Meeting following a Special Town Meeting on December 1, 2015.

Click the images on this page for a larger view.

Details about each stone

The existing WWI & WWII Veterans Memorial stone and flagpole in Heath Town Center

The existing WWI & WWII Veterans Memorial stone in Heath Town Center

Budget for Proposed Memorial

Fundraising sign on the Heath Town Common