Summer Explorin'

USS Constitution

We can safely say the annual countdown to summer vacation time is upon us! Children are marking each day off the calendar, teachers are winding down lesson plans and librarians are gearing up for summer reading programs. The parents I know are busy planning...camps, babysitters, and finding special days to explore something new and fun with their kids through the summer. 

That’s where the Friends can help! The Friends of the Cambridge Public Library (CPL) sponsors the CPL museum pass program, which offers free or discounted admission to many area museums. 

A few tips about how the museum passes work:

Franklin Park Zoo

• You must have a valid CPL or Minuteman Library Network card to reserve and pick up museum passes.
• Most museum passes can be booked online.
• Not all museums are free; some of the passes offer discounted admission fee or coupons on museum activities.
• Each CPL library branch has its own pass or coupon, so you can pick up a pass right in your neighborhood.
• Just like your library books, there is a due date for each pass you check out and a fee for late returns.

Museum of Science

For more information about the program or to reserve your special day at the museum, visit the library website. Click “accept” to see the complete list of passes available, details about each, and availability.  

The hardest part is deciding where to spend your summer exploring days!

AWESOME!

Have you seen some of the books other Cambridge readers think are awesome?

Check out the Awesome Box at the Cambridge Public Library website for a randomly selected sample of materials Cantabrigians love at the library.  Or if you're returning something Awesome, put it in the Awesome Box so someone else can benefit from your Awesome suggestion!

Last Call for Photo Contest Entries!

There's still time if you haven't hit us with your best shot for the Friends of the Cambridge Public Library 2013 Biennial Photo Contest.

Entries are due by midnight May 1 (that's this week!) and winners will have their photographs displayed on the main floor of the Cambridge Public Library through the month of June. See more about prizes, contest details, and information about how to submit your winning photo here.

World Book Night Reminds Us to Celebrate and Share Our Love of Reading

As I read the last passage and close the back cover of a book, my instinct is often to want to share the story I just experienced. I want someone else to experience it too.

World Book Night is an annual event that reminds us how meaningful it is to spread the love of reading, from person to person. Each year on April 23, volunteer book givers give away a half million free paperbacks to others who are light and non-readers. It’s about giving books and encouraging others to read and to connect through the sharing of stories.

This year Cambridge Public Library is hosting a phenomenal line up of authors whose books were chosen for World Book Night 2013. The special kick-off event features authors Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Neil Gaiman, and Lisa Genova on Monday, April 22 at 7 pm at the main library.

Even if you’re not participating in World Book Night officially, you can still share your love of reading. Tell someone about a book you loved, give a friend your copy to read, or help them find it at the library.

It's not too late for your winning photo!

If you waited for spring fever to set in before you embarked out of winter hibernation, don’t worry, there's still time to enter the Friends of the Cambridge Public Library photography contest. The change of seasons is the perfect time to capture photos of the burgeoning buds, a well-used snow shovel, or whatever strikes your photographer’s eye.

You have until midnight on May 1 to send your photos to cplfriendsphotos@yahoo.com.

The theme for the biennial photo contest is open, so submit your one or two best shots and include a title and a one- to three-sentence description. Contest details are here or on the CPL website under 2013 Photo Contest from the sidebar on the left.

Jump the Science Divide: Science Festival Events at the Library

The Cambridge Science Festival is happening in April and this year, you won't want to miss the first-ever Friends of the Cambridge Public Library events offering a look at science as it intersects with poetry and science from a comic perspective.  Read more about jumping the science divide in the Friends President's contribution to the Cambridge Science Festival blog.

On Tuesday April 16, 6-8pm Nick Montford, poet, co-author of "10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10", and associate professor of digital media at MIT, will lead a discussion about the intersections and common grounds of poetry and science.

On Saturday, April 20, 2-4pm, guest speakers Jay Hosler, author of "Clan Apis" and "Sandwalk Adventures", local artist E.J. Barnes, author of "Caroline's Catalog", and Rosemary Mosco, field naturalist and cartoonist, join us for a fun and interactive exploration of how comics and science work together.

Both events will be at the Main Library Lecture Hall. Find out more at the CPL website.

It's Library Advocacy Day March 26!

Thanks to the library Friends and patrons who joined us this week at the Cambridge Public Library to learn about being an advocate for our libraries.

Special thanks to our speakers for inspiring us as well as informing us: Dinah O’Brien from the Massachusetts Library Association, Judi Paradis from the Massachusetts School Library Association, and Celeste Bruno and Cindy Roach from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC).

Community members are the most effective advocates for libraries. You USE your library and understand the value it provides to you and your community.

Speaking up for why libraries are important is easy and there are many ways to make sure your lawmakers and local officials hear from you about why you want them to keep libraries a priority.

If you've visited your library recently, take a minute to add a comment about why you need your library to this tumblr from MBLC. Share this link with your elected officials (your state representative or senator or city councilor) with a note about how you use your library everyday. For a little inspiration, you can also watch and share this amazing video about the 94,000 library visits that happen each year across the Commonwealth!

You can learn more about some of the critical issues for library systems across Massachusetts here and about Library Legislative Day activities at the State House on March 26.