Pictured is Beth Totten. File photo.
Beth Totten
Beth Totten

Spring is in the air, or at least we hope spring is here. Although it has been a mild winter in comparison to other winter seasons, everyone seems happier when the sunshine and warmer winds begin! At the library, we are thinking spring, too!

Our Seed Exchange will open on April 1st. Stop in and see our great selection of seeds. This will be on our First Floor and seeds will be available all day long. This year marks the fifth year of our seed exchange in the community and it just continues to grow. We will also be planting our own veggies in the garden behind the library.

Additionally, watch for our plant/seedling exchange next month.

“Making the Most of Social Security” will take place on Monday, April 4 at 7pm. The associates of John Kalil, Financial Service Representatives have designed this program to help participants (ages 45 – 70) better understand their Social Security Retirement benefits. This workshop is free and open to the public.

We will start the celebration of National Library Week with a concert by CNY’s Bear Cat Jass Band. On Sunday, April 10 at 10m, join us for some toe-tappin’, hand-clappin’ Dixieland Jazz music with these great musicians.

Our volunteer tax consultant, through Cornell Cooperative Extension, Harry Hood, will be at the library again this year to help those who are 60 and older with tax services. The hours for tax help will be Friday mornings from 9am until noon. Help is offered on a first come, first serve basis. Select appointments will be available for Friday afternoon time slots. Mr. Hood’s last day will be April 15th.

Tax forms are also here at the library for those who prefer to prepare their own taxes, we do have a very limited quantity of New York State Tax forms and Federal Tax forms as well. You can always use our available bank of computers to prepare your taxes online or if you’d prefer, tax forms can be viewed and printed here at the library. Printing costs are ten cents per page.

On Monday, April 18th at 7pm, we will hold our Rebecca Eddy Memorial Awards Ceremony. Special guest Vince Doty will read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” to kick off the nights’ festivities. Authors will read from their entries at the end of the presentations.

The Canalside Talk for April will be held on Wednesday, April 20 at 7pm. Susanne Greenhagen will offer “A Living History,” a program on the Loomis Gang. The story of this 19th Central New York crime family is told through the eyes of a Loomis contemporary, the former Sherriff of Madison County, the Honorable William F. Bonney.

Greenhagen is a retired Technical Services Librarian from SUNY Morrisville. Currently she serves as the Historian for the Village of Morrisville and co-historian for the Town of Eaton. The Canalside Talks are a coordinated effort with the Canastota Canal Town Museum and the Canastota Public Library.

On Tuesday, April 26 at 1pm, the Book Chat will meet to discuss “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Sklott. Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. This story tells of her life, the life of her family and the continuing life of her cells. If you have read this book or are interested in reading it, please do so and consider joining us!

We love to hear from our patrons. If you have ideas on how we can improve our services and resources, please let us know. Happy Spring!

By martha

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