Library to Offer Lecture on Women’s Roles in Films of the World War II Era

ITHACA—If you think gender roles are skewed by the media today, join the Tompkins County Public Library Saturday, March 29 at 1:00 PM, as we explore the roles of women in Hollywood during World War II.

SUNY Albany Lecturer Rob Edelman will present: From Rosie the Riveter to Harriet the Happy Homemaker: Women on Screen During and After World War II. Edelman will show classic film clips and discuss the role of women in times of war and peace as shown in movies.

This program, sponsored by the New York State Council for the Humanities and by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation through a gift from the Brooks Family Foundation, will take place in the Library’s Ezra Cornell Reading Room.

The lecture is free and open to the public.
Contact: Carrie Wheeler at (607) 272-4557 extension 248

Families Learning Science Together: Simple Machines

Join the Tompkins County Public Library and the Cornell Center for Materials Research as we learn about simple machines during the next Families Learning Science Together program.

Families will investigate several simple machines which use levers, inclined planes and pulleys. The program will take place Saturday, March 22, 2008 from 1:00 to 2:00 PM in the Library’s Thaler-Howell Programming Room.

This program is free and open to the public, but space is limited, so reserve a spot today by contacting Kevin at outreach@ccmr.cornell.edu or call 254-8256.

Library Software Upgrade

The Library is scheduled for a software upgrade on Wednesday, March 19th from 8 AM until noon. During this time, we ask that you limit the number of items you check out to five (5) and that you have your library card in hand. Access to the catalog and databases will not be available. Please see a staff person at the Adult Services or Youth Services reference desks if you need assistance finding materials. Thank you for your patience.

LIBRARY BOARD, PROFESSIONAL STAFF AT IMPASSE

The Board of Trustees of the Tompkins County Library, acting through its Executive Committee, today informed the New York State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) that it is at impasse in its collective bargaining negotiations with the Professional Staff Association (PSA) unit of Local 2300 of the United Auto Workers. The Library asked PERB to appoint an impartial professional mediator to assist in the ongoing negotiations. The existing contract with the SSA expired on December 31, 2005.

Speaking on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Board President Henrik N. Dullea expressed the desire that PERB’s involvement would finally help to bring about a new contract for the professional staff employees who are represented by the PSA.

“We have been ready to negotiate a multi-year agreement with the PSA since the fall of 2005,” said Dullea. “With the helpful involvement of a PERB-appointed state mediator, the Library recently reached a tentative agreement with the Support Staff Association representing the Library’s clerical and support staff employees. We believe that we are very close to reaching a mutually beneficial contract with the PSA, and we hope that the assistance of a state mediator at this time will bring this process to a successful conclusion.”

For more information contact Dullea at (607) 227-2104.

Library to Host Cornell’s Skorton and Davisson

Join the Tompkins County Public Library as we present Books in Our Lives: An Afternoon with Cornell University President David Skorton and Robin Davisson, Sunday, March 9, 2008 at 2:00 PM in the Library’s Borg Warner Community Meeting Room.

Skorton and his wife, Dr. Davisson will share from and discuss books that have had an impact on their lives.

Library Director Janet Steiner said she hopes the community will join the Library in welcoming President Skorton and Dr. Davisson and she invites them to come prepared to share stories of how literature has helped shape their lives.

“This is truly a one-of-a-kind opportunity for the community to see another side of President Skorton and Dr. Davisson and to share in the universal bond created by a love of literature,” Steiner said.

Dr. Skorton became Cornell’s 12th president in 2006 after a successful tenure at the helm of the University of Iowa. A board certified cardiologist, Dr. Skorton has joint professorships in internal medicine, electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering.

Dr. Davisson served as associate professor of anatomy and cell biology and radiation oncology at the University of Iowa from 1998 to 2006. She has a dual professorship in biomedical sciences in Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine and in cell and developmental biology at the University’s Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

The Library program will feature two components—a presentation by Drs Skorton and Davisson and an audience participation portion moderated by Steiner.

This program is free and open to the public, however space is limited. Doors will open promptly at 1:30 PM.

For more information contact Carrie Wheeler, the Library’s public programming and community outreach coordinator, at (607) 272-4557 extension 248.

Learn, Love, and Laugh with the Tompkins County Public Library’s Mother – Daughter Book Club

PLEASE NOTE: THE TIME FOR THIS MEETING HAS BEEN CHANGED FROM THAT ORIGINALLY ADVERTISED!

The Tompkins County Public Library invites all girls ages ten through 13 and the special women in their lives to join the Library’s Mother-Daughter Book Club.

In addition to reading and discussing wonderful books each month, participants will have the benefit of being led by acclaimed children’s author Emily Rhoads Johnson. Roads Johnson is the author of Spring and the Shadow Man, A House Full of Strangers and Write Me If You Dare.“

What a bonus to have an author of children’s literature offer insight into the selected novels,” Adelle Leise, youth services librarian, said.

The Mother-Daughter Book Club provides a wonderful opportunity for participants to learn about themselves and others by discussing literature. There is no right or wrong answers during Club meetings, simply open discussions where all input is valued.

The group will meet once a month for seven months in the Thaler/Howell Room. The sixth meeting will be held on March 9, 2008 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

The title to be discussed for February is Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. A complete list of the titles selected for the group can be found at www.tcpl.org/youth/programs/motherdaughter.html. Registration for the Club is appreciated but not required.

For more information, contact Adelle Leise at (607) 272-4557 extension 277.The Mother-Daughter Book Club is made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation through a grant from the J.M. McDonald Foundation.

Tompkins County Public Library To Host Special Tour of Exhibit Unnamable Name

ITHACA--Tompkins County Public Library welcomes Curator Todd Ayoung as he leads a special tour of the exhibit "Unnamable Name" at 1 pm, Saturday March 8.

The tour is free and open to the public. It will begin at the Reference Desk and lead patrons through the book stacks. It will be followed by a special, large screen showing of the six videos featured in the exhibit, which will take place in the Borg Warner Community Meeting Room at 1:30 pm.

Unnamable Name has proven a controversial exhibit, garnering comments ranging from, “This is not a good idea” to “Very interesting” and from “What is the point? This is a waste of money” to “a very bold statement, I like it.”

This tour gives patrons the opportunity to learn more about the exhibit and the intent of the curator, and to understand why some of the artists chose to feature the work they have included. The screening of the videos included in the exhibit will give patrons the opportunity to see them on a large screen rather than on the standard-size screen of the Library’s public computers.

It is hoped that some of the local artists whose work is featured in the exhibit will be present as well.

For more information about the exhibit, visit www.tcpl.org/exhibits/unnamablename, or contact Sally Grubb at (607) 272-4557 extension 232.

Get your Game on at the Tompkins County Public Library

Get ready to show off your fancy footwork and dust off your thesaurus for game nights at the Tompkins County Public Library.

Teens aged 12 to 17 are invited to get active with Dance, Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, chill out with Scrabble and Chess, or test their vocabularies with Balderdash or Scattergories.

Game nights are free and open to the public and will be held twice a month from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the Library’s Thaler/Howell Programming Room. Play one game or stay for the full two hours; there is no limit to the fun you will have or the friends you will meet. Refreshments will be provided.

Attend one or all of the following game night programs:
February 13, 2008 @ 6:00 – 8:00
February 20, 2008 @ 6:00 – 8:00
March 6, 2008 @ 6:00 – 8:00
March 19, 2008 @ 6:00 – 8:00
April 9, 2008 @ 6:00 – 8:00
April 23, 2008 @ 6:00 – 8:00

This event has been made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation through a grant from the J.M. McDonald Foundation and the Finger Lakes Library system through a grant from the Friends of the Library.

Library to Host Teen Writing Workshop

Teens Write! A creative writing workshop for teens, ages 11 –17 will meet every Wednesday at the Tompkins County Public Library in the Thaler/Howell Program Room from 4:00 to 5:30 PM, beginning March 5, 2008 and ending April 23, 2008.

These free workshops provide a safe and supportive atmosphere for creative writing and group sharing. Registration is required. For more information or to register please contact Irene Zahava directly: 607- 273-4675 or zee@twcny.rr.com.

The 2008 Teens Write program is made possible through gifts from Carrie Shearer and Suzanne Spitz.