Youth Services Department to Get Therapy Dog

The Tompkins County Public Library is pleased to offer the addition of Diesel, a certified therapy dog to our Youth Services offerings.

Diesel is a sweet and patient member of the Tail Waggin’ Tutors Team. Certified by Therapy Dogs International, Diesel will help students who have difficulty with reading or self confidence by attentively listening as they read to him from their favorite books.

Tail Waggin’ Tutors is a program offered by Therapy Dogs International, which brings therapy dogs to schools and libraries to help young people develop a love of reading.

Diesel will be available for book sharing in the Library’s Thaler/Howell Programming Room beginning at 6:00 PM on the following dates:

July 23

August 13

August 27

September 10

September 24

For further information, contact the Youth Services Department at (607)272-4557 Ext.275

Community Read Kick-Off Celebration Planned

Famed Little Women author Louisa May Alcott will make a rare appearance at the Tompkins County Public Library Saturday, July 26, 2008.

What makes the appearance so rare is that Alcott has been dead since 1888. Fortunately, literature lovers still have the opportunity to get an up close and personal glimpse at “one of America’s most prolific writers” through a striking portrayal by Massachusetts-based actress Jan Turnquist.

Turnquist is the director of Orchard House, Alcott’s childhood home in Concord, Massachusetts, and the founder of InterAct Performances.

Through InterAct, Turnquist travels the Northeast using living history to bring the past alive. Rather than telling the story of Louisa May Alcott’s life, she assumes her identity.

During the hour-long performance, Turnquist will provide valuable insight into important 19th Century issues such as suffrage, abolition and the Underground Railroad. She will also share more personal information about Alcott’s life including her friendships with Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, her unusual Victorian family and her work as a Civil War nurse.

This performance, which begins at 1:00 PM in the Library’s Borg Warner Community Meeting Room, celebrates the kick-off of the 2008 Community Read. This year’s selection, the Pulitzer Prize-winning March by Geraldine Brooks, tells the story of March, the absent father from Alcott’s Little Women, important issues from the Civil War period and the impact of war on family and self.

The kick-off celebration will also feature music from the popular Buffalo-based band City Fiddle, who will delight audiences with their historical attire and lively traditional music.

Other programs being planned in conjunction with the 2008 Community Read are an August 16 reading and signing by 2008 Pulitzer Prize Winner John Matteson, whose biography, Eden’s Outcasts, tells the story of Louisa May Alcott and her father Bronson, book discussion groups and a lecture on the Underground Railroad.

All Community Read programs are free and open to the public. The 2008 Community Read and its corresponding programs are made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation through generous gifts from Elizabeth E. Reed and the Brooks Family Foundation.

For more information or to request copies of March for your book group, contact Sarah Glogowski at (607) 272-4557 extension 255.

Tin Can Fantasy Factory to Perform During Stories in the Park

The Tompkins County Public Library will present a performance by the Tin Can Fantasy Factory, Tuesday, July 15 from 11:30 to 12:00 PM at Dewitt Park.

The Tin Can Fantasy Factory is a youth theatre troupe recognized for their amazing improvisational skills. They will perform during the library’s regularly-scheduled Stories in the Park time slot. In case of rain, the performance will be held in the library’s Borg Warner Community Meeting Room.

This program is made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation with a gift from the Ithaca Farmer’s Market.

For more information, contact the Youth Services Department at (607) 272-4557 extension 275.

Manipulated Realities Exhibit to be Displayed

Manipulated Realities, an exhibit of manipulated photography, curated by David Watkins Jr., will be on display at the Tompkins County Public Library from July 7, 2008 through September 30, 2008. A closing reception will take place, with a panel discussion exploring the motivation and artistic goals of the artists, on Thursday, September 18.

Six photographer/digital artists: Stan Bowman, Jay Hart, Jan Kather, Daniel McPheeters, Joleen Mahoney Roe, and David Watkins Jr., are participating in the exhibit. The emphasis will be on how photographic images can be manipulated for a variety of creative, personal and artistic reasons.

“While it may be a subject for debate, photographers have been ‘manipulating’ images since photography began,” Watkins said. “Early photographic artists used myriad tricks of light and chemistry in the darkroom to either create something new and different or simply improve their final image. It can be argued that the simple act of placing one's eye to a viewfinder begins to manipulate what an ultimate viewer of the image will see and respond to. In todays digital world, the ease and sophistication with which images can be changed to misrepresent "reality" causes those responsible for reporting news much concern about responsibility and ethical values.”

“This show is not about image change for misrepresentation or documentation. It is about purposeful artistic manipulation and creation ­– pushing the images' potential for art, for emphasis, for challenge and personal expression,” Watkins added.

The decision to hold a closing, rather than an opening reception, will allow library patrons and visitors to view and fully appreciate the exhibit before taking part in the panel discussion.

For further information please visit www.tcpl.org or contact Sally Grubb at sgrubb@tcpl.org, or call 607 272-4557.

Art Doll Exhibit to be Displayed

The exhibit, “Art Dolls from Children's Literature", presented by the Ithaca Doll Artists, will open on July 1 at the Tompkins County Public Library. An opening reception will be held Thursday, July 3, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM in the Thaler/Howell Programming Room of the youth services department.

The exhibit includes dolls inspired by mythical creatures, fairies, and leprechauns, as well as legendary characters from folklore, poetry, and classic children's stories. Other art dolls from the artists will also be on display.

Artists displaying their work include: Abby Hatfield, Annette Sharpe, Annie Zygarowicz, Carol Boyer, Cheri Sheridan, Darlene Aspinwall, Donna Faivre-Roberts, June Silberman, Maddie Thurnheer, Marlo Niederer, Penney Hughes, and Ziadiva.

The exhibit will run from July 1 through August 31. For more information about the artists, prices of dolls and special commissions, please contact ithacadollartists@yahoo.com.

For further information about the exhibit, contact Sally Grubb at sgrubb@tcpl.org, or visit http://www.tcpl.org/exhibits/dolls2008/LIBRARY%20PHOTOS.pdf or the Ithaca Doll Artists’ website at http://www.ithacadollartists.com.