November Newsletter from the Yarmouth Town Libraries

From the Director:
November is traditionally a time when we hardy New Englanders hunker down and prepare for the oncoming winter. It’s a time to reflect on the year as it winds down, with gratitude and hope. As we recover from the October nor'easter, the long-lasting pandemic presents unique challenges again this November, even if we are learning to adjust. We are looking forward to smaller gatherings, with windows open, or maybe even on the porch this fall. And scheduling a booster shot. How about you?

-Jane Cain
Library Director

Holiday Closings in November

Veterans Day
Thursday, November 11

Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 25
and Friday, November 26

Save the date:
Winter Tales Holiday Stroll

December 11 and 12
Mark your calendars for the South Yarmouth Library Association’s (SYLA) Winter Tales Holiday Stroll this December 11 and 12. Enjoy beautifully decorated yards and doorways while strolling the Bass River village in search of over a dozen Winter Tales. Online ticket purchases with credit or debit card are available now through the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, at www.cultural-center.org. In-person ticket sales, with cash or check, will be available at the South Yarmouth Library from December 4-12, along with homemade stroll-related cookies for sale, while supplies last. Stroll tickets are $15 for Adults; Children under 12 are FREE. All funds support the SYLA. Evolving COVID 19 precautions will be in place.

Storytimes in November

Storytimes for November will be recorded each week and posted on YouTube and the Library’s social media each Monday. Themes for November include Native American heritage, gratitude and communities. Enjoy viewing on YTL Youth Services YouTube channel at your convenience!

November and December will feature Gingerbread People in Disguise!

Beginning Wednesday, November 17, gingerbread people templates will be available for you to disguise as your favorite book character, using household materials. Finished gingerbread people will be displayed at both libraries, for all to enjoy through the holiday season. Drop off by December 10 to receive a sweet goody bag to take home, while supplies last. Open to all ages.

Book Discussion Group

Tuesday, November 16, 6:00 p.m. on Zoom;
Wednesday, November 17, 10:30 a.m.
In-person and on Zoom
Join us for either the evening or morning session this month as we discuss Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez. In this memoir, Nez chronicles both his war years and his life growing up on the Checkerboard Area of the Navajo Reservation^_-the hard life that gave him the strength, both physical and mental, to become a Marine.

Weather permitting on Wednesday morning, we will be meeting in a hybrid format for this meeting - in-person in the gazebo at the South Yarmouth Library, with a Zoom connection for those who want to join us remotely.

Copies of the book are available at both libraries. You can also read the book online or listen to the audiobook on Overdrive/Libby through CLAMS or another consortium in Massachusetts with your CLAMS card. Please email Chris Kaufmann at ckaufmann@clamsnet.org or call the library at 508-760-4820 to register to receive a Zoom link or with any questions and if you have had any problems with Zoom in the past, please call 508-760-4820 x1315 or email Chris to set up a troubleshooting session.

Coming in December:
The Library Mitten Tree Project

Help us help children by donating new or handcrafted mittens, hats, scarves or socks, to keep little hands, heads and feet warm this winter. We will hang your donations on the mitten tree and distribute to a charitable organization in our community. We will accept donations until Monday, December 20.

Change Sings by Amanda Gorman

When you visit South Yarmouth or West Yarmouth Libraries, check out our interactive displays inspired by the new book “Change Sings,” by the youngest inaugural poet and author of “The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman. Visitors of all ages are invited to add their personal thoughts on the changes they wish to see for a better world. The Library will provide the materials. Each contribution will be added to the display and entered into a drawing to win copies of Amanda’s books. Activity kits and resources from the publisher are available while supplies last. For more information and a video featuring the author, visit https://sites.prh.com/teachchangesings

Staff Picks for
Native American Heritage Month

For additional resources visit https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov

Caldecott Award-winning picture book, We Are Water Protectors
by Carole Lindstrom;
Illustrated by Michaela Goade

Water is the first medicine. It affects and connects us all. Water is sacred. Told from the perspective of a Native American child, this bold and lyrical picture book, written by Ojibwe/Métis author Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade, is a powerful call to action to defend Earth's natural resources--inspired by the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and similar movements led by indigenous tribes across North America.

Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris

Dorris's eloquent, beautifully crafted coming-of-age tale centers on Walnut, a near-sighted Native American boy whose uncanny ability to use his other senses earns him the adult name Sees Behind Trees. Set in the distant, pre-colonial past, the boy moves hesitantly into adulthood and gradually gains confidence in himself; learning humility and earning the respect of his tribe. This first-person narrative should connect strongly with a young audience, who will quickly learn that, no matter the century or the culture, the fundamentals of growing up remain very much the same.
(Descriptive content provided by Syndetics™,
a ProQuest® service.)

Online Services Spotlight

Hoopla/Craftsy

Whatever you like to create, Craftsy gives you the video tools to get the job done. Craftsy offers talented experts teaching across more than 20 categories. To get started, visit www.yarmouthlibraries.org/eBranch and click on Hoopla.

The Perkins School Reading Materials Available through
the Library

If you, or someone you know, needs items for a low-vision person, we can provide materials from the Perkins School at South Yarmouth Library and West Yarmouth library. We can assist you in filling out an application for your own player and other materials, or you are welcome to borrow the Library's player and cartridges if you would prefer to test it out first.

For more information on obtaining low vision reading materials, click here.

For the application form for getting one's own account (and having materials mailed to you at home): click here.

Museum Passes

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
This museum in Boston houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. Visit yarmouthlibraries.org/museum-passes and reserve a pass today.

South Yarmouth Library Art Wall
Joanne O'Bryan

Joanne has been drawing for as long as she can remember. She was influenced early on when her mother, a violinist, took her to art museums. She studied art at the University of Utah, Salt Lake, received a B.S. in art at the University of Wisconsin and has a Masters degree in Art Therapy from Leslie University. She generally paints with acrylics.

Library Planning Committee Updates

To further their study of Library facilities and services into the future, the Library Planning Committee (LPC) has been meeting regularly this fall, considering all that has transformed libraries during this past year-and-a-half of pandemic changes. Visits to the library were curtailed during our various closures (in March 2020 through September, and then again from December 2020 through the spring of 2021), but circulation of materials remained strong – with a sharp increase in demand for electronic books, videos and audiobooks. Attendance at outdoor family events on the lawn of the West Yarmouth Library were the highest they have been in years. What we are learning is that people enjoy coming together in a community, and they are always hungry for learning and enrichment.

The Committee has started a public information campaign and produced an update for Special Town Meeting attendees November 2. The information will be available at each library and at: www.yarmouthlibraries.org/ABOUT/LibraryPlanningCommittee.