“Spring is here and many of you are planning your gardens, decluttering your closets, or making home improvements. Remember, we have books to help you with all these projects and much more!”
Edited by Stephanie Piro Nolan
Art Exhibit
The Rochester Public Library is pleased to present the artwork of Spaulding High School art students on the first floor throughout April. Stop by and see the impressive work done by these students in a variety of media including pencil, mixed media and clay sculptures.
Health Market Connect
Health Market Connect will be conducting weekly workshops in the Community Room on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. -1 p.m. (thru May 25th). HMC employees will be here during those times to meet with and assist local residents in finding and enrolling in affordable (or sometimes free) insurance plans available to them.
HMC was awarded federal grant money in August of 2021 to facilitate a program – which is geared towards providing no-cost assistance with navigating the Healthcare.gov Marketplace, Medicaid, and Medicare. We aim to answer questions, educate the public on their health insurance plans, and assist them with taking the necessary steps in enrolling in the best health insurance plan available to them here in New Hampshire. We do not charge for our services, we do not (and legally cannot) favor one plan or insurance company over another, nor do we earn a commission. We are 100% funded through our grant to provide these services to New Hampshire residents.
True Crime Book Club
Our True Crime book for the month of April is The Man from the Train by Bill James. Our discussion will be held on Tuesday, April 26th, at 6 pm in the Rose Room. Books are available at the service desk on the top floor. This book club is hosted by our Programming Librarian, Abby.
Black Bears Coming Soon!
We are happy to be hosting Black Bear Happenings on Wednesday, May 18th, at 6:00 pm in the Community Room. This program covers a brief history of wildlife in NH, the Sport Fish Restoration Program, black bear natural history, research, and management in NH. Black Bear Happenings is a presentation of the NH Fish & Game Dept. It will be presented by Doug Whitfield & Dennis Walsh who are both Wildlife Stewards with NH Fish & Game. It covers the life cycle of Black Bears, their habitat needs, and ways to avoid potentially costly conflict with humans.
RPL Animated Recommendations
Main Desk Librarian (and syndicated cartoonist) Stephanie, and Main Desk Librarian, Karyl, have created a series of weekly animated videos recommending books, DVD,s and other titles available at the Library. Check them out on our website, Facebook, and Instagram accounts.
Elementary Art
The Children’s Room is collaborating with the Rochester Elementary Schools to provide space for a rotating display. Marcey Buchakjian, Elementary Art Teacher, suggests stopping by to see a diverse selection of K-5 artwork. Currently on display through May 20th are works from McClelland School, Chamberlain School, East Rochester, and Gonic Schools. We would like to remind families that combining technology & books is a great way for families to stay connected! Our patron, John, stops in every few weeks to find books for “Weekly Storytime with Poppa”. Using his computer he is able to share them with his 5 & 8-year-old granddaughters who live in Hellerup, Denmark.
Meet Our Staff
The Children’s Room has returned to normal services and as a way to help introduce their talented staff to new and returning patrons, they are highlighted in mini-bios that we are sharing in this column.
This week we feature: Melissa, a former journalist, who has worked at the library for 17 years. Although she spends most of her time in Technical Services, she’s in the Children’s Room on Wednesday evenings and some Saturdays and enjoys interacting with the children and parents there. When she’s not at work, she visits her twin grandchildren, cooks, reads, does some gardening, and thinks about cleaning her house.
New Children’s books
There is a new series in the Children’s room! Explorer Academy by Trudi Trueit. This first installment of the Explorer Academy, the Nebula Secret, sets the stage for what is bound to be your young reader’s new obsession! The main character, Cruz, gets the opportunity of a lifetime to join the Explorer Academy in Washington D.C. This is an adventure in itself since he also has to solve multiple puzzles, endure a betrayal, and solve a huge overarching mystery, all while traveling, and learning about different parts of the world, and the various ecosystems of the places he travels to. As if this story did not need any more excitement, Cruz is targeted and attacked by an organization that has infiltrated the academy. This book is jam-packed with mystery, adventure, intrigue, technology, (some yet to be invented), and a lot of facts! If your child enjoyed Magic Treehouse, Spy School, or Treasure Hunters, and enjoys science, technology, and puzzles, this is the book for them. I would recommend reading aloud for younger kids or offering it to your emerging or secure readers. I can guarantee they will not complain that it is boring!
Inter-Library Loans
If you’re looking for a book, DVD, audiobook, or other item and can’t find it in our catalog, then just fill out an Inter-library loan slip, and our amazing ILL Librarian, Donna will stop at nothing to track it down for you! New patrons will have to wait 3 months to request an item from another library.
Tech Help
Have problems with a new smartphone or tablet? Want help setting up Libby or hoopla so you can read or listen to free ebooks and audiobooks? Emerging Technology Specialist, Jessica, is here to help you if you need it! Give us a call to make an appointment at 603-332-1428 or RPLReference@rochesternh.net.
Contacting RPL
- Please note that the library open hours are: Monday-Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Thursday-Saturday 9:00 a.m.-5:00.p.m.
- Visit the Library’s website: https://rpl.lib.nh.us/
- Email the reference librarian Rplreference@rochesternh.net.
- Message us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rplnh/ or https://www.facebook.com/RPLChildrensRoom