JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Together We Read Begins February 7

#TogetherWeRead, a digital book club connecting readers to the same ebook & audiobook at the same time with no waitlists or holds, begins February 7th! The featured title is ‘The Five Wounds’ by Kirstin Valdez Quade.

It’s Holy Week in the small town of Las Penas, New Mexico, and thirty-three-year-old unemployed Amadeo Padilla has been given the part of Jesus in the Good Friday procession. He is preparing feverishly for this role when his fifteen-year-old daughter Angel shows up pregnant on his doorstep and disrupts his plans for personal redemption. With weeks to go until her due date, tough, ebullient Angel has fled her mother’s house, setting her life on a startling new path.

Vivid, tender, funny, and beautifully rendered, The Five Wounds spans the baby’s first year as five generations of the Padilla family converge: Amadeo’s mother, Yolanda, reeling from a recent discovery; Angel’s mother, Marissa, whom Angel isn’t speaking to; and disapproving Tíve, Yolanda’s uncle and keeper of the family’s history. Each brings expectations that Amadeo, who often solves his problems with a beer in his hand, doesn’t think he can live up to.

The Five Wounds is a miraculous debut novel from a writer whose stories have been hailed as “legitimate masterpieces” (New York Times). Kirstin Valdez Quade conjures characters that will linger long after the final page, bringing to life their struggles to parent children they may not be equipped to save.

More details here: https://togetherweread.com/us/

Meet Libby!

Is there a new phone or tablet in your life this holiday season? Explore the Libby app and start borrowing e-books and e-audio from our collection today!

You can also access our OverDrive collection anytime from your browser here.

November is Career Development Month

November is Career Development Month – do you know about library resources available to North Country residents? In addition to print resources available on shelves, you can access the following resources with your library card anywhere, anytime:

JobNow: Offers job seekers immediate and practical help 24 hours a day. Build resumes and brush up your interviewing skills. Job seekers also have access through JobNow to business experts who are available to read and critique resumes.

Universal Class: Accessible through OverDrive’s Libby app, Universal Class offers over 500 self-paced courses to sharpen your skills.

Passbook Career Exams eBook collection: 36 titles to explore, from Account Clerk-Typist to Zoning Inspector.

Next Big Library Read Begins November 1

From November 1-15, North Country readers can join over a hundred thousand others around the world participating in OverDrive’s Big Library Read by borrowing Natalie D. Richards’s YA suspense thriller, Five Total Strangers, from our digital collection. Library card holders can borrow the ebook and audiobook for free without waiting by downloading the Libby app or visiting our digital library here. The title will automatically expire at the end of the lending period, and there are no late fees.

Big Library Read is an international reading program facilitated by OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for popular ebooks, audiobooks and magazines. Five Total Strangers is the 26th selection of this program which began in 2013 and takes place three times per year. Readers can join an online discussion about the book here.

In Five Total Strangers, Mira needs to get home for the holidays. Badly. But when an incoming blizzard results in a canceled connecting flight, it looks like she might get stuck at the airport indefinitely. And then Harper, Mira’s glamorous seatmate from her initial flight, offers her a ride. Harper and her three friends can drop Mira off on their way home. But as they set off, Mira realizes her fellow travelers are all total strangers. And every one of them is hiding something. Soon, roads go from slippery to terrifying. People’s belongings are mysteriously disappearing. Someone in the car is clearly lying, and may even be sabotaging the trip—but why? And can Mira make it home alive, or will this nightmare drive turn fatal?

To join the discussion, learn about past Big Library Read titles and download Libby, visit biglibraryread.com.

Library Services Update – Fall 2021

Throughout the pandemic, North Country libraries have adapted by offering curbside materials pickup, virtual and outdoor programming, and increased access to online resources.

Other changes have included modified service hours, computer access, indoor programming, and use of library meeting rooms.

As always, for the best and most updated information about your library, please contact them directly.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as libraries continue to provide services as safely as possible to our North Country community.

More than $300,000 Awarded to Local Libraries for Construction Upgrades

Senator Patty Ritchie announced the following local libraries will receive funding to assist their libraries with construction needs.  Congratulations to the North Country Library System member libraries listed below that were awarded State Aid for Library Construction funds for their construction projects!

Fulton Public Library: $111,902Parish Public Library: $153,302
Hepburn Library of Madrid: $25,358Hepburn Library of Waddington: $16,125

Read the Full Announcement Here

Additional libraries in New York State received funding for their construction needs. Lauren Moore, Assistance Commissioner for Libraries and State Librarian, announced that the New York State Library in partnership with New York’s twenty-three (23) public library systems, has awarded $14 million in State Aid for Library Construction funds for 135 construction projects.

The list of the 135 State Aid for Library Construction projects is posted on the State Library’s website at https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/construc/14m_pls21.htm .

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month!

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month, a time when North Country libraries join the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries nationwide to remind parents, caregivers and students that signing up for a library card is the first step on the path to academic achievement and lifelong learning. (Do you have friends who don’t have library cards? Invite them to sign up at their local library or at NCLS.org.)

Through access to technology, media resources and educational programs, a library card gives students the tools to succeed in the classroom and provides people of all ages opportunities to pursue their dreams and passions.

Libraries offer everything from early literacy programs to GED classes, helping transform lives and communities through education. At North Country libraries, you’ll find a wide variety of educational resources and activities, including books, media, and self-paced online classes on everything from Microsoft Excel to the mandolin.

Visit your library online or in-person to see what’s new and take part in the celebration!

New Book Club Bags Coming in August

The North Country Library System is adding 10 new titles to our Book club in a Bag program. The new bags will be available for checkout starting in August. Check out the new titles here! [link to PDF of flyer]

NCLS loans books exclusively for local book clubs to use for their discussions. Books are checked out in a sturdy canvas bag containing 12 paperback copies of each title and a printed list of discussion questions. Bags are checked out for six weeks, and they can be picked up and returned at any NCLS member library.

Find more information about Book Club in a Bag here.