Monday April 29, 2024 
Computer Skills Classes at Rensselaer Public Library
Wednesday May 18, 1 PM: Staying Safe Online
Please call (518) 462-1193 to sign up for each in-person session run by the Cornell Cooperative Extension at the Rensselaer Public Library, 676 East St. in Rensselaer. Participants are encouraged but not required to bring their own devices to the sessions. More info at rensselaerlibrary.org.
North Greenbush Public Library Update
You’ll be just-in-time for some fun and some rhymes when you join Ms. Donna at our Outdoor Storytime on Tuesday, May 10, at 11 AM (weather permitting.) We’ll sing, read stories, and create, all around this week’s “rhyme” theme.
Can’t open that app or find a Google map? Who you gonna call? Delia Hubbard! Delia is Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County’s Digital Literacy Educator. She will be coming to the library on Wednesday, May 11, from noon to 1 PM. No appointments are needed – she will be available
on a first-come, first-served basis.
And don’t let those gardening gloves slip through your fingers! The NGPL Friends Gardening Raffle basket is still up for grabs until the drawing on May 16. Purchase three tickets for only $1!
All this and more at the library, Monday-Friday, 10 AM to 7 PM, and Saturday, 10 AM to 2 PM. We encourage wearing masks. Call us at 518-283-0303.
Sand Lake Town Library Events
Saturday Book Talk – May 14, 11am – 12pm join Dr. Steven Sandler to talk about his new novel, “The Age of Worry.” Dr. Sandler will discuss the novel as it developed from insights gained in his practice of psychotherapy. The novel addresses the intense emotional conflicts within a family. The main character, Daniel, struggles with the disappearance of his mother years ago and the current conflicts with his own teenage daughter. There will be a reading of selected passages, followed by a Q&A session and book signing. Light refreshments will be available.
Steven B. Sandler is a psychiatrist in Albany, New York. He teaches psychotherapy to psychiatrists and psychologists in training and has lectured widely in the U.S. and Canada. He is the author of “Tea with Freud: An Imaginary Conversation about How Psychotherapy Really Works” (2016).
Hoopla & Libby Downloadable Books & Audio – Join Delia Hubbard on Wednesday, May 11 at 2pm to learn how to download free ebooks and audiobooks. Bring your device. Class size is limited so please call to register.
June Book Club selection is “No One is Talking About This” by Patricia Lockwood.
Kids’ Take & Make kits are available at the circulation desk.
The library is located at 8428 Miller Hill Road, Averill Park. Hours: M-TH 11 – 8; F 11 – 4; Sat 10 – 2. Masks encouraged. Call 518-674-5050 with questions.
Upcoming Programs & Events at Poestenkill Library
Code the Galaxy – Are there any young Padawans in Poestenkill? Come to the library between May 2nd and May 7th and learn to wield the Force with Kano: Star Wars The Force Coding Kit. This block coding program is simple enough for Star Wars fans of all ages. Players do need to know how to use a laptop mouse-pad, be able to read independently, and follow on screen directions. Kano: Star Wars The Force Coding Kit and a dedicated laptop will be set up in the library all week long for self-guided discovery play.
Bring Your Own Device, Tech Help – 5/5, 1:00 – 3:00 pm – Drop in to the library with your laptop, tablet, or smart phone for one on one assistance from Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Digital Literacy Educator, Delia Hubbard. No appointment needed. Help will be provided on a first come-first served basis.
Banking 101 – 5/5, 6:00 pm – This program is perfect for teens or for adults who are new to banking. Kim Hale of Citizens Bank will be discussing banking basics during this financial literacy workshop. Topics will include debit vs credit, overdraft fees and how to avoid them, managing your checking account, new methods of banking and more. Register for this program by calling the library at 518-283-3721.
Teen Advisory Group Meeting – 5/12, 6:30 pm – All interested teens are welcome to attend. No registration required.
Friends of the Library Spring Market Day – 5/14, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. This year’s sale will include books ($5 per bag), board games, raffle baskets, a baked sale & more!
Teen Mental Health Awareness Night – 5/26, 6:30 (registration required prior to 5/16) – Teens can take part in a trio of creativity based mental health awareness activities, including make your own shirt or drawstring bag. Please visit our website www.poestenkilllibrary.org for more details and to access the registration form.
Events at Castleton Public Library, 5/8-5/14
CPL is located at 85 S. Main St., Castleton, NY. All events are free. Questions? Call 518-732-0879.
Weekly Programs
Pajama Storytime – Tues., 5/10, 6:00pm – Feel free to wear your pajamas or bring a stuffed animal friend to this evening storytime! Ages birth-8.
Learn & Play Storytime, Thurs., 5/12, 10:30am – Children from birth to age 5 are invited to enjoy stories, rhymes, music, and movement while building their early literacy and motor skills! Join us every Thursday for fun and learning.
Events and Take-Home Kits
Cool Science at Home Kit: Make a Sundial – Kit available for pick-up through 5/28 – Learn about how sundials work by making your own to show the time when it’s sunny outside!
Take & Make Craft Kit: Flower Craft – Kit available for pick-up through 5/28 – Create your own fun flower crafts to decorate your home or give as a gift!
Cool Science: Marble Maze Challenge – Wed., 5/11, 4:00-6:00pm – Create your own marble maze and learn about engineering!
Diabetes Prevention Informational Session
Diabetes Prevention Informational Session – Wed., 5/11, 6:30pm – Presented by the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley. Learn about a free, scientifically-proven and accessible program designed for adults with pre-diabetes.
Friends of CPL Plant Sale – Sat., 5/14, 10:00am-2:00pm. Location: River Rest (Corner of Scott Avenue and Main Street), Castleton, NY 12033 – All proceeds benefit the library! An assortment of vegetable plants and flowers will be available.
Friends Announce June Book and Puzzle Sale
Friends of N.F.L. Book & Puzzle Sale – June 11, 2022
Do you have your SUMMER READING planned? The Friends of the Nassau Free Library announce the Spring Book and Puzzle sale to be held Saturday, June 11th at the Nassau Free Library, 18 Church Street, Nassau, NY 12123. Hours for the sale will be Saturday 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Library.
Jigsaw puzzles will also be available on Saturday. We are accepting only donations of gently used used books, both hard back and paperback at the library. No text books or encyclopedias. All deliveries should be during library hours. Donations will be accepted beginning May 13, 2022.
Also, complete puzzles in original boxes will be accepted and much appreciated. Puzzles may be brought to the library beginning Friday, May 13th and up to 6:00 PM on Friday, June 3rd. Phone 518-766-2715 for more information.
Understanding Shakespeare with Tom Bulger
Join us at the Troy Public Library on Thursdays, May 19-June 16, from 6:30PM – 7:30PM for our Understanding Shakespeare workshop.
This will be a five-session program on how to understand Shakespeare’s play, Timon of Athens. In each of the five weeks we will discuss this play one act at a time. This program will allow the participants to put the play in a variety of contexts, such as its relationship to his other works and to the modern world. Tom Bulger, Shakespeare Scholar and former professor at Siena College will lead this workshop.
Copies of Timon of Athens will be available at the circulation desk.
This program is free and open to the public. Registration is necessary. This is a hybrid program, with the option of zoom or in-person attendance. For more information and to register, call the library at 274-7071 or online at www.thetroylibrary.org. The Troy Public Library is located at 100 Second Street, Troy, NY.
Visit Heat Pumps in the Hamlet
If you are considering a new heating or cooling system, wanting to save energy in your home, or curious about how you can impact climate change, then sign up for Heat Pumps in the Hamlet!
On May 24th from 6-8 PM, you will have the unique opportunity to visit homes in the hamlet of North Chatham with heat pump installations. Homeowners will share their experiences with you and system installers will be on hand to describe why and how decisions were made. You may choose to visit up to four homes with the following heat systems: (1) air-sourced heat pump; (2) mini-split heat pumps; (3) geothermal with a closed water system with two wells and solar panels; (4) geothermal with a closed water system and two wells or, (5) geothermal water source open system, no new wells drilled and overflow back to soil with solar power.
Registration required via email: registernorthchathamlibrary@nullgmail.com. A schedule and directions to homes will be sent to you. Registration ends May 23rd at 6 PM. This free program is part of the Library’s “How to be More Eco-Friendly” series developed by the Live and Learn Committee and supported in part by a grant from the Fund for Columbia County of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
Gardening with Native Plants
Join us at the Troy Public Library on Monday, May 23rd, at 6:00 pm.
We don’t expect the plants we buy at our garden centers or online to come with warning labels—but some actually should. With Kate Brittenham of Front Stoop Gardens, we will discuss these plants—some of them old garden favorites—and what native plants we can use to replace them.
This program is free and open to the public. Registration is necessary. For more information and to register, call the library at 274-7071 or online at www.thetroylibrary.org. The Troy Public Library is located at 100 Second Street, Troy, NY.
Troy Public Library Evening Book Discussion
The Troy Public Library’s Evening Book Group will be discussing Amanda Montell’s, “Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism,” on Monday, June 6th at 6:30pm. Copies of the book will be available at the checkout desk throughout the month of May.
Our monthly book group meets to discuss a wide range of book selections. New members are always welcomed. Monthly participation is not necessary, come for the books that interest you! This will be a hybrid meeting, participants may choose to attend either in-person, or through Zoom.
This discussion is free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register call the library at 518-274-7071 or online at www.thetroylibrary.org Troy Public Library is located at 100 Second Street, Troy, NY.
Sand Lake Town Library Events
Saturday Book Talk – May 14, 11am – 12pm join Dr. Steven Sandler as he discusses his novel, The Age of Worry. Dr. Sandler will discuss the novel as it developed from insights gained in his practice of psychotherapy. The novel addresses the intense emotional conflicts within a family. The main character, Daniel, struggles with the disappearance of his mother years ago and the current conflicts with his own teenage daughter. There will be a reading of selected passages, followed by a Q&A session and book signing. Light refreshments will be available.
Steven B. Sandler is a psychiatrist in Albany, New York. Dr. Sandler teaches psychotherapy to psychiatrists and psychologists in training, and he has lectured widely on the topic in the U.S. and Canada. He is the author of Tea with Freud: An Imaginary Conversation about How Psychotherapy Really Works (2016).
Book Club – Wednesday, May 4 at 7pm on zoom discussing “Matrix” by Lauren Groff.
Check the Community Calendar at sandlaketownlibrary.org for events around town. Submit non-profit community events to info@nullsandlaketownlibrary.org.
The library is located at 8428 Miller Hill Road, Averill Park. Hours: M-TH 11 – 8; F 11 – 3; Sat 10 – 2. Masks encouraged. Call 518-674-5050 with questions.
Computer Basics Bookcamp
Join us this is a 4-session, Basic Digital Literacy training series, presented by Delia Hubbard, Digital Literacy Educator and certified Microsoft Office expert on Fridays, 10am-12pm, May 6 – 27,. Participants should bring their own devices. The instructor will have several laptops available for anyone who doesn’t have a device to bring.
May 6: Device Basics, 10am-11am or 11am-Noon
(Choose one or both sessions)
Participants can bring their own laptop, cell phone, or tablet (or use CCE provided laptops) to learn about how to log in, get online, and perform basic navigation tasks.
(10am-11am Laptop Basics, 11am-12pm Tablet/Cell Phone Basics)
May 13: Finding Reliable Information Online, 10am-Noon
Participants will learn how to use search engines, like Google, to find information online and evaluate its reliability. This session includes discussion on search tips, clickbait, pop-up windows and more. Participants will also search for information on topics of interest to them.
May 20:Staying Safe Online, 10am-Noon
Participants will how to create a long, strong password they can remember, how to avoid falling for malicious emails (specifically phishing), and how to identify a reliable, encrypted website for online shopping. Discussion will include web payment services such as PayPal and Venmo.
May 27:E-Mail Basics, 10am-Noon
Participants will create an email account with G-Mail if they do not already have an email account, and learn how to send, read, respond to, and delete email messages.
This in-person event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register call the library at 518-274-7071 or online at www.thetroylibrary.org Troy Public Library is located at 100 Second Street, Troy, NY.
Friends of Poestenkill Library present Spring Market Day!
The Friends are excited to present our Spring Market Day, to be held on Saturday, May 14 on the library lawn from 9am-12pm, with a rain date of Sunday.
There will be a book sale, bake sale, board game sale (new!), flower baskets, gift basket drawings, a small jigsaw puzzle sale, and more, with tasty breakfast and lunch items available for you to enjoy while you shop. Come mingle with your neighbors and support the library!
Save the Date – Sand Lake Garden Faire!!!
The Sand Lake Garden Club, in conjunction with the CCE Rensselaer County Master Gardeners, are proud to announce our very first Garden Faire!
There will be plants (annuals, perennials, vegetables, and herbs), floral arrangements, new and used garden tools, garden decorations, baked goods, and several vendors selling their wares. There will also be a raffle for a quaint raised garden, a beautiful wreath, and a planted ceramic urn. Please join us on Saturday, May 14 from 8-1, at the Salem United Methodist Church in West Sand Lake, rain or shine. See you there.
At Wit’s End
The North Chatham Free Library will host a special treat for moms of all ages on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 8 at 3:00 P.M. Actor and educator Nancy Rothman will perform as columnist and Queen of domestic humor, Erma Bombeck, in excerpts from the play “At Wit’s End” by sisters Alison and Margaret Engel. This event will take place outdoors in the garden behind the library, or in case of inclement weather, at the North Chatham United Methodist Church a few doors down the street.
Erma Bombeck’s observations, popular in the 70’s and 80’s, took familiar but trying situations like childcare, checkout lines and house cleaning, and made them funny. For example, “Never go to a doctor whose plants have died.” “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved away the dessert cart.” “Cats invented self-esteem.”
Nancy Rothman is well known in our area through her many performances as actor and storyteller and leader of workshops for public schools and arts organizations, and as a private coach. She has over thirty years’ experience performing regionally, in New York City, as well as internationally.
Pre-register by email for limited seating: registernorthchathamlibrary@nullgmail.com
This project is made possible with funds from the Restart NY Regrants, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered in Columbia County by CREATE Council on the Arts.
Adult Book Group
TROY – Our monthly book group meets the first Monday of every month at 6:30 pm to discuss a wide range of book selections. New members are always welcomed. Monthly participation is not necessary, come for the books that interest you! This is a hybrid program, you may attend in person or via Zoom according to your preference.
Here are our upcoming book selections:
•June 6th – Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
•July 11th – Cuba: An American History by Ada Frerrer, Chapters 1-21
•August 8th – Cuba: An American History by Ada Frerrer, Chapters 22-33
•September 5th – The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
This discussion is free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register call the library at 518-274-7071 or online at www.thetroylibrary.org Troy Public Library is located at 100 Second Street, Troy, NY.