Closed Monday, January 18th, for Martin Luther King Day
Learn something new with Universal Class!
We have a new Internet based educational service: Universal Class provides video-based courses for patrons interested in professional or personal growth
* Learn on your own time at your own pace
* Wide range of subjects from personal finance
to yoga 101
* Expert instructors giving continual feedback
* Over 500 courses are offered, including recreational and self-help classes.
A completion certificate is available when the course is completed with the specified time frame. RB Digital gives CEUs for the professional courses; these would be subject to an employer’s acceptance. Many enriching classes are included on subjects from bird watching to
de-cluttering. Anyone with a mobile device or
connected computer need only to have a Portland
Library card to access these educational service.
SMS TEXT MESSAGES OF HOLD PICKUP NOTICES!
SIGN UP TODAY for SMS TEXT MESSAGES OF HOLD PICKUP NOTICES
1) Go to our Encore catalog (www.portlandlibraryct.org)
2) Log in to your account
3) Click on Edit Account
4) In the Modify Patron Information popup, enter your cell number in the “Mobile Phone No.” field, click on the “Opt In” check box, and click on Submit at the bottom of the page
5) You will receive a text within a few minutes confirming that you want to sign up. You need to text back “YES”.
6) You will receive a confirmation message within a few minutes saying you have signed up.
The SMS messages are in addition to the other notices, not a replacement. So patrons will still receive email/print notices as they always have, but those signing up for SMS messages will also receive the immediate text message.
Once that is all done, you will start getting text messages every time an item goes on to the holdshelf for you, within a few minutes of when the item is ready for pickup. This does not replace traditional email/print notices; it is in addition to them. Note that multiple patron accounts cannot use the same cell number for receiving these texts.
If you have any questions, please ask at the Portland Library’s Information Desk.
Monthly Book Discussion
All are welcome to attend. Titles are available to borrow; no reservations are necessary.
Thursday, January 7th at 6:30 p.m.
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
When her notorious, hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled, and agoraphobic mother goes missing, teenage Bee is desperate to find her. While examining her mom’s emails, private correspondence, and other evidence for clues, the portrait of a woman Bee never knew begins to emerge along with a secret that could explain everything.
Thursday, February 4th at 6:30 p.m:
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
Smithson “Smithy” Ide is an overweight, friendless, chain-smoking, forty-three-year-old drunk. By all accounts, especially his own, he’s a loser. Then, within one week, Smithy’s beloved parents are killed in a car crash, and his long-lost sister, Bethany, has turned up in a morgue. Unmoored by the loss of his entire family, Smithy rolls down the
driveway of his parents’ house on his old Raleigh bicycle into an epic journey that will take him clear across the country as he relives old memories and encounters humanity at its best and worst.
Lunch & Learn Book Discussion, Tuesday, January 12th, 2016
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
A Book Discussion with something added!
Enjoy a discussion of a book with a Downton Abbey
era tie-in. A proper tea will be served! Registration requested!
Maisie Dobbs is back and this time she has been hired to find a wealthy grocery magnate’s daughter who has fled from home. What seems a simple case at first
becomes complicated when Maisie learns of the recent violent deaths of three of the heiress’s old friends.
Movies in the Afternoon
Wednesday, January 13th, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.
Showing: Ricki and The Flash
Starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Rick Springfield, and Mamie Gummer;
Sony; directed by Jonathan Demme; PG-13; 2015; 101 minutes.
Ricki Rendazzo, a guitar heroine has made a world of mistakes as she followed her dreams of rock-and-roll stardom. Returning home, Ricki gets a shot at redemption and a chance to make things right as she faces the music with her family.
Movies in the Evening
Monday, January 25th, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.
Showing: The Intern
Starring Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, & Rene Russo;
Warner Brothers; directed by Nancy Meyers; PG-13; 2015;121 minutes.
70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site.
No reservations necessary! The Friends of Portland Library supports the Library’s DVD collection.
Canning and Preserving
Tuesday, January 26th, 6:30 –8:00 p.m.
The Friends of the Portland Library will host the program Canning and Preserving. Chris Bassette of Killiam Bassette Farm in South Glastonbury will be the presenter.
Read and Recycle
The Friends of the Portland Library’s next intake date of is Saturday, January 16, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon in the Mary Flood Room. The Friends of the Portland Library will collect gently used books, DVDs, CDs, puzzles and games. Thank you for your support.
Art Exhibit
Members of The Art Guild of Middletown will have their art on exhibit at the Portland Library during the month of January. The art featured will be in a variety of media such as oil, watercolors, acrylic and pastel; many will be available for sale. Members of The Art Guild of Middletown live in all parts of the state, not just in Middletown. The Art Guild offers classes and workshops in various media . You are invited to the Artist Reception on Saturday,January 9, 2016 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. which is hosted by the Friends of the Portland Library!
On Display in January
In January, the Library will have a large display of newly arrived materials and will also feature Winter Reads and Cozy Fiction and nonfiction about canning and preserving foods.
January cold and desolate?
Bring some color into the month with a DVD or music CD!
From our special displays in January, check out DVDs and CDs that have a color in their title.
Find out what's happening in East Hampton-Portlandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Teen After-Hours Movie Night
Friday, January 22 from 6:45—9:00 p.m.
Due to popular demand, we are bringing back our AFTER-HOURS movie night for teens. This month, we will be showing the sci-fi adventure thriller I Am Number Four.John Smith seems like an ordinary teenager, but he is an alien on the run from merciless enemies hunting him and the eight others like him. Always changing his identity and moving to different towns with his guardian, John discovers love, powerful new abilities, and a connection to others of his kind. Books from the I Am Number Four series by Pittacus Lore will be available at the library all month. Light refreshments will be served.
Space is limited; registration is recommended.
