Thanks for visiting our "Did You Know?" page. Here you will find insider information about the library. Each month we will feature a quick explanation about a service or program that will help you learn more about the library and all that it has to offer. Please keep checking back!
That you can place online requests for library materials from any library in the C/W MARS network, not just from libraries in the western region? If, after searching the All Western MA C/W MARS Libraries Catalog you do not find what you are looking for, then head on over to the C/W Mars Union Catalog and try your search there. (You will often find a handy link to the Union Catalog after performing your search in the Western MA Catalog— look under "More Resources" on the right of the screen.)
Requests placed through the Union Catalog take longer to fill than request placed directly through the Western MA Catalog, so it is always best to check our own catalog first. The Union Catalog, however, is your next best bet!
If you still can't find what you are looking for, you can try out the Massachusetts Virtual Catalog, and of course, you may always fill out an interlibrary loan form (available at any of the public service desks) or speak directly to a librarian. Requests placed in this way may take longer, but they allow you to borrow materials from libraries throughout the world!
added 7-26-10
...that the library has three curbside book drops?
There are separate book drops for books, media, and children's materials. So if you need to return library materials but don't have time to come into the library, just pull up to the book drops, return your materials and be on your way!
added 7-26-10
….that libraries are now incorporated under the recently enacted Massachusetts Identity Theft Act? Along with other institutions and businesses, libraries are mandated to keep secure all individuals’ private electronic data.
Here at Forbes Library, we strive to accomplish this by always asking for your Library Card. Although we will allow you to use other identification up to two times before we ask you to purchase a new card, by always presenting your card to the Circulation Dept. staff during any transaction or inquiry regarding your account, you acknowledge that you approve that we monitor and maintain your account. With additional privacy guidelines set forth by the American Library Association, the Circulation Dept. strives to maintain the integrity of each account, including from other family members. And always having your card enables the staff to work efficiently with your account when you step up to the Circulation desk.
Although there is an extremely limited amount of account information we may relay to you via the telephone or email, rest assured that you may access your own account anytime through the library’s website, using your card number and PIN; you may gain access through any library catalog too! If you need assistance in gaining access, during your next library visit please ask any Circulation Dept. staff person to assist you! We will be delighted to do so.
added 4-13-10
...The time is NOW to plan for the future of our children!
- Did you know that:
- The last time that the Children’s Department was spruced up was 18 years ago?
- The space that houses our book collection and the meeting space for Children/Young Adults and their families is in dire need of repair and renovation?
- Our homework center is sorely lacking adequate study space and technology to help our young patrons stay academically competitive?
- Nearly 100,00 patrons use the Children’s & Young Adult Department each year?
It’s no wonder that our paint is peeling, our carpets are fraying and our bookshelves are collapsing!
Please join our 2010 Annual Fund. The money you donate will go directly towards renovations and technology upgrades for the Children’s and Young Adult Department. We need YOUR support to make this dream come true. Your tax deductible support of $10, $25, $100 or even more will ensure that Forbes Library is equipped to offer our/your children all of the tools that they need to succeed in a clean, healthy environment.
Also, don't forget to mark your calendars for Sunday, May 23rd ~ 2pm at the Academy of Music for Mo Willem's Cartoonapalooza!
"Read with Friends" our new Forbes Library poster designed by Mo will go on sale soon!
All proceeds from the benefit show and posters will go directly into the Annual Fund to help renovate the Children's & Young Adult Department.
added 3-10-10
Dyed-in-the-wool gardeners start making plans for next year's garden long before this year's has been laid to rest for the winter. Still, the approach of the vernal equinox seems as good a time as any to highlight the Library's wide-ranging collection of periodicals devoted to all things horticultural.
The Arts and Music Reading Room houses those magazines which tend to look at gardening from a more aesthetic point-of-view -- while never straying far from practical considerations. These include such inspiring, instructive, and handsome publications as Fine Gardening, Garden Design, Horticulture, and Architectural Design. "Ten Flowering Evergreen Shrubs"; "Who Says a Kitchen Garden Can't Be Beautiful?"; "Hummingbird Favorites"; "English Gardens Still Rule"; and "The Best Hotel Gardens" are pieces which give some idea of their scope. In addition, Dwell and Natural Home, among others, feature articles on the integration of garden and home or gardening of the more personal and informal sort: "A Garden on your Kitchen Countertop"; "Fun, Eco-Friendly Products for Plants and Yards."
In the Main Floor Reading Room you'll find periodicals which focus on specific subjects: Organic Gardening -- "Raise a Healthy Crop of Melons"; "25 Plants Deer Don't Eat"; and Herb Quarterly -- "Herbal Honeys"; "The Legendary Bay Laurel". Mother Earth News, with its roots in The Whole Earth Catalog, has its own particular down-to-earth take on things: "Grow $700 Worth of Food in 100 Square Feet"; "Improve Your Soil with Cover Crops". Berkshire Living, Down East, Vermont Life, Yankee, and Cape Cod Life regularly turn their attention to special New England gardens, both private and public: "Anglo-Saxon Style Spices Up a Sheffield Garden"; "Flower Show Beauty at the Barnstable County Fair". Better Homes and Gardens is easy-going and accessible -- "Pansies: Early Color in Your Yard". And Martha Stewart's Living serves up treats to the armchair gardener (and, to be fair, some sensible guidance for others): "Grow, Pick, Slice, Savor"; "Share Your Harvest with an Alfresco Meal"; "How to Make Your Own Planters".
The images and ideas in these publications offer something for everyone who loves gardens and gardening, from the enthusiastic beginner to the serious practitioner -- and to all the rest of us who simply take great pleasure in lingering a while in a friendÕs garden, marvelling at the beauty, smelling deeply, and dreaming.
added 2-19-10
... that we are planning to revamp our Young Adult section in 2010 to provide a new and improved space for teens? Young adult patrons: We want YOU to join our Teen Advisory Board to help us make this happen. We'll need your input on design ideas and the most up-to-date technology to make it the best young adult space ever. Stop by the Children's & Young Adult Department to find out how you can become part of the team! Also, keep an eye out for the dates of our monthly YA Book Club and our new monthly "Wii Love the Library" gaming program. Yes, we now circulate video games!
added 1-25-10
You can now borrow video games from the library! Forbes has started a small collection of games for the popular platforms Wii, XBox and PlayStation 2. Games can be checked out for 3 weeks with your library card. They are located in the Arts & Music Department near the DVDs. Here's the current list, and we will be adding more as the budget permits.
added 12-15-09