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Watch Videos of Library Programs Online

Is there a program at the library that you'd love to attend but just can't make it? Did you hear a lecture here that was so great you'd like to see it again? You're in luck!

Chelmsford Telemedia records many of the programs held at the Library, for rebroadcast on television. They also provide these programs on DVD to the Library, as well as put them online so they are available anytime.

The DVDs are in our catalog and available in the Library's DVD collection upstairs, and circulate just like regular DVDs.

The online videos are available on the Chelmsford Telemedia website, as well as on the Chelmsford Library Anytime website - a collection of library resources available 24 hours a day.

The videos are in the Exhibits section - just choose what you'd like to watch from the dropdown box. Each video is displayed in the player - such as "The Science of Natural Disasters" with Dr. Chuck Fidler from May 11, 2012:

Thanks to the staff and volunteers of Chelmsford Telemedia for providing this great resource to the community. If you have any questions about Library programs, finding the DVDs, or watching them online, please contact the Reference Desk.

If you have ideas of programs or speakers you'd like to see at the Library, please contact Kathy Cryan-Hicks, Assistant Director of Community Relations & Programs, and kcryanhic@mvlc.org or 978-256-5521 x109.

New Library Events Calendar

The Library has a new events calendar: http://calendar.chelmsfordlibrary.org

This is where all Library programs and events will be listed, including non-profit community groups using the Library's meeting rooms.

The new calendar includes a search menu on the left, which lets you limit to events based on location, type and age group. To see a summary of any event, hover your mouse over the event on the calendar, or click on an event to see the complete details.

To keep up with what's going on at the library, be sure to bookmark http://calendar.chelmsfordlibrary.org and subscribe to our RSS feed. You can also build different RSS feeds based on your search criteria - just search for your location/type/age combination, then click the RSS Feed link near the top of the calendar. That way, you'll always be notified of the events you're interested in.

Soon we’ll also have an automatic way for groups to reserve rooms at the library. In the meantime, please refer to our website for meeting room reservations. If you have questions about the new calendar or booking a meeting room, please contact the Library’s Administrative Office at 978-256-5521 x100 or nrager@mvlc.org.

And don't forget the most important event this week: Trick-or-Treat in Chelmsford is 5-8pm on Saturday, Oct. 31st!

Slow Economy? Use The Library!

Almost everyone has been effected by higher-than-normal food and gas prices, a weaker-than-normal dollar, and an overall sluggish economy. But one thing that hasn't become more expensive is the Library.

In addition to books, the Library has movies on DVD and VHS, books and music on CD, cassette, Playaway, and downloadable audio files, computer games, newspaper and magazines in print and online, internet access, passes to local museums and parks, programs and events for kids and adults, and a lot more - and it's all free!

A writer for The Consumerist came up with a list of 7 Ways Your Public Library Can Help You During A Bad Economy, even if you're not a big reader. Also, National Public Radio recently aired a story on how Libraries Shine In Tough Economic Times, and how people can benefit from libraries now more than ever.

If you're looking for something to do, or help with a question, or just a cool place to spend some time, check out the library.

Update on the Sierpinski Tetrahedron

At the beginning of the month, the Children's Room announced they would be building a large Sierpinski Tetrahedron (read more) throughout February.

Now that we're down to the last week of the month, final assembly has begun. And it's huge.

Support for the project has come from kids, adults and staff, and volunteers are gluing together stage 1 and 2 tetrahedrons into stage 3 and 4 tetrahedrons (see an illustration of stages 0 through 3). And finally on Thursday (2/21), a stage 5 tetrahedron was assembled - that's 1,024 individual tetrahedrons!

It stands well over three feet high, and takes up two tabletops. Additional assembly work is being done in the McCarthy Meeting Room and the Library's lobby, where the stage 5 is on display.

Stop by the library to see the progress and assemble a few of your own tetrahedrons, and see more of the tetrahedron photographs on our flickr account.

childrens, crafts, math, paper, programs, pyramid, pyramids, sierpinski, tetrahedron, tetrahedrons

What's Math Got To Do With It?

Throughout the month of February, stop by the Library to help build Sierpinski tetrahedrons.

A tetrahedron is a pyramid with three sides and a base. A Sierpinski tetrahedron is a repeating pattern of small pyramids assembled into ever larger pyramids. A single tetrahedron is called stage 0; a pyramid of four tetrahedrons is stage 1; the pyramid shown in the picture, consisting of 16 individual tetrahedrons, is stage 2.

Pre-cut colored paper, tape, and instructions are located at stations around the library. Patrons are encourage to fold a few tetrahedrons of their own, and leave them in the bins at each station.

No mathematical knowledge is necessary. Just enjoy the shapes, the symmetries and the similarities you find.

Please make some each time you visit in February, because the goal is a stage 6 pyramid - 4,092 individual tetrahedrons! We will need the help of many teens, and children ages 10 and older, as we put all the small tetrahedrons together during February vacation to make a giant structure.

This project is named for Waclaw Sierpinski, a Polish mathematician. While researching set theory, he developed a Sierpinski Triangle, which is an example (as is our tetrahedrons) of a self-repeating set of shapes. Notice in the picture how the overall pyramid looks like a bigger model of the smaller yellow or blue or red sets, which are themselves pyramids just like an individual tetrahedron.

If you have questions or need help, tape, or more pre-cut paper, please ask at any desk in the library.

childrens, crafts, math, paper, programs, pyramid, pyramids, Sierpinski, tetrahedron, tetrahedrons