All posts by Brian Herzog
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.
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.
What Book Changed Your Life?
It’s a daunting question, but at some point in every librarian’s career they are asked it: “Tell me, what book changed your life?” There is this supposition that in every avid reader’s memory that one book stands out, exerting great influence and power over our life. But as many booklovers realize, asking us to choose one book from the myriad of books that have influenced us is like asking us to pick just one kind of cookie off of a holiday platter. There is no right or wrong answer to this daunting question. As diverse as our personalities are, so will be our list of life-changing books.
For each phase of our lives, we can identify influential books. It might be the first chapter book that we completed as a child (in my case, B is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood), or the first time that the concept of good and evil rang true (A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle). For some it was in high school when the book seers got our pulse racing: On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. For others it was the fantasy and science fiction awakening in their lives: Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Watership Down by Richard Adams, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein or Ursula LeGuin’s Left Hand of Darkness. For still others it was the classics that struck us: The Great Gatsby, Grapes of Wrath, The Call of the Wild, The Sun Also Rises, Ulysses, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights – and of course To Kill a Mockingbird – the 2008 One Book reading choice for Chelmsford.
Whether it is Fitzgerald or Steinbeck, London, Hemingway or Joyce, Austen or Bronte, or even Harper Lee, we want to hear about the books that have influenced your lives. Join us on Friday, February 1st for “A Taste of the South,” the kick-off to Winterfest and to our 2nd One Book community reading project. Inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird the Chelmsford Public Library will host a community social with samplings of Southern-style food and drink, including wine and beer. Harrington Wine and Liquors will oversee the tastings, while area restaurants will provide the food.
And in the midst of all that good food and drink we will provide time for good conversation too, (book-related, of course…). A quiet space will be set aside that evening for an intimate “book sharing” opportunity. What books have had a powerful impact on your thinking and on your life? What book do you remember best from your youth? What book do you re-read every year? Let us know! We will compile a community list to share. If you cannot attend the event, visit our online book suggestion form and you can share your thoughts with the community.
For more thoughts on books that have influenced lives, check out The Book that Changed My Life: Interviews with National Book Award Winners and Finalists, edited by Diane Osen or visit the National Book Foundation’s website at http://www.nationalbook.org/btcmlbookopinions.html to view readers’ life-changing book choices from across the country.
Celebrate Winterfest with “A Taste of the South”
During Chelmsford’s 2008 Winterfest, the Library will be holding “A Taste of the South” as part of our One Book Chelmsford program.
A Taste of the South will feature a combination of southern foods and literature, in keeping with the setting of this year’s One Book, To Kill a Mockingbird.
The event will be on Friday, Feb. 1st (the first day of Winterfest), at 7:00pm in the Library. Area restaurants are providing foods of the South for everyone to try, and the Circulation Desk will be converted into a cash bar of beer and wine. Copies of To Kill a Mockingbird will be available, and Library staff have also pulled together a large list of other books either set in the South or written by a Southern author.
Some of the authors featured will be Maya Angelou, Truman Capote, Pat Conroy, Ralph Ellison, William Faulkner, Fannie Flagg, Kaye Gibbons, Alex Haley, Margaret Mitchell, John Kennedy Toole, Mark Twain, Alice Walker, Tennessee Willams, and Richard Wright.
Tickets are $15, available in advance or at the door. Please visit our A Taste of the South webpage for more information, or call the library at 978-256-5521 to purchase yours.
To find out more about this year’s Chelmsford One Book program, and the other events that will be coming up this year, please visit https://www.chelmsfordlibrary.org/onebook.
2008 Newbery Award Winner Announced
The 2008 Newbery Medal winner is Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz.
In this book, a thirteenth-century England springs to life using 21 dramatic individual narratives that introduce young inhabitants of village and manor. Schlitz’s elegant monologues and dialogues draw back the curtain on the period, revealing character and relationships, hinting at stories untold. Explanatory interludes add information and round out this historical and theatrical presentation.
2008 Newbery Honor Books:
- Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
In Elijah of Buxton, Elijah is the first free-born child in Buxton, a Canadian community of escaped slaves, in 1860. With masterful storytelling, vibrant humor, and poignant insight into the realities of slavery and the meaning of freedom, Curtis takes readers on a journey that transforms a “fragile” 11-year-old boy into a courageous hero - The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
In The Wednesday Wars, seventh-grader, Holling Hoodhood, is convinced his teacher hates him. Through their Wednesday afternoon Shakespeare sessions she helps him cope with events both wildly funny and deadly serious. “To thine own self be true” is just one of the life lessons he learns. - Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Feathers tells the story of how a new boy’s arrival in a sixth-grade classroom helps Frannie recognize the barriers that separate people, and the importance of hope as a bridge. Transcendent imagery and lyrical prose deftly capture a girl learning to navigate the world through words.
To see lists of other award winning books, school reading lists, and library staff picks, visit the Children’s Featured Books page.
The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
Research Database Updates
There were two recent changes to the research databases provided by the Chelmsford Library:
New Historical Newspaper Database
The library has just signed up with the Access NewspaperARCHIVE database, which provides access to over 2000 newspapers from all over the world. Some of the newspapers date back to the 1700s, which means this is a great resource for students and others looking for primary sources.
This database is accessible from within the library only, and patrons can browse by location, date, or newspaper title. What you’ll find are the front pages of most major and many minor newspapers, just like they appeared when they were originally published.
All of the newspapers are saved as PDF files, and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. And like other PDFs, they can be easily printed, saved or emailed.
New Interface for NewsBank Newspapers
The NewsBank databases (Chelmsford Independent, Lowell Sun, New York Times) have a brand new interface designed to significantly enhance the searching experience. A few of the improvements allow patrons to more easily:
- refine searches for more relevant returns
- limit searches by article word count to filter out news briefs and minor articles
- refine results and pinpoint articles by title, date, source type and geographic location
- display topic and events results over time
- print, email or cite articles with an improved toolbox
For help using either of these databases, or for questions on any of the resources offered by the Chelmsford Library, please contact the Reference Desk.
chelmsford, database, databases, historical, library, newsbank, newspaper, newspaperarchive, newspapers, papers, public
2007 Tax Forms Are Here
2007 Federal and State forms are now available at the library.
All of the Federal forms we have received so far are on display at the bottom of the stairs in the Reference Area, and are free for the taking. Additional Federal forms are available on the IRS website.
For Massachusetts State forms, please ask at the Reference Desk. These are limited to 1 booklet per person. Additional State forms are available on the Massachusetts State Department of Revenue website.
For more information on the 2007 Tax season, please contact the Reference Desk.
chelmsford, form, forms, library, tax
MacKay Branch Is Now Open
The renovation is complete, and the MacKay Branch Library is once again open to the public.
On Friday, Dec. 21st, the MacKay Branch’s doors reopened, and many North Chelmsford were there waiting. All library services are available, but staff will be spending the next couple weeks finishing up loose ends and putting on the final touches.
For more information on the renovation, take a look at our renovation photos or read the Chelmsford Independent‘s article on the reopening.
chelmsford, library, mackay, public, renovation, reopen
December Holiday Hours
For the Christmas and New Years Eve holidays, Library hours will be:
Christmas Holiday Hours:
| Date | Main Library | MacKay Branch |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, 12/24: | closed | closed |
| Tue, 12/25: | closed | closed |
| Wed, 12/26: | 9:00am – 9:00pm | 10:00am – 8:00pm |
New Years Holiday Hours:
| Date | Main Library | MacKay Branch |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, 12/31: | 9:00am – 1:00pm | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
| Tue, 1/1: | closed | closed |
| Wed, 1/2: | 9:00am – 9:00pm | 10:00am – 8:00pm |
For information about our change in operating hours or help with our website, please contact the Reference Desk.
chelmsford, christmas, hours, library, new years
MacKay to Reopen Dec. 21st!
The month-long renovation project at the MacKay Branch Library has been completed! All the walls have a fresh coat of paint, the entire first floor has new carpeting, all the new bookshelves are in, and all the library materials are back in place, ready for patrons.
Staff will continue to put the finishing touches on the library over the coming weeks, but MacKay’s doors will be open to the public this Friday, Dec. 21st. Staff is also planning on having an open house party in January, inviting all of Chelmsford to come see all the new changes.
Stop in to MacKay to see the new look, or check out the photo gallery of the renovations. Thanks to everyone for your patiences during the renovations, and be sure to let us know what you think.
branch, chelmsford, library, mackay, renovation, reopening