August 1: Classics Reading Group
At 6:00 pm, the Classics Reading Group will meet to discuss A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella L. Bird. In 1872, Isabella Bird, daughter of a clergyman, set off alone to the Antipodes “in search of health” and found she had embarked on a life of adventurous travel. In 1873, wearing Hawaiian riding dress, she rode her horse through the American Wild West, a terrain only newly opened to pioneer settlement. The letters that make up this volume were first published in 1879. They tell of magnificent, unspoiled landscapes and abundant wildlife, of encounters with rattlesnakes, wolves, pumas and grizzly bears, and her reactions to the volatile passions of the miners and pioneer settlers. A classic account of a truly astounding journey.
August 2: Day Book Club
At 11:30 am, the Day Book Club will meet to discuss The Girl Next Door by Ruth Rendell. In the waning months of the second World War, a group of children discover an earthen tunnel in their neighborhood outside London. Throughout the summer of 1944–until one father forbids it–the subterranean space becomes their “secret garden,” where the friends play games and tell stories. Decades later, construction workers uncover a tin box containing two skeletal hands, one male and one female. As the discovery makes national news, the friends come together once again, to recall their days in the tunnel for the detective investigating the case. Is the truth buried among these aging friends and their memories? This impromptu reunion causes long-simmering feelings to bubble to the surface.
August 2: Montour Falls Farmers Market
From 4:00 to 7:00 at the pavilion at 300 West Main Street will be the Montour Falls Farmers Market. Local farmers will offer healthy, fresh, local, affordable vegetables, fruits, meats, cheeses, and more. All eligible vendors accept SNAP, and the market gives out $2 Fresh Connect Checks. There will be live music, story time for the children, and Storytelling Circle open to all. Food trucks will provide hot meals and treats. Thursdays, 4:00 to 7:00, May through October. montourfallsfarmersmarket.com
August 3: First Friday Movie Night
At 4:00 pm, kick off the weekend with a free movie and snacks. No reservations required; just show up. We will be watching Ready Player One. We will be showing new movies every first Friday.
August 4: Morning on the Catharine Valley Trail
At 8:00 am, meet at the library steps for a walk on the Catharine Valley Trail. We will meet every first Saturday of every month to walk, talk, and be outside.
August 4: Upcycle Society
At 10:00 am, join the Upcycle Society to reinvent books, bags, clothing, and other materials to make unique creations from discarded household items. Appropriate for ages 8 and up. Upcycle: To process used goods or scrap material in order to produce something that is often better than the original.
August 7: Blankets and Books
At 10:00 am, join us at Havana Glen Park for our Blankets and Books outdoor storytime series, which will meet at Havana Glen Park every Tuesday morning in June, July, and August. Hear stories, learn about nature, and play outside. At 9:00, just before storytime, the Schuyler County Family Play and Resource Center will take a Stroll in the Park at Havana Glen Park with strollers and riding toys. Parking is free at the park for these events.
August 7: The Futurists: Next Generation Readers
At 6:00 pm, our young adult book group will meet to discuss Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith. A rollicking tale that is simultaneously creepy and hilarious. In the small town of Ealing, Iowa, Austin and his best friend, Robby, have accidentally unleashed an unstoppable army. An army of horny, hungry, six-foot-tall praying mantises that only want to do two things. The propulsive plot would be delightful enough on its own, but Smith’s ability to blend teenage drama into a bug invasion is a literary joy to behold. The author brilliantly weaves together everything from testicle-dissolving genetically modified corn to the struggles of recession-era, small-town America in this groundbreaking coming-of-age stunner.
August 8: Havana Book Club
At 6:00 pm, the Havana Book Club will meet to discuss Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
August 11: Photo Fun
At 10:00 am, take photos in a creative exploration.
August 14: Environmental Literature Reading Group
At 6:00 pm, the Environmental Literature Reading Group will meet to discuss The Green Book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen. With wit and authority, the authors provide hundreds of solutions for all areas of your life, pinpointing the smallest changes that have the biggest impact on the health of our precious planet. Ellen DeGeneres, Robert Redford, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Aniston, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Martha Stewart, Tyra Banks, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tiki Barber, Owen Wilson, and Justin Timberlake tell you how they make a difference to the environment. Our energy and resources footprint on this earth is huge, but there are many things we can do to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
August 18: Walk through History
At 9:00 am, walk with county historian and local author Gary Emerson along the Chemung Canal towpath and learn about this history of the canal.
August 18: Library Garden
At 10:00 am, join us as we begin a new season in the library’s garden. Start seeds and help the garden grow.
August 21: Technology for Seniors
At 2:00, join us for the first in a monthly series of discussions on today’s technology. Today’s topic will be Creating & Navigating an Email Account. We will be learning how to create a Gmail account, how to compose and send an email, and steps to organize your email folders. The focus is on Gmail but feel free to ask about other email services. Please see your librarian after the program to schedule individual appointments for additional questions or specific help.
August 21: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Club
At 6:00 pm, the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Club will meet to discuss Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut. Galápagos takes the reader back one million years, to A.D. 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galápagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, and totally different human race. In this inimitable novel, America’s master satirist looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry–and all that is worth saving.
August 23: Storytelling Circle
At 5:00 pm, the Storytelling Circle, led by And Two Makes Three storytellers, will meet at the Montour Falls Farmers Market. Bring a story to share with others, and listen to what they have to share!
August 25: Outdoor Adventure and Pimp Your Notebook
At 10:00 am, join us for an hour of free-range creativity outside. Get a free notebook and decorate it in your own style.
August 28: Library Board Meeting
At 6:00 pm, the library trustees will be at the library for their monthly board meeting.
The Montour Falls Library is no longer charging fines
for overdue items checked out at our library.
Please try to return items by their due dates so that others can enjoy them.
The library is here for your use and there should be nothing in the way of that.
All Early Literacy Program story times
will now take place at 10:00 AM
to accommodate children’s schedules
Ongoing:
Student Volunteer Program
Do you love libraries and books? Do you want to learn new skills? Would you like to volunteer at your local public library? This job requires a responsible and respectful attitude and a willingness to learn. Volunteer hours are available Tuesday through Friday from 3:00 to 6:00. Contact Karin Thomas at the library for more information.
Digital Resources
Borrow eBooks, digital magazines, and music with your library card.
www.montourfallslibrary.org/services/digital
New York Times Online at Montour Falls Library
Read any number of articles on your device or ours while at the Montour Falls Library. We have three computers available to the public. You will have free, unlimited access while at the library.
Seed Library
Take free packets of seeds and start a garden at home. Grow your own food; you don’t need acres. Anyone can come and take seeds. Limit of 15 packets per family.
Sundays:
We are open 8am to 12pm on Sundays. Use our space to read, relax, or prepare for the week ahead. Free Wi-Fi, art supplies, access to The New York Times, games, and more are always available. Check out books or a DVD. Remember- if we don’t have what your looking for on our shelves we can look for it in our system of 48 libraries, place a hold, and call you when it’s ready to be picked up. Ask about how to borrow digital audio and ebooks and how you can download free music.
Mondays:
The library is closed on Mondays.
Tuesdays:
8:00 is Yoga for Health at the Montour Falls Library. Anyone can practice and benefit from Yoga. One hour of instruction in yoga poses, breathing, and meditation. Care will be taken to provide safe practice for those who may have physical limitations. Please bring a mat and a small blanket to class. A donation to Selah Yoga and Music is needed to attend these classes. sue@selahyogaandmusic.com. (607) 703-0010. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 AM at the Montour Falls Library.
10:00 is Blankets and Books at Havana Glen Park in June, July, and August. Join the library for a summer of stories. Hear stories, learn about nature, and play outside. Open to all ages. Meet at the library in case of rain. At 9:00, just before storytime, the Schuyler County Family Play and Resource Center will take a Stroll in the Park at Havana Glen Park with strollers and riding toys. Parking is free at the park for these events.
Wednesdays:
From 3:30 to 5:00, we will have a table full of art supplies and instruction books for you to use. Draw, paint, fold, sketch, and imagine. Practice your skills and explore new techniques. Join us every Wednesday for a drop-in time of art and creativity. Free and open to all.
Thursdays:
8:00 is Yoga for Health at the Montour Falls Library. Anyone can practice and benefit from Yoga. One hour of instruction in yoga poses, breathing, and meditation. Care will be taken to provide safe practice for those who may have physical limitations. Please bring a mat and a small blanket to class. A donation to Selah Yoga and Music is needed to attend these classes. sue@selahyogaandmusic.com. (607) 703-0010. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 AM at the Montour Falls Library.
10:00 is Infant Lap Time at the Montour Falls Library. We sing, dance, and read with newborns and siblings and share information and resources for parents. All ages welcome.
4:00-7:00 is the Montour Falls Farmers Market at the pavilion at 300 West Main Street will be the Montour Falls Farmers Market. Local farmers will offer healthy, fresh, local, affordable vegetables, fruits, meats, cheeses, and more. All eligible vendors accept SNAP, and the market gives out $2 Fresh Connect Checks. There will be live music, story time for the children, and Storytelling Circle open to all. Food trucks will provide hot meals and treats. Thursdays, 4:00 to 7:00, May through October. montourfallsfarmersmarket.com
Fridays:
10:00 is Preschool Story Time at the Montour Falls Library. We will bring our stories to life with puppets, go ABC fishing, create art, and more! This program is open to all.
Saturdays:
10:00 is a rotating series of crafts and activities at the Montour Falls Library. Upcycle Society, Photo Fun, Library Garden, and Outdoor Adventure. Reinvent books, bags, clothing, and other materials to make unique creations from discarded household items; take photos in a creative exploration; start seeds and help the garden grow; and enjoy free-range creativity outside. There will also be a discussion of the books that you’re reading. Appropriate for ages 8 and up.
At 6:00 pm, our young adult book group will meet to discuss Deep Sea by Annika Thor. Three years ago, Stephie and her younger sister, Nellie, escaped the Nazis in Vienna and fled to an island in Sweden, where they were taken in by different families. Now sixteen-year-old Stephie is going to school on the mainland. Stephie enjoys her studies, and rooming with her school friend, May. But life is only getting more complicated as she gets older. Stephie might lose the grant money that is funding her education. Her old friend Verra is growing up too fast. And back on the island, Nellie wants to be adopted by her foster family. Stephie, on the other hand, can’t stop thinking about her parents, who are in a Nazi camp in Austria. If only the war would end.
The library will be closed on July 4. Happy Independence Day!
At 6:00 pm, the Classics Reading Group will meet to discuss The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain. Adam has a lot to learn about Eve, and even more from her, as she names the animals, discovers fire, and introduces all manner of innovations to their garden home. Mark Twain’s “translation” of the diaries of the first man and woman offers a humorous “he said/she said” narrative of biblical events. The great American storyteller found comfort and inspiration in the company of women, and his irreverent look at conventional religion is also a thoughtful — and humorous — argument for gender equality.
At 11:30 am, the Day Book Club will meet to discuss The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. On the eve of the United States’s entrance into World War II in 1940, Iris James, the postmistress of Franklin, a small town on Cape Cod, does the unthinkable: She doesn’t deliver a letter. In London, American radio gal Frankie Bard is working with Edward R. Murrow, reporting on the Blitz. One night in a bomb shelter, she meets a doctor from Cape Cod with a letter in his pocket, a letter Frankie vows to deliver when she returns from Germany and France, where she is to record the stories of war refugees desperately trying to escape. The residents of Franklin think the war can’t touch them–but as Frankie’s radio broadcasts air, some know that the war is indeed coming. And when Frankie arrives at their doorstep, the two stories collide in a way no one could have foreseen.
At 4:00 pm, kick off the weekend with a free movie and snacks. No reservations required; just show up. We will be watching A Wrinkle in Time. We will be showing new movies every first Friday.
At 6:00 pm, the Environmental Literature Reading Group will meet to discuss Four Fish by Paul Greenberg. A life-long fisherman examines the four fish that dominate our menus: salmon, sea bass, cod, and tuna. Our relationship with the ocean is undergoing a profound transformation. Whereas just three decades ago nearly everything we ate from the sea was wild, rampant overfishing combined with an unprecedented bio-tech revolution has brought us to a point where wild and farmed fish occupy equal parts of a complex and confusing marketplace. Fish, Greenberg reveals, are the last truly wild food–for now. By examining the forces that get fish to our dinner tables, he shows how we can start to heal the oceans and fight for a world where healthy, sustainable seafood is the rule rather than the exception.
At 6:00 pm, the Havana Book Club will meet to discuss Wintering by Peter Geye. The author magically conveys the starkness, beauty, and despair of the northern Minnesota borderlands in prose that deserves to be savored. He gives us characters with deep, complex interior lives, who struggle with secrets, love, and damaged relationships. Elderly, demented Harry Eide escapes his sickbed and vanishes into the forbidding, northernmost wilderness that surrounds the town of Gunflint, Minnesota–instantly changing the Eide family, and many other lives, forever. He’d done this once before, more than thirty years earlier, in 1963, fleeing a crumbling marriage and bringing along Gustav, his eighteen-year-old son. Now–with his father pronounced dead–Gus relates their adventure in vivid detail.
At 6:00 pm, the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Club will meet to discuss Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neivel. Physicist Rose Franklin and her top-secret team are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery–and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction? Seventeen years after a giant metal hand, glowing with intricate carvings, was discovered underground, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved–its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected. But some can never stop searching for answers.
At 10:00 am, join us as we begin a new season in the library’s garden. Start seeds and help the garden grow.
At 5:00 pm, the Storytelling Circle, led by And Two Makes Three storytellers, will meet at the Montour Falls Farmers Market. Bring a story to share with others, and listen to what they have to share!
From 8:00 to 11:00, every Sunday, local musician Gary Kline will be offering free music lessons in a variety of string instruments and tin whistle. You’re welcome to bring in your own instruments, as well. Gary has 40 years of experience in folk music. Lessons are free and open to all ages and skill levels.