As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

Diane Johnston will present a program for Baby Boomers who are dealing with the challenges of caring for aging parents.  Among the subjects to be covered in this seminar are:

Cognitive Changes in your parent – Identifying, Accepting and Dealing with Mental Changes 
Coping Strategies: Getting through the difficult times with grace
Use of Humor
Increase Self Care
Meditation and Mindfulness
Enjoying your parents even when this seems impossible
Helping Your Parent Maintain Dignity
Finding Resources – Making Your Way through the Maze
            Medical professionals
            Mental Health professionals
            Geriatric Care managers
            In Home Services
            Independent Living vs. Assisted Living 

Diane Johnston PNP is a Nurse Practitioner in Psychiatry in private practice in Westport, Connecticut, specializing in psychopharmacology and psychotherapy. She is licensed in Connecticut and New York to assess and evaluate clients and to prescribe psychotropic medications as appropriate. In her psychotherapy and psychopharmacology practice in Westport, she works with adults, adolescents, couples and families from all over Fairfield County.

Diane Johnston has been in private practice for 15 years, specializing in the field of Behavioral and Integrative Medicine.  She was Medical Director at Insight Counseling in Ridgefield, CT. She was also a clinical supervisor in the Department of Complementary Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Ms. Johnston is also Director of the Mind-Body-Fertility program which focuses on using mind-body practices for fertility treatment and wellness.

This program is part of our Adult Summer Reading program and is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Library.
Sen HF

School age children, teens and adults are invited to join in the library's summer reading program that begins today!  Prizes and incentives are awarded for reading during the summer months.  Check our website for more information.

Drop in for fingerplays, music, movement and a book!  For ages birth through age 2 years accompanied by an adult. No registration required during the summer months!

Drop in for fingerplays, music, movement and a book!  For ages brith through age 2 accompanied by an adult.  No registration required during the summer months!

Kids going into grades 4, 5, 6 read and discuss the 2013 Nutmeg Nominee books. This week's title:  Wild Girl, by Patricia Reilly Giff. Bring a lunch and eat while we chat!  Register online beginning June 24.

As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

 Marina Marchese, owner of Red Bee Artisanal Honey in Weston, will offer tastings of Red Bee honey and sign copies of her new book, The Honey Connoisseur, recently published by Black Dog & Leventhal.  The event will take place at Books on the Common on Friday, June 28^th from 6 to 8 p.m.
 
The new bookincludes engaging explanations and step-by-step instructions on the origin and flavor of more than 30 varietals of honey from Alfalfa to Ulmo, wine and cheese pairings, and as a bonus, several simple, delicious recipes featuring honey. After a brief explanation of how bees pollinate plants and produce honey, the authors introduce terroir, or the way soil, weather, and other natural phenomena can affect the taste of honey. Terroir is a familiar concept to wine lovers, but has not been widely associated with honey until now. Knowing the terroir of a honey varietal informs an understanding of its flavor.
 
Treats to enjoy with the honey will be provided by No. 109 Cheese & Wine, and Ross’ Bread, both businesses located in The Marketplace at Copps Hill Common.
 
This event is co-sponsored by Books on the Common, the Ridgefield Library, No.109 Cheese & Wine, and Ross’ Bread.
 
Call Books on the Common at (203) 431-9100 or email Info@BooksontheCommon.com for more information.
L

The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser. 

The Nonfictioneers meet on the first Tuesday of the month to discuss classic and contemporary non-fiction titles. Click here for more information and to see the upcoming discussion selections.

New members are always welcome. L H

As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

Children going into grades 2 and 3 read a book and meet to eat lunch and have a discussion and do an activity about the book.  Children bring their lunches. Registration required by signing up at the information desk and picking up a copy of the book to be discussed.  Book will be held at the circulation desk.

As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

“The sinking of the cruise liner that was once the pride of Hitler’s Strength Through Joy program has long been overlooked by maritime historians.  Yet when the Wilhelm Gustloff disappeared beneath the freezing waters of the Baltic in January of 1945, she took with her more than six times the number of people lost on the Titanic.Through careful research and interviews with the few remaining survivors Cathryn J. Prince vividly recreates the chaos and terror of this epic maritime disaster.”--Hugh Brewster, author of Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic’s First-Class Passengers And Their World

Take your seat for a fascinating talk sponsored by The Aldrich, Ridgefield Library, and Books on the Common about the design of chairs. Coinciding with the Museum’s presentation of the Extreme Drawing exhibitions, two renowned design professionals with over sixty years of combined experience, Niels Diffrient and Gordon Bruce, will discuss their creative processes, including the acts of drawing and sketching, and seminal projects from their careers in the design field. A book signing with Diffrient, whose new book, Confessions of a Generalist, encapsulates his perspective on design and the life experiences that inform his practice, will follow the talk.

Inventor, product designer and Ridgefield resident, Niels Diffrient has spent the last thirty-plus years focusing on the most universal tool in the office environment, the task chair—a category in which he has pioneered numerous breakthroughs. Most important to his design process are the prototypes. Consideration of both the contour/composition of the human body and the force of gravity creates the interface that determines comfort. His chairs are developed to help the users—sitting for long periods of time—handle their jobs with health and comfort. A master in the field of ergonomics, Diffrient is always looking to make more appropriate and useful products.

New Milford resident Gordon Bruce, principal of Gordon Bruce Design LLC, has been a design consultant for forty years, with clients in Europe, Asia, and the United States. He has worked with numerous multi-national corporations, including IBM, Mobil, Siemens, Samsung, Lenovo and GE, on various kinds and scales of products—from airplanes to computers to medical equipment—as well as design strategy and planning. The design standards he has written for major corporate programs have included defining product, graphic, interior, and exhibit design problem statements, specifications, research, and concept design.

Children going into grades 2 and 3 read a book and meet to eat lunch and have a discussion and do an activity about the book.  Children bring their lunches. Registration required by signing up at the information desk and picking up a copy of the book to be discussed.  Book will be held at the circulation desk.

As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

The Nonfictioneers meet on the first Tuesday of the month to discuss classic and contemporary non-fiction titles. Click here for more information and to see the upcoming discussion selections.

New members are always welcome. L H

As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

Children going into grades 2 and 3 read a book and meet to eat lunch and have a discussion and do an activity about the book.  Children bring their lunches. Registration required by signing up at the information desk and picking up a copy of the book to be discussed.  Book will be held at the circulation desk.

As part of our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Program, the Ridgefield Library will be delving into the world of  Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. The New York Times called 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and we hope you’ll join us as we explore this new way to engage in lifelong learning.
 
What is a MOOC?  A MOOC allows anyone with an internet connection to take college courses for free. Last year, companies such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX began partnerships with major universities and colleges to offer a wide range of courses online.
 
How is the Ridgefield Library participating?
This summer the Ridgefield Library will be a meet-up destination for a course entitled The Fiction of Relationship taught by Dr. Arnold Weinstein from Brown University and offered through Coursera.  For ten consecutive Wednesdays beginning on June 19th, we will gather at 7 PM in the library’s program room to watch Dr. Weinstein’s video lectures and then have a facilitated discussion about what we’ve learned.  You will be asked to sign up on the Coursera website to be a participant in the course and also to register below so we know how many people to expect.
 
What will be the focus of the course ?
Here is how Dr. Weinstein describes the course:  “What is the nature of our relationship to others and the world? How can literature help us see these relationships more clearly? This course seeks to explore such questions through adventurous readings of ten great works of narrative fiction from the 18th to the 20th century.” 
 
What are the course readings and how much of a time commitment is involved?
Your commitment can be as much or as little as you like.  The selections to be discussed in the course are listed below.  We will have multiple copies of these titles available beginning the last week of May, and many of the works have free eBook versions.  Audiobooks of the works will also be offered when available.  You may attend all or some of the  lectures (once you sign up with Coursera, you will also be able to access the lectures from home).  Many of these works may be familiar to you, and you are welcome to come and listen to the lectures without making a greater time commitment.
 
Here are the works that will be explored:
June 19 - Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
June 26 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
July 3 - Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
July 10 - The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
July 17 - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
July 24 - Light in August by William Faulkner
July 31 - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
August 7 - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
August 14 - Beloved by Toni Morrison
August 21 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
 
For more information contact Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski at dlpawl@ridgfieldlibrary.org or by phone at x1003.  Please register below and also on the Coursera Website (link below). Please note that the course on Coursera begins two weeks earlier than we plan to screen the lectures at the Library.
 
This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library. comtec L

The Nonfictioneers meet on the first Tuesday of the month to discuss classic and contemporary non-fiction titles. Click here for more information and to see the upcoming discussion selections.

New members are always welcome. L H

Local history buff George Hancock will discuss his latest book, A Killing at the Inn, a fictional tale of Ridgefield set in the years 1858 through 1862.  The program will take place where it is set -  at the Keeler Tavern Museum!

George Hancock has been a student of history for most of his life.  He is an historic re-enactor, having portrayed the character of Timothy  Keeler, noted Ridgefield citizen and barkeep.  He is a frequent volunteer guide at the Keeler Tavern Museum and is a member of Ridgefield Historical Society.

This program made possible thanks to the Wadsworth Russell Lewis Fund and is part of Ridgefield Remembers the Civil War:  A town-wide, six-month series of programs and events to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.  Click here to visit our Civil War webpage or here for our calendar of events.

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The Library will co-sponsor this reading, which is free and open to the public. Join us for readings by local authors Pete Nelson, Nalini Jones, Chris Belden and Linda Merlino.  Enjoy some light refreshments! This program will take place at St. Stephens North Hall, 351 Main St., Ridgefield.

No registration.

L PVA
 

The Nonfictioneers meet on the first Tuesday of the month to discuss classic and contemporary non-fiction titles. Click here for more information and to see the upcoming discussion selections.

New members are always welcome. L H