Library News 2021-2022

The Robbins Library has some great news for budding local historians! The historical Arlington newspapers, previously exclusively on microfilm, have now been digitized and are available on the library's website.

You can view copies of the Arlington Advocate spanning from 1871-2005 along with archives of the The Arlington Daily News from 1932-1969 and other local newspapers through this link: https://arlington.advantage-preservation.com/

The new Historical Arlington Newspapers collection was made possible through the Arlington Libraries Foundation with funding from Richard A. Duffy. For more Arlington information, including current issues of the Arlington Advocate, see the Local History Resources from Robbins Library online (or go in person and visit the Local History Room!).

We had so much fun nerding out with Marta Crilly, Archivist for Reference and Outreach for the Boston City Archives, this week!

Marta spoke about a day in the life of an archivist and explained how archives differ from libraries or museums. Then we played "Guess That Record" with a variety of quirky and/or gross artifacts, including a map of "offensive odors" from 1878, a gas mask pamphlet distributed to Boston Public Schools students during WWII, and a photo from the Great Molasses Flood.

Marta's visit was organized by the Student Library Advisory Committee and the AHS Library.

Congratulations to everyone who finished AP testing. Are you ready to ditch donate those old test prep books?

If you have recently published test prep books in good condition, consider donating them to the AHS Library!

We will add them to our test prep collection or offer them to students in need.

Are you interested in archives or libraries? Planning to study history or English after high school? The Student Library Advisory Committee (SLAC) and your AHS Library are pleased to bring you a special guest speaker.

Join us on Monday, May 16 at 3pm in the AHS Library to meet Marta Crilly, Archivist for Reference and Outreach for the Boston City Archives!

Marta will speak with us about a day in the life of an archivist and answer our burning questions about archives and research using primary source materials. Light snacks will be provided and some teachers may offer extra credit for participating. All are welcome!

I am thrilled to share the newly-formed Massachusetts Teen Choice Book Award (MTCBA), which just announced its first list of nominees:

Our 2022 Nominees

This is the only award in the Bay State that invites students in grades 7-12 to vote for their favorite new books.

As committee chair Suzanne Larson said, "We were amazed to discover that the Bay State did not have an award that specifically offered teens the chance to vote for the titles they thought were the best new YA books. We modeled our award on the highly successful Massachusetts Children's Book Award and the neighboring Rhode Island Teen Book Award. It is our hope that this will encourage the teens of our state to seek out and read some of the best new fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels published for their age group.”

The 21 books selected form a stellar collection and we have just about (and soon to be) all in our AHS Library and on Sora. If you are looking for something great to read over break, this is a great place to start.

Thank you to the 50 students and staff who joined us for the Student Library Advisory Committee's POETRY OPEN MIC @ YOUR LIBRARY today!

We were blown away by amazing original poetry, as well as some old and new favorites. This was our first in-person event in the new library space and our first in-person open mic in THREE years!

It's time to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month with a great book from your AHS Library! This reading list of fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, and graphic novels can get you started.

Curious about the name change from Autism Awareness Month to Autism Acceptance Month? This brief article has more information.

Celebrate National Poetry Month with your fellow classmates and teachers!

The Student Library Advisory Committee's annual POETRY OPEN MIC @ YOUR LIBRARY will be held on Monday, April 11 at 3pm in the AHS Library. We'll have snacks to tempt the tummy and poetry to tempt the heart and mind. Read your own original work, share a favorite, or just come to listen!

We've got the buttons! The Student Library Advisory Committee made pronoun buttons at our last meeting. Stop by the library and take what you need!

Curious about pronouns? Learn more from this Guide To Gender Identity Terms from NPR.

This infographic from the News Literacy Project is designed to help you get your bearings in the misinformation landscape:

Why do people share misinformation? What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation? What are some of the different types of misinformation people regularly encounter online? What are some “red flag” phrases and other signs of dubious content that can help people recognize when to remain skeptical and proceed with caution.

Take a look and share responsibly!

The library’s annual community read program, Arlington Reads Together (ART), returns in March 2022. This year’s selected title, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a New York Times bestseller focusing on indigenous peoples’ understanding of the natural world, and the intersection between indigenous and scientific knowledge.

Check out all the great ART programming on the Robbins Library website.

We are so excited to announce that the GSA Book of the Month is back! This month's featured book is DIVINE ENDURANCE.

DIVINE ENDURANCE, written by Gwyneth Jones in 1984, is the story of an artificial person named Chosen Among the Beautiful. Cho leaves her isolated compound to find a world deeply segregated by gender, where only fertile women are allowed to grow food, start fires, and create. In this world, Cho finds and falls in love with a young woman leading the rebellion, even as her very presence has unforeseen consequences. The story contains themes of death, suicide, immortality, and societally-mandated sex. Divine Endurance is a complicated and sad story that warrants a read for its dynamic characters and interesting ideas.

— Isabel, Class of 2023

Congratulations and thank you to the latest winners of our Bookplate Design Contest! Our artists are:

• Anamika Biswas

• Ava Aordkian

• Calvin Wood

• Eila Solomon

• Elena Wisniewski

• Emily Schoonmaker

• Gabriella Zulueta

• Isabella Jardine

• Lillian Forney

• Louis Lopes Fernandes

• Meghan Prior

• Monica Ronayne

• Naomi Olsen

• Sophie Garrity-Janger

• Sophie Shen

Click the thumbnail to see all the great designs! These will be used on custom bookplates to thank donors who support our annual Adopt a Book campaign.

Are you an artist? Ever wish you could draw inside a library book? Please don't do that. But please DO enter our Bookplate Design Contest by submitting your artwork to Ms. Kitsis in person or by email by Friday, November 12.

We use these bookplates to commemorate donations made for our annual Adopt a Book fundraiser. Click the link to learn more about the fundraiser and see past winners!

I am loving this infographic on Eight Tips to Google Like a Pro from the News Literacy Project.

Click on the graphic to view it full size and click on the search bars to see the results for each sample search.

In honor of Arlington's first Indigenous People's Day, we'd like to share a list of books in the AHS Library written by indigenous authors and/or exploring the history of Native Americans.

Whether you are looking for new realistic fiction, horror, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, graphic novels, or nonfiction, we can't wait to recommend these books to you!

Every year, hundreds of Arlingtonians participate in the annual Arlington Reads Together program, either by reading the book or attending an event. This year, you are invited to help pick the book! Out of a list of over 30 community nominations, the ART Committee has identified these three nominees:

• Good Talk by Mira Jacobs. A bold, wry, and intimate graphic memoir about American identity, interracial families, and the realities that divide us.

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. An inspired weaving of indigenous knowledge, plant science, and personal narrative from a distinguished professor of science.

• Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong. Editor Alice Wong brings together an urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.

Take a look and vote by October 15 via the Robbins Library website. Read more and vote online here.

Check out our book display featuring Latinx and Hispanic voices outside the library or on our online catalog.

You might also enjoy this amazing resource from our APS K-8 Librarians, Jennifer Lauchlan and Liz Phipps-Soeiro, with more book recommendations and some important considerations for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Where can I get my summer reading books?

Our Sora collection will be adding extra copies of summer reading books through the Commonwealth eBook Collections. See Getting Started with Sora for detailed instructions. You can also add several Massachusetts public library collections to your Sora account for even more access!

The AHS Media Center will have limited copies of summer reading titles in print. We generally make these available in the fall so students can use them for assessments (for example, if you borrowed and returned a public library book over the summer) but if you need to borrow something over the summer, come and talk to us. We will have books from the AP Biology reading list available for summer checkout in June.

Robbins Library always purchases many copies of AHS summer reading titles, so availability in print and digital is usually excellent. As of this post, Robbins is open for lobby and contactless pickup options (request your books through the online catalog) as well as 15 minute browsing appointments. Check their online catalog for availability.

Some summer reading books may be available on Hoopla, which is accessible through Robbins Library and the Boston Public Library. Hoopla is a great option because their books are always available without waitlists. We will update this page with more information when title lists are available.

Local bookstores are another good option, and the Book Rack in Arlington always stocks AHS summer reading selections.

For your personal summer reading, remember that you have access to Sora all year, including summer vacation. The Sora Sweet Reads program includes 13 great high school books and audiobooks which will be available without waitlists through August 20. Also watch the Robbins Library Teens page for information about the public library's summer reading challenge!

As always, if you have any questions please contact AHS Media Center staff so we can help (we even provide personalized book recommendations by request). Happy reading and have a great summer!

In case you missed our in-person book display last month, please check out our online AAPI book list. If you have any additions (or subtractions) to suggest, please let us know!