News & Notes from the Blanding Library

The Year of the Bee
May will mark the start of library activities around “2023: The Year of the Bee”, beginning with a screening of “Bee Movie” on Friday, May 19 at 6:30 pm.  We will also be hosting James DeTerra for a learning session about honey bees and beekeeping, so please check our online event calendar for details.

Concert at Goff Hall:  On Sunday, May 7 at 7 pm. there will be a concert by Le Note Diverse, who will perform a selection of vocal and instrumental pieces by three women composers from 17th-century Italy.  This concert is funded by a grant from the Rehoboth Cultural Council. Admission is free, with donations welcome.

Story Hours and LEGOS
Baby/Toddler Time continues Tuesdays at 10:30 and Story & Craft Hour continues on Thursdays at 10:30 for preschoolers (siblings are welcome).

LEGOS return on Saturdays May 13 and June 10, from 11 to 2. No registration is necessary for this fun and free activity and a parent may work with a young child.

Fairy Gardens on Sat. May 20.
Stop in between 11 and 3 to create a fairy/gnome garden. The library will supply small boxes, along with shells, beads, ribbon and more, but supplies are limited. Feel free to bring a favorite container and items from home. Costumes are welcome too. This activity is not recommended for very young children.

On Thursday June 8 at 10:30, Harvard author/illustrator Marietta Apollino visits to read her new picture book “Jack the Library Cat”, a sweet story of a cat that sneaks into a library.   Story-related crafts to follow.  All ages welcome.

On Tuesday, June 13 at 10:30, special guest Anne-Marie Forer joins us with her Tunes-n-Tales Toddler Time program.

Book Club News
Two book groups meet at the Blanding monthly. The next meeting of the book group which meets on the second Wednesday of the month from 3 to 4 pm will be on May 10. The book discussed will be “The Beekeeper of Aleppo”, a novel by Christy Lefteri. For more information, call Desire Palmer at 508-717-1230.

Coming up in June, there will be a special guest author at the Blanding book club which meets at 7 pm on the first Wednesday of the month. On June 7, local author Holly Fitzgerald   will discuss her book “Ruthless River”. For more information, call the library at 508-252-4236.

The history discussion group that meets at the Blanding will be taking a break until fall. Until then, Hank Coleman has some reading suggestions. For military history: “The Proud Tower” and “The Guns of August” both by Barbara Tuchman. For economic history, “The Panic of 1907”, second edition by Sean Carr and Robert Brener, and “The Creature from Jekyll Island by Edward Griffin. For social history: “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair.

Online Resources
The Blanding now offers its patrons the Mango Language Learning program, as well as the library edition of Ancestry.com. Go to www.blandinglibrary.net to find out more. A reminder that SAILS library cards (which may be used at any member library in Southeastern Massachusetts) are available for free to all Rehoboth residents. If you don’t have one yet, stop by the Blanding to register.

With summer coming up, be sure to look for the dozen museum passes that are available through the library. You can reserve them through the library’s website. Although terms vary, each one-day pass to a museum or institution on the list can save you money on admission to these popular places in MA, RI and CT.

The Blanding Public Library, 124 Bay State Rd. in Rehoboth (508-252-4236) is open from Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 8 pm and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 4. Closed Sundays and holidays, including Mon. May 29 for Memorial Day.