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Go Green at Hamilton-Wenham

The Hamilton-Wenham Public Library is a proud recipient of the How Green Is My Library? grant, which awards funds to be spent on web support, collection development, programs and promotions for green living. Our GoGreen pages provide information about green topics of local interest, such as composting, organic food, energy savings and toxins reduction, and provide you with resources that will enable you to go green.

Be sure to check back frequently as this page and its subpages continue to expand over the coming weeks and months!

grassAn Important Press Release...
Library Bingo
GoGreen Library Events
Past Events
Special GoGreen Pages
Electronic Resources With A Green Focus
Print and Media Resources
Library Director's GoGreen Blog
Additional Local Resources
Brought to you by...


An Important Press Release...

The Hamilton-Wenham Public Library won an important grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

The Hamilton-Wenham Public Library received a $ 6,166 How Green is My Library federal IMLS/LSTA grant to be used for environmental resources, programs and electronic resource promotion. Upon learning that the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library received the federal grant, Jan Dempsey, director of the library, said: "I am excited about this opportunity to provide more resources to our community and to partner with municipal offices and local groups such as Hamilton-Wenham Green and the League of Women Voters.  In September, many citizens received postcards from Sagewell, Inc. concerning the thermal imaging of their homes.  We encourage folks to continue to come to the reference desk if they want assistance accessing their home's data online. We are excited about this opportunity to disseminate print and electronic information that will help our patrons save energy, maintain nontoxic homes and promote a healthier community." The federal funds will be used to purchase library materials, offer educational programs, and create "Go Green" web pages at hwlibrary.org.  Information about measures taken to save energy at the library and the new vermicomposting station will be on display at the Tenth Anniversary Gala on November 6 from 1-4 PM.  Please call 978-468-5577 for more information.

Under federal legislation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services,
through the Library Services and Technology Act of 1996, provides funds to each state using a population based formula. The State agency receiving the funds may use the appropriation to support statewide initiatives and services; they may also distribute the funds through grant competitions or cooperative agreements to public, academic, research, school, and special libraries. Federal funds support primarily activities using technology for information sharing between libraries and other community services. They also fund programs making library resources more accessible to urban, rural, or low income residents, or others who have difficulty using library services. For more information about the federal IMLS/LSTA grants, please visit the IMLS Web site at www.imls.gov, or visit the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners web site at www.mass.gov/mblc


Library Bingo

It is easy to participate in our Green version of Library Bingo! Get a Bingo in any direction, make sure your squares are filled out completely. Completed forms can be turned in at the Circulation desk to enter your name in a free drawing (prizes to be determined.)

***GREAT NEWS!!*** GoGreen Bingo has been extended! Play as often as you like - just be sure to turn in all of your Bingo forms by Wednesday, May 30th at 5:00 p.m.

Click here for your BINGO sheet.

Need help filling out your sheet? Tick off more squares by using this handsome flier of Green Grant Winter and Spring Programs.


GoGreen Library Events

Miniatures by Winson Morrill
May 2012
grassMiniatures by Winson Morrill are on display at the library throughout the month of May. Winson is a Hamilton resident and was recently on the Boston's Channel's Chronicle HD for his skillfully executed miniatures. These are amazing examples of recycled art: he uses the wood from former buildings (for example, the original Beverly Hospital) to make his ships in bottles.

Reducing Toxins in Your Home ***cancelled***
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

The Climate Reality Project
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Tina Woolston, Director of the Office of Sustainability at Tufts University, presents The Climate Reality Project, founded and chaired by Al Gore. "The Climate Reality Project has more than 5 million members and supporters world wide. It is guided by one simple truth: the climate crisis is real and we know how to solve it."
Click here for more information!

Vic and Sticks Recycled Rhythm Band
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
@6:30 p.m.
More information coming soon!

Sunflower Growing Contest
Summer 2012
Seeds will be available May 14th. Stop in for your packet of "Mammoth" Sunflower Seeds, and join our Sunflower Contest.
Click here for more information!


Past Events

Many programs have already taken place.
Do you want a refresher on a program you attended,
or to learn about one you missed?
Ask for the GoGreen Program Materials folder
at the Reference desk to take extras or to make copies!

On February 15th, Heidi Wilcox of the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute presented Reducing Toxins in Your Home, a talk on the many ways in which toxic items are present in everyday items that we use in the home. She also presented alternatives and make-it-yourself versions.

Sally Zimmerman, Manager of Historic Preservation Services at Historic New England, presented Energy Retrofits and the Historic Home: Weighing Risk and Opportunities on February 29th. This valuable program focused on improvements to older houses without damaging historic fabric. Sally provided an historic preservation perspective on insulation, window repair, air sealing, and renewable energy options in the historic home.

Gretel Clark held a series of four H-W Trash Q&A sessions in March and April, helping people with their questions, concerns, and problems with the new recycling and trash pickup guidelines.

On March 6, Alison Hardy of Window Woman of New England presented on Repair of Wooden Windows. Alison was featured in This Old House and the New York Times. An expert on repair and restoration of wooden windows, her philosophy is "Save Energy, Save Money, Save History: Restoration not Replacement."  

Master Gardener Betty Sanders presented Dirt On Your Hands, Soil In The Garden on March 7th. She believes that the soil we plant in is the most overlooked aspect of gardening, and discussed how using gardening methods which improve rather than hurt the soil, with an emphasis on turning kitchen and gardening waste into compost, can create gardens from the ground up.

On March 28th our children's room held a Create a Collage! activity as a tie-in with our community read, The Mangrove Tree.

The next day, March 29th, Mangrove Tree Author and Illustrator Susan L. Roth and illustrator Cindy Trumbore came to the library to discuss their book: a fascinating synthesis of children's poetic narrative and nonfiction documentary, with paper and mixed media illustrations, about the work and life of Dr. Gordon Sato.

Dr. Sato came himself that evening for The Manzanar Project with Dr. Gordon Sato at Gordon College, where he discussed his enormously successful hunger-fighting initiative, planting mangroves in Eritrea, Africa, crediting his early inspirations as a young man growing corn to feed his family in the Manzanar Internment Camp. View Dr. Sato's inspirational and moving presentation here:

You can also visit his Manzanar Project webpage for more information.

On April 4th, Betty Sanders returned to discuss Healthy Lawns and Lawn Alternatives. "How much lawn do you use? How much do you need? What can you do with the rest of your property?" Betty focussed on how people can care for their lawn with minimal environmental impact, and without breaking the bank.

Lisa Spence of the Salem Community Cardens presented on the ins and outs of home composting in Vermicomposting on April 11th. Attendees asked many questions and had an opportunity to view our library's vermicomposter, learning about the 2,000 red worms who call it home.

On May 2nd, Robert Reid, founder of the Organic Garden Cafe, gave a presentation on Going Green With Your Diet, in which he inspired patrons to grow and use their own fresh ingredients in raw food creations.


Special GoGreen Pages

Our special GoGreen pages provide a closer definition of the topic in question, together with a selection of relevant titles and other resources for further exploration.

book coverComposting

Energy Savings

Organic Food

Toxins Reduction

The Mangrove Tree
(a community read)


Electronic Resources With A Green Focus

You could run riot on the internet as you research going green - or, you can start with our list of electronic resources, and collections of resources, with a particularly Green focus. This is a great way to find reliable, vetted information on a given subject.

For access to all of our databases, visit our Online Databases and our Hamilton-Wenham Databases.


Print and Media Resources

Visit our catalog to search all of our holdings. Below is just a sampling of some of our excellent green titles in both print and media form.

cover
  My Green Manifesto: Down the Charles
River in Pursuit of a New
Environmentalism

Gessner, David
304.2 GES
cover
  Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability
Berkshire Pub. Group
R 338.9 BER
Vol. 1 The Spirit of Sustainability
Vol. 2
The Business of Sustainability
cover
  Eco Barons: The Dreamers, Schemers,
and Millionaires Who Are Saving Our
Planet

Humes, Edward
363.7 HUM
cover
  The Wild Trees:
A Story of Passion and Daring

Preston, Richard
585.5097 PRE
Y 585.50 PRE
cover
  How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants
That Purify Your Home or Office

Wolverton, B. C.
635.9 WOL
cover
  Shift Your Habit: Easy Changes to Save
Your Money, Simplify Your Life,
and Save the Planet

Rogers, Elizabeth
640 ROG
cover
  Your Green Abode: A Practical Guide
to a Sustainable Home

Miner, Tara Rae
690.8047 MIN

   
cover
  No Impact Man
Oscilloscope Pictures
DVD/ 333 NO IMPACT
cover
  Food, Inc.
Magnolia Home Entertainment
DVD/ 338 FOOD
cover
  Fresh
Ripple Effect Productions
DVD/ 338 FRESH
cover
  The Farmer and the Horse
Hundred Year Films
DVD/ 630 FARMER
cover
  The Garden
Oscilloscope Pictures
DVD/ 635 Garden

   
cover
  Watch Out, World - Rosy Cole is Going
Green!

Greenwald, Sheila
J GRE
cover
  Miss Fox's Class Goes Green
Spinelli, Eileen
JJ SPI

Remember to check our Special GoGreen Pages for books that focus on the subjects of home energy savings, composting, organic food, and toxins reduction.


Library Director's GoGreen Blog

Library Director Jan Dempsey maintains the GoGreen Blog, where she blogs about programs and resources for home energy savings, composting, organic food, and toxins reduction.

Visit the blog for the latest pictures of our vermicomposter, or Jan's LibraryThing list of the latest books bought with our "How Green is My Library" grant money.


Additional Local Resources

Sagewell Imaging does Hamilton-Wenham

Hamilton-Wenham Green

Town of Hamilton Department of Public Works

Town of Wenham Community Services


Brought To You By...

IMLS logoThis project is being funded through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funds from LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act), a Federal source of library funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Return to Special Projects

Modified 5/2/2012