With taxes due July 15th, the AARP Tax-Aide program is now providing online methods for the preparation of taxes—at no cost. You can request the help of a volunteer coach in preparing your tax returns. Visit https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide/ and click on the “Get Help Online” button for additional information.
For the safety of both customers and volunteers, the AARP will not be resuming their Tax-Aide program at the Chester County Library or Henrietta Hankin Branch Library this year.
Due to the COVID-19 threat, the Board of Trustees of the Chester County Library System/Chester County Library will be holding their monthly board meeting virtually. If you have always wanted to attend a meeting but haven’t had the time, this is your opportunity. Please click this link at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16 to join the Chester County Library System Board Meeting. The Chester County Library Board Meeting will immediately follow.
In light of the ongoing George Floyd protests, Warner Bros. has announced that for the month of June it will make the movie Just Mercy available to rent for free across digital platforms. “We believe in the power of story,” representatives from Warner Bros. said in a statement. “Our film Just Mercy, based on the life work of civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, is one resource we can humbly offer to those who are interested in learning more about the systemic racism that plagues our society.” (Shaffer, Claire. “Warner Bros. Makes ‘Just Mercy’ Free to Stream to Educate Viewers on Systematic Racism.” Rolling Stone, 2 June 2020) To learn more, visit the Warner Bros. website at https://www.warnerbros.com/.
The movie Just Mercy is a 2019 civil rights legal drama derived from the book Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption, written by Bryan Stevenson, which was published in 2014. This book is available to borrow in either ebook or e-audiobook in our Overdrive collection. There is a version of the book adapted for young people available in ebook format as well.
A related read is The Sun Does Shine, a memoir written by a client of Bryan Stevenson, Anthony Ray Hinton. This book details the harrowing account of Mr. Hinton’s 30 years on death row for a crime that he did not commit. Available to borrow in OverDrive in both ebook and e-audiobook format.
If you missed Jonah Larson on The Today Show in April, prepare to be inspired! Eleven year old Jonah Larson was born in Ethiopia and lived in an orphanage until he was adopted by his American parents, Jenn and Chris Larson, in 2008. Now, Jonah has become a crocheting phenom. In addition to crocheting incredibly fast, Jonah donates his creations to charity and raises money to support the orphanage he once called home.
If you’d like to try your hand at crochet, you can learn some basic stitches at Dabbles & Babbles: Basic Crochet Stitches, or you could try asking your favorite needleworker!
Have you ever dreamed of living in a castle? Have you ever thought about designing a castle of your own? You can start by making Virtual Visits to Castle Around the World! In addition to tours of real castles, Castles of the World by Affordable Tours includes pages about: the Parts of a Castle, the Architecture of Castles, and Haunted Castles! Buckle your seat belt and visit a castle!
Are you running out of books to read? Hoping to find something new? Why don’t you try visiting a Little Free Library. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world. Through Little Free Library book exchanges, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds. Bring a book — take a book! It’s that simple!
Chartered LFLs are quite easy to find. Go to Little Free Library. There you will find a function/map through which you can locate LFLs by ZIP code or other criteria. There are many in the West Chester area, and the United Way maintains one on each Born Learning Trail.
Of course, there are also many unchartered LFLs, which you just have to luck upon. It’s like a Treasure Hunt! Have fun and I hope you find some good books!
The Next Chapter Book Club is a program that welcomes adolescents and adults with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy and other intellectual and developmental disabilities to participate in reading and discussing books together in a fun and informal social setting. It is the largest community-based book club program of its kind in the world with hundreds of clubs meeting weekly in North America, Australia and Europe. The Chester County Library and Henrietta Hankin Branch became an affiliate in 2019 and Henrietta Hankin Library has been hosting a club that has been meeting since June 4th, 2019.
As we approach our Next Chapter Book Club’s one-year anniversary, we find ourselves adjusting to the times and have begun meeting virtually via Zoom from 5:00-6:00pm on Wednesdays. We are always open to accepting new members as well as volunteers to help co-facilitate. This June is a particularly opportune time to join in the fun, as we are in the process of selecting our next long book which we hope to begin reading in July. For more information or to sign up, please contact Henrietta Hankin Branch librarian, Claire Michelle Viola at cviola@ccls.org. For more information on the Next Chapter Book Club program, check out their website at https://www.nextchapterbookclub.org/.
Do you love Roald Dahl? Do you like supporting good causes? Do you adore watching celebrities goof around? Then James and the Giant Peach read by Taika and friends is just for you!
The collaboration between Roald Dahl Story Company, Taika Waititi and the star-studded line-up of guests will serve children and families currently in lockdown all over the world and will raise money for Partners In Health, a global health non-profit who are on the front line of the fight against COVID-19 in the most vulnerable parts of the world, with the Roald Dahl Story Company committed to donation matching of $1 million.
The world around you is SO interesting if you take the time to explore it! Whether you’re taking a walk or planting a garden, science is EVERYWHERE! Here are some great sites with science experiments and activities to help you start exploring.
Stay Connected with Chescolibraries 