May is Mystery Month in Maynard

Coming off a fantastic Maynard Book Festival visited by a variety of Massachusetts authors that included among others Gregory Maguire, William Martin, and Barbara Shapiro, the Friends of the Library have two more exciting nights of author visits coming up this month.

On Tuesday, May 7th, Katherine Hall Page and Spencer Quinn will be making appearances. Katherine's "Body in the..." books are tremendously popular in our collection and she'll be releasing a new title (Body in the Piazza) next week! Spencer Quinn's mysteries are told from the perspective of a dog who is owned by a detective.  This allows Quinn to create a comic narrative and allows the plot to take turns that would be impossible with a human-only cast of characters.

Just a few weeks later on Thursday, May 23rd, the library will be visited by Hallie Ephron and Linda Barnes. Hallie is a relatively new mystery writer but her first book "Never Tell a Lie" received excellent reviews and was adapted for a film as "And Baby Will Fall" on the Lifetime Movie Network. Linda Barnes has written 16 novels, many of which feature Carlotta Carlyle, a smart, independent, tough-as-nails Bostonite etched in the hardboiled tradition.

Both events start at 7pm and are free and open to the public. Books for signing are from Porter Square Books. 

Graphic Novels? We've got the best around!

Are you or your children a big fan of graphic novels/comics? If so, then make your way over to the Maynard Public Library as our collection fairly recently expanded thanks to a very generous donation from a local comic store owner.  Last year, Tim Finn, the owner of Hub Comics in Somerville, donated almost 200 graphic novels for the purposes of getting more kids into comics by making them accessible for free here at the library. The donation consisted of high quality reproductions of comics from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Most of them are collections of X-Men, Spider Man, Bat Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, and much more. These stories are gentler and less violent and less sexual than the way superheroes are portrayed today, and are appropriate for children of all ages.

With the boost to our already large graphic novel collection, Maynard boasts one of the best selections in the area. Check out our full graphic novel collection the next time you're in! It's located on the 3rd floor all the way up against the left wall of the building if you're looking out onto Nason Street.

Wondering what graphic novels to start off with? Our library's Director Stephen Weiner has written several books on graphic novels including Faster than a Speeding Bullet: The Rise of the Graphic Novel and The 101 Best Graphic Novels. Both are in the library's collection, check them out sometime to get yourself started, or back into, graphic novels sometime!

Both are in the library's collection, check them out sometime to get yourself started or back into graphic novels sometime! Thanks again, Hub Comics!

OverDrive E-Book service improved!

An updated version of the Digital Media Catalog went live for the Minuteman Network yesterday, allowing for a much more user-friendly way to browse for and borrow e-books and audiobooks.

The one thing I’m most excited for in this process is the ability to read the book in a browser without having to download any software. For many library patrons that have tried to download e-books over the last couple of years, this has been the tricky part that has led to technical difficulties. Assuming all works well with this new version, e-books will be easier than ever to find and read.

Once you get to a title that you want to read, you'll have the option of downloading it to your device/computer or simply reading it in your browser. Once you click "Read," it'll pop right up and you're set to go. Returning it is just as easy.

Try out the new download service here or to read a guideline of all the changes, click here.

Send an e-mail (jrobichaud@minlib.net) or comment below if you’re interested in sharing your thoughts on the new way of downloading e-books. And remember to swing by the Reference Desk if you're ever stuck on downloading e-books in any way.