Native Nations & The Beginning of the United States: 1100-1860

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Wednesday, November 27th

7:00—8:00 PM

Online-Zoom.

Native history predates 1492. Native peoples have been on the North American continent for centuries before colonization began. Learn about U.S. History but from the perspective of Native Americans. From the formation of the Iroquois Confederacy to landing on Plymouth Rock and the Lost Colony of Roanoke to the tribes that participated in the American Revolution and the move westward, discover the creation of the treaties between the United States and Native Nations. The beginning of the end for Native Nations with the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears will also be covered. This lecture begins in the 1100s and ends just before the Civil War in 1860. Led by Heather Bruegl, a public historian, activist, and decolonial education consultant who works with institutions and organizations for Indigenous sovereignty and collective liberation. She is an Oneida Nation of Wisconsin citizen and first-line descendent Stockbridge Munsee. 

Please register here.  In collaboration with the Tewksbury Public Library.  Thanks to the Friends of the Bedford Free Public Library.

RECORDING NOTE:  This program will be recorded.  All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Please register via the Zoom link above.

Living with Wild Turkeys in Massachusetts with Mass Wildlife

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Tuesday, November 26th

10:30—11:30 AM

Online-Zoom.

Wild turkeys, the official game bird of Massachusetts, thrive in a variety of habitats across the Commonwealth, including in urban and suburban areas. Learn about wild turkey biology and behavior, as well as how residents can coexist with these beautiful birds. Led by Meghan Crawford, Community Engagement Biologist with MassWildlife, and David Scarpitti, Turkey Biologist with MassWildlife.

Please register here.  In collaboration with the Tewksbury Public Library.  Thanks to the Friends of the Bedford Free Public Library.

RECORDING NOTE:  This program will be recorded.  All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Please register via the Zoom link above.

Q&A with Author Kathleen DuVal: “Native Nations A Millennium in North America”

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Monday, November 25th

7:00—8:00 PM

Online-Zoom.

Are you interested in learning about Indigenous Peoples? This is the perfect conversation to learn more about resilience and the battle for self-sovereignty. We are joined by Professor, Historian, and Author Kathleen DuVal as she discusses her book, Native Nations A Millennium in North America. This title is shortlisted for the 2024 Cundill History Prize (learn more about the prize here). It is an essential work of American History (The Wall Street Journal) that places the power of Native nations at its center, telling their story from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today.

Kathleen DuVal is a Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her field of expertise is early American history, particularly interactions among Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans on the borderlands of North America. Her books include Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution and the forthcoming Native Nations: A Millennium in North America. Find her on Twitter. 

Please register here. In collaboration with the Ashland Public Library.

Thanks to the Friends of the Bedford Free Public Library.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded.  All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Please register via the Zoom link above.

The Night of Shamus — Celebrating The Best In Detective Fiction

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Tuesday, November 19th

7:00—8:00 PM

Online-Zoom.

The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for the best detective fiction novels and short stories of the year. The Prize is given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye fiction. Enjoy a panel of Shamus Award winners and nominees discussing their works and their detective fiction genre, including Gabriel Valjan (2024 winner for Best Original PI Paperback for “Liar’s Dice”); J.R. Sanders (2023 winner for Best Original PI Paperback for “Dead-Bang Fall”); and Liz Milliron (2024 nominee for Best Original PI Paperback for “The Truth We Hide”). The panel will be moderated by Agatha Award-winning and Anthony and Macavity Award-nominated Anjil Babbar, who teaches crime fiction at Boston University. 

Please register here.  In collaboration with the Tewksbury Public Library.  Thanks to the Friends of the Bedford Free Public Library.

RECORDING NOTE:  This program will be recorded.  All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Please register via the Zoom link above.

Holiday Baking Demonstration with Heidi McIndoo: Mini Pumpkin Pie Tartlets

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Monday, November 18th

7:00—8:00 PM

Online-Zoom.

The holidays are bearing down on us and coming up with new and nutritious options can be challenging. If you are looking for a sweet treat that won’t sabotage your healthy eating goals, join registered dietitian Heidi McIndoo to make mini pumpkin pie tartlets.

Heidi Reichenberger McIndoo, M.S., R.D., L.D.N. is a nutrition consultant, spokesperson, author, and freelance writer with 25 years experience as a registered dietitian. She loves helping people realize that eating nutritiously doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor and pleasure.

Please register here. In collaboration with Ashland Public Library. 

Thanks to the Friends of the Bedford Free Public Library.

RECORDING NOTE:  The program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Please register via the Zoom link above.

On Exhibit in the Gallery…

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ALTERED HABITATS | Fran Forman, Early Work
November 14, 2024 – January 14, 2024
Open during regular library hours
Reception, open to the public: Sunday, November 24, 5-6 PM
 
 

Acclaimed photographer Fran Forman exhibits some of her early work in the solo show ALTERED HABITATS at the Bedford Free Public Library from November 14, 2024 to January 14. 2025. Her images blur the boundaries between the real and the unreal. They are visual narratives that evoke a sense of transience, longing, memory, and dislocation.

In the early 1990’s Fran Forman began using Photoshop to push her interest in combining photography and mixed media. She employs old and new photographs, scanned objects, paintings, and drawings, to create visual narratives untethered to time and place.

In merging photography with painting and portraiture with dreamed landscapes, her image-making leverages the richness of color and the patina of textures to rearrange reality. 

Her process is an act of intuition and investigation. She constructs these dreamy visions and altered habitats with found or borrowed disparate sources. She mines and transforms contemporary and antique photos to create a mosaic from her imagination and pays tribute to the collage artists and the Pictorialists of the late 19th century.

Fran Forman’s work is in many permanent collections including MFA Boston, The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the MFA Houston, and more. She has mounted solo exhibitions at venues including The Fox Talbot Museum, Massachusetts State House, The Griffin Museum of Photography, AfterImage Gallery, and Pucker Gallery, Boston. She is represented by Pucker Gallery (Boston), Afterimage Gallery (Dallas), Susan Spiritus Gallery (Newport Beach, CA), BBA Gallery (Berlin), Photo/Graphica (Mexico).

 

The public is invited to view the exhibit during regular library hours.

This exhibit would not be possible without assistance from the Friends of the Bedford Free Public Library.

 

New Reader Collection: Decodables

Posted on by Nicole Monk

There’s a new collection in the children’s room. This book collection is full of phonics-based beginning readers called decodables. Read on to learn more or stop by the children’s room to browse the collection.

What are decodables? 

Decodable books are designed to encourage children to practice their knowledge of letters and their corresponding sounds. They use specific letter patterns and are designed in a specific order to practice and master phonics from simple to complex rules.

How to use decodables

Decodable books feature familiar words and phonics structures to help readers practice skills they have learned. When choosing a decodable book, find one that matches a phonics structure that your reader has already learned. This is the best way to practice and reinforce that skill.

Choosing the right level

Decodables are split into six categories based on phonics groups.

There is a sign in the children’s room with real and nonsense words grouped by phonics skill to help you and your child figure out the right level.

Q&A with Regency Romance Author Alexandra Vasti

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Thursday, November 14th

7:00—8:00 PM

Online-Zoom.

Please join us in chatting with author Alexandra Vasti about one of our favorite genres – regency romance! We always wonder, were there really that many Dukes and, if so, were they really healthy, wealthy, and handsome? Let’s find out as we talkwith Alexandra about her most recent book, Ne’er Duke Well and her upcoming book, Earl Crush. Bring your questions as this will be a rapid-fire Q&A!

Please register here. In collaboration with the Ashland Public Library.

Thanks to the Friends of the Bedford Free Public Library.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Please register via the Zoom link above.

Armchair Travel To The Galapagos Islands

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Tuesday, November 12th

10:30—11:30 AM

Online-Zoom.

Travel to the Galapagos Islands made famous by Charles Darwin and his theories of evolution in his book, The Origin of Species, aboard the ship, HMS Beagle. Examine the unique wildlife and gorgeous vistas of this isolated group of islands, located 600 miles west of Ecuador’s Pacific coast, which is home to large tortoises, iguana lizards, sea lions, and a menagerie of exceptional birds from blue-footed boobies to red-pouched frigate birds. Appreciate the nearly pristine showcase of biodiversity as told through videos and photos. Led by world traveler Dana Zaiser, a retired local pharmacist who has also visited Switzerland, Australia, Ireland, and The Amazon. In addition to his love of travel, Zaiser is an amateur historian and current President of the Old Colony Civil War Roundtable.

Please register here.  In collaboration with the Tewksbury Library.  Thanks to the Friends of the Bedford Free Public Library.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded.  All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Please register via the Zoom link above.

The Orphan Train Movement — History, Genealogy & Legacy

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Wednesday, November 6

7:00—8:00 PM

Online-Zoom.

Orphan Trains, which operated in the United States between 1854 and 1929, transported 200,000+ children from New York to the Midwest and beyond. Through oral history and genealogy research – with ongoing, diligent care of the unique records – over two million descendants live on to tell the stories of this uniquely American movement. Learn about the history, genealogy, and legacy of this movement. Led by Michael Brophy, a nationally known, professional genealogical researcher, heir search specialist, and lecturer from the Boston area. He has served as Program Director and Publicity Director for the Massachusetts Genealogical Council. Brophy was also the first Treasurer of the New England Association of Professional Genealogists. He was featured on the Irish TV series Dead Money, a genealogy TV show about heir searchers. In 2010, Mr. Brophy was hired to conduct research for the NBC television program “Who Do You Think You Are?”, on an episode dedicated to the family history of actress Gwyneth Paltrow

Please register here.  In collaboration with the Tewksbury Public Library.  Thanks to the Friends of the Bedford Free Public Library.

RECORDING NOTE:  This program will be recorded.  All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Confidential 

Please register via the Zoom link above.