The Library Spotlight

If you are looking to learn something new in 2021, join us and knit along for a good cause! Each week, we will learn how to make a new knitted block for a Warm Up America blanket. All you need is a ball of yarn, size 7 or 8 needles, and knowledge of some basic knit stitches. Want to learn more about Warm Up America? Visit their website here: www.warmupamerica.org. For dates, times and/or to register online here.

Help make history by sharing your story of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just as we relied on information about the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1917-1918 to inform our response to COVID-19, future generations may benefit from understanding what we experienced. By collecting your stories, we become witnesses-to-history, providing insight into daily life during this global pandemic and adding to the historic record.

How can you get involved? Please take some time to fill out this form -- and feel free to share with your friends, family members, and neighbors -- the more people participate, the better understanding we’ll have of the impact of COVID-19. Take the short survey.

Adults 18 and up are invited to participate in March Book Madness 2021 with Saratoga Springs Public Library! The idea is simple. Vote for your favorite books! The books advancing to the next round will be posted every Monday during the tournament. The "book champion" will be announced April 2.  

March Book Madness Reading List and Catalog Links: https://guides.sspl.org/SSPLMBM2021

Vote for books you have read or want to read. They are available in print, eBook and/or audiobook formats through Libby and Overdrive. If you want to place a hold, you can do that online or by calling 518-584-7860, ext. 210. Some books are available for free in the public domain. You can search for public domain books with Project Gutenberg.

Round 1  
March 1 - vote for 16 books (update is posted on March 8 - Round 2 - vote for 8).  
Round 2  
March 8 - vote for 8 books (update is posted on March 15 -Round 3 - vote for 4). 
Round 3  
March 15 - vote for 4 books (update is posted March 22 Round 4 - vote for 2).  
Round 4 – FINAL FOUR Announced! 
March 22 Final Four announced! Vote for 2 books of the FINAL FOUR (Round 5 -- final contenders announced March 29 - vote for 1 book).  
Round 5  
Championship March 29 – vote for one book, April 2 Champion announced on April 2, 2021 

For seeds, visit: https://sspl.libcal.com/event/7581567 and download the attachment. 

#SSPLMBM2021 

Saratoga Springs Public Library is pleased to announce that Saratoga Soul Brandtville Blues, by Carol Daggs is the 2021 SaratogaREADS! selection. Wishtree by Katherine Applegate is the Junior Companion.

At once a family story, an exploration of Black life in Saratoga Springs, and a meditation on development and social change, Saratoga Soul Brandtville Blues explores the history of several generations of the Daggs family, who have lived in the Brandtville section of Saratoga Springs, south of Crescent Street, for over a century. Lavishly illustrated with family photos, and told in the form of an abecedary, it sheds light on a little-known and underappreciated segment of Saratoga society, and asks probing questions about race, gender, and economic status in engaging, entertaining, and edifying snippets.

“We’re delighted to be able to share the Daggs family history with the community,” said library director, Issac Pulver, “and excited by the many important discussions and the variety of programs inspired by this selection.”

Narrated primarily by Red, an ancient red oak tree to which the townspeople annually tie their wishes, written on scraps of cloth or paper; and by the animals who reside there, Wishtree by Katherine Applegate is the 2021 SaratogaREADS! Junior Companion selection. With its unusual point of view, snappy dialog, and gorgeous illustrations, Wishtree entertains as it explores the themes of diversity, adversity, friendship, love for your neighbors, and preservation of nature and traditions.

A variety of library programs inspired by both selections are in the planning stages. Check our social media channels,  www.saratogareads.org and the library event calendar at www.sspl.org frequently, as programs are still being added.

What is Read Woke?

Read Woke is a reading challenge started by School Librarian Cicely Lewis with the intent of encouraging her students to experience the voices of authors and characters from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. According to Lewis, a read woke book must:

• Challenge a social norm
• Give voice to the voiceless
• Provide information about a group that has been disenfranchised
• Seek to challenge the status quo
• Have a protagonist from an underrepresented or oppressed group.

The challenge has expanded from the school library into a nation-wide effort. The Saratoga Springs Public Library is offering our community members the chance to participate in our own Read Woke Challenge.

How the challenge works:

1. Sign up through Beanstack
2. Earn virtual badges by reading books in each of the categories, or checking out some of our suggested activities (see suggested titles and events by clicking through the tabs on this guide)
3. Earn 5 badges to be entered in one of our quarterly drawings for a Read Woke t-shirt to declare your commitment to reading and learning about a world's worth of different voices

T-shirt drawings will take place in February, April, July, and October of 2021. Anyone who has completed their 5 badges in the three months prior will be entered in that quarter's drawing.