Elvis Birthday Matinee - Viva Las Vegas

Shake off those winter blues and join us on what would have been Elvis Presley's 76th birthday for a special matinee of one of the King's most popular movies. All are welcome—sideburns encouraged. Ah thank you, ah thank you very much.

Saturday, January 8th @ 1PM 

Ground Floor Meeting Room. 

Brought to you by the Friends of the Pollard Library.

Happy Holidays!

"Central Street" photo by Tony Sampas, 2010

In recognition of the Christmas and New Years holidays

the Pollard Library will close at 12pm on Thursday, December 23rd

and it will be CLOSED entirely on the following dates:

Friday, December 24, 2010

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Friday, December 31, 2010

Saturday, January 1, 2011

We want to wish you and yours a very happy holiday season!

We'll see you in the New Year!

Non-Fiction Book Club - Extra Credit

A member of the newly formed Non-Fiction Book Club at the Pollard wanted to share with the rest of the group an article in BU Today about a homeless book club in Boston. This article is especially interesting in light of our book club's January Selection: Another Bulls--t Night In Suck City by Nick Flynn. As many of you are surely realizing, the book details amongst other things, Mr. Flynn's, experience as a worker at one of the largest homeless shelters in Boston. The book club mentioned in the article read Mr. Flynn's book and it inspired a great conversation. Hopefully it will inspire another one at the group's next meeting January 6, 2011 at 6:30PM. See you there.

Busy Week at the Pollard

Good Monday to you! Here's a quick round up of the great events that we have going on this week at the Pollard.

Tuesday - December 7th @ 10:30AM
Annual Holiday Sing-A-Long - Sing some old favorites and learn some new holiday tunes. For all children and their grown ups.

Wednesday - December 8th @ 6PM
Friends of the Pollard Library meeting.  UPDATE: The December Friend's Meeting has been cancelled. Next meeting TBA....  The Friends are looking for new officers. Please consider getting involved!

Thursday - December 9th @ 6:30PM
Independent Film Night! This month's film is Bomber directed by Paul Cotter

Saturday - December 11th @ 1PM
Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life -- Special Holiday Matinee! Whether it's your first time seeing this classic or your hundredth yule love it!

Non-Fiction Book Club! Another Bull---t Night In Suck City by Nick Flynn, Thursday, January 6, 2011 @ 6:30PM

A special thank you to all you nonfiction lovers who came to the first book club meeting last night. Book choices were considered, cookies were consumed, coffee drunk, and votes cast. In the end, the club elected to read for the January meeting Another Bullsh*t Night in Suck City: a memoir by Nick Flynn.

So, add this to your holiday wish list, or borrow it from the library, or obtain it by some other means, but please read it and come to talk about it at our next meeting Thursday, January 6th @ 6:30PM.

And, for those planners out there, you should know the club has chosen The Devil In the White City by Erik Larson as the selection for the February meeting -- Thursday, February 3rd @ 6:30PM

Test the energy efficiency of YOUR home.

Kill-A-Watt Meter

Digital Infrared Thermometer

Just in time for winter, the Pollard has made available "Kil-A-Watt" Meters and Digital Infrared Thermometers. You can borrow and use these handy devices to test the energy efficenty of your home. Now available at the 1st Floor Information Desk. Brought to you by the Lowell Green Building Commisssion.

FREE Independent Film Screening - Under the Eightball - THIS SATURDAY - December 4th @ 12noon

Please join us for a special screening of the independent documentary Under the Eightball - Directed by Tim Grey and Breanne Russell. This film digs into the strange and murky history of Lyme Disease. Tim Grey’s sister was afflicted with the illness in 2006 prompting him to investigate the history and cause of this disease. He was shocked with what he found. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Tim Grey. Please note this film is not rated by the MPAA and should be considered for mature audiences.

Independent Film Night - Thursday, December 9th @ 6:30: Bomber

Join us for the latest installment in our ongoing Independent Film Series in partnership with Film Movement. December's film is Bomber, a film by Paul Cotter. Thursday, December 9th @ 6:30PM.



This irreverent and touching comedy involving an impromptu family road trip will have you laughing and crying in equal measure. As the tag-line says, "it's a bittersweet comedy about love, family and dropping bombs on Germany." Sounds interesting, eh? The Pollard Library Independent Film series occurs the 2nd Thursday of every month! Please note: These Independent films are not rated by the MPAA and should be considered for mature audiences.

Holiday Matinee - Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life! Saturday, December 11th @ 1PM

You're invited a special matinee of the holiday classic Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life!  Not to be missed on the (relatively) big screen -- whether it's your first viewing or your hundredth -- join us as we follow George Bailey on a journey of discovery, amidst tough economic times, to find what is truly important in life -- laughter and friendship! We'll have hot beverages provided by local coffee roaster Peak Coffee and Tea. Saturday, December 11th @ 1PM in the Ground Floor Meeting Room. Free and open to the public!

Happy Thanksgiving! - Library will close at 3pm today!

The Pollard Library will be closing today at 3:00PM and we will be closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving. We will, however, be open both Friday and Saturday of this week from 9AM-5PM.

 We would like to take a moment to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Non-Fiction Book Club! - Thursday, December 2nd - 6PM

The Pollard Library is happy to announce that we will be starting a non fiction book group! The inaugural meeting for said group will be Thursday, December 2nd at 6PM in the Ground Floor Meeting Room. We'll introduce ourselves to one another, decide which books we might like to read for the next meeting and for future meetings and, perhaps more importantly, decide who will bring what snacks! Come on by, meet fellow book lovers and and join the discussion!

Parker at the Pollard - Mish Michaels "Storm Chasing" - Thursday, November 18th, 7PM

Mish Michaels on the summit of Mount Washington in mid winter. Wind chill values approaching 50 below.

The Pollard is pleased to welcome Mish Michaels to speak on Thursday, November 18th, 2010 at 7PM as part of the Moses Greeley Parker Lectures. Mish Michaels is an Emmy Award winning broadcast meteorologist and environmental reporter. When Mish was in kindergarten, an F2 tornado ripped through her apartment complex just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. It is her earliest childhood memory, and she's been searching the skies ever since. Mish has been affiliated with the Meteorology Department at UMass Lowell for over a decade, where she has taught a course called "Meteorological Communications." Rescheduled from last year.This event is free and open to the public. We'd love to see you there!

Pollard Memorial Library Foundation's Art Exhibit - Wednesday Nov. 17th 5PM-7PM

Aldro T. Hibbard - Landscape with Willow Trees and Snow. Oil on Canvas. Acquired by the Library in 1921 in memory of Clara Beard, Assistant Librarian for 42 years.

Join us on Wednesday, November 17th from 5PM-7PM for the Pollard Memorial Library Foundation's Art Exhibition. The Pollard Memorial Library Foundation is pleased to report that seven works from within the library collection have recently been restored with privately raised funds from the community. These works include portraits of Lowell luminaries such as Harriet Farley (mill girl and editor of The Lowell Offering), Frederick Stickney (architect of the library), and Daniel Webster (famous Whig lawyer and statesman who tried many of his early cases in Lowell).  The exhibition on Wednesday is free and open to the public and will give the public a chance to see the restored works before they are permanently installed in the library.

The PML Foundation was established in 1994 as an independent financial resource to support the programs, activities, collections, and services of Lowell's public library. More information about the Foundation and how you might contribute and/or get involved is available on our website: www.pollardml.org/foundation

Veterans Day Closure

The Pollard Library will be closed this Thursday, November 11, 2010 in observance of Veterans Day.

Creative Economy Census 2010 - Make Yourself Count!

Creative People of Lowell! Time is almost up! Lowell's Creative Economy Census closes this Friday, November 5. It only takes a few minutes to make yourself count!

We're Looking for a Few Good Friends!

The Friends of the Pollard Library are looking for candidates for office. Full details available at our Friend's Page where you can also find a membership form and join if you haven't already. And, if you have joined it would be splendid if you'd consider applying for an officer's position. 

The Friends do so much for the library -- including organizing an annual book sale fundraiser which is always a big hit amongst the mill city bibliophiles, sponsoring library events, and funding our museum pass program. But they wouldn't be able to do any of what they do without your help. If you're reading this, you care about the Pollard Library and we'd love it if you could consider getting involved. Thanks again for all your support!

Mark you Calendars:

The next Friend's of the Pollard Memorial Library meeting is 

Wednesday, December 8th at 6pm. 

Ground Floor Meeting Room

Pollard Library

401 Merrimack St, Lowell MA

Independent Film Night @ the Pollard: THIS THURSDAY November, 4 at 6:30PM: Alamar

Don't miss the Pollard Library Independent Film Series the 2nd Thursday of EVERY month!

Please note that due to the Veteran's Day holiday, November's film will be shown on the first Thursday of the month.

Come join us this Thursday, November 4th, 2010 for our monthly independent movie. This month's selection is a great little film called Alamar ("To the Sea") directed by Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio. In the film, a Mayan fisherman introduces his five year old son to his life as a fisherman in the breathtakingly beautiful, pristine and protected Chinchorro reef. The pair have only few short weeks to bond before the son has to leave to go live with his mother in Rome. Spanish and Italian with English subtitles. Please note: These Independent films are not rated by the MPAA and should be considered for mature audiences.

So You Think You Can Act?!? After School Fun Tomorrow! 3:30-4:30PM

Calling all Young Actors grades 5-8. Test out your acting skills after school at the Pollard Library. Each week we will face another acting challenge. Come on by the meeting room on the Ground Floor of the Pollard Library, 401 Merrimack St., Lowell - TOMORROW - Wednesday October 27 and next Tuesday, November 3, 2010 from 3:30-4:30PM. For more info email Beth Brassel at ebrassel@mvlc.org or go to www.pollardml.org

Election Day Information.

As you may have surmised from the multitude of yard signs, advertisements, and televised debates this coming Tuesday, November 2nd is Election Day in the Commonwealth. It's too late to register to vote but for a preview of your ballot, a summary of ballot questions, and to learn how to apply for an absentee ballot (plus other election day information) please check out the Massachusetts Division of Elections website.

Pollard Memorial Library News....

Welcome to the Pollard Memorial Library Blog!
We're glad you stopped by! We'll be keeping you up to date with the latest library events and other bookish information.

If you think you'd prefer to find out about what's going on at the Pollard on a bi-weekly basis and in email format you can also sign up for our newly minted Pollard Library News Email List . We're not going to judge you on how you want your information!

Also, don't forget to also visit our wonderful Children's Department's Blog and informative Pollard Memorial Library's Autism Guide.