In his new book, A Great Idea at the Time: the Rise, Fall and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books, award winning journalist Alex Beam tells the story of the rise and fall of the Great Books. A Great Idea at the Time offers a strangely poignant portrait of American popular culture on the threshold of the television age and speaks to how ultimately the Great Books became, as Beam puts it, “synonymous with boosterism, Babbittry, and …everything that was wrong, unchic and middlebrow about America.” He will give an author talk on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:30 pm which will be followed by a book signing with books provided by New England Mobile Book Fair.

Alex Beam is an award-winning columnist for the Boston Globe. He has also written for the Atlantic, Slate, the New York Times and many other magazines. He is one of the guests for the March edition of Books and Beyond, the library’s cable access TV show produced in conjunction with NewTV. For Newton residents the show can be viewed on NewTV's Red channel on Comcast channel 9, RCN channel 13 and Verizon channel 33 daily at 5:00 pm.

Spontaneous Generation is Newton North High School’s traveling improvisational performance troupe. They perform both at North and improv clubs around the Boston area. The Young Adult and Children’s departments are co-sponsoring a show for middle and high school students on Saturday, March 7 at 4:00 pm. Teens and adults are welcomed to come for an afternoon show full of surprises, guaranteed to keep you laughing.

The poetry series continues on Tuesday, March 10 at 7:00 pm with poets Tom Daley, Marilyn Jurich and Ellen Steinbaum. The readings will be followed by an open mic with a limit of one poem per person. Come early to sign up for the open mic; limited slots are available, time permitting. For more information visit http://www.newtonfreelibrarypoetryseries.blogspot.com/. The series is facilitated by Doug Holder.

Tom Daley teaches poetry writing at the Boston Center for Adult Education. His poetry has been published in numerous journals including the Harvard Review, Prairie Schooner and Hacks: The Grub Street Anthology.

Marilyn Jurich is Associate Professor of English at Suffolk University where she teaches courses in Fantasy and Folklore, Speculative Literature, Children’s Literature and Modern English Poetry.

Ellen Steinbaum, a poet and journalist, writes a literary column for the Boston Globe. In her first book, Afterwords, she examined loss through poems about the illness and death of her husband.

The 2009 History Series continues on Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 pm. Co-sponsored by the library and the Newton History Museum, the second in the three-part series entitled Our Imprint on the Land, will be presented by Newton historian Harry O. Lohr, Jr. who will give a slide presentation called Newton’s Historic Burying Grounds: Out-Door Museums in the 21st Century.

Newton is home to three old burying grounds; the East Parish Burying Ground (1660), site of the first meetinghouse, the West Parish Burying Ground (1781) and South Burying Ground (1802). In these cherished sites rest many of Newton’s most prominent early citizens whose history we see reflected in the names of our streets, parks and public buildings. A closer look not only reveals this local history, but America’s history as well.

Newton resident Harry O. Lohr Jr. has been a volunteer with the Newton History Museum since the early 1990’s. Mr. Lohr is the current Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jackson Homestead and is Co-chair of the History Museum’s Burying Grounds Committee.

The National Women's History Project is honoring women leaders of the environmental movement in March 2009 and in particular the work of Rachel Carson. In an effort to raise awareness about Carson’s enduring legacy of environmental stewardship, a documentary about her life is being screened in 100 cities nationwide. The 55 minute film A Sense of Wonder will be shown on Monday, March 16 at 7:00 pm as part of Green Decade/Newton’s Environmental Speaker Series.

When pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962, the backlash from her critics thrust her into the center of a political maelstrom that was based on her convictions and foresight regarding the risks posed by chemical pesticides. In the film actress Kaiulani Lee portrays Carson in the final year of her life; struggling with cancer, and recounting with both humor and anger, attacks by the chemical industry, the government and the press as she focused her limited energy to get her message to Congress and the American people.

The film is an intimate and poignant reflection of Carson's life as America's most successful advocate for the natural world. A Sense of Wonder was shot in HD by Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler at Carson's cottage on the coast of Maine. A discussion of Rachel Carson's legacy will follow the film.

For more information visit www.asenseofwonderfilm.com or www.greendecade.org. The program is being co-sponsored by Green Decade/Newton, the League of Women Voters and the Newton Free Library.

The library and the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) will present a panel discussion about employment opportunities for social workers in Massachusetts; led by professionals in the field. The program will be held on Tuesday, March 17 at 7:00 pm and is geared for social workers and those interested in pursuing a career in social work. Audience members will be encouraged to participate in the discussion and there will be a question and answer session.

The program will cover a variety of topics including:

• Employment opportunities in various specialties
• Skills needed to practice in specific specialties
• Hints on how to get an interview
• Trends and future growth in the field
• How to network within specific specialties

In honor of Women’s History Month contemporary photographer Joanne Leonard will give an illustrated author talk on her beautiful book, Being in Pictures on Thursday, March 19 at 7:30 pm. The talk will highlight her personal journey as a photographer making history in the present. Her experiences as a feminist artist, academic, single mom, identical twin and daughter of an Alzheimer's patient are the fabric from which the book's evocative art and heartfelt writing have been fashioned.

Ms. Leonard is the Diane M. Kirkpatrick and Griselda Pollack Distinguished Professor of Art and Women's Studies and a faculty associate in the Program in American Culture at the University of Michigan. Her areas of focus are photography, feminist criticism and visual culture. Her photography and collage pieces have been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Come to the renovated Young Adult area on the 2nd floor on Friday March 20 at 4:00 pm, where the festivities will begin as we celebrate our beautiful YA space. Join us for birthday cake and readings of creative pieces written by Newton teens.

Birthday Celebration Contest:
In conjunction with library’s Young Adult area birthday celebration, the library is sponsoring a writing contest, with the following guidelines:

• Writers must be 12-18 years old
• Entries can be poetry or prose loosely related to libraries and literature (any length is fine)
• Hand in your submission to the YA desk librarian and keep a personal copy; entries will not be returned
• Include your name, grade, phone number and e-mail address on the submission
• Deadline: Friday, March 13; one prize will be awarded
• Writers will be encouraged to read their work at the birthday celebration on March 20

The Newton Mothers' Forum (NMF) brings together mothers and their families from Newton and surrounding areas to share ideas, plan activities and build community. As a way to mark the organization’s 10th anniversary, both current and past NMF members raised funds for the library. On Saturday, March 21 at 10:00 am in the Druker Auditorium NMF will dedicate its gift of parenting resources to the library and herald the beginning of spring with crafts, stories and other entertainment. All families are welcome, with activities geared for children ages 2-6.

Join us as we turn the clocks back to honor Women’s History Month with a program that looks at how a late 19th century woman named Annie Londonderry left her husband and children behind and, against all odds, embarked on an around the world bicycle trip. Annie’s great-grandnephew, Peter Zheutlin, reconstructed her journey using hundreds of old newspaper accounts, letters, scrapbooks and photographs while writing Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride. Share Annie’s journey with Peter and travel through the 1890s, a time of ragtime jazz and women’s liberation on Thursday, March 26 at 7:30 pm.

Peter Zheutlin is a freelance journalist and author whose work appears in the Boston Globe and the Christian Science Monitor. He has also written for the New York Times, AARP Magazine and numerous other publications.

Architect Chong-Zi Chen will give an educational seminar on energy saving home updates. Participants will learn how to reduce their utility bills, improve in-home comfort levels and help to protect the environment. The program will take place Tuesday, March 31 at 7:30 pm. The program has been cancelled. Learn about energy efficient windows, home insulation, solar energy options, recycled wood for flooring and cabinetry, new sustainable technologies and federal tax rebates for green remodeling. The program will be enhanced with a PowerPoint slide presentation and will include a question and answer session.

Chong-Zi Chen earned his Master of Architecture from Yale University and his Master of Infrastructure Planning from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. His Green Living program has been presented to numerous audiences throughout the Boston area. Mr. Chen's design practice incorporates basic climatic elements and natural materials in order to achieve significant energy savings that contribute to a more sustainable environment.

Every Saturday, through April 11, volunteers from the AARP® Tax-Aide™ Foundation will be at the library in Rooms A and B from 1:30 to 3:30 pm to answer questions related to regular (non-business) taxes. This year the volunteers will provide assistance and prepare tax returns for people age 60 or over with moderate or low income (less than $40,000 if single and less than $60,000 if filing a joint return.) Tax returns will be prepared for people under age 60 with low or moderate income as time permits. All of the volunteers are IRS certified.