In case you were thinking of purchasing a new energy efficient appliance for your Valentine (not recommended btw), you picked a good week. Beginning today and running until February 21st, New York State is offering cash rebates on the purchase of certain new appliances. Get all the details here.

From our colleagues at the Waterford Half-moon School comes word that there will be a Potluck Dinner for Waterford Seniors on Wednesday January 20th, from 5:00-7:30pm. In addition to a wide variety of entree, dessert and beverage choices, the High School Jazz Ensemble and High School Chorus will provide entertainment following the meal. All of this is being provided free of charge.

A sure sign of the New Year are the barrage of inquiries about the availability of Federal and New York State Tax Forms. We are happy to say that we have many of them now available in paper form. We also have all of the New York State forms available in PDF format that can be printed off. Supplies of the paper forms are limited, so please only take what you need. Staff are prohibited by law from providing assistance with filling out forms, but are happy to direct people to tax preparation services and help.

Beginning tomorrow and continuing until December 14th, the library will be accepting new and unwrapped toys in lieu of overdue fines on a one to one basis. Only overdue fines are eligible, all other fines and fees must be paid in full. All toys donated will be given to the Peck Hose Fire Department Toy Drive.  Please contact the library at 237-0891 for additional information.

From our friends at the Waterford Historical Museum comes a reminder that they will once again be leading haunted walking tours of the Waterford Rural Cemetery tonight Friday Oct. 30th. Tours will commence at 6:30pm, with the last one departing at 8:45pm.  The Cemetery is located on Saratoga Ave/Rt. 32 in Waterford and all tours will line up at the Cemetery office.

Also don’t forget to check out the new Museum blog!

You want them, we got them now! Sunday editions of the Daily Gazette, Times Union & Troy Record are available at the library, on Sundays when we are open from 1-4pm!

This past Thursday the Friends of the Waterford Library held their Annual Meeting. The meeting marked the completion of their first 5 years as a support and fund-raising adjunct of the library.  Accomplishments during this period include raising monies to purchase a digital camera and digital projector for the library and underwrite juvenile programming and reading backpacks. They have sponsored a successful gardening program and helped establish a semi-regular film series.  Upcoming activities include raffles for a Book Tote of Mysteries and a Wii game system. The friends are always looking for new members and application forms can be picked up at the library. The Friends meet monthly on the 3rd Thursday, 7pm at the library.

The Thursday Night Music, Art & Lecture Series
produced by Waterford Maritime Historical Society & Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center

Where: Waterford Harbor Visitor’s Center, 7pm

Featuring: Stefan Bielinski of the Colonial Albany Social History Project

“Meet the People of Colonial Albany Online at the People of Colonial Albany Live Here Website”

This event includes a multi-media introduction and orientation to the internet exposition with a focus on community history

Is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying parts of being a librarian. But if you can’t make it in, or would rather choose on your own, may we suggest a very useful tool.  It’s our NextReads service, which consists of an email newsletter full of book suggestions in a wide variety of genres and subjects.  Whether you’re an armchair traveler, mystery buff or love a spine tingling thriller, there’s a newsletter that’s tailored to you. The newsletters are linked to our catalog, so you can jump over and place a request. In no time, you will have your Next Great Read! Think of it perhaps as a Netflix queue for books.  Except you don’t have to bother with those pesky red envelopes.

It’s been awhile since we made mention of our online chat reference service. It’s powered by Meebo and located on the Contact Page of the website. During regular library hours, patrons are welcome to send us questions as instant messages or IM’s.  If a response is not received right away, it’s likely we are away from the reference desk and have forgotten to hang the AWAY sign! In that case,  please try again little later or use the contact form or give us a call.  Speaking of calling, there is an answering machine at the library, so if you need to leave us a message after hours, please feel free to do so. The message here is that we want to be as accessible to our patrons as possible, so please take advantage and let us help you!