All voters qualified to vote in a general election and reside within the boundaries of the City of Troy are asked to vote on a special election for the library’s Board of Trustees.  Voters will be asked to select three trustees for the Troy Public Library District to be elected for three year terms each.

Voters with the zip code of 12180 are asked to vote at the Main Library and voters with the zip code of 12182 are asked to vote at the Lansingburgh Branch.

Nominees:

• Nancy Burgin
• Fredda Merzon
• Tracy Kennedy
• Coleen Murtagh Paratore
• John Fetscher

Read more about the Nominees…

• Nancy Burgin – Nancy Burgin credits the library with saving her sanity when her children were little. Story Time at Lansingburgh was the highlight of the week. She discovered that small children can ask more detailed questions than most college students.Nancy received her Masters in Library Science in 1985. She has worked in a number of different kinds of libraries, including a business library, a community college and a parochial school. She currently volunteers at the library at Rensselear Park Elementary School.
• Fredda Merzon - Fredda Merzon brings to the Board of Troy Public Library her experience with government agencies and not-for-profit organizations on the national, state and local level. She is facilitator of group decision-making processes and organizational assessment. She has been hired to develop collaborative efforts, strengthen intra- and inter-organizational relationships, enhance stakeholder relationships, create strategic planning processes and coach organization leaders.Prior to founding, Fredda Merzon Associates in 1989, Fredda was training director and acting executive director of the Center for Women in Government (1978-1989). She has a MSW from the University of California, Berkeley, a BA from Queens College, New York City, and training in mediation and professional coaching.Fredda bought her home in the Morningside Heights area of Troy in 2003, moving there from Cambridge NY. In addition to being an avid reader and gardener, she creates sculptures of botanicals from found metal objects.
• Tracy Kennedy – Tracy Kennedy moved from New York City to downtown Troy with her husband, Brendan, and 3 children in 2008. Tracy earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from St. Lawrence University, and has worked in the financial industry in Albany, Boston and New York City for over 17 years. She is a passionate reader and an avid user of public libraries. If elected, she intends to act as an advocate and steward for all branches of Troy’s public libraries, focusing on their importance as centers of information, of community culture, recreation and continuing education.
• Coleen Murtagh Paratore – Born and raised in Troy, New York, where she obtained her first library card and fell in love with reading at the Troy Public Library, Coleen Murtagh Paratore, full-time author and mother of three sons, is again a resident of Troy, living in the Frear Park neighborhood.  Ms. Paratore is the author of fourteen books for children and young adults, including the best-selling novel The Wedding Planner’s Daughter (Simon & Schuster) which blossomed into a six-book series and is currently being made in to an ABC Original Family Movie.   Ms. Paratore’s novel, SUNNY HOLIDAY, about an inner-city African American girl who retains a sunny outlook on life despite hardship, was named a 2009 Best Book of the Year by the New York Public Library.  The book was inspired in part by a conversation the author had with a student at School 14 five years ago.  Ms. Paratore is a popular visiting author at schools and libraries where she “loves sharing the joy of writing” with people of all ages.  A former Director of Comunications for The Sage Colleges and adjunct instructor at Russell Sage, Ms. Paratore holds an M.A. in English Literature from Trinity College, Connecticut and a B.A. in English from The College of Saint Rose, Troy, New York.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of The YWCA of the Greater Capital Region and a participant in the Troy 100 Forum. Visit her on-line at www.coleenparatore.com

• John Fetscher – I was a boy in Troy, lived on Terrace Place and went to School 16 (which had a library branch!) Our family relocated to New Jersey, but I had close ties with friends in Troy and never forgot them or the City and its magic.
  In 1978, I along with my business partners Pat and Jerry Cole, decided to abandon NYC and to make an investment in Troy. We bought several historic downtown residential buildings. Our plan was to renovate and reinvigorate these homes to bring them up to code and to bring them back to their rightful place in the sun. For the past thirty years I have lived and worked on my properties on the 2100 block of Fifth Avenue (between Federal and Jacob), and I currently reside at 2180 5th.  This block has prospered; most probably because a number of stakeholders live on it. Preservation has been my goal and reward for years; which underscores my desire to serve on the Troy Public Library as trustee. I have been a member of the library for ages and a proponent for it during this time. I was disheartened to learn that the library board was selling donated art to raise funds at a time when private wealth in this country declined by 19 trillion dollars, not the
  best time to break faith or to sell treasure! I am also very concerned that the new tax levy for the library does not fund the operation fully. I am a 67 year old graduate of Holy Cross College and am currently employed by Renssselaer County in the Economic Development Office.

RPI’s Tutor Time was founded in Fall 2001 by a group of students participating in the America Reads / America Counts Work Study program, a government sponsored program that promotes the “no child left behind” initiative. Its goal is to ensure that each child, grades K-9, receive assistance in basic math and reading skills.

Tutor Time works on an appointment basis at each of its locations. Students are given one hour appointments between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.  Please make your appointment by calling The Tutor Time Hotline – 518-276-3098

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Monday, September 13 at 6:30 pm
Main Library

One dark summer dawn, at the exact moment that an enormous monster dies in Lake Glimmerglass, twenty-eight-year-old Willie (nee Wilhemina) Upton returns to her hometown of Templeton, NY in disgrace. She expects to be able to hide in the place that has been home to her family for generations, but Willie then learns that the story her mom, Vi, had always told her about her father has all been a lie. He wasn’t the one-night stand Vi had led her to imagine, but someone else entirely. Someone from this very town.

As Willie digs for the truth about her lineage, voices from the town’s past — both sinister and disturbing — rise up around her to tell their sides of the story. In the end, dark secrets come to light, past and present blur, old mysteries are finally put to rest, and the surprising truth about more than one monster is revealed.  – Barnes and Noble

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Tuesday, September 14 at 5:00 pm
Main Library

The Special District Board of Trustees will hold a meeting at the Main Library.

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Are you deficient in your movement vitamins?  Exercise is vital to your health and well-being!  Learn practical tools that you can incorporate into your daily routine to increase your vitality and health.

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Beyond the Classroom is a free tutoring program being offered to students ages 7 and up. Help in all subjects will be available.  One on one consultation will be available as well as help in groups.  Whether it’s some math homework gumming up the works, a paper that just isn’t coming out, or concepts that aren’t quite sticking, we’re here to help.

Please call or stop by the Young People’s Department  set up an appointment – 274.7071

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Monday, September 27 at 6:30
Main Library

It is estimated that 22% of Americans find themselves “sandwiched” between two generations…..are you one of them?

Real workplace issues: The National Alliance for Caregiving and Metropolitan Life Insurance report that 52% of caregivers have some type of problems as a result of their caregiving role:

• Increased turnover
• Decreased job performance/productivity
• Increased absenteeism

Learn what has lead up to the Sandwich Generation – how to talk to and work with aging parents, how to work with siblings to develop a plan of action, what documents of your parents you should be able to get you hands on in a moment’s notice,
ideas for keeping children engaged, and tips/ideas to help lighten the load.

This program is presented by Caitlin St. George and Marci Kot, Community Liaisons for The Eddy

The program is free, but please register to attend.

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Wait Till Next Year

Tuesday, September 21 at 6:00 pm
Lansingburgh Branch

Set in the suburbs of New York City, where neighborhoods were divided between Dodgers, Giants, and Yankees fans, this book re-creates the postwar era, when owning a home on a tree-lined street meant the realization of a dream and memories for a lifetime. It is the story of a seemingly more innocent time, yet one that saw the convergence of McCarthyism, A-bomb drills, and racism. Through it all, though, Doris Kearns Goodwin could count on two constants: the Dodgers and her father. – Barnes and Noble

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Main Library – Thursdays at 11:00 am

• Email Workshop – September 30th, October 28th
• Intro to Word –  August 26th, October 7th
• Basic Computers – September 2nd, October 14th
• Intro to the Internet – September 16th, October 21st

Lansingburgh Branch – Saturdays at 11:00 am

• Basic Computers – August 21st, September 18th, October 23rd
• Email Workshop –   August 28th, October 9th
• Intro to the Internet– September 11th, October 16th
• Intro to Word -  October 2nd and October 30th

One-on-one sessions are available by appointment:  Saturdays at Lansingburgh and Thursdays at Main.  Registration is required for these computer classes.

To register for classes held at the Main Library, stop at the Information Desk or call 274-7071.  To register for classes held at the Lansingburgh Branch, please call 235-5310

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The mystery book discussion group meets at noon on the first Tuesday of the month.  All mystery lovers are welcome!

• September 7th, Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, set in Boston
• October 5th, Mallory’s Oracle by Carol O’Connell, set in New York City
• November 2nd, Vanishing Act by Thomas Perry, set in Upstate New York
  

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• Teen Advisory Board Meeting – Last Tuesday of each month beginning at 6:00 pm
• Anime Club – Last Wednesday of the month at 6:00 pm
• Teen Night – Every Wednesday  3:00 – 6:00 pm.  Come play the Wii, board games, and much more! Refreshments will be served.
  

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Fridays  at 10:30 am
Lansingburgh Branch

Family Storytime will be offered for children up to the age of 5, accompanied by parents and caregivers. We will share stories, rhymes, songs and simple crafts.

Please register by stopping by or calling  the Young People’s Department at 274-7071.

Family Storytime will be offered for children up to the age of 5, accompanied by parents and caregivers. We will share stories, rhymes, songs and simple crafts.

Please register by stopping by or calling  the Young People’s Department at 274-7071.

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Last Wednesday of the month at Lansingburgh Branch starting June 30th

Thanks to the Weed and Seed Program, the Anime program is back at the Troy Public Library, and it’s better than ever! Join us for Anime viewings, DDR nights, contests, and prizes EVERY Wednesday.

If you have any questions, feel free to call the library at 274-7071 and ask for Maria.

Do you want to become a better artist, work on your portfolio, and just have fun?

Join us as we warm up with sketch games and experiment with new techniques! Have projects you want to work on? Bring them in! Are there techniques you want to learn? Just Ask!

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