Heritage Day will be celebrated this year on Saturday, July 9, from 10 am to 3 pm, with several activities planned: the annual book sale, the hot dog sale and a raffle of a snow blower, as well as a slide show of historic pictures of Portville sites running during the book sale and a coloring center with an historic

theme. At noon, the Bent Brass Ensemble will be playing rousing numbers outside the library, and free children’s activities are being planned by the Baptist church. Several nonprofit groups will also be set up on the lawn. The snow blower being raffled off is a deluxe Cub Cadet,

single-stage machine with an electric start and headlight; a top model valued at $600. Raffle tickets for you and your friends are included in this newsletter and may be turned in to the library for entry in the raffle. (We assure you the blower will not be needed for many months though!)

Youth Programming

Heritage Day

The Newsletter of the Portville Free Library and the Friends of the Portville Free Library

The Bibliophiles

Spring 2016

The children’s department is preparing to launch this summer’s

reading program and would like to thank everyone who helps

make this possible by each year supporting the youth yard sale.

More information on this year’s program can be found on page 4.

Director: Charles Bretzin

Library Board:

President-Ronda Pollock

Vice President-Barbara Fairbanks

Secretary-Terri Batt

Treasurer-Jean Smith

Members-Ann Sutter,

Chris Piaggi and Bill Sponsler

Friends Officers: President-Joe DuShaw

Vice President-

Bob Johnstone

Secretary-Melinda Miller Treasurer-Chris Walden

We are located at

2 North Main Street Portville, NY

Our mailing address is

PO Box 768 Portville, NY 14770

Phone: (716) 933-8441

Fax: (716) 933-7020

E-mail:

portlibr@roadrunner.com

Website:

portvillelibrary.weebly.com

Facebook: facebook.com/portville.free.library

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A new storm door was installed on the front of the library, just in

time for Memorial Day. Crafted of cypress wood, it was designed to

complement the architecture of the building. Many thanks to Kevin

Norek, who designed and installed this beautiful door for us.

Peek at the Past

The milkman making his rounds in Portville, circa 1910.

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The connected world in which we live gives an identity thief many ways to

get information they need to profit at their victim’s expense. It’s

important to act quickly if this happens. The U.S. government’s website,

IdentityTheft.gov, can help victims report the crime to the Federal Trade

Commission, build a step-by-step personalized recovery plan, and put that

plan into action. Booklets with this information are also available here at

the library.

Recovering From Identity Theft

Secure your social security num-ber. Don’t carry your social security card in your wallet or write your number on your checks. Only give out your social security number (SSN) when absolutely necessary. Don’t respond to unsolicited requests for personal information (your name, birthdate, social security number, or bank account number) by phone, mail, or online. Watch out for “shoulder surfers.” Shield the keypad when typing your passwords on computers and at ATMs.

Collect mail promptly. Ask the post office to put your mail on hold when you are away from home. Pay attention to your billing cycles. If bills or financial statements are late, contact the sender. Review your receipts. Ask for carbon copies and incorrect charge slips as well. Promptly compare receipts with account statements. Watch for unauthorized transactions. Shred receipts, credit offers, ac-count statements, and expired cards, to prevent “dumpster divers” from getting your personal information.

Store personal information in a safe place at home and at work. Install firewalls and virus-detection software on your home computer. Create complex passwords that identity thieves cannot guess easily. Change your passwords if a company that you do business with has a breach of its databases.

Order your credit report once a year and review to be certain that it doesn't include accounts that you have not opened. Check it more frequently if you suspect someone has gained access to your account

information. -USA.gov

Take steps to protect yourself from identity theft:

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On Your Mark, Get Set…. READ

We are looking forward to another fun filled summer at the library. The summer

reading program is a great time to motivate children to keep up with their read-

ing skills even though they aren’t in school. This summer we will be focusing on

fitness activities. There will be some physical challenges that we would like to in-

corporate to coincide with the Summer Olympics. We will be teaching some map

skills and will work with Pfeiffer Nature Center to put those skills to practice. We

will introduce the children to some games that were played by their grandparents

that can still be fun today. Along with the fun activities and crafts that will be of-

fered on Monday evenings and Friday mornings, there will be prizes available as

motivation for the children to read. These prizes work as a reward for those who

enjoy reading and as an incentive for those who need a little more encourage-

ment. Children may begin to sign up on July 1. Many parents and grandparents

who have attended the program in the past have mentioned that they enjoy the

activities as much as the child they bring. We hope to see you here at the library

this summer. So… On your mark, get set……

July 11-August 12

Kids will have the chance to build robots using LEGO blocks this summer. If you have any blocks that you would be willing to donate they would be greatly appreciated!

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Valle Blair, Youth Services

Consultant with the Chautauqua-

Cattaraugus Library System,

stopped in to share some stories

with our friends from the Portville

Baptist Christian School. After

several stories, the kids made

masks, which transformed the kids

into “very intelligent monkeys” as

one of the kids described it!

Special Visitor

Calendar of Events

Friday, July 4th– Library closed July 9th – Heritage Day

September 5th – Library closed for Labor Day September 6th – Winter hours resume

The Friends of the Library meet on the second Monday of the month. Library Book Club meets on the third Monday of the month.

Handworkers Guild meets Friday morning at 9:00.

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Miss Read , the Library Cat

Early in 2006, Rachel Boyer and Carol Molyneaux went to the Allegany County SPCA to select a cat for the Portville Li-brary; there they found the perfect cat for the library, but there was a problem: What to name her? There followed a con-test to choose the right name for the new member of the library staff. Many entries came in. One elementary class in Alle-gany even submitted all their ideas. The name settled on was Miss Read, a suitably dignified and literary name, since Miss Read is the author of a series of books in the library. All was well, but the problem arose of se-lecting a doctor to care for her medical needs. Then Dr. Mary Songster and Dr. Kenton Flaig offered their services, free of charge. Over the years, since that time, Miss Read has enjoyed a healthy life un-der the care of Portville Veterinary Clinic.

Then recently, the library staff members observed a growth on her back, and Dr. Flaig operated and kept her at the clinic as his guest for several days. The library is very grateful for the excellent care Miss Read receives from the Portville Veteri-nary Clinic. Since her return from the hospital, Miss Read has garnered much attention, with the large, shaven area from the operation. She is now doing well, regrowing her fur, and doing a good job of running the li-brary. She stays here even when the li-brary is closed, and different staff mem-bers come in to visit and feed her. Com-munity members help provide for her by making scrubbies and dish cloths to make money for her food and litter. Now going on 12 years old, Portville’s li-

brary cat is flourishing. A salute to Miss

Read and a big thank you to Dr. Flaig!

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FRIENDS OF THE PORTVILLE LIBRARY

ANNUAL DUES Name ________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________ Telephone Number _______________________________________ E-mail Address__________________________________________

Individual $3.00 Family $5.00 Contributor $10.00

Patron $25.00 Benefactor $50.00 and above

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM

Recently the Friends of the Library provided the library with five

new chairs for the computer desks. Almost as soon as they arrived

from Staples, Joe DuShaw appeared to put them together and get

them ready for use. The staff and patrons of the library appreciate

this improvement and thank the Friends for their work. Come in

and try one out; they are very comfortable. Thank you, Friends!

New Computer Chairs

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In Memory of: Marilyn Sauln; Given by: Portville Quilters Group. In Memory of: James O. Torrey; Given by: Jayne Reed. In Memory of: James P. White; Given by: Tom and Maryann Clark. In Memory of: Lila Pollock; Given by: Mark and Mary Ellen Canada. In Memory of: Donald A. Wormer, M.D.; Given by: Grape Arbor Stitchers (Lee, Barbara, Pam, and Linda); Julie and Douglas Wright In Memory of: Robert Roulo; Given by: Ron and Gail Whitney; L.Chandler Whitford; Becky, Kelly, and Kathleen Danias; Deborah Wuethrich; Tom and Ronda Pollock; Mark and Connie Miller; Robert and Caroline Warner. In Memory of: Lucille M. Weakland; Given by: Larry and Nancy Doner; Mary Ann Pezzimenti; Kurt and Caroline Miller; Gail and Ron Whitney; Kitty Cooley; Walter and Ruth T. Reisner; Tom and Ronda Pollock; Prospect Avenue Staff. In Memory of: Bill Brooks; Given by: Thom and Boni Torrey. In Memory of: Bob and Lila Pollock; Given by: Tom and Ronda Pollock. In Memory of: Larry and Joann Nelson; Given by: Unatego Middle School/High School Sunshine Committee. In Memory of: Lawrence S. Nelson; Given by: Marie Malick. In Memory of: Larry, Joann, and Patricia Nelson; Given by: James K. Pomeroy.

In Memory of: Jo and Earl Parish; Given by: David and Shirley Parish.

Memorials Made to the Portville Free Library

Along with books, magazines,

DVDs and videos, we offer some special services you may be

interested in:

Interlibrary Loans Books on Cassette and CD

Genealogy Materials Large Print Materials

Community Room Paperback and Jigsaw Exchange

Children's Story Hour Tax Forms

Fax Service (716) 933-7020 Color Copy Service

Computers Basic Computer Help

Library Hours

Monday 1-8 p.m. Tuesday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Wednesday Closed Thursday 1-8 p.m.

Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Closed Saturdays until September 10th Summer Hours in Effect

June 11th—September 3rd