The Bak Study Room is approximately 12′ x 11′ and contains a round table and 4 chairs. The Bak Study Room is intended for small group study and tutoring. It…and Rules Limited to groups of 6 people or fewer. Reservations can be made online (pending confirmation by the library), by phone (413-587-1013), or in person at the Arts & Music desk. You can reserve up to a 3-hour block of time. Patrons are limited to 5 outstanding reservations at any time Please be on time; if you are 15 minutes late or if you vacate the room for over 15 minutes, the room may be given to another group. Only the library’s dry-er…
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Assistive Technology
Vision Aids Magnifying glasses Illuminated magnifying glasses of various sizes and strengths are available at the Reference Desk and the Arts and Music Desk. Desktop magnifier You can find an Optelec…dphones or induction loops for use with telecoil enabled hearing aids. Our online programs are captioned. Assistive Technology for Loan Forbes Library has a number of assistive devices that can be borrowed from the library for home use. Stop by the reference desk or call 413-587-1012 for more information. These include A Ruby HD Video Magnifier—a small handheld digital magnifier. Dome magnifiers—small lens that can be placed on a document to enlar…
Shelving Locations
The location name is given here as it appears in our online catalog. You may come across other location names as well. If you need help finding these, or anything else in the library, just ask us! There are a few cases where you should ignore the shelving location. In particular, all materials with a call number “LITERACY COLLECTION” are shelved in the nook between the public computers and the tall red shelves on the first floor. Location NameCon…
Crash Course World History
Library users may know John Green best as the author of such popular books as The Fault in Our Stars and An Abundance of Katherines, but he is also a prolific YouTube content creator. His Crash Course series is, so I’m told, aimed at teens, but is loved by adults as well. I am particularly fond of Crash Course History. Crash Course History was the first series in the Crash Course brand and every episode consists of a short presentation by Green e…
Vox Tox
On March 21, 2020, Sandi Toksvig posted a video on a new YouTube, Vox Tox. It opens with the calming sound of a slow piano rag and a view of Sandi Toksvig in a rocking chair, a book in her lap, a dog at her feet, a fireplace to her side, and bookcases full of books behind. The camera pans over some of Sandi’s books before cutting back to Sandi, who looks into the camera and begins, “Hello there. Come have a sit down.” She continues: You know we’r…
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts
I recently discovered this delightful corner of the internet and have treated myself to these eclectic short musical sets ever since. I’ve experienced some great new artists and some sets by beloved familiar ones. They are all recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered by host Bob Boilen, except for the last few which are home editions. There is something for all musical tastes and will tide you over until you can get out to your next live…
Bach’s Chaconne on nyckelharpa
In these times of isolation and anxiety, here’s something gorgeous and sublime to help you reconnect with joy and remind everybody why the arts matter. Torbjörn Näsbom connects two of my favorite musical obsessions: the nyckelharpa and J.S. Bach. The nyckelharpa is a traditional Swedish instrument that has been played, in one form or another as it evolved, for more than 600 years. It’s used mostly for Swedish folk music, which I could do a dozen…
Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration
This video celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s music and influence was entirely created during quarantine and includes performances by Bernadette Peters, Michael Cerversis, Josh Groban, Patti LuPone, Neil Patrick Harris, and many other extremely talented people. We have solo performances, duets, and even large ensembles (these last come across surprisingly well given the difficulties of making music as an ensemble during quarantine). We also here f…
A Passion for the Planet
This live performance of Geoffrey Hudson A Passion for the Planet was recorded in Northampton, at Smith College’s Sweeney hall, and performed by the Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble with the Hampshire Young People’s Chorus and a 12-piece orchestra. A Passion for the Planet is an oratorio on the subject of climate change with words drawn from a number of sources. The work is moving and important, and the performance is exceptional. We can’t hear liv…
Amazing Grace
I missed this film when it was showing at Amherst Cinema in the Before Times, so I was very excited to find it on Hulu. [It’s available on a variety of streaming services.] After a long, troubled production history, this film, which documents Aretha Franklin’s 1972 recording of her live gospel album, also called Amazing Grace. She recorded the album over two nights at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles with her own band as we…
Stay On It
Composer Julius Eastman’s (1940 – 1990) music explores his identities as a gay man and Black American. Stay On It was composed in 1973 and combines minimalism with pop music. This new performance, which features musicains and dancers collaborating remotely, is dedicated to essential workers of color in the United States. I found out about this performance through one of the many organizations involved in its production: The Dream Unfinished. The…
Earth Day 2020 (the Pandemic version)
In this 10-minute video, violist Scott Slapin presents 400 years of music history in his basement (“The Pandemic Auditorium”) where the water pipes and exposed wiring make an acoustically and visually innovative backdrop to his formal concert attire. Excerpts of Bach, Paganini, Hindemith and Slapin’s own composition are interspersed with engaging commentary while a counterpoint of hilarious subtitles scrolls by. If you appreciate first-class musi…
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