As part of our ongoing migration from videocassette to DVD, we recently acquired a slew (slain?) of classic horror films, just in time for all your Halloween needs. These run the gamut from Vincent Price classics like The Abominable Dr. Phibes, The Tingler and Witchfinder General (better known in the United States as The Conqueror Worm) to early 1970’s faves like Sssssss starring Strother Martin and the made-for-television The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin.

Here are the other titles we just received:

Curse of the Demon
A forgotten classic directed by Jacques Torneur of Cat People fame, and starring Dana Andrews. Here’s a detailed review of the DVD via The DVD Journal: Curse of the Demon/Night of the Demon Review

Dracula Has Risen From the Grave
Horror of Dracula
These are a couple of Hammer films, starring Christopher Lee as Dracula, that epitomize the heyday of 1960’s British horror.

Dracula’s Daughter ; Son of Dracula
A double-feature from Universal Pictures, who gave us the original Frankenstein and Dracula. Dracula’s Daughter is from 1936, while Son of Dracula is from 1943, and stars Lon Chaney, Jr.

Burnt Offerings
The Legend of Hell House
Village of the Damned
A trio of intelligent dread-provoking thrillers starring Oliver Reed, Roddy McDowall, and George Sanders, respectively. And let’s hear it for Karen Black!

Carnival of Souls
The edition we have is from the Criterion Collection, so it contains both the original theatrical version and the extended director’s cut, as well as many extras and commentaries.

Stephen King’s It
A mini-series from 1990 of King’s book, it won an Emmy. It has a scary clown…need I say more?

For some fun related reading, check out Television Horror Movie Hosts. Those of you who remember Kaiser Broadcasting on channel 56 in Boston, might also remember the Ghoul, who merits a chapter in the book.

Here are some more horror film books in our collection:

Double Feature Creature Attack
Bright Darkness: The Lost Art of the Supernatural Horror Film
Hollywood’s Stephen King
Cult Horror Films
Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic

The Chelmsford Board of Selectmen is holding a Public Input Session on Wednesday, October 8th. The session is open to everyone, and will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Chelmsford Senior Center.

Come and let the Board know your ideas and thoughts about the Town, and about the issues facing Chelmsford today and in the future.

More Information

• About the Chelmsford Board of Selectmen
• Chelmsford Senior Center contact information and map/directions

On November 4th, Massachusetts voters will get to elect many national and state officials, and also decide on three state-wide ballot issues.

The MA Secretary of State Office has published the Information for Voters booklet [pdf], which includes these ballot questions and outlines what a Yes or No vote means in each case. Copies of these booklets are available online [pdf] and at the Reference Desk, and the issues are summarized below.

Question 1: State Personal Income Tax
This proposed law would reduce the state personal income tax rate to 2.65% for all categories of taxable income for the tax year beginning on or after Jan 1, 2009, and would eliminate the tax for all tax years beginning on or after Jan 1, 2010. Complete summary…

• Voting Yes would lower and then eliminate personal income tax as a source of revenue for the state government.
  More information: SmallGovernmentAct.org
• Voting No would make no change to state income tax laws.
  More information: VoteNoQuestion1.com

Read how Question 1 could affect the Chelmsford Library, in a statement by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

Question 2: Possession of Marijuana
This proposed law would replace the criminal penalties for possession of one ounce of less of marijuana with a new system of civil penalties, and would exclude information regarding this civil offense from the state’s criminal record information system. Complete summary…

• Voting Yes would replace the criminal penalties for possession of one ounce of less of marijuana with a new system of civil penalties.
  More information: SensibleMarijuanaPolicy.org
• Voting No would make no change in state criminal laws concerning possession of marijuana.
  More information: Mass.gov/MDAA

Question 3: Dog Racing
This proposed law would prohibit any dog racing or racing meeting in Massachusetts where any form of betting or wagering on the speed of ability of dogs occurs. Complete summary…

• Voting Yes would prohibit any dog races on which betting or wagering occurs, effective Jan 1, 2010.
  More information: MSPCA.org
• Voting No would make no change in state criminal laws concerning dog racing.
  More information: RaynhamParkFun.com

Additional information on these questions, candidates for office in 2008, and registering and voting in Massachusetts is available from the Elections Division of the Secretary of State.

The Chelmsford Library has a new Librarian for Youth Services, Patricia Horan. Tricia provided a brief biography as a way to introduce herself:

As an undergraduate I studied English and Art History at Rutgers University where I earned my B.A. in 2004. In August of 2005 I completed my M.L.S. at Simmons College with concentrated coursework in programming and collection development for children and young adults. For the past three years I was the Head of Youth Services at the Oliver Wolcott Library in Litchfield, Connecticut. The OWL is a community library in a rural town of approximately 9,000 people. Due to its small staff size I was solely responsible for everything related to youth services and wore several other hats—doing additional work with adults, outreach and technology.

I am thrilled to begin my career as a Youth Services Specialist at the Chelmsford Public Library. After working in a small town, I am excited to work in a large library that serves an expansive and diverse community. The best part of my new position is that I get to spend my mornings working with little ones in the Children’s Room and in the afternoons I’ll be available to work with teens. Working with teens in a library environment was the reason I went to library school and being able to do that on a daily basis is a dream come true.

The Library is very happy to have Tricia as part of the team. Stop by the Children’s Room or Young Adult area to introduce yourself, and give Tricia suggestions for books or programs you’re interested in.

As many patrons have been finding out, our subscription to the Rosetta Stone Language Learning database runs out at the end of August. Rosetta Stone will no longer be available through libraries, but there are other language resources that are available to you:

Books & Videos
The Chelmsford Library has a large collection of both books and videos to help patrons learn English or other languages. Most books are downstairs, the videos will be upstairs, and they will all be shelved according to the Dewey Decimal System. Here’s the Dewey numbers for some of the popular languages:

420-429 - English
430-438 - German
443-448 - French
453-458 - Italian
463-468 - Spanish
469 - Portuguese
491.73 - Russian
492 - Arabic
495.1 - Chinese

Also, “Early Reader” books are located in the Childrens Room, for those looking to practice or build their English reading skills.

Conversation Circles
Three different conversation circles meet at the library, to give patrons a supportive forum for practicing their English, French or Spanish. These circles are run by library volunteers are are not classes, but instead are groups of learners that meet to help each other improve their language skills.

• English Conversation Circle (beginners) meets every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
• English Conversation Circle (advanced) meets every Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.
• French Conversation Circle meets the second Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m.
• Spanish Conversation Circle meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m.

Please check the Library event calendar for changes or cancellations.

Resources from the Boston Public Library
All residents of Massachusetts are entitled to the resources offered through the Boston Public Library. You can sign up for a library card in person at any of the BPL branches, or get an eCard online to use their online resources.

To learn a language online, the BPL offers the Auralog - Tell Me More database (similar to Rosetta Stone). After creating an account, patrons have access to multimedia activities to learn grammar and vocabulary for both oral and written communication for the German, American English, Dutch, Spanish, Spanish (Latin American), French, and Italian.
languages.

In addition, the BPL offers other online language resources, such as dictionaries and general reference, and also a large collection of books and videos.

Internet Resources
There are many websites designed to aid in learning languages. Some are free and some charge a fee, and offer both individual practice as well as foster social connections to collaborate with other people learning the same language.

Two of the options are Live Mocha and Mango Languages. Live Mocha is a free service for learning a variety of languages, and uses visual tools to teach vocabulary and grammar. There is also an opportunity (which is optional) to connect with other people also learning a language. Mango Languages offers a free introduction, but does charge for extended or advanced lessons. It offers a learning interface based on side-by-side translations, phonetic pronunciation guides, and narrated lessons.

Read a review of popular language learning websites.

For help with any of the resources listed above, please contact the Reference Desk.