Weekly Newsletter: August 21-26

Don't Forget!
We have a program on fraud prevention THIS THURSDAY! Join us Thursday, August 24th at 7pm in the Topsfield Library Activity Room as we welcome Maureen Richard-Saltman (the owner of The Perfectly Imperfect Gift Shoppe!) as she shares some of her fraud fighting knowledge. Click here for more information!

Zero Waste Kids

Tips and tricks for eco-friendly parenting!

Sustainable blogger Sarah Robertson-Barnes is offering this virtual presentation via our friends at the Ashland Library!

Get ready to dig into practical tips to make your children's birthday parties and school lunches eco-friendly and low waste. We'll also be discussing how kids, families, and communities can be more sustainable as some towns/cities/states move towards free lunches for all. 

All ages are welcome. This is a virtual program on ZOOM. To register, click here!

This week's events:

Topsfield Library events in purple (View the Topsfield Library's calendar here)

Mah jongg: Tue 8/22, 1pm-4pm: Drop-in Mah jongg. All levels welcome, no sign-up necessary.

Free Sketching Class at the Library with Slow River Studio: Wed 8/23, 3pm-5pm: Please join Slow River Studio at the Topsfield Library for our last beginner sketching lesson of the summer! This two-hour adventure includes a thirty minute beginner sketching lesson and plenty of time to wander the library (inside and outside) and the town common to sketch with us. All ages are welcome, but students under age 12 must be accompanied by a participating adult. Sign up here.

Phishing, Smishing, & Scamming- Learn to Prevent Fraud: Thu 8/24, 7pm-8pm: You may know Maureen Richard-Saltman as the owner of The Perfectly Imperfect Gift Shoppe here in Topsfield. Did you know, however, that prior to her “Gift Shop Gig” she had a 35 year career fighting fraud? On Thursday, August 24th you’re invited to join Maureen as she shares some of her fraud fighting knowledge. No registration required. This is an in-person event being held in the Topsfield Library Activity Room.

MVLC Mobile App
Always forgetting your library card but have your phone?

Download the MVLC Mobile app to scan your library card and take it with you wherever you go! Having your library card on your phone allows you to use the self-checkout machine and makes it easy for the librarians to find your account.

Plus, with the MVLC Mobile app you can:

- Search the catalogue

- Place and review holds

- View checked out items

- View check out history

- Pay library fines

- Access your library account

- and MORE!

Carry the library with you wherever you go. Download the app today!

On this day in history...

On August 21, 1911, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by three Italian handymen; it was not recovered until 1913, and the media sensation helped make it one of the world's most famous paintings.

Interested in more stories of art theft in history? We have a few books to recommend!

The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Art Thief, Rock-and-Roller, and Prodigal Son
By Myles J. Connor, Jenny Siler

America’s most notorious art thief, Boston-based Myles Connor, tells the unapologetic true story of his life of crime in The Art of the Heist.

Hitler's Art Thief: Hildebrand Gurlitt, the Nazis, and the Looting of Europe's Treasures
By Susan Ronald

The world was stunned when eighty-year old Cornelius Gurlitt became an international media superstar in November 2013 on the discovery of over 1,400 artworks in his 1,076 square-foot Munich apartment, valued at around $1.35 billion. Ronald reveals in this stranger-than-fiction-tale how Hildebrand Gurlitt succeeded in looting in the name of the Third Reich, duping the Monuments Men and the Nazis alike.

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
By Michael Finkel

For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly ten years--in museums and cathedrals all over Europe--Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.