The library at all locations will have adjusted hours in observance of Thanksgiving:
Wednesday 11/27: closing at 1pm
Thursday, 11/28 & Friday, 11/29: closed
Library operations will resume on Saturday, 11/30.
The library's temporary locations are at the Beech Street Center and the E.C. Benton Library. For more information, including hours of operation, please click here.

Category: Teens

Book Review: Almond

Posted on by Maya Escobar

Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn

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As a huge fan of global literature, Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn no doubt comes to mind
when I think of my all-time favorite books. I read this book around three years ago and was
immediately struck by its prose, plot, and engaging yet simple storyline. In that vein, this book
was incredibly easy to read and I was able to finish it in two days.

Almond follows the story of a boy named Yunjae from childhood to adolescence. The
unique point of the story comes from Yunjae’s brain condition called alexithymia, which makes
it near impossible for him to feel emotions like fear, anger, and happiness. Due to his condition,
Yunjae spends most of his childhood in the company of his Mother and Grandmother who
attempt to teach him how to function in society despite his condition.

The rest of the book follows Yunjae’s complicated relationships he forms in school. Most
notably, one with his friend Gon. Through this friendship, Yunjae’s emotional range is
broadened as his world expands with new experiences and social situations. He faces tragedy
when both his Mother and Grandmother are victims of random violence. Yet, this experience
teaches Yunjae about his emotions and deepens his relationship with Gon.

To me, the plot of this book was beautifully simple in the way that it felt relatable and
interesting. The dialogue was easy to follow, and each character felt distinctive and highly
developed. The book is broken up into three parts representing major plot or character shifts, this
kept me engaged as a reader and worked nicely with the flow of the story.

My favorite element of this book was the friendship between Yunjae and Gon. This
relationship felt very natural and their dialogue reminded me of friendships in my own life. The
two characters have conflicting personalities; Yunjae is shy and cold, Gon is outgoing and
emotional. This makes their friendship very dynamic and interesting to read about as you are
able to see the ways they push each other out of their comfort zones and complement each other's
personalities.

However, I felt that the second half of the book lost some of the quality that the
beginning had. The book begins to center Gon’s development and focuses on a storyline that felt
a bit rushed and random. This new plot involves Yunjae having to rescue Gon from a violent
gang. However, it felt as though this conflict came out of nowhere and became a bit confusing.
Still, I loved this book overall and consider it one of my favorites. I would recommend it
to anyone who feels stuck in a reading slump as it is very easy to read. I also would recommend

it to anyone who loves character-driven stories and simple plots. Moreover, the book has
beautiful descriptions and dialogue, it feels like any line from the book is a memorable quote.
One of my personal favorites is this one:

“From what I understood, love was an extreme idea. A word that seemed to force
something undefinable into the prison of letters. But the word was used so easily, so often.
People spoke of love so casually, just to mean the slightest pleasure or thanks.”

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 4/14/24.

Book Review: Out of Darkness

Posted on by Maya Escobar

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

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Historical fiction books to me are considered to be one of the best genres out there. It allows authors to take pieces of history and turn them into personal stories that tell the story of those who came before. Out of the Darkness is a novel by Ashley Hope Pérez that beautifully lives up to what a historical fiction book should be.

This story is based around the historical event of the 1937 New London School explosion. The story begins with a young Mexican-American teenager, Naomi Vargas, and her two younger twin siblings, Carrie and Beto. In September of 1937, they are forced to move from their loving but poor home with their grandparents in San Antonio to New London, Texas to live with the twins’ father and Naomi’s stepfather, Henry Smith.

Henry had previously been with Naomi and the twins’s mother, Estella, but then left her while she was dying due to false pregnancies, a side effect from Henry’s abuse towards Estella. Naomi was also abused by Henry and is uncertain about living with him. The twins go to school at the New London School while Naomi stays at home doing household chores and longing to leave Texas and Henry.

However, this sadness takes a turn when Naomi and the twins meet Wash Fuller, an African-American teen around Naomi’s age living in the segregated area in New London, Egypt town. The four bond over feelings of being an outsider in a primarily white town. Soon enough, Wash and Naomi also fall in love, and enjoy their time together with the twins.

While life is getting better for the Vargas, the universe seems to have other plans. Henry slowly becomes more abusive and controlling towards Naomi and the twins. He desperately wants all of them to feel like a family so in order to do this, he proposes that him and Naomi get married. Naomi is shocked by Henry’s proposition and is also scared that once they get married, she could never see Wash again and never leave Texas.

To prevent this from happening, she makes a plan with Wash to leave for Mexico with the twins, and hide away from Henry. In an unfortunate turn of events, Carrie killed during the New London School explosion, creating a non-sealable hole in the Vargas family, and prompting Henry to push even more for the marriage. Just as Wash, Naomi, and Beto prepare to finally leave for Mexico along with Wash’s family, Henry finds out their plan.

Angered by the betrayal from his own family, Henry kills Wash and forces Beto to kill Naomi. After being forced to kill his own sister, Beto then shoots Henry, ending the source of pain and suffering and destroying the only connection to his broken family. At the end of the book, Beto leaves for Mexico with Wash’s family and lives out the rest of his childhood with his grandparents.

I am and will forever be awed by this book. It is truly remarkable, and the author did an amazing job crafting such a beautiful, meaningful story that teaches a lot about family and gives us an insight into what segregation was like in the late 1930s in Texas. I especially like how the author went deep into each and every one of the characters and gave them special story of their own that makes the readers feel even more connected to them.

Although this story included a lot of difficult topics, like sexual abuse and segregation in the south during that time, the author wrote this book in a way that kind of showed the reader how important it was to talk about these topics because it made the story what it is and provided a deep depth into the book overall. Out of scale of 10, this book deserves a 100 because it is truly amazing and it is a true work of art. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone and I would definitely read another book by this author.

-Review by Teen Volunteer, 2/23/24
To submit a review of your own, email the YA Services Librarian at askbelmont[email protected].

Book Review: The Murder Game

Posted on by Maya Escobar

The Murder Game by Carrie Doyle

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I am a big fan of murder mystery books. I love the suspense, thrill, and excitement that comes with it, and how these books always leave you guessing at the edge of your seat until the end. So imagine my excitement when I received The Murder Game by Carrie Doyle as a gift from a friend last Christmas. I was beyond myself, ready to indulge in another great book.

However, as much as I like murder mystery books, to me, this one didn’t necessarily start off on a great foot. Now, I have to admit part of that is due to the fact that the story needed to build up the background first, but I felt like the place where the author started was in a pretty odd spot.

So to explain, our main character Luke Chase, the famous survivor of a kidnapping, and his trouble marker but best friend, Oscar. They are both teenagers who live in a boarding school and one night they sneak out into the woods to meet up with two of their other classmates, Kelsey and Pippa. While in the woods, they hear sounds from nearby adults, and they think they’re caught, so they head back into the boarding school.

The next day, they discovered that one of their teachers, Mrs. Heckler had been murdered. This leads them to believe that the sounds that they heard last night in the woods might have been the sounds of Miss Heckler before she was murdered. Now, I understand that this might have not been an idea starting spot for the book but to me as a reader expecting more from the murder mystery book, I felt like it was pretty slow for the first three or four chapters, and I was really bored. Actually, I almost stopped reading the book.

It wasn’t until a few more chapters later that the book started picking up pace when Luke and Oscar decided to look more into the murder to try to see who murdered Mrs. Heckler. Eventually as the police start looking more to the case, Luke and Oscar become suspects, especially Oscar, who had been known to be a troublemaker. Once they find out that they had been in the woods the same night Mrs. Heckler had been murdered Oscar was framed for the murder. Oscar sent away, and Luke, along with his other classmate, Pippa are determined to prove him innocent, and find out who the real murderer is.

After relentless research, they find out that the murderer was one of their teachers all along, who had been pretending to help them in this case. The teacher even tries to kill Pippa as well while framing another person, but Luke comes to the rescue and prevent this from happening, thus shining light on the true murderer and saving the day, once again.

Throughout this book, I felt like the real action came during the part when they were kind of searching for the murder but when it came to the big finale, they didn’t deliver as much as I’d hoped for. Maybe it was the start or how they ended, but out of a scale of ten, I probably give this book a seven or an eight. I feel like the author could’ve done so much more in the story, like add more action possibly more depth or make the conclusion just a little bit more exciting. After all, we did have all this build up, and for it to come down to a small little scene to conclude the story, it was not impressive at all. So, if you’re a murder mystery loving reader, such as myself, I’d suggest possibly picking up this book if you just want a little fun reading but if you’re really looking for a good story, this might not be cup of tea.

-Review by Teen Volunteer, 2/23/24

To submit a review of your own, email the YA Services Librarian at askbelmont[email protected].

Volunteers Wanted: Eclipse Watch Party!

Posted on by Maya Escobar

03/21/2024

The library is looking for teen volunteers to help at our April 8th Eclipse Watch Party.
When: Monday, April 8. The event is from 1:30* to 4:00PM plus cleanup time.
Where: Town Field, 288 Beech Street (next door the Beech Street Senior Center).
What: Help out with food and craft tables.

*we know you are in school; looking for volunteers any time during this time period.


Email [email protected] to sign up!

CANCELLED Get Ready for Prom

Posted on by Maya Escobar

03/20/2024

Whether it brings to mind Pretty in Pink or Carrie, prom is kind of a big deal. We’re here to help make your big night shine with an afternoon of workshops.
Get a fabulous face with Ann Marie Laurendeau of Anemone Makeup, who will demonstrate makeup techniques. Following the tutorial the Belmont Wellness Coalition will address questions about dating and healthy relationships.

Saturday, April 6
12:00 – 3:00PM
Beech Street Center
266 Beech Street

Space for the makeup tutorial is limited, please register in advance.

Questions? Email [email protected].

Starmoth: A Super Dungeon Recap

Posted on by Lauren Pfendner

08/10/2023

One of our ten major games in the Super Dungeon was Starmoth, a homebrew adventure crafted by volunteer and professional tutor, Dennis Yi. His games had a variety of educational and philosophical ties for his players and he gave permission for the library to share the insights and nerd culture references he posted for his players at the end of the Super Dungeon.

If you would like to play any of the Virtual Escape Rooms designed by this Game Master, see them here!

What is the Starmoth?

  • It’s an evocative name.
  • It’s a species of Althean moth, now endangered due to the destruction of surface ecosystems, whose wings bear a starry pattern that remind people of the lost night sky.
  • It’s an aspect of Throg Below and Peraxa Above, representing the duality of earthly decay and skyward flight.
  • It’s a constellation whose two wings are sometimes identified as two sub-constellations, the dove and the crow.
  • It’s the ghostly green nebula that haunts the night skies of the Serene Sea.
  • It’s a certain Frenchman’s worldbuilding project that serves heavily as inspiration for Dennis’s games.

This short story is a good entry point for the vibe: https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/118yrdx/the_imperial_dream_starmoth/ More core starmoth references: https://starmoth.space/intro/ https://starmoth.space/History/xenohistory/ https://old.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/xr4n7d/the_sequence_starmoth_setting/ Dennis’s Starmoth Sequence is rooted, as far as he believes, in existentialist themes and various neat oddities in linguistics and mathematics.

Language

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is also known as linguistic relativity, the idea that the language we speak shapes thought. For example, while languages across the world have developed color words in the same order, indicating a universal biological constraint behind language, differences in color terms cause differences in color perception. 

Characters

Gerald

Gerald the Shambler and the Gate-Builders as a whole are based on the Sequence from Starmoth, a similar but more terrifying ancient star-spanning empire with a habit of assimilating other civilizations via cultural manipulation. This cross-pollinated with Ella’s ideas to create the Gate-Builders featured in Super Dungeon 3. https://starmoth.space/History/xenohistory/ Gerald took further inspiration from modern AI technology and its weaknesses, such as in Winograd schema and garden path sentences. (See video by Tom Scott: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3vIEKWrP9Q ) Gerald also played Sprouts, a game with deep mathematical grounding. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprouts_(game)

Hubert and Rupert

Hubert and Rupert, who appeared in this session (but were not named), had personalities inspired by Statler and Waldorf from the muppets and names borrowed from a webcomic, Dresden Codak: https://dresdencodak.com/2005/06/22/rupert-and-hubert/

jan pona

jan pona was originally Kalisa, a sort of gay fey spirit (who instead of being very short-lived does not exist in linear time): https://starmoth.space/ShortStories/chroniclesofthedrive/ https://starmoth.space/History/xenohistory/?post_id=160&title=ladies-that-wander

radioactive pseudopenguins

The radioactive pseudopenguins are borrowed directly from Starmoth. https://old.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/sapamk/the_penguins_are_radioactive/

Week 2: Nirenberg on Nauvis

The planet of Nauvis, including the maps and enemies, is from Factorio, a factory-builder game featuring angry bug wildlife. The theme here was of biotechnological evolution, not as an observation but as an imperative. See also synthetic biology and utility fog. Nirenberg was the decipherer of the 64 genetic codons. The puzzles were based on DNA coding, starting with real DNA codons and moving on to a fictional triple-helix genetic substrate molecule. “Hello world” is a computer science tradition, while “int main” is common in C-like programming languages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_(programming_language)

Week 3: Anansi’s Bottle

The Vlotians took inspiration from Starmoth’s Vriij. Their philosophy reflects the self-negating aspect of Buddhism. https://starmoth.space/History/xenohistory/?post_id=137&title=vriij- Candor, the Drow, mixes eastern meditative traditions into Drow dream-quests. Various tech items reference Star Trek, such as EPS conduits and Holodeck. The video game FTL: Faster Than Light contributed ship tokens and the ship interior map, while Babylon 5 gave the Gate-Builder ship image. The space combat scene and Firebase-Class battleship IPCS In Your Heart Shall Burn were adapted from Starmoth’s short story “Assault on Draugr”, though that had a happier ending. https://starmoth.space/History/humanhistory/?post_id=200&title=assault-on-draugr Certain Prophecy is a Covenant ship from Halo, while Inspiral, Coalescence, Ringdown was named for a ship from the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. The ambiguity puzzle about using each word in two different ways was flavored as a neural network training evaluation. It was borrowed from a book by Alex Bellos. https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/oct/31/test-your-wits-with-a-book-of-ingenious-language-puzzles The puzzle about connecting cables was the three utilities problem, on a torus. Anansi’s Bottle, of course, references the tale of how Anansi spilled all the wisdom in the world. https://mythologyexplained.com/anansi-the-spider/

Week 4: Nephila

Nephila is a genus of orb-weaver spiders and a reference to Eriophora, the gate-builder asteroid-ship in the Sunflowers cycle by Peter Watts. The Island is a good introduction to the series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephila https://rifters.com/real/shorts/PeterWatts_TheIsland.pdf The Oberth Kuiper maneuver at the beginning of the session was a reference to an xkcd comic: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1244:_Six_Words jan pona’s sunsurfing minigame used rules borrowed from a board game, Triplanetary. http://www.sjgames.com/triplan/ The psychoanalytic dream sequence was inspired by puzzle video game Baba is You and lucid dreams. The speech and dreams of the ship itself were inspired by the hybrids from Battlestar Galactica.

Week 5: The Two Vlotias

The minigame puzzle about trying to cut off the waystation connections before the Mold reached Vlotia was the Shannon switching game. The map started out as a stargate map from Eve Online, which also provided many of my ship, planet, and background images. The story continues to borrow from the Starmoth’s Vriij. During the session I also referenced Star Trek, specifically Deep Space 9. The Gate-Builders in general mix the Federation’s culture and the Borg’s technology. Real-life biology featured this week includes manta ray intelligence, hydras’ indefinite regeneration, and octopuses dying after they’ve hatched their eggs.

Week 6: The Sporangium Eye

Monday’s session was pure toki pona, with lessons abbreviated from jan Misali’s 12 days of learning toki pona. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjOmpMyMxd8T9lZjF36c4mn4YgwZ4ToT6 The story at the end of the tigers and the strawberries was a Zen koan. https://www.feelingoodfeelingreat.com/2014/08/07/tigers-strawberries/ https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/the-tiger-and-the-strawberry-b73de1dccf19

The farstation and its builder, the Iconoclast Seeker, was inspired by the Avid Watcher, a Sovereign from Starmoth. For images, I used XCOM’s gatekeeper. https://starmoth.space/History/xenohistory/?post_id=251&title=sequence-sovereigns

Final session puzzles:

  1. An adaptation of Set, the card game.
  2. Elder Futhark runes
  3. Two layers: Morse code, a Vigenere cipher.
  4. Rebus
  5. Silly phonetic misspellings, a la https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti. See also Mark Twain’s Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling. https://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/texts/twain.html
  6. ASCII with parity for error correction and data reconstruction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parity_bit
  7. Masyu https://www.puzzle-masyu.com/

Philosophy

I referenced a number of philosophies in my games. jan pona references Taoism and Zen. Where jan pona trends towards Existentialism, the black hole cult (singularity patron) seen in Aeidolon’s games trends towards Nihilism, as do the Vlotians with the negative side of Buddhism. Gerald the Shambler expresses something between Modernism and Postmodernism. Another way to see the typology of my characters is via the Vinegar tasters: On realizing existence has no inherent meaning, jan pona is at peace, Rupert and Hubert laugh (philosophical laughter: https://existentialcomics.com/comic/355), the Singularity-worshippers are in terror, and Vlotians are bitter. Gerald and the Gate-Builders meanwhile attempt to construct the purpose of life as expansionism and infinite growth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar_tasters

Music

John Quijada, creator of Ithkuil, has a prog-rock album sung entirely in the language. https://www.youtube.com/@johnquijada2756

jan Usawi is an amazing musician who sings in toki pona. Favorite tracks: “tawa lon linja”, “likujo”, “monsuta”

https://janusawi.bandcamp.com/album/lon https://janusawi.bandcamp.com/album/7-8 https://janusawi.bandcamp.com/track/monsuta

bonus vibe music:

Lorde – Te Ara Tika / The Path (track, in Māori) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmTxdO4LlK4&list=PL7aRhEMqaSuT5lw0h8a4AFZf6dIlxbsg_

M83 – Oblivion (feat Susanne Sundfør) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjpbQ1OWMPE

Eivør – Slør (album, in Faroese) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmu8sVs7o8Q&list=PLiN-7mukU_RHRU-6aKUFnnOUUDiZQQmNx

GUNSHIP – Dark All Day (album) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHFkNuoaI3E

Boards of Canada – Trans Canada Highway (EP) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrZ88ooxYf4

Redshift – Halo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dE7w046lIA

God is an Astronaut – All is Violent, All is Bright https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUjV_zKX7xk

Explosions in the Sky – The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veMONQwn7W8

Beyond the Aether: Theme Teaser

Posted on by Lauren Pfendner

05/10/2023

Join players from across the country with a virtual Super Dungeon that runs from June 23rd-August 6th. This year, discover a new world and what is beyond in a game like no other.

Pre-Register for the Super Dungeon Here.

This theme reveal was written by Ella Sheffield, Theme Master of Super Dungeon 2023.

The planet, winding its way around its young blue star, is only one of thousands of similar pieces of rock in the remote star cluster. But that matters little. The network begins to expand.

Transmission from Althean Outpost Station #413
Received by University of Peraxia Station
Panstellar Standard Count 1210367.602
No translation in effect
Message follows:

Hey Prof! Sera here. So, you’re going to hear about this in a few days in the usual report anyway, but it’s real weird, so I figured I should shoot you a heads-up now, see if you’ve got any insight. It happened only a couple days ago, so about panstan 121365? Basically, I was out on sample collection with Jezper and a few of the interns — looking for that Tradescantia arcana I told you about — when we found this patch of forest that was all grown over with this weird purplish-red fungus. It didn’t look like anything we recognized, so of course Jezper starts freaking out. I mean, you know how they get about new species of mushroom. Except then we started looking closer, and it turns out that this fungus isn’t just growing on the other plants. It’s more like it’s changing the host plants, so like trees are sprouting purple bark and weird growths and stuff? It even looked like it was changing the soil composition, which makes no sense. Anyway, one of the interns touched one of the fungal growths and a big puff of spores came out, which is when I decided to call the expedition. Until we can figure out the proper safety procedures for this thing I don’t want to put any rookies in harm’s way, so all I’ve got is one sample I grabbed to take back to the lab. If you know anything about what’s happening here, send me a wave! It’d be super helpful.

Sera out.

Transmission from Government Station of Upper Treeside
Received by <Coordinate code: Althea, Subset: All>
Panstellar Standard Count 1210399.240
No translation in effect
Message follows:

URGENT NOTIFICATION TO ALL RESIDENTS OF THE NORTHERN SURFACE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: DARKISLET, UPPER TREESIDE, AND OUTPOST STATIONS 125-413.

The Council of Surface Governments has declared a state of emergency in regards to continuing spread of the invasive biological entity colloquially known as “the Mold”. ALL RESIDENTS OF THE NORTHERN SURFACE REGIONS ARE ADVISED TO EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. Residents of the Eastern and Southern regions are likewise advised to be on high alert as government teams will be deploying with flame weapons and atmospheric chemicals in an attempt to slow the spread. DO NOT EXIT YOUR DWELLINGS WHILE GOVERNMENT TEAMS ARE WORKING. DO NOT APPROACH ANY MOLD-INFECTED AREAS. If you detect any signs of the Mold entering your community, notify emergency response officials in your area at once.

Transmission from Municipality of North Kima Station
Received by Upper Treeside Station #28
Panstellar Standard Count 1210408.114
No translation in effect
Message follows:

Dal, it’s Isbel. They say the aetherwave network’s failing for a lot of the surface stations, so this might be the last transmission I can send. Listen, you’ve got to get out of there. I’m right on the edge here, and I don’t care what the government says, it’s not slowing down. But they say it doesn’t travel through rock nearly as well as overland, so the Underdark might still be safe for a while. The government’s trying to negotiate that deal with the corporations down there but don’t wait for that to get sorted. Just take your kids, take Mom and Dad, and leave. Before it’s too late.

I love you.

Flashes of light. Silence. It used to be louder here.

Transmission from Interstellar Peace Confederation Station #8803
Received by Interstellar Peace Confederation Station #0002
Panstellar Standard Count 1210529.507
Translated from Orthio’o
Message follows:

Inquiry. Has unusual information been received regarding the planet Althea? We have received no aetherwave communications from this planet in 120 count, the longest recorded silence since first contact. Several members of our craft who had regular communications have become concerned, although we are aware that their space initiatives have encountered troubles with <No direct translation. Closest approximations: bureaucracy, excrement.> in the past. If no information has been received, we recommend reinitiating communications speedily. Pleasantries from the crew of the <No direct translation. Proper noun.> .

Transmission from Interstellar Peace Confederation Station #0002
Received by Althean Underground Station #1
Panstellar Standard Count 1210534.875
Translated from Orthio’o
Message follows:

ALTHEA, confirm. You report an invasive biological hazard overtaking the surface of your planet? And you also report no physical contact with interstellar traveling civilizations? Confirm.

Transmission from Interstellar Peace Confederation Station #0002
Received by Althean Underground Station #1
Panstellar Standard Count 1210931.663
Translated from Orthio’o
Message follows:

Response to Althean Request for Aid #23. Unfortunately, risk estimates maintain that it remains excessively dangerous for external craft to approach your planet. No direct aid will be supplied at this time. However, your secondary request of free travel in IPC starspace and permission to colonize has been sent for review to the IPC Transportation Administration. You may anticipate a response in 500-700 count. Pleasantries from IPC Central.

Transmission from Interstellar Peace Confederation Station #0002
Received by Althean Underground Station #1
Panstellar Standard Count 1211759.419
Translated from Orthio’o
Message follows:

Response to Althean Inquiry Regarding Travel and Colonization Permissions. Free travel permissions have been granted to all registered Althean spacecraft, provided craft comply with IPC reduced violence regulations. Colonization permissions have been granted under a limited license, subject to the following restrictions: First, no colonization efforts may be undertaken on planets inhabited by beings of Intelligence Class 3 or higher. Second, no colonization efforts may be undertaken in star systems currently claimed by an IPC participating civilization. Third, no colonization or exploration craft are permitted to contain weapons of grade-4 (planet ending) or higher. Fourth, thorough biological hazard  decontamination protocols must be followed for all craft leaving Althea, in accordance with the standardized IPC procedures. [See IPC Standards Document 7010-W009]. Failure to comply with these regulations will result in expulsion from the IPC and reclassification as a hostile civilization. Pleasantries from IPC Central.

Transmission from High Extrasolar Research Observatory Station #1
Received by <Coordinate code: Althea, Subset: All>
Panstellar Standard Count 1219127.300
No translation in effect
Message follows:

After a lot of setbacks, we here at the High Extrasolar Research Observatory are pleased to announce that the first Althean Waystation is up and running! For the first time, our planet is now capable of interstellar travel! That means that it’s time to officially put out the call: we are looking for volunteers to be part of our first contingent of space explorers. We need as many volunteers as possible to search for new worlds for our people to live on. So, anyone who’s interested in the continuing survival of their species, sign up now! We’re serious; this could not be any more urgent. We’ll take anyone!

D&D Super Dungeon 2023 Theme Reveal

Posted on by Lauren Pfendner

04/27/2023

Last year’s D&D Super Dungeon brought in 900 attendees in over 100 interconnected games that culminated in the sealing of an ancient evil to maintain the balance of chaos and order in the universe. This year, players will take on a whole new reality with even bigger stakes crafted by our Theme Masters and over 10 GMs. Watch this teaser video for a special theme reveal of this summer’s next big adventure.

Prom Outfit Donations

Posted on by Lauren Pfendner

NOW ONLY ACCEPTING MENSWEAR

The Belmont Public Library YA Services Department will be accepting donations of lightly-used black tie formal wear for our “Fancy ‘Fits” Prom Outfit Donation Drive. The only items being accepted on a rolling basis for this drive are the following:

  • heeled or flat formal shoes
  • two-piece or three-piece suits in adult sizes
  • men’s dress shoes
  • unaltered white dress shirts
  • formal ties or bowties
  • accessories relevant to an outfit (shawls, purses, hats, hair ornaments)

Please bring your donations to the Flett Room. There will be a hanging rack where you can drop off your donated items.

Any suits or gowns we deem unfit for reuse will be responsibly recycled. Please refrain from donating any formal wear that are in need of repair, stained, scuffed, or otherwise damaged.

Are you in need of a formal wear outfit?

Once all donated outfits are professionally cleaned thanks to the generous contributions of our Friends of the Library and partner dry cleaner, Sun Rite Cleaners, we will set-up appointments for students and their guests to browse our collection and select an outfit of their choice free of charge. Sun Rite Cleaners will offer a 10% discount for alterations for students who use Fancy ‘Fits for their prom outfits via a library voucher they obtain after selecting their chosen outfit. Date for appointments will be in April.

Where will the extra outfits be donated?

We have community partners in Arlington and Lexington who will distribute the remaining outfits from the collection to students in need.

Any questions?
Email the YA Services Librarian at [email protected] or leave a voice message at (617)993-2873.

The Great T(w)een Baking Challenge

Posted on by Lauren Pfendner

Show off your home baking skills with the taste-test competition of the season! Students in grades 6-12 are invited to bake recipes at home and bring them to the library to be judged and shared with their friends. We will have three categories for this event:

  • Cookies
  • Cupcakes
  • Traybakes

Judging will begin at 10:30am and the event will then be open to the public at 11:00am. Hot cocoa will be provided for all participants. Disclaimer: this is a potluck event. We will require a list of ingredients to be submitted, but there will be no oversight from the Health Department on the quality of goods prepared.

Participants can pick up a Registration Form at the library or complete it online here: Complete Participant Registration.

Questions about this program can be directed to Hannah Lee, YA Services Librarian, at [email protected].

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