Altamont Library Notes for Wednesday, May 25, 2022
— Photo from Catherine Sun/Cornell
This photograph from a trail camera shows three sibling cubs investigating bait-and-scent lures at a research site near Almond, New York. The Altamont Free Library is hosting a June 1 session with Katrina Talbot, wildlife biologist with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, on how to distinguish normal black bear behavior from troublesome black bear behavior.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there have been a ton of black bear sightings around the village recently. Are there more bears all of a sudden? Are there the same number of bears, but just in more populated places? Or is it just that there are more cameras pointed at bird feeders filled with delicious bird seed? We have so many questions!
If you’ve got questions about local black bear activity, please join us in the Community Room at Altamont Reformed Church at 129 Lincoln Avenue in Altamont on Wednesday, June 1, at 7 p.m. for a presentation by Katrina Talbot, wildlife biologist with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
Ms. Talbot will discuss how to distinguish normal black bear behavior from troublesome black bear behavior, and how we can live safely alongside our bear neighbors. Please note that this presentation will be geared towards adults, but we will be doing a kid-oriented bear education program over the summer. To register in advance, please call us at 518-861-7239 or email me at .
First Monday
Book Club
Do you love reading? Do you love talking about reading? If so, join us for the next meeting of the First Monday Book Club on, would you believe, Monday June 6th at noon. If you would like to join us for our next meeting, please call us at 518-861-7239 or email us at and we’ll make sure that you get all the details.
At that meeting, we’ll be discussing Transcendent Kingdom by Ghanian-American author Yaa Gyasi. This is Gyasi’s second novel, after the widely beloved Homegoing. There will be plenty to discuss, so call today to reserve your copy and join us!
Ukulele Group
Do you uke? If you do, even if you’re not very good yet, please join our monthly outdoor ukulele meetup. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, June 7, at 6 p.m. in Orsini Park, and we’d love for you to join us. Bring a song or two to share with the group if you like.
This is a fun, inviting way of growing as a player, picking up hits and tips, learning new tunes, and meeting fellow ukesters. We hope to see you in the park!
Train Station
History Exhibit
The Altamont Train Station has witnessed a lot of history since it opened its doors in 1897. Next Monday, we will unveil an exhibit all about that history. The exhibit was curated by Dan Barker of the Village Archive and Museum and features photos, documents, and artifacts from our building’s 125-year history. Among the artifacts on display will be the original stationmaster’s wooden ticket cabinet, which has never been displayed before.
The exhibit, which is presented with the financial assistance of the library’s Marijo Dougherty Fund for Local History Research, also features text by Keith C. Lee documenting the station’s history. It will be on display for the next few months, so please come on in and take a look! Many thanks to Dan and Keith for putting this all together.
Birding Bag
You know that it’s spring because the birds have returned! If you and your young friends are interested in learning more about the birds living all around us, we’ve got the perfect kit for you! Put together by the Thacher Park Nature Center, our birding kit has binoculars for both adults and kiddos, guides to local birds, bird activity sheets and much more!
This kit can be checked out for up to one week, and you can use it up at Thacher, in your backyard, or anywhere else that birds hang out. Thank you Thacher Park Nature Center!