Category: Very inexpensive or FREE!

More Ways to Save Money by Linking with the Boston Public Library

At the beginning of the summer, we received a press release from the Boston Public Library (BPL) full of great information. With lots of new residents joining the BostonZest readers each September, we decided to save this list of resources until now. We're turning the keyboard over to our friends at the BPL for today's Friday Link.

(These photos are from the BPL App-see #5 below.)

"Boston Public Library’s collections can be easily accessed from home, a local coffee shop, or even the beach. Anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Massachusetts can have a Boston Public Library card. Many residents of the Commonwealth start with an e-card, available online at www.bpl.org/ecard, which grants immediate access to the BPL’s digital resources.

Here are seven ways to sync with the Boston Public Library’s collections and services – all while on the go:

1. Download e-books. Search for e-books – including Kindle titles – and audiobooks in the Boston Public Library’s catalog alongside printed books. Watch a brief tutorial about how to download the books to your e-reader, computer, or mobile device via www.bpl.org/collections/downloadable.htm.

2. Stream music, movies, television shows, and audiobooks. Use your library card to borrow videos, music, and audiobooks for your tablet, smartphone, or laptop. Get started via www.bpl.org/collections/hoopla.htm.

3. Read digital magazines. Enjoy more than 170 popular consumer magazines in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Portuguese via www.bpl.org/collections/zinio.htm. Find titles like Cosmopolitan, Us Weekly, Rolling Stone, and Newsweek.

4. Learn a new language. Boston Public Library offers free access to online language-learning tools such as Powerspeak and Mango, which includes a language-learning tool for children called Little Pim. Learn more via www.bpl.org/electronic/language.asp.

5. Use the BPL app. Renew books, place hold requests (and have them delivered to any BPL location), browse new items, view hours, and more. Download the app via www.bpl.org/mobile.

6. Discover electronic databases. Find newspapers, journal articles, classical music scores, and more. Electronic resources include everything from the archive of the Sunday Times (London) to National Geographic’s virtual library. Go to www.bpl.org/electronic/.

7. Get social. Follow the BPL via social media channels like Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, and Facebook for information on the latest library happenings and to view digitized images of the library’s collection. Boston Public Library’s Twitter and Instagram handle is @BPLBoston."

Related Posts:

How Much Money Have You Saved with Your Boston Public Library Card?

Clams Card, Don't Go To Cape Cod Without it!

7 Things We Learned at the BPL Conservation Lab!

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino and the BPL staff.
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino with screenshots from the BPL app.

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September 5, 2014
Universal Hub for Local, Local, Local News

When I enter the letter U into my Chrome browser, UniversalHub.com is the top choice on my list of websites beginning with that letter. It's where I go when I want local news.

I have shortcuts to get to UH, as many fans call it, on both my iPhone and iPad. It's usually the first site I visit each morning. And, when I want to know what's going on, why traffic is stopped on Storrow Drive, or why I'm hearing non-stop sirens, I call up Adam Gaffin's @universalhub timeline on Twitter.

Mainstream Media Failure

Every night, I wind up clicking away from local newscasts because, instead of local news, they offer up international coverage or some viral video from Los Angeles. Rather than out doing their jobs, they just take the feed from the network to fill the time. If I want local news, I have to turn to sites like UH.

Support Universal Hub

As with many other sites, Universal Hub is supported by advertising, affiliate programs, and contributions.

Adam recently added a link that asks readers,

"Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) donation."

You'll find the place to click by scrolling down in the right hand sidebar. The next time you get a great, timely, local answer to your question, "What's going on right now in Boston?" click the link and drop a few coins in the UH tip jar.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Screengrab from Universalhub.com

August 8, 2014
Universal Hub for Local, Local, Local News

When I enter the letter U into my Chrome browser, UniversalHub.com is the top choice on my list of websites beginning with that letter. It's where I go when I want local news.

I have shortcuts to get to UH, as many fans call it, on both my iPhone and iPad. It's usually the first site I visit each morning. And, when I want to know what's going on, why traffic is stopped on Storrow Drive, or why I'm hearing non-stop sirens, I call up Adam Gaffin's @universalhub timeline on Twitter.

Mainstream Media Failure

Every night, I wind up clicking away from local newscasts because, instead of local news, they offer up international coverage or some viral video from Los Angeles. Rather than out doing their jobs, they just take the feed from the network to fill the time. If I want local news, I have to turn to sites like UH.

Support Universal Hub

As with many other sites, Universal Hub is supported by advertising, affiliate programs, and contributions.

Adam recently added a link that asks readers,

"Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) donation."

You'll find the place to click by scrolling down in the right hand sidebar. The next time you get a great, timely, local answer to your question, "What's going on right now in Boston?" click the link and drop a few coins in the UH tip jar.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Screengrab from Universalhub.com

August 8, 2014
So Happy Bacchante and Infant Faun Returned to the BPL Courtyard

The sculpure of Bacchante and Infant Faun with its ring of sparkling, splashing water add a refreshing, lively note to the Boston Public Library Courtyard in summer.

She is one of my favorite photo subjects. Every angle offers a new challenge to capture the vivaciousness of this work of art with my camera. The architecture of the courtyard creates a perfect backdrop and, in the photo above, an arched frame.

Here is the only photo I could find of the original artwork in place in the Courtyard in 1896. (From the Boston Public Library collection.) It was on display for just two weeks in November of that year.

The original statue, given to the library by the architect Charles Follen McKim, is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The notes on it in their collection include this information.

"After a great storm of public protest stirred by temperance unions, clergy, and other angry Bostonians against the statue's "drunken indecency," McKim withdrew the gift and then offered "Bacchante" to the Metropolitan in May 1897. The Board of Trustees enthusiastically accepted it, and the bronze was displayed for many years in the Museum's Great Hall…"

The statue on display in the BPL Courtyard today is a casting made in 1993 from a second bronze in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts.

How barren the courtyard looks in this 1927 photo. It lacks the statue, furniture, and people we find there today. (From the Boston Public Library collection.)

While Bacchante's dance upset Bostonians, Emerson College students were allowed to perform the Butterfly Dance in the courtyard in 1926.

Don't forget, this year's free Concerts in the Courtyard continue through August 29th.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino with historic photos from the Boston Public Library Collection used under this creative commons license.

August 7, 2014
So Happy Bacchante and Infant Faun Returned to the BPL Courtyard

The sculpure of Bacchante and Infant Faun with its ring of sparkling, splashing water add a refreshing, lively note to the Boston Public Library Courtyard in summer.

She is one of my favorite photo subjects. Every angle offers a new challenge to capture the vivaciousness of this work of art with my camera. The architecture of the courtyard creates a perfect backdrop and, in the photo above, an arched frame.

Here is the only photo I could find of the original artwork in place in the Courtyard in 1896. (From the Boston Public Library collection.) It was on display for just two weeks in November of that year.

The original statue, given to the library by the architect Charles Follen McKim, is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The notes on it in their collection include this information.

"After a great storm of public protest stirred by temperance unions, clergy, and other angry Bostonians against the statue's "drunken indecency," McKim withdrew the gift and then offered "Bacchante" to the Metropolitan in May 1897. The Board of Trustees enthusiastically accepted it, and the bronze was displayed for many years in the Museum's Great Hall…"

The statue on display in the BPL Courtyard today is a casting made in 1993 from a second bronze in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts.

How barren the courtyard looks in this 1927 photo. It lacks the statue, furniture, and people we find there today. (From the Boston Public Library collection.)

While Bacchante's dance upset Bostonians, Emerson College students were allowed to perform the Butterfly Dance in the courtyard in 1926.

Don't forget, this year's free Concerts in the Courtyard continue through August 29th.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino with historic photos from the Boston Public Library Collection used under this creative commons license.

August 7, 2014
Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions – a Pop-up Exhibition

Furniture that is art is coming to Newbury Street for the first two weeks in August. If you have an appreciation for finely crafted woodwork, put this on your calendar.

"Sleigh Endings" Bench by A Thomas Walsh

Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions – a Pop-up Exhibition will be on display at 127-129 Newbury Street from Friday, August 1 through Friday, August 15, 2014.

Dressing Table by William Thomas

You'll be treated to the work of 17 New England based craftspeople each working in their own style.

Adagio by Bradley Wolcott

QUICK FACTS:

Title: Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions – a Pop-up Exhibition

Dates: Friday, August 1 through Friday, August 15, 2014

Where: 127-129 Newbury Street, Boston MA 02116

Exhibit Hours: 10am to 7pm daily

Admission: Free

Opening reception: Friday August 1, 6pm to 8pm, open to the public.

Handicap access: No

Parking: Metered street parking on Newbury and adjacent streets. Garage parking on Exeter St.

Nearest T stops: Copley Square (Green line), Back Bay Station (Orange Line, MBTA Commuter Rail)

Website: http://www.furnituremasters.com/news/

View book: http://issuu.com/rhoedel/docs/2014nhfmadesignbook/0

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino with an big assist from the organizers for the great Quick Facts section
Photography: Courtesy of the exhibit Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions

July 31, 2014
Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions – a Pop-up Exhibition

Furniture that is art is coming to Newbury Street for the first two weeks in August. If you have an appreciation for finely crafted woodwork, put this on your calendar.

"Sleigh Endings" Bench by A Thomas Walsh

Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions – a Pop-up Exhibition will be on display at 127-129 Newbury Street from Friday, August 1 through Friday, August 15, 2014.

Dressing Table by William Thomas

You'll be treated to the work of 17 New England based craftspeople each working in their own style.

Adagio by Bradley Wolcott

QUICK FACTS:

Title: Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions – a Pop-up Exhibition

Dates: Friday, August 1 through Friday, August 15, 2014

Where: 127-129 Newbury Street, Boston MA 02116

Exhibit Hours: 10am to 7pm daily

Admission: Free

Opening reception: Friday August 1, 6pm to 8pm, open to the public.

Handicap access: No

Parking: Metered street parking on Newbury and adjacent streets. Garage parking on Exeter St.

Nearest T stops: Copley Square (Green line), Back Bay Station (Orange Line, MBTA Commuter Rail)

Website: http://www.furnituremasters.com/news/

View book: http://issuu.com/rhoedel/docs/2014nhfmadesignbook/0

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino with an big assist from the organizers for the great Quick Facts section
Photography: Courtesy of the exhibit Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions

July 31, 2014
A Summer Weekend Walk Down Bay State Road

One of our favorite, shady, summer walks is down Bay State Road which runs along the Charles River Esplanade and Commonwealth Avenue to the west of Back Bay. We are making this historic district our Friday Link today.

Street trees provide some shade and the lovely buildings preserved by the Bay State Road/Back Bay West Architectural Conservation District give you lots of details to enjoy.

Many of the former private residences have been taken over by Boston University, so this is a land of red signs showing the use of many of the buildings. This time of year, there are a few students around and a little bit of car traffic. It's just enough to keep you from feeling that you are in an isolated area.

Our Westie Poppy loves benches and BU has sprinkled a few pocket parks along the street. We picked a shady one to stop for a drink of water and a break.

A collection of contemporary sculpture gives you another reason to visit this area. Some pieces have interpretive plaques nearby.

Here's the one for the sculpture above.

The architecture along Bay State Road gets much less attention than some other historic districts, but there are important buildings by renowned architects. This is the Weld Mansion designed in 1900 by William York Peters of the Peters and Rice architectural firm.

You are just one block over from Commonwealth Avenue and all the food shops and services that grew up along this area to serve the student population. And there are bridges to the Esplanade if you'd like to cross over and have a picnic on the river bank.

You'll also find picnic tables in back of Marsh Chapel. We've used these for an impromptu Sunday brunch with friends.

Remember that by late August, the students will be back. This will still be a beautiful street, but it won't have the quiet calm it has in mid-summer.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

July 18, 2014
A Summer Weekend Walk Down Bay State Road

One of our favorite, shady, summer walks is down Bay State Road which runs along the Charles River Esplanade and Commonwealth Avenue to the west of Back Bay. We are making this historic district our Friday Link today.

Street trees provide some shade and the lovely buildings preserved by the Bay State Road/Back Bay West Architectural Conservation District give you lots of details to enjoy.

Many of the former private residences have been taken over by Boston University, so this is a land of red signs showing the use of many of the buildings. This time of year, there are a few students around and a little bit of car traffic. It's just enough to keep you from feeling that you are in an isolated area.

Our Westie Poppy loves benches and BU has sprinkled a few pocket parks along the street. We picked a shady one to stop for a drink of water and a break.

A collection of contemporary sculpture gives you another reason to visit this area. Some pieces have interpretive plaques nearby.

Here's the one for the sculpture above.

The architecture along Bay State Road gets much less attention than some other historic districts, but there are important buildings by renowned architects. This is the Weld Mansion designed in 1900 by William York Peters of the Peters and Rice architectural firm.

You are just one block over from Commonwealth Avenue and all the food shops and services that grew up along this area to serve the student population. And there are bridges to the Esplanade if you'd like to cross over and have a picnic on the river bank.

You'll also find picnic tables in back of Marsh Chapel. We've used these for an impromptu Sunday brunch with friends.

Remember that by late August, the students will be back. This will still be a beautiful street, but it won't have the quiet calm it has in mid-summer.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

July 18, 2014
The Summer 2014 Issue of Edible Boston Is a Keeper!

Regular readers know we are big fans of the Edible Boston magazine, website, and team of talented writers, editors, and photographers. The summer issue is a real keeper. It has lists of all the area farmers' markets and a list of food trucks. Along with a feature on Essex and Ipswich as an Edible Destination, this issue makes a great summer bucket list.

List of Good Businesses, too! (they call them advertisers!)

Here is a link to the places where you can look for a free copy of the magazine. Or, you can read the summer 2014 issue or the back issues online.

May I suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement.

Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on Facebook, and in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

You can also buy the Edible cookbook! Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods or find more local food in the The Boston Homegrown Cookbook

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Artwork: Courtesy of Edible Boston

July 11, 2014