SUMMER READING PROGRAM.  This year’s summer reading theme is “Dream Big–READ!” for children and “Own the Night” for teens.  The kick-off events for Dream Big–READ! will be a magic show (for children ages 3+) and a balloon sculpting workshop (for children ages 8+), both on Thursday, June 28.  Other program highlights include a visit from live owls and a shadow puppet show.  Registration for Dream Big–READ! begins the same day as the kick-off events (6/28).  Children can sign up at the library and pick up their Dream Big–READ! goodie bag, which will contain a listing of the summer programs as well as a prize.  Children can also register online by following the Summer Reading link on the left side of the Children’s section of our website (waylandlibrary.org).  Children are encouraged to keep track of their summer reading online or (if they prefer) on paper reading logs.  All participants in Dream Big–READ! will be invited to an ice cream party on Tuesday, August  14.  Registration for the teen summer reading program “Own the Night” also starts on Thursday, June 28.  

Teens will be able to register online at the Teen section of our website.  Teens are encouraged to keep track of their reading online.  All teens who register will be entered into a raffle for a gift basket full of prizes.  The raffle will be held at a pizza party on Wednesday, August 15. 

ENJOY OUTDOOR MUSEUMS AND PARKS.  The Friends of the Library provide some great passes that allow you to explore the great outdoors, as well as many area museums.  Passes for outdoors exploration include:  Davis Farmland, Drumlin Farm, Franklin Park/Stone Zoos, Garden In The Woods, Massachusetts State Parks, Roger Williams Park Zoo, and Tower Hill Botanic Garden.  And the following museums have both indoor and outdoor venues:  DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, John F. Kennedy Library & Museum, the Ecotarium, and Fruitlands Museum.  Passes may be reserved up to 21 days in advance online at waylandlibrary.org or by phoning the library at 508-358-2311. 

SOME NOVEL IDEAS.  Looking for a “good read”?  Here are some books that library staff members recently enjoyed:  Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks, The Affair by Lee Child, Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos, The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, The Information by James Gleick, Arcadia by Lauren Groff, The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, How It All Began by Penelope Lively, The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Odds: A Love Story by Stewart O'Nan, Vultures' Picnic by Greg Palast, Reamde by Neal Stephenson, and Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. 

E-READER E-VENING. Have you purchased or received an electronic reading device?  In addition to the content available for purchase, the library has thousands of electronic titles available for lending.  We have both e-book content to read and e-audiobook content to listen to.  Would you like to know how to access library and/or other free content?  Bring your devices and your questions and Matt Amory, computer specialist and reference librarian, will do his best to answer them for you!  Wednesday, May 30, 7 p.m. 

SHAKESPEARE WITH HELEN WHALL. On Tuesday, June 12, at 7:30 p.m. Professor Helen Whall will return to give her final program (on The Merry Wives of Windsor) in this year’s Shakespeare series. 

BRAWERMAN PHOTOS. The May exhibit in the library foyer features recent photographs by George and Ruth Brawerman. Their work includes pictures taken in the local area as well as on Cape Cod and in the Sarasota area of Florida.  George and Ruth are particularly interested in summer and early fall shapes and colors. 

Arts/Wayland Art Show.  Arts/Wayland members will have an art show in the Raytheon Room during May.  The public is invited to join members of Arts/Wayland for an artists’ reception at the exhibit on Sunday, May 20, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. 

UPCOMING BOOK GROUPS.  Our Evening Book Group will be discussing The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri on Monday, June 4, at 7 p.m.  The next meeting of the Noontime Book Group is at 12 noon on Friday, June 8, and the book to be discussed is Waiting by Ha Jin.  New members are welcome at both book groups.

Wayland residents will now have a free, safe method to dispose of unused or expired prescription medication thanks to a new drug collection program announced today by Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Police Chief Robert Irving. MedReturn Drug Collection Units will be delivered by Friday to 29 police departments in Middlesex County, including Wayland.  The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office purchased the units for the departments through drug forfeiture funds, which can be used for the purpose of drug rehabilitation, drug education and other anti-drug efforts. 

“Illegal use of prescription drugs is the nation’s fastest growing drug problem,” DA Leone said.  “Part of the problem is that these harmful drugs often sit unused in medicine cabinets, offering easy access for young people to take and abuse them.  These new drug collection units provide an effective and convenient method for disposal of unwanted medications without harming our environment and keeping powerful drugs off of the streets.”

The effort is part of the District Attorney’s goal to address issues of substance abuse among young people.  An estimated 2.4 million Americans misused prescription drugs for the first time within the past year, and about a third of those users were age 12 to 17, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“There is a misunderstanding about the dangers of prescription drugs,” said Chief Irving.  “No one should ever take a prescription drug that was not prescribed for them by their doctor.  All too often we see instances where people have misused and abused these drugs with deadly consequences.  Having the drug collection unit in Wayland will make it easier for all residents to safely dispose of unused drugs and hopefully prevent future drug-related incidents.”

The drug collection units will be placed at the Wayland police station.  Medication can be disposed of anonymously at any time. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic.  According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Heath, more than 70 percent of people who abused prescription pain killers got them from relatives or friends. Additionally, the study reports, more and more opiate overdoses are now a result of prescription painkillers. 

Every day, on average, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The DEA also reports that 56 percent of teens say prescription drugs are easier to get than illicit drugs.  Two in five teens believe that prescription drugs are safer than illegal drugs.  Middlesex County is the largest county in Massachusetts and one of the largest counties in the country with 54 towns and cities and 26 colleges in urban, suburban, and rural areas, comprising over one quarter of the population of Massachusetts. 

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office has offices throughout the county, including communities such as Ayer, Cambridge, Concord, Framingham, Lowell, Malden, Marlborough, Natick, Newton, Somerville, Waltham and Woburn.