There’s one month left of summer reading, and the Sawyer Free Library has prizes for children, teens, and adults who want to jump into the action!
Click HERE to see how much fun Clawdia the Library Lobster and friends are having this summer!
Or better yet, come into the library today or visit sawyerfreelibrary.org to learn more about Sawyer Free Library’s summer reading programs.
The Sawyer Free Library is excited to share that it has 8 newly upgraded public computers which are now available to the public on the Main Floor of the Library. 1-hour sessions are available with a 2-hour daily limit.
Be sure to head to the Library to do some job hunting, explore the its online Gloucester history resources, research their vast databases, and much more!
Sawyer Free Library’s summer operating hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday 12 – 7:00 pm, and Saturday 10:00 am to 1 pm and 24/7 at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
For more information about the technology available and all the library’s programs and resources visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5501.
The Sawyer Free Library’s Job Seekers Summer Workshop Series continues through the summer. The workshops, presented by career counseling expert Gary Gekow, are free and accessible to those in the Gloucester community and beyond. Each offer practical advice and guidance to those looking to discover a new career path, gain new job skills, find jobs opportunities. Register HERE for the free classes!
To follow are the upcoming virtual classes:
The Importance of Linked In, Tuesday, July 27, 7-8:30 pm
Did you know that there are over 467 million LinkedIn users worldwide? The workshop will review best practices as they relate to online profile creation and managing one’s account. The class will also highlight the many additional usages of LinkedIn, including the importance of joining groups and getting others to offer testimonials.
Online Job Search and Resume Submittal, Tuesday, August 3, 11 am-12:30 pm & 7-8:30 pm
This workshop will analyze and discuss numerous online search strategies, including job alerts, job boards, job aggregators, and company employment pages. The group led by expert Gary Gekow will then discuss how to best utilize these websites for submitting one’s resume.
The Art of Networking, Tuesday, August 10, 7-8:30pm
Job fairs, corporate hiring events, Meetups, and other online social media platforms are just some avenues where people can promote their networking skills. While attending these events and dropping off a resume is a good start, deeper engagement is required in today’s job market. Learn from the career professional about networking strategies to better enhance your employment attainment prospects.
Adjusting to a Changing New Normal, Tuesday, August 24, 7-8:30pm
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact on employment issues and job search trends. This interactive virtual Zoom meeting will address a series of topics including, but not limited to working from home, remaining positive and productive amidst disruptions to everyday life, building relationships through collaborations, and taking advantage of free online tools.
The Job Seekers Summer Workshop Series is a part of the Sawyer Free Library’s recently launched Resources for Job Seekers Program. The program also features one-on-one resume sessions and a dedicated webpage, available in over 100 world languages, with extensive resources specially curated by Library staff and expert-led virtual workshops.
For more information about the program, call 978-325-5500 or email: jobseeker@sawyerfreelibrary.org. To register for a workshop session or to reserve a resume review session, go to sawyerfreelibrary.org
This program has been made possible through a federal Library Service and Technology Act (LSTA) grant awarded by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioner (MBLC).
| Tour our institute’s laboratories with GMGI’s Donald G. Comb Science Director, Dr. Andrea Bodnar Take a deep dive into an exciting research topic at the core of our mission Connect with research scientists and engage in conversations about their cutting-edge research |
| July 29th How We Sequence a Genome and Why It’s So Important with Senior Research Associate Jennifer Polinski |
| August 5th Environmental DNA: the Breadcrumbs of Life with Senior Research Associate Tim O’Donnell |
| August 12th The Mighty Microbe: How the Tiniest Life Forms in the Ocean are Leading the Biggest Discoveries with Senior Scientist Matt Harke |
| Tours begin at 5pm, and presentations by scientists start at 5:30pm.This is a free event. Space is limited at each event. RSVP today! |
Please reach out to Ashley Destino with any questions. ashley.destino@gmgi.org
978.879.4575 ext. 106
Yes, you can become the envy of your neighbors by becoming the ultimate grill master!
All you have to do is join the Sawyer Free Library on Wednesday, July 21 from 2:30-4:30pm for a fun and informative live and in-person event and learn all you need to know about Summer Grilling from local Farm-to-Table Chef Justus Dunton.
Chef Dunton has worked in premier and starred restaurants from Boston to Costa Rica. He has created his own company, Dagger Board Hospitality that brings farm-fresh, hand forraged, and delicious food to our local community through his pop-up dinners and teaching programs.
Weather permitting, we will meet outside in the Sawyer Free Library amphitheater.
Register here as space is limited!
For more information, go to SawyerFreeLibrary.org
Get in on the summer fun at the Sawyer Free Library with ADULT SUMMER READING 2021: BOOK BINGO!
From now until September 1, 2021, those 18 and older can keep track of the books they read on the Sawyer Free Library’s downloadable custom bingo card by writing the title and author in the matching square.
Each completed horizontal, vertical or diagonal line enters you into a raffle to win $25, $50, or $75 Cape Ann Gift Certificates.
Thanks to the generous support of The Friends of the Sawyer Free Library, program participation is free, and registration is now open for this and all family summer reading programs. Check out all the fun activities, events and reading challenges for children and teens too!
Sawyer Free Library’s summer operating hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday 12 – 7:00 pm, and Saturday 10:00 am to 1 pm and 24/7 at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
For more information about the “Summer at the Sawyer Free Library,” or to register for programs, visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5501.
The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library is pleased to announce the restoration and conservation of its grand murals by renowned artist Frederick L. Stoddard (1861-1940) with the assistance of Howard Curtis (1906-1989). Located in the Library’s historic Saunders House, the murals were painted in 1934 as part of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration. Along with Gloucester’s City Hall, the Sawyer Free Library was a local beneficiary of the federal government program designed to create jobs for artists and bring art to public places and communities across the country.
“Restoring these significant WPA murals depicting Gloucester’s origins is not only our responsibility but our great privilege. They are community artistic treasures and historically significant features of the Saunders House,” said Mern Sibley, the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library’s Board of Trustees’ President. “This project will preserve these unique works for historic study and enjoyment by residents and visitors.”
The artists’ work, completed over 80 years ago, was done entirely in oil paint on the bare plaster wall, giving the murals an antique appearance, harmonizing with the age of the Saunders House constructed in 1764. Built by Thomas Saunders, a prosperous merchant and a Representative to the Massachusetts General Court, at the time, it was one of the grandest houses in Gloucester and Boston’s North Shore. It became the permanent home of the Sawyer Free Library in 1884 when Samuel Sawyer generously deeded it for a public Library.
The Library’s murals titled “Scenes of the Region,” depict maritime culture against a backdrop of the agrarian life that supported the early settlement of Gloucester. Filling the great space throughout the main stairway of the Saunders House, the murals capture the activity of the busy working harbor with views of the distant rocky shoreline, the city, Rocky Neck, and Ten Pound Island. They also feature a simplified representation of Dogtown Common and old “Whale’s Jaw,” along with other colorful scenes offering unique glimpses of what life was like in Gloucester’s early days.
“As stewards of our city’s library, we are committed to the Saunders House’s preservation, as it is still the anchor of the Sawyer Free Library, rich with history and purpose,” added Sibley. “It is appropriate that this mural restoration project is the first of many as we move forward in realizing a reimagined, renovated, and expanded Sawyer Free Library, one that is worthy of our heritage and our future.”
The Stoddard mural restoration will be done by local conservator Lisa Mehlin of Essex, MA, who holds a Master of Art Conservation, and has seventeen years of experience in the conservation of oil paintings for government agencies, private institutions, and individual clients in the U.S. and Canada. She most recently completed work on the murals in The Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens for the Trustees of the Reservations in North Andover.
The project will be completed in two phases with the first being consolidation, ensuring that all original mural pigment is still attached to the plaster. Phase two is the visual restoration process. After securing the pigment to the plaster, paints will be used to carefully tone back any white gaps where the paint flaked away, allowing the original design to shine through once again. The project is funded through Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library corporate funds.
The next phase in preserving and restoring Saunders House is anticipated to begin in early 2022, planned under the guidance of the Saunders House Stewardship Committee of the Library Board. The work will include, but not be limited to, stabilization of the building structure and restoration of the murals in the Anderson Room. Further renovation is planned to improve accessibility and upgrade building systems to support contemporary use by Library staff and the public.
For more information about the Saunders House’s mural project and the concept design for the 2025 Sawyer Free Library and Saunders House, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.
The SAWYER FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY is excited to announce that its adventure-filled “Summer at the Library” program has officially kicked off. The theme is “Tails and Tales,” and it’s overflowing with opportunities to read great books, enjoy unique experiences and win prizes.
The Children’s Library Staff have begun distributing “Welcome to Summer Reading Packets” to young people and their families, which have program information, the event calendar, activities, and fun summer treats. Children can stay on top of their summer reading with their own “Tails and Tales” time-tracking reading logs. After reading for 500 minutes (or are read to), they win prizes.
The packets are available in the Library or through curbside pick-up. People can register in-person or online for the program. “Tails and Tales” themed curbside crafts for families will also be available for pick-up over the summer.
The summertime programs for children will officially begin on Tuesday, July 6 at 10:30 am with a virtual celebration and an up-close look at exotic and native animals on zoom presented by Wildlife Encounters Ecology Center.
Throughout the summer, the Library will host both outside in-person events and virtual programs for children of all ages and their families, including:
Children can learn virtually about snakes of the world with Rick Roth on July 26 to 31, the wonders of Monarch Butterflies with Kim Smith August 3 to 7, insight on insects with Ms. Frizzle’s Magic School Bus on August 10, and so much more.
SFL has big plans for teens this summer too. Students entering grades 6-12 are encouraged to track their Summer Reading on the custom form available on the Library’s website to qualify for weekly prize drawings and the grand prize drawing of two whale watch tickets, courtesy of Cape Ann Whale Watch.
SFL is giving adults the chance to get in on the summer fun with Adult Book Bingo 2021. From now until September 1, 2021, those 18 and older can keep track of the books they read on the Library’s downloadable custom bingo card by writing the title and author in the matching square. Each completed horizontal, vertical or diagonal line enters you into a raffle to win $25, $50, or $75 Cape Ann Gift Certificates.
Thanks to the generous support of The Friends of the Sawyer Free Library, program participation is free, and registration is now open for all children, teens, and adult programs.
Sawyer Free Library’s summer operating hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday 12 – 7:00 pm, and Saturday 10:00 am to 1 pm and 24/7 at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
For more information about the “Summer at the Sawyer Free Library,” or to register for programs, visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5501.
Exhibit on display from July 11 to the end of the year
GLOUCESTER, MASS. (June 2021) – On Sunday, July 11, the Cape Ann Museum will open Homeport, a special exhibition of lithographs, dry point drawings, and watercolors by Stow Wengenroth (1906-1978) along with drawings by contemporary artist Adin Murray who also works in black and white and from nature. The exhibition will be on display through the end of the year.
“The works of Wengenroth and Murray in their detail and intricacy attest to the experience of place, a love of drawing and desire to observe nature with complete reverence,” said Oliver Barker, the Museum’s Director.
Wengenroth was born in New York and began experimenting with lithography during the 1930s. First introduced to this country in the 1830s, lithography reached the height of its popularity during the mid-19th century. When Wengenroth took it up, it was no longer the main medium for the print world, however, he was keenly aware of its artistic possibilities, and, with the early encouragement of fellow artist George Ennis, devoted his life to the art. Without color, viewers are invited to consider the detail of each print and reflect on how the artist created the illusion of color through his careful attention to detail and his masterful use of light and shade. During his long and successful career, Wengenroth created hundreds of prints, capturing images of New England and Cape Ann during a period of rapid change.
Wengenroth first came to Cape Ann between 1923 and 1925 when he was studying at the Art Students League. He came back in the summer of 1934 when his Cape Ann lithographs were exhibited at the Macbeth Gallery in New York City. He visited regularly and became a permanent resident of Rockport, MA in 1974 after marrying Harriet Matson.
Adin Murray’s work shares much in common with that of Wengenroth, particularly his drawings done in graphite and from nature. Murray was born in Manchester, MA, and holds an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. The precision reflected in his drawings, many of which are small in scale, is remarkable and invites viewers to look closer and deeper into each composition. Like Wengenroth’s prints, Murray’s black and white drawings are alive and engaging, filling our imaginations with the colors and nuances of the landscape that surrounds us.
The Homeport exhibition will include two lectures. These in-person events will be livestreamed for free on Facebook and Vimeo – offering visitors near and far the chance to engage deeply with the exhibition and the Museum’s extensive collection. In person, tickets are free for CAM members or $10 for the general public.
Granite & Graphite: Drawing the Cape Ann Landscape
with Adin Murray
Saturday, July 24 at 3:00 pm
Free for members, $10 for non-members
Demystifying the Lithograph
with Carolyn Muskat of Muskat Studios
Saturday, October 2 at 2:00 pm
Free for members, $10 for non-members
Cape Ann Community 