Join the Sawyer Free Library on Thursday, August 25 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm for a virtual conversation with Liz Wiseman, New York Times Best Selling author, researcher, and executive adviser. Liz will talk about her latest book, Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger and Multiply Your Impact, and her other work. Register HERE for the link!
In Impact Players, Liz asks the question, why do some people break through and make an impact while others get stuck going through the motions? In every organization, impact players are indispensable colleagues who can be counted on in critical situations and consistently receive high-profile assignments and new opportunities. Managers know who these top players are, understand their worth, and want more of them on their team, whether on center stage or behind the scenes.
Wiseman reveals the secrets of these stellar professionals who play the game at a higher level. Drawing on insights from leaders at top companies, Wiseman explains what the most influential players are doing differently, how small and seemingly insignificant differences in how we think and act can make an enormous impact, and why– with a little coaching–this mindset is available to everyone who wants to contribute at their highest level and do more meaningful work.
About the author: Liz Wiseman is a researcher and executive advisor who teaches leadership to executives worldwide. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools, Wall Street Journal bestseller Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work, and Wall Street Journal bestseller Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact. She is the CEO of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California.
The Sawyer Free Libraryis pleased to offer an author talk with New York Times Bestselling author Liz Moore as she discusses her international bestseller, Long Bright River,and her other works.
The virtual event will take place on Tuesday, August 9 from 9:00 to 10:00pm.Register here to receive the zoom link.
The novel takes place in Philadelphia, where Moore has lived for a decade. She traces the story of two sisters estranged from each other but bonded by their choices. Mickey is a cop, and Kacey lives on the streets in the vice of addiction. When Kacey disappears, Mickey panics over her sister’s safety—obsessed with finding the culprit and her sister before it’s too late.
Drawing on deeply personal volunteer work, Liz Moore spins a story that is both graphically honest and dignified. Long Bright River puts a very human face on the effect that addiction can have on generations of families and communities.
About the Author
Liz Moore is the author of four novels, a winner of the 2014 Rome Prize in Literature, and she teaches in the MFA program in Creative Writing at Temple University.
The Sawyer Free Library (SFL) is pleased to share that it has selected a temporary location for the Library during the upcoming renovation and expansion project. The construction project, which involves a renovation of the Library’s 1976 main building at 2 Dale Avenue and an addition of 15,000-square-feet, is expected to begin in early 2023 and take approximately eighteen months.
The Library’s Board of Trustees secured a multi-year lease for 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester, the former space of Cape Ann Cinema and Stage. The SFL plans to move to its new temporary location this fall.
“When 21 Main Street was proposed as an option for the temporary Sawyer Free Library, we jumped at the opportunity,” said Mern Sibley, President of the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library’s Board of Trustees. “Located downtown, just a few blocks from our current location, it has the space and the requirements our dedicated library staff need in order to continue serving our community’s diverse cultural, educational, and informational needs and interests.”
“The commercial real estate market is very tight in Gloucester with few available properties,” continued Sibley. “We feel fortunate to have secured a space that meets our specifications with only minor modifications needed. This temporary space presented itself at the right time, and it is one that we believe will serve the community best during this exciting and historic time for the Sawyer Free Library.”
In its new temporary home, the Sawyer Free Library will offer select in-person services, curbside services, outreach programming, and an enhanced level of online services. The approximately 3,600 sq. ft. at 21 Main Street will accommodate library services for both children and adults, as well as the Library’s local history research resources and Wellspring House’s client intake center. The space will have public computers, Wi-Fi access and study tables. The size of the space limits the quantity of materials onsite. However, through the hold system, cardholders have access to thousands of titles and resources from storage in Saunders House and other NOBLE libraries.
The Library’s hours will remain the same, open six days a week, with the familiar faces of the Sawyer Free Library’s staff available to assist the public. The centrally located space on Main Street is handicap accessible and offers ample parking in the nearby city lot.
SFL will continue to offer a robust schedule of programs for residents of all ages throughout the community and is looking at off-site locations in Gloucester’s public schools, preschools, community centers, municipal spaces, local cultural institutions, parks, and other outdoor spaces. It will also work with its many community partners to host collaborative programming. In addition, the Library will continue to utilize and enhance its remote and online virtual programs.
“Community residents have come to expect a wide range of educational and informational services and programs from our library, and we intend on continuing to deliver on that promise,” said Library Director Jenny Benedict. “Our dedicated Sawyer Free Library staff is committed to making this temporary transition smooth for all. We are excited to share our expertise in new and creative ways. Our talented librarians, resources, and services that Gloucester looks to and relies on will continue to be there for them, whether it be in person in our temporary space, out in the community, or online. We are beyond excited for the 2025 Sawyer Free Library and all it will mean for our community.”
SFL will be working with a relocation service to facilitate the upcoming move of library collections, furnishings and equipment to the temporary location. The Saunders House will be used for library staff office space and onsite storage during the construction. The exact dates and the specifics of the move will be forthcoming.
“In order for the 2025 Sawyer Free Library project to move forward on schedule, it’s imperative that the current Library is available to the construction company as soon as the project and financial approvals are in place,” said Sibley. “There is also an urgency to relocate before the winter in order to move the public and our collections and equipment into a safe space where they are no longer at risk due to the deteriorating conditions of the current building.”
When doors open at the 2025 Sawyer Free Library, the building will exemplify what a 21st-century public library can and should be in terms of architecture, sustainability, accessibility, use of natural resources and light, wayfinding, lines of sight, air quality, and public safety. The modernized and expanded Library will double in size with the addition. It will boast new community spaces, including a 110-seat community room with state-of-the-art science presentation technology, a dedicated room for teens, and a digital maker space with a film production suite and a sound recording studio. Additional features will include a Library History Center, a quiet Reading Room, and a 16-seat Conference Room.
The Sawyer Free Library recently announced the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners approval of the funding for a $9 million provisional construction grant toward the estimated $28 million historic project. In October, the Gloucester City Council is expected to vote on the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library’s request for a city loan to provide the financing for the project and allow the City to access the state grant. Gloucester’s public library is owned by the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library, a nonprofit corporation, which will repay the loan through grants, corporate and individual donations.
The Sawyer Free 2025 fundraising campaign is underway, with several large corporate gifts committed, the campaign continues to gain traction and is attracting donations both big and small. Sawyer Free 2025 continues to seek funding through individual and corporate donors, federal, state, and municipal government grants, and nonprofit foundations. The public is encouraged to learn more about the project by visiting sawyerfree2025.org.
Artist rendering of the view from the northwest corner on Dale Avenue of the Sawyer Free 2025. Rendering by Oudens Ello Architecture provided by Sawyer Free Library
Community Concert with THREE libraries! Join Sawyer Free, Rockport & Manchester-by-the-Sea libraries at Masconomo Park in Manchester for a great family outdoor summer show! Lots of fun with TWO musical groups: Ants on a Log joins Bee Parks & the Hornets for this fun community event!
Saturday, July 30 at 11:00am! Open and free to all!
Rick Roth and the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team will bring their exciting presentation, SNAKES OF THE WORLD, to the Sawyer Free Library outdoor amphitheater on Saturday, July 23 from 11am -12pm.
Join Rick and his team as they introduce many snakes, large and small, and some local! You will have the opportunity to hold and handle the snakes or admire them while learning about the amazing creatures.
The event is free and open to all. In case of inclement weather, the presentation will be held in the Library’s Friends Room. Questions? Contact: jvitale@sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5505.
Calling all Tween’s – you don’t want to miss Spooky Storytelling this Thursday evening, July 21 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at theSawyer Free Library! Great for Tweens grades 5-8.
Also be sure to mark you calendar for Paint Along Night on August 4 and Gaming Club on August 18, both 5:30-6:30pm.
Questions? Contact: mhall@sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5549.
Join maritime researcher, Jon Johansen for an evening discussion on “Shipwrecks of New England” at the Sawyer Free Library on Tuesday, July 14 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
The only easy mode of transportation back in the 1800’s and up until the advent of the automobile and truck was sailing and steam vessels that plied the coast and oceans of the world. Traveling at that time could be dangerous as many of these vessels came to grief along the shores of New England, New York and the Canadian Maritimes. This lecture will cover some of the major disasters starting with the loss of SPARROWHAWK at Orleans, MA in 1626 right up to the loss of the submarine U.S.S. THRESHER off Cape Cod in 1963. Some of the others include: ROYAL TAR (1836), LEXINGTON (1840), ARCTIC (1854), ATLANTIC (1873), CITY OF COLUMBUS (1884), PORTLAND (1898), GENERAL SLOCUM (1904), LARCHMONT (1907), EMPRESS OF IRELAND (1914), and MONT BLANC (1917).
Johansen is the publisher of Maine Coastal News, a monthly publication dedicated to covering the waterfront of the state of Maine. He has a lifelong interest in shipwrecks and maritime history.
The event is free and open to the public. The Sawyer Free Library is located at 2 Dale Avenue, Gloucester. For more information visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.
Sawyer Free Library is hosting an evening with Eric Klinenberg, Carnegie Medal-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Palaces for the People, on Thursday, July 14 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Klinenberg’s work tells us about how physical places bind us and libraries — where everyone is welcome — can heal divisions and inequalities in our society.
Library Board Trustee and former City Councilor Jenn Holmgren will make opening remarks about Sawyer Free 2025. The author talk and a dialogue with the audience will be followed by a dessert reception in the Library’s outdoor amphitheater.
This event is free and open to the public.
The Sawyer Free Library is located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. For more information visit, SawyerFreeLibrary.org or 978-325-5500.
Eric Klinenberg, is the author of the award-winning book, “Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life.”
Cape Ann Community 