Sawyer Free Library

Celebrate Black Music: A Soul Conversation at the Sawyer Free Library with Schuyler Traughber

~ Sawyer Free Library

On Thursday, June 16 from 5:30 – 7:00pm, the Sawyer Free Library is hosting a presentation by local author and long-time music industry insider Schuyler Traughber on Soul Music’s history in pop culture focusing on a “Study of the Soul Music Environment” by Harvard Business School for CBS/Columbia Records in 1972. “The Harvard Report” has contributed to a powerful era, musically, while controversially contributing to the demise of Stax Records in the mid-1970s and Motown being sold to Boston Ventures/MCA Records in the 1980s, enriching corporate America’s distribution-control of Black Music.

 Schuyler Traughber has worked as a road musician, arranger, producer and label executive for We Produce/Stax Records, CBS Records, Motown Records as well as U.S. Business Rep for King Records/MCA, Tokyo. After fifteen years as a Music Business/Management faculty member at Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Sky currently resides in Gloucester and is co-author of an upcoming book: “POWER 101, The Harvard Report, Soul Music, & The American Dream.”

The event will take place on the Main Floor of the Library, located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. It is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5555. 

Gloucester Marine Railways with Viking Gustafson

~ Sawyer Free Library

On Thursday, June 9 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., learn more about Gloucester Marine Railways at the Sawyer Free Library.

Marine Railways Director Viking Gustafson will give a presentation on the marine railways in Gloucester in the Library’s Friends Room this Thursday evening.  She will then offer a tour of the railways on site in Rockport on Saturday, June 11, at 10:00 a.m.  

Both the presentation and the tour are free and open to the public. The Sawyer Free Library is located at 2 Dale Avenue. For more information visit, SawyerFreeLibrary.com or 978-325-5500.

Book Launch Celebration for ‘Sea Gull and the Sea Captain’ at the Sawyer Free Library and Cape Ann Museum

~ Sawyer Free Library

From New York Times, bestselling author and National Book Award Nominee Sy Montgomery comes the sweet, brightly illustrated true story of a seagull and a sea captain who became friends over the course of four summers. 

To celebrate the release of THE SEAGULL AND THE SEA CAPTAIN, the Sawyer Free Library, Cape Ann Museum, and The Book Store of Gloucester are hosting a celebration on Saturday, June 4, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. The afternoon will feature the book’s author Sy Montgomery, illustrator Amy Schimler-Safford, and special guest Gloucester’s own, Schooner Lannon Captain Heath Ellis, who was the true-life inspiration for the story! 


Heath, the president of Schooner Sails, made headlines in 2019 when he made friends with a seagull who would visit him on his sailboat! Author Sy Montgomery heard this news and was inspired to write a picture book which became THE SEAGULL AND THE SEA CAPTAIN.


This Saturday, June 4, at 1:00 pm, Author Sy Montgomery will do a reading and a book signing at the Sawyer Free Library, located at 2 Dale Avenue. Copies of the book will be available for sale. After the reading, participants are invited to the Cape Ann Museum at 2:00 pm for a ‘The Seagull and the Sea Captain’ -themed kids art activity. It promises to be a fun-filled afternoon for everyone! 

For more information, visit SawyerFreeLibrary.org or call 978-325-5500. 

Book Launch on Saturday, June 4 at Sawyer Free Library

“Ask A Muslim Anything” with Robert Azzi at Sawyer Free Library

~ Sawyer Free Library

On Thursday, June 2 at 6:00pm, join Robert Azzi at the Sawyer Free Library, for a conversation about being a practicing Muslim in small-town New England. The Exeter-based photojournalist, who is an Arab-American Muslim, has put together the program called “Ask a Muslim Anything” that he hopes will help reduce misunderstandings between people of different faiths.  As a part of it, he visits area communities to provide space for open questions about his faith, offering one man’s perspective and experience. Is there a question you’ve always wondered about Islam but never had the opportunity to ask? This is your chance.

Ask a Muslim Anything: Thursday, June 2 from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the Sawyer Free Library located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. The event is free and open to all to attend. For more information, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

Gloucester Genealogy Group – first meeting at Sawyer Free Library this Saturday

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Gloucester Genealogy Group will have its first meeting on Saturday, May 21 from 10 am – 12 pm at the Sawyer Free Library.

Local History Librarian, Julie Travers, will walk you through the very first steps for beginning your genealogy search using online resources available through the library. After a tutorial, you will be able to practice creating a family tree chart of your own. Beginners and experts are welcome to attend, as there will be time for sharing your own research after the tutorial. Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop, however, the library will have several available for use during the workshop.   

The Gloucester Genealogy Club’s monthly meetings will consist of tutorials, how-to’s, and special presentations and events by expert genealogists. Keep an eye out for future meetings. 

This first meeting will take place in the Friends Room of the Sawyer Free Library located at 2 Dale Avenue. For more information visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-978325-5553. 

An Evening of Poetry at the Sawyer Free Library on Thursday, May 19th

~ Sawyer Free Library

Join us for an Evening of Poetry at the Sawyer Free Library on Thursday, May 19 from 6:00 – 7:00pm.

The Sawyer Free Library is partnering with The Bookstore of Gloucester to present a poetry reading with local poets Rebecca Hart Olander and Jennifer Martelli. The poets books will be available.

The event is free and open to the public. It will take place on the Main Floor of the Library located at 2 Dale Avenue. No reservations are needed. For more information visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

at the Sawyer Free Library

Film Screening of “Lives Well Lived” on Thursday, 5/19 at the Sawyer Free Library

~ Sawyer Free Library

In collaboration with the Gloucester Senior Center, Sawyer Free Library is hosting a screening of the award winning documentary “Lives Well Lived” on Thursday, May 19 at 6:00 p.m. This event is part of a series of events being held in celebration of Older Americans Month.

In our society, the elderly are often overlooked. Lives Well Lived celebrates the incredible wit, wisdom, and life experiences of older adults living full and meaningful lives in their later years. Their stories are about perseverance, the human spirit, and staying positive during the great personal and historic challenges.

The stories told in this film will inspire people of every age to achieve the longevity of both health and spirit, and to realize that growing older can be a journey to be celebrated.

Screening to take place in the Friends Room of the Sawyer Free Library located at 2 Dale Avenue. No reservation required. For more information visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.

SFL’s “Books on Tap” with local author Billy Baker at Minglewood this Thursday night!

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library is kicking off a new author series, Books on Tap, a night of books, bites, and brew, with award-winning local writer BILLY BAKER on Thursday, May 12 from 6:00-8:00 pm at Minglewood Harborside in Gloucester.  

This first of many fun and engaging evenings of conversations with local authors, sponsored by the Library, is free and open to the public. Appetizers will be provided for attendees, and drinks and food will be available for purchase.   

Thursday, May 12 from 6-8pm at Minglewood

Boston Globe writer Billy Baker is the author of the hilarious, moving memoir We Need to Hang Out: A Memoir of Making Friends, which the New York Times called: “An entertaining mix of social science, memoir, and humor…” Joining Baker for the event will be his friend Kevin Phoenix, owner of Community Fitness Cape Ann. The two will discuss Billy’s book, what it’s like trying to balance work and family life, and the importance of friendship as we age.  The audience will be encouraged to join in on the spirited conversation.

Billy Baker is a staff writer for The Boston Globe, where he writes narrative features and humorous columns. A native of South Boston, he is a graduate of Boston Latin School, Tulane University, and the Columbia Journalism School. Baker has received the Deborah Howell Award for Writing Excellence from the American Society of News Editors and was a member of the Globe team awarded the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings. Billy resides on Cape Ann in Essex with his family. 

Sawyer Free Library’s first “Books and Tap” will be held in the event room at Minglewood Harborside, located at 25 Rogers Street in Gloucester. Registration not required. For more information visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5553.