The Sawyer Free Library is presenting an engaging and informative virtual educational series to help patrons learn ways to support their health and wellness this winter-and all year long.
Thursday, February 11 at 7 pm: Learn about the benefits of Natural Health and Acupressure with GRETA WILLIAMS, Licensed Acupuncuturist. Register for vitural event at SawyerFreeLibrary.org.
Be sure to also mark your calendars for these upcoming classes in the Winter Wellness series:
Monday, February 22 at 7 pm: Gentle Yoga, Stretch and Meditation with Janet Green Garrison, Certified Yoga Instructor (M.Ed., R.Y.T., CADAC)
Monday, March 8at 7 pm: Learn about Hiking Cape Ann with Taylor Ann Bradford
For all programs, register on the Library Calendar at SawyerFreeLibrary.org. The Zoom link will be emailed to you.
The Sawyer Free Library is presenting an engaging and informative virtual educational series to help patrons learn ways to support their health and wellness this winter-and all year long.
The program featuring some of Cape Ann’s best certified natural health care practitioners, offers the community an opportunity to connect virtually while discovering the benefits of yoga, meditation, acupressure, natural heath and energizing local hikes.
Thursday, February 11 at 7 pm: Learn about the benefits of Natural Health and Acupressure with GRETA WILLIAMS, Licensed Acupuncuturist. Register for vitural event at SawyerFreeLibrary.org.
Be sure to also mark your calendars for these upcoming classes in the Winter Wellness series:
Monday, February 22 at 7 pm: Gentle Yoga, Stretch and Meditation with Janet Green Garrison, Certified Yoga Instructor (M.Ed., R.Y.T., CADAC)
Monday, March 8at 7 pm: Learn about Hiking Cape Ann with Taylor Ann Bradford
For all programs, register on the Library Calendar at SawyerFreeLibrary.org. The Zoom link will be emailed to you.
Thanks to the community’s incredible generosity, the Sawyer Free Library not only reached, but greatly exceeded its 2020 year-end fundraising goal!
This year the Library was thrilled to welcome many new contributors and grateful that several returning donors increased their giving. No matter the amount, your support means so much, especially during a year that has been challenging for all.
YOU, the community is at the core of our work. With your help the Sawyer Free Library has met this uncertain moment with certainty, expanding digital services, helping readers of print books to embrace e-books, giving parents resources to support at-home learning, connecting job-seekers with local networking opportunities, bringing world-renowned speakers into homes and so much more.
Thank YOU for making it possible!
Your support of the Sawyer Free Library empowers individuals, strengthens families, and makes our great community a better place to live, for which we are deeply grateful.
This Saturday, January 23 the Sawyer Free Library’s GLOUCESTER LYCEUM will kick off a new monthly virtual series “Exercises for the Quiet Eye”presented by art historian and museum educator, Annie Storr. This interactive, creative program is designed to open the moment when someone can fully see the art in front of them. It aims to suspend attention, to quiet the drive to “figure out” and “move on.”
Storr developed “Exercises for the Quiet Eye” to encourage patient reflection, appreciation, and an attempt to avoid the rush to understand, or determine a set interpretation for what we see. It guides participants to use art to embrace ambiguity, intellectual exploration, and personal reflection.
This special virtual program will take place from 2-4pm on Saturdays: January 23, February 27, March 27, April 24 and May 22
Please be sure to register to join and receive the Zoom link.
Before we turn the page on 2020 (not a second too soon), please consider giving to the Sawyer Free Library Annual Fund!
Your support empowers individuals, strengthens families and makes our community a better place to live.
Sawyer Free Library is more than a place to find books; it is a place to connect, learn and grow, both within the walls of our building and beyond to your home, office or on the go. The Library provides resources for job seekers, support for language learners, early literacy programs for young children and their families, assistance with new technology, and help to navigate the increasingly complex world of online information.
If you haven’t yet please donate today and help ensure that the Library continues to evolve to meet the needs of our community in the new year and beyond.
You can help the library grow by making a tax-deductible donation online today to the
What a year it has been, but through it all, YOU have been there for US! THANK YOU!
The SAWYER FREE LIBRARY is fortunate to have supporters that understand the Library’s value and the service it provides to the community!
Please view this short video from the President of the Library’s Board of Trustees who shares the important role YOU play in helping to make our work at the Sawyer Free Library possible.
Your support of our Annual Appeal allows us to continue to provide the unprecedented services the community expects, no matter the circumstances. With your help, we promise to be here for all our patrons, to continue to adapt and evolve in service to our incredible and resilient community!
Cape Ann Trail Stewards (CATS) is having their annual Dogtown 5-mile Trail Run and it is VIRTUAL. Run the loop on historic trails through Rockport and Gloucester between December 11-13 (Friday – Sunday) from 7AM Friday until 4PM Sunday. Your entry fee covers a 1-year CATS membership, race goodies and a beanie. There will be prizes for the top finishers. Electronic and mail-in registration information can be found under Events at https://www.capeanntrailstewards.org/ . The trail map is posted on the CATS Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/capeanntrailstewards. Profits from the race go to the maintenance and repair of trails on Cape Ann. Grab your shoes and come for a run in Dogtown.
Children’s Librarian Christy Rosso showing the new computer to Gerri Kippen Heather’s Aunt
The Sawyer Free Library (SFL) has unveiled a new state of the art early literacy computer in the Children’s Room purchased by The Friends of the SFL in memory of beloved longtime children’s librarian assistant, Heather Falk, who passed away earlier this year.
For almost three decades, Ms. Falk brought her irresistible enthusiasm and joy to the Gloucester community’s children and families through her work at the Sawyer Free Library. Heather joined the staff of the Library shortly after graduating from Gloucester High School.
The Friends of the Sawyer Free Library, a community of dedicated library users whose fundraising activities support library programming and services, in gratitude and honor of Ms. Falk purchased an AWE early literacy computer for the Children’s Room in her name.
“Heather was a warm, kind, and encouraging person who deeply enjoyed making the lives of people that much larger through her work at the Library, stated Rebecca Aliberte, the President of the Friends of the SFL. “This advanced learning station will help to continue Heather’s legacy by promoting early childhood literacy and prepare Gloucester’s youngest students for success in school and beyond.”
“We are very proud, grateful, and excited to have received the new Awe Learning computer from the Friends of the Library. It is designed for children ages 2-8 and has more than 70 educational software games and activities they will really enjoy. Children can play bilingual games, too,” said Christy Rosso, SFL’s Children’s Librarian. “Heather would be very honored by this gift of the Friends in her name. She was kind and friendly to everyone, touching all of us with her gentle spirit.”
Heather Falk at work in the Sawyer Free Library’s Children’s Room
With the Sawyer Free Library now open for select onsite services, children and their families are welcome to use and enjoy the new Awe Station when visiting the Children’s Room. The Library is open to the public six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 10 am to 5 pm, except for Thursday when it is open from 12 to 7 pm. Visitors are requested to keep their visits to 30 minutes or less. All visitors must wear masks, practice physical distancing, and all public spaces have limited capacities.
For detailed information about the Sawyer Free Library’s services, programs, procedures and policies, and COVID-19 updates, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.
The Sawyer Free Library‘s 2020 Annual Appeal campaign, “Here for You Every Day,” is now underway. Letters with appeal information are in the mail to over 1,500 Gloucester households. The goal is to raise $35,000 during this year-end campaign, which provides the Library much-needed annual support.
“This year has truly underscored the importance of our Sawyer Free Library. Over the last six months, we have seen a 30% increase in applications for new library cards with people learning and socializing with each other safely through the Library,” said Jenny Benedict, the Library Director.
The Sawyer Free Library relies on yearly donations from the community to provide a wide range of new collections and resources, state of the art technology, and innovative programming for all ages. This year especially, public support is critical to the Library. Throughout the pandemic, the Sawyer Free Library continued to play an essential role for the community by quickly pivoting to deliver uninterrupted library services through curbside pick-up and home delivery. The Library also deployed virtual alternatives to programming, boosted online collections for children and adults and provided increased access to them with hotspot and laptop lending devices. to. Just recently the Library reopened its doors to the public for select in-person services six days a week, including a study hall for local students and express public computer stations.
”We hope that the community will consider our annual appeal and join us in supporting the Sawyer Free Library, ensuring that the Library will continue to be here for us today and for generations to come,” added Mern Sibley, President of the Library’s Board of Trustees.
Donations to the Library may be made by check to the Sawyer Free Library, Annual Appeal, P.O. Box 415, Gloucester, MA 01930, or online at www.sawyerfreelibrary.org.
Cape Ann Community 