Exciting News! Sawyer Free Library to Begin Curbside Pick up and Home Delivery Service on June 8th

Image ~ ~ Sawyer Free Library

The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Public Library is pleased to announce its phased reopening plan will begin on Monday, June 8. The plan, approved by the Library director and board, lays out phases that move the library toward a return to a “new normal” for its operations.

Sawyer Free Library, which strives to provide a welcoming, enriching, and above all, safe environment for their patrons was closed in early March to the public as a precaution against COVID-19. Now, as conditions allow them to reopen, it is their goal to provide library services in the least restrictive manner possible while preserving library patrons and staff’s health and safety. 

“While we have and will continue to provide a lot of great services and programming online and through digital delivery, everyone at the Sawyer Free Library is anxious to get back to the business of serving our community in person,” said Assistant Library Director Beth Pocock. “However, the health and safety of our patrons and staff remain our top priority. Because of this, we are taking a phased approach to resume services, starting with contactless curbside pickup and home delivery, which I am happy to announce will begin on Monday, June 8.” 

SFL has put together the following steps for using the Curbside Pickup and Home Delivery services:  

  1. Patrons can reserve items online at http://www.sawyerfreelibrary.org or by calling the library at 978-325-5500. Beginning on June 8, you will receive a notification once the items become available. 
  2. Patrons will have seven days to pick up the item(s) during curbside hours 1:00-5:00 pm, Monday – Saturday.  Please call the library in the morning on the day you will be picking up your materials. Be sure to have your library card at this time. 
  3. Arrive at SFL’s parking lot between 1:00 and 5:00pm that afternoon. Remain in your vehicle, and SFL staff will approach your window from a safe distance to ask for your name. Open your trunk or a back door where they will deliver your next read to you in a secure paper bag. 

If you would rather have your reserved items delivered to your home, starting on June 8, you may call the library to arrange a contactless home delivery by library staff.  Both these services are only available for physical library cardholders, not digital library cardholders. Those that would like a physical card can now register for one online and the library will mail it to you.  Vist the libary website for more details about this service 

In addition to books, SFL is also making technology available as a part of its curbside pickup service. Patrons can schedule an appointment to borrow one of the library’s new full-sized Chromebooks or a Hotspot. These can only be checked out once per day and must be returned the same day. Patrons can schedule an appointment by calling the library, emailing info@sawyerfreelibrary.org, or using the Ask a Librarian instant messaging service on the library’s website. 

For those not sure what to read and during this time when browsing at SFL is not possible, the library staff is happy to recommend titles that fit your reading tastes. They have developed a Personalized Reading Recommendations form that patrons can fill out, submit online, or call into the library. From this, the staff will then recommend five titles to you within two business days. SFL Library staff is also available to identify print and electronic sources for those with specific information needs by using the Ask a Librarian service online or by calling the library.  

Those looking to return books, videos, or other library items they have at home can now do so as the library’s return bins are open. Customers can return items at the drive-up/walk-up drop boxes, which have 24-hour access without the worry of late fees as SFL is fine-free. It may take up to four days for returned items to disappear from library accounts, as materials will be in quarantine for this time before they are checked in by staff.

Before June 8, all SFL staff members returning to work to provide curbside and home delivery services, or to process returned materials and holds, will be trained on COVID-19 safety protocols and be issued PPE to support a safe environment.

Phase Two of the plan includes limited public access to the library, and Phase Three would restore full access. No dates have determined, and transitioning to these phases will depend on guidelines and restrictions from state and local officials. 

For detailed information about the Sawyer Free Library curbside and home delivery procedures and policies, and COVID-19 updates, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Self-Care in Uncertain Times

~ Sawyer Free Library

Join the Sawyer Free Library for their weekly series of programs for easy self-care for these uncertain times. Led by some of Cape Ann’s best natural health care practitioners, learn simple ways to help ease stress, tips for better sleep, and better nutrition. These programs offer a free and engaging opportunity to come together, learn and have fun while doing it.

This Thursday, June 4 at 7pm MEGAN WOLFFE: Easy Yoga & Essential Oils Half hour presentation, followed by Q&A with the practitioner

Please register at sawyerfreelibrary.org on SFL’s Event Calendar

Then mark your calendar, Thursday, June 11 at 7pm for the final program with Greta Williams: Acupressure & Chinese Medicine

Black Earth Deal for Manchester Residents

~ Dot Sieradzki

Great Deal for Manchester Residents

Dot Sieradzki's avatarSeaside Garden Club

June is Manchester Appreciation Month
Hello all, our goal at Black Earth Compost is to get people gardening and growing food at home and in the community.  The high quality compost is free to Manchester residents at the town compost site, all you can shovel.  Now we want to offer our home town our high quality Raised Bed Kits delivered to your driveway for $280 Only for Manchester residents in June; Normally $395 to everyone else.
        We will deliver the 4 walls, screws, soil and assembly instructions to your driveway.  Soil is bought in from central MA, tested for heavy metals, nutrients, etc and is made for growing food or flowers.  Beds are 4 x 8ft and 22 inches tall for less bending, assemble in 10 minutes and the lumber is bought from the Building Center. The $280 is our cost to blend, build and deliver.  This is meant to be a giveback…

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The Cape Ann Farmers Market is BACK!

~ modpodge16

CAFM Chicken Tractor Vector

The Cape Ann Farmers Market is happy to announce a Drive Thru/Pre-Order Cape Ann Farmers Market at Gloucester’s O’Maley Middle School starting Thursday June 4! 

Thank you to the CAFM community for your patience as we have been working hard to put together a plan to keep you, our patrons, and our vendors safe in this time of uncertainty. Cape Ann Farmers Market will look different this season, but we are, as always grateful for the opportunity to contribute to food access and security in our community.

For the 2020 summer season, the Cape Ann Farmers Market will be:

Thursdays 3:00-6:30
at the O’Maley Innovation Middle School
32 Cherry Street Gloucester

*Drive-thru and pre-order ONLY*

Summer is nearly here, and along with it comes the first delicious greens, radishes, and green garlic from our local farms. The harvest is coming in as it always does, and the Cape Ann Farmers Market is working to make sure that you can access it safely in these uncertain times. Preorder NOW to get your veggies, fruit, and baked goods for Thursday – or for the season if you become a shareholder at one of our farms. New Entry Sustainable Farming Project and Farmer Dave’s  still have vegetable and fruit CSA shares available that you can pick up right at the Cape Ann Farmers Market. You can even use your SNAP/HIP benefits to sign up!

For this Thursday, you can preorder from one of the links below (more to come in future weeks), or come pick up your CSA share if you’re already a member:

Farmer Dave’s – Get your order in by 12:00 pm Wednesday before our Thursday market, and pick up your veggies, baked goods, flowers, and more!

Marshview Farm  – Get a spring veggie sampler, eggs, lettuce, or bok choy! Get your order in ASAP!

A&J King – preorder all of your favorite bread, cookies, pastries, granola, and other sweet things on TUESDAY so that you can pick up your delicious treats on Thursday.

Kim Gregory Pure Pastry – delicious options across the board for gluten lovers and gluten free alike!

If you preorder from one of our vendors -or you are a current shareholder of one of our farms – we can’t wait to see you on Thursday!

Please visit our website at capeannfarmersmarket.org and review our guidelines for joining us at the market to help us keep our community, our farmers, our bakers, and each other safe! 

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**PLEASE NOTE: We too will be missing our home at Stage Fort Park and our friendly, social, open air market, but due to the current circumstances CAFM will be a drive-thru/pickup ONLY market held at O’Maley Innovation Middle School (32 Cherry Street, Gloucester). **

The Sawyer Free Library welcomes new Board President and Trustees

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library (SFL) is pleased to announce that Marion (“Mern“) Sibley has been elected President of the Library Board of Directors. She succeeds John T. Brennan, who has been Board President for the past three years and will be leaving to become the President of the Sawyer Library Foundation. Mern Sibley joined the Sawyer Free Library Board of Trustees in 2017 and recently served as its Vice President. She formed and Chaired the Saunders House Stewardship Committee (SHSC), which is committed to ensuring that the venerable Saunders House, built in 1764, is restored, preserved, and fully accessible to the public to enjoy as an essential part of the Library. Sibley said, “I am excited to get started in my new role. I am fortunate to have much good groundwork laid by the collaboration between John Brennan, our hardworking past President, and our energetic, imaginative Library Board. These will be challenging and critical years for the Sawyer Free Library and our city.” She added, “Our Library is a key partner in sustaining the educational, economic and civic health of our community in a time of dramatic change and uncertainty. In Gloucester, we have something great in the Sawyer Free Library, and our Board and our Library staff want to make it even better.”

After being away for twenty-eight years, Ms. Sibley, a Gloucester native, proved you can go home again and returned to her old East Gloucester neighborhood in 2002. She credits her early experiences growing up in this fishing town for giving her a love of nature and its complexities, leading Sibley to embark on a career in biology. After a long career in research and process development at New England Biolabs in Ipswich, MA, she retired in the fall of 2016. Finding herself with more time to get involved in her community, Ms. Sibley was drawn to the work ongoing to maintain and improve the Sawyer Free Library. “For me, the Library has always been a place to study, to find resources, to meet people, and sometimes, to just sit and daydream. It is a haven for people of all ages and from all walks of life – providing free programs and resources that improve lives across our great city and beyond,” said Sibley.  “And I believe, now more than ever, with schools closed, programs cancelled and everything seemingly on hold, SFL and its committed librarians continue to demonstrate creativity, resourcefulness, and the essential role the library plays to so many during this time of unprecedented community need.”

Joining Sibley as a part of the leadership team of Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library Board of Trustees will be the newly elected Vice President Fran Aliberte.  Anne-Marie Anderson will serve as Secretary, with Joe Grella remaining as the Treasurer, and Budget, Finance, and Investment Chair.  Also, Melanie Murray-Brown and Neil Glickstein were elected as the newest members of the Library’s Board of Trustees. 

Melanie Murray-Brown, who has been a volunteer on the Library’s Corporate Communications Committee for many years, is the Director of Development of Backyard Growers. The longtime Gloucester resident brings to the Board over 20 years of experience working with mission-driven nonprofit, community, and government organizations.

Neil Glickstein is a retired science teacher who moved to Gloucester in 1979, where he and his wife, who is also an educator, raised their two sons. Upon moving to Cape Ann, he first directed an aquaculture training program in Gloucester Harbor. He then began his long and fulfilling teaching career at several secondary schools, colleges, and schooner training programs, including Governor’s Academy, Waring School, Endicott College, and, most recently, GMGI’s Gloucester Biotechnology Academy.

SFL board members have a variety of experience and backgrounds, including finance, business management, research, writing, legal, and marketing. SFL board members volunteer their time and talents and have three-year staggered terms.

GENERATIONS OF GHS GRADS

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library wants to celebrate the graduating seniors of Gloucester High School! Gloucester is a multi-generational community and we are asking for families to submit their senior photos from the first graduate of Gloucester High School in their family to the one graduating this year! Let us celebrate our new graduates while remembering our past! Submit your pictures to jlinsky@sawyerfreelibrary.org before May 31. In June the library will put together a series of social media posts to celebrate the many graduates! #localhistory #gloucestertogether #SFLlocalhistory”

For more information about Generations of GHD Grads or the Sawyer Free Library visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.

A blog from Backyard Growers: what you should be doing in the garden right now

~ backyardgrowersgloucester

Simpsons

🥕 Check out the latest blog post from Backyard Growers‘ founder & executive director Lara Lepionka, where she’s sharing guidance on what you should be doing in your veggie garden NOW, and the three attributes of a successful vegetable gardener during the pandemic growing season 🌿🍅🦋  Happy growing!

Here’s an excerpt:

“Don’t forget to mulch around your veggies to keep the weeds down and the soil moist. Thin your carrots. Those tomato seedlings look small now, but they will soon take over so stake or cage them now. Eat your spinach before the leaf miners wreak havoc or before it bolts in the heat. There’s nothing sadder than a bolting spinach. Nothing.

As we move forward into the heart of the growing season and into the great ridiculous unknown, I would like to share with you what I think are the top three attributes of a successful vegetable gardener during the pandemic growing season.”

Click here to read on.

Gloucester Biotechnology Academy Accepting Applications for Next Class!

~ Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute

Gloucester Biotechnology Academy’s Class of 2021 is set to begin in the fall, and applications are still being accepted! This affordable, 9-month program is an incredible opportunity to gain the skills needed to start a new career in biotech.

Please visit our website at gmgi.org/apply or reach out to Education Director John Doyle at john.doyle@gmgi.org for more information – we are happy to answer any questions you have!

Academy Marketing PDF

Cape Ann Museum launches “Virtual Vault” lecture series and more stay-at-home activities during temporary closure

~ laurenren

Cape Ann Museum Logo

Virtual programming from the Museum’s exhibition lectures, educational programs, and archives offers at-home opportunities during closing for COVID-19

Cape Ann Museum Video Vault

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (May 20, 2020) – Although the Cape Ann Museum is closed temporarily during the pandemic to protect staff and visitors, there are many rich opportunities to experience the Museum virtually with a new initiative called CAM Video Vault, which features 60 lectures, programs, and archival material dating back to 1992.

The wide range of offerings include exhibition and program lectures by curators, artists, community leaders, educators, and others. Featuring discussions about past museum exhibitions, well-known artists with Cape Ann roots, natural environments and habitats around Cape Ann, as well as the region’s maritime history all 60 programs are accessible via the Museum’s website.

To help at-home educators and parents looking for a variety of online resources for their children, the Museum is also adding educational content from its robust programs, using art and the region’s history as the basis for art-making activities, reading adventures, and virtual tours and experiences. From the Museum archives and library, there is also now online content called “Stories from the Stacks.”

For more information about the exhibition and related programming, please visit the Museum’s website www.capeannmuseum.org.

The Cape Ann Museum has been in existence since the 1870s, working to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. In June 2021, the Museum will open a new 12,000-square-foot collection storage and public exhibition space in Gloucester as part of its Cape Ann Museum Green campus. The campus includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), and the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740) which are located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.  Visit capeannmuseum.org for details.

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. While temporarily closed due the COVID-19 pandemic, regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month.  For more information please call: (978)283-0455 x10. Additional information can be found online at www.capeannmuseum.org.

For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press.