Thanks to the Gloucester community’s incredible generosity, the Sawyer Free Libraryis excited to announce that it not only reached, but greatly exceeded, its 2021 Annual Appeal fundraising goal!
This year the Library was thrilled to welcome many new contributors and thankful for all returning donors. No matter the amount, your support means so much!
Your support of the Sawyer Free Library empowers individuals, strengthens families, and makes our greater Gloucester community a better place to live, for which we are deeply grateful! THANK YOU!
“Libraries are not made, they grow.” – Augustine Birrell
The Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Library Inc. serves the informational and cultural needs of Gloucester’s residents of all ages as it has for over 175 years. Today, its purpose remains to provide equal access to quality resources that serve all people’s lifelong cultural, educational, and informational needs and interests. Its guiding mission is to be a place of learning, innovation, and creativity to nurture and strengthen the community. Each year, the Library hosts hundreds of programs and serves thousands of people, all of which are free and open to the public.
The Sawyer Free Librarywill host award-winning author and journalist Ted Reinstein this Saturday, January 8, from 2:00-4:00 pm. He will speak about his latest book, Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier, on the Main Floor of the Library located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester, MA.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Copies of the book Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier will be available. Face masks are mandatory for those attending.
Saturday, January 8, 2-4pm at the Sawyer Free Library
In April of 1945, exactly two years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball, liberal Boston City Councilman Izzy Muchnick persuaded the Red Sox to try out three black players in return for a favorable vote to allow the team to play on Sundays. The Red Sox got the councilman’s much-needed vote, but the tryout was a sham; the three players would get no closer to the major leagues. It was a lost battle in a war that was ultimately won by Robinson in 1947. This book tells the story of the little-known heroes who fought segregation in baseball, from communist newspaper reporters to the Pullman car porters who saw to it that black newspapers espousing integration in professional sports reached the homes of blacks throughout the country. It also reminds us that the first black player in professional baseball was not Jackie Robinson but Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884, and that for a time integrated teams were not that unusual. And then, as segregation throughout the country hardened, the exclusion of blacks in baseball quietly became the norm, and the battle for integration began anew.
Ted Reinstein is an award-winning, longtime reporter for Boston’s celebrated nightly-newsmagazine, “Chronicle.” He is the author of three previous books, including New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories (Globe Pequot Press), selected by National Geographic Traveler in 2014 as a “Best Pick.”
For more information about the event or other Sawyer Free Library offerings, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
As the page turns on 2021, the Sawyer Free Library has compiled a list of some of the most popular books checked out this year by adults, teens, and children. Of the thousands of print, digital, and audiobooks that patrons borrowed, these were Gloucester’s favorites in 2021.
Fiction:
Gloucester seemingly read “around the world” when it came to their top Fiction books of 2021.
The top book checked out by patrons was The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, a historical fiction set in The Dust Bowl, the drought-stricken Southern Plains region, during the Great Depression.
Next, the list crosses the ocean to an isolated island in West Ireland with the contemporary murder mystery novel The Guest List by Lucy Foley.
Returning to the United States, the powerful novel, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, focuses on two twin sisters and issues of racial identity and bigotry in the segregated south.
With the backdrop of the City of Lights, bestselling author Louise Penny tells the story of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec investigating a sinister plot in Quebec in her latest book, All the Devils Are Here.
Isabel Allende’s novel, A Long Petal of the Sea, follows two of the thousands of Spaniards who emigrated to Chile after Franco and the Nationalists won the Spanish Civil War.
Klara and the Sun, written by Japanese-born British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro is a beautiful science fiction romance set far away in a dystopian future.
Non-Fiction:
Of Gloucester’s 25 most-read titles, only two are non-fiction, revealing Gloucester’s preference for a good story. But there were still many on the Top 100 list.
The most popular non-fiction title of 2021 was Caste: The Origins of our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson. Ten years after her acclaimed non-fiction book The Warmth of Other Suns, Wilkerson spoke to the struggles of 2021 in “Caste,” dissecting the not-so-subtle American caste system and the social stratification among race and class in the U.S.
A Women of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy who Helped win WWIIby Sonia Purnell. This compelling and well-researched biography of Virginia Goillot reveals her pivotal role in coordinating the Resistance in Europe.
Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing by Olga Mecking. Based on the premise that the Dutch are the happiest people globally, this wellness guide shares how to embrace idleness and explains how doing nothing can make us happier, more productive, and more creative.
The final standout on the non-fiction list is Swimming to the Top of the Tide. Written by local author Patricia Hanlon, it chronicles four seasons of her daily immersion in New England’s Great Marsh.
Adults weren’t the only ones looking to learn and have a little literary fun this year. Children and young adults alike were browsing the Library’s shelves, in person and online, and to follow were some of their best-loved reads.
Young Adult:
The Young Adult titles with the highest circulations were those on the school reading lists. These engaging books written for readers ages 12-18, include:
The Boy who Harnessed the Windby William Kamkwamba, Angela Duckworth’s Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance and March: Book One, the first volume in a graphic novel trilogy about and by civil and human rights leader, John Lewis with Andrew Aydin. How-to books and self-help books were also popular with the Library’s younger patrons, as was Amanda Gorman’s book of poetry, The Hill We Climb.
Children:
Five of the top fifteen books for children of reading age were by Jeff Kinney and are titles in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series which encourages even reluctant readers to laugh at the antics of the irresistible main character Greg. Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series fills two slots on the most popular list. Both titles of Zeeta Elliot’s magical series appeared: The Dragon Thief and Dragons in a Bag. The dragon theme continues on the island of Arcos in the popular Legends of the Skybooks series by Liz Flanagan.
For those interested, complete lists of the Sawyer Free Library’s Most Borrowed Books in 2021, including Adult Mysteries, Graphic Novels, and Teen and Children’s Nonfiction titles, can be found at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
Anyone who resides or attends school in Gloucester can obtain a Library card for free by applying in person, online, or by mail. For more information, visit sawyerfreelibrary.orgor call 978-325-5500.
TheSawyer Free Librarywill host award-winning author and journalist Ted Reinsteinon Saturday, January 8, from 2:00-4:00 pm. He will speak about his book, Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier, on the Main Floor of the Library located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester, MA.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Copies of the book Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier will be available. Face masks are mandatory for those attending.
In Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier, Ted Reinstein tells the story of the little-known heroes who fought segregation in baseball. From communist newspaper reporters to the Pullman car porters who saw that black newspapers espousing integration in professional sports reached the homes of blacks throughout the country. It also reminds us that the first black player in professional baseball was not Jackie Robinson but Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884 and that for a time-integrated teams were not that unusual. And then, as segregation throughout the country hardened, the exclusion of blacks in baseball quietly became the norm, and the battle for integration began anew.
Before Brooklyn by Ted Reinstein
Reinstein is an award-winning, longtime reporter for Boston’s celebrated nightly-newsmagazine, “Chronicle.” He is the author of three previous books, including New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories (Globe Pequot Press), selected by National Geographic Traveler in 2014 as a “Best Pick.” Ted is a native of Winthrop, Massachusetts.
For more information about the event or other Sawyer Free Library offerings, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute had a pivotal year in 2021 and to make 2022 even better, we need your help.
Supporting GMGI means:
Allowing us to continue redirecting the lives of the career-compromised though hands-on learning, mentorship and professional development at our Gloucester Biotechnology Academy.
The Sawyer Free Libraryis pleased to welcome Marisa Hall as its newest Children’s Librarian.
“I am beyond pleased to welcome Marisa Hall, with her innovative thinking, boundless enthusiasm, and love of working with children, to our dedicated and talented staff at the Sawyer Free Library,” stated Jenny Benedict, the Library Director. “Marisa is so approachable and friendly. I know that our young patrons and their families will welcome her warmly.”
Marisa brings her extensive experience of creating and implementing programs and community outreach events designed to catch the attention and meet the needs of the library’s younger patrons to her new position at the Sawyer Free Library. With expertise in STEM/STEAM concepts and practices, she will also be developing new innovative programs for children and teens of all ages.
“I’ve been so inspired by the Sawyer Free Library community and my warm welcome to Gloucester that I can’t wait to jump in and start working with the library’s young patrons,” said Marisa Hall on her new role. “I’m looking forward to getting to know even more of the community through my Saturday story-times and STEM programming in the new year.”
Marisa comes to Gloucester from New York, where she most recently served as the Senior Children’s Librarian New York Public Library’s Riverside branch for over four years. She has been recognized with numerous professional awards and certifications for her work in library services and received her M.L.I.S. with a concentration in School Media and Youth Services from Rutgers University and a Bachelor’s of Arts from the University of Delaware.
So many were touched by the beautiful piece Bo Abrams wrote last week in memory of Gloucester’s beloved Jim Dowd and his brother, Johnny. In it, she shares what a difference mentors and caring adults made in Jim’s life, and how painful it was for him that they were missing from Johnny’s:
Jim talked a lot about all the people who mentored him along the way from the time he was about 12. It wasn’t any one person. But it was one person at time, one interest at a time, one program at a time, that helped him survive to get to the next thing. Someone to give a nudge to stick with it when something was hard. Someone to suggest a book or a program. Someone to talk about colleges or vocations or hopes and dreams.
Johnny never had that. Jim hated that.
Bo goes on the explain that here in Gloucester, the Gloucester Education Foundation is a key resource that helps hook kids into their passions and interests, and connect them to the supports they need:
Which leads me to Gloucester Education Foundation. They are the reason there is a band program and a hundred other programs that make sure practically every kid has something they can connect to in school. And they’re adding more. GEF is starting a mentor program at the high school in conjunction with Wellspring. And they just helped GHS get a grant to bring in an administrator in the vocational program. They are also beginning a student advisory group so students can have a say in GEF leadership which offers a stipend, because you can’t do internships for free if you have to make money.
In the five days since Bo shared this post and created a fundraiser for the new Jim Dowd Fund at GEF, Jim’s family and friends have raised over $15,000 to support mentoring and student leadership opportunities for Gloucester students. This is a testament to how loved Jim and Johnny were, how beautifully (and honestly) Bo wrote about them, and the insightful way she connected their divergent paths to the work GEF has done – and can do more of – to support students.
We’re looking to grow this fund even more, so that we can help the Gloucester schools provide new opportunities to excite and engage our kids, to connect them with a caring adult or help them discover their voice. Consider a contribution to GEF in memory of Jim and Johnny, and in support of Gloucester students like both of them.
Jason Andree is the newest member of The Open Door Board of Directors. (Photo Courtesy of The Open Door)
GLOUCESTER – The Open Door Board of Directors welcomes a new member this winter with significant leadership and management experience in the healthcare sector.
Addison Gilbert Hospital Vice President Jason Andree, of Peabody, attended his first meeting as a member of the Board of Directors on Nov. 16. Andree has served as Vice President at Addison Gilbert since April, and is the Accreditation, Regulatory Compliance and Patient Safety Manager of the Northeast Hospital Corporation – Beth Israel Lahey Health, a role he has held since 2014. His experience includes clinical pharmacy internships, a post-doctoral fellowship, and various leadership positions. He has advanced training and experience in medication safety, patient safety, risk management quality improvement, and Lean methods.
Andree says he was attracted to the Board position because of the common goals of the hospital and The Open Door.
“There is a clear connection between healthcare and feeding people,” Andree said. “Looking at the services The Open Door has offered over the last several years, there’s a natural alignment with some of the services we offer at Addison Gilbert Hospital and Beth Israel Lahey Health. Serving on the Board I can be that connection between the hospital, The Open Door, and the community.”
“Jason brings a combination of experience in healthcare and a strong background in risk management to the organization at a critical time,” President and CEO Julie LaFontaine said. “The Open Door alleviates the impact of hunger at the intersection of community and healthcare by providing nutritional support and good food for better health outcomes. We welcome his insight as we navigate safely and strategically to address food security as a social determinate of health through our connections, capacity, culture, and communications.”
Andree is additionally an adjunct professor of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School of Healthcare Business. He holds a doctorate degree in Pharmacy from Northeastern University.
He is also the Board Chair of the Fundraising Committee for Families for Depression Awareness, a Waltham based nonprofit, and is a member of both the American College of Health Care Executives and the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Medical Errors.
About The Open Door
The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger in our community. We use practical strategies to connect people to good food, to advocate on behalf of those in need, and to engage others in the work of building food security.
Founded in 1978, The Open Door is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit and community food resource center for low-income residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Boxford, Rowley, Topsfield, and Wenham. In 2020, The Open Door helped stabilize the lives and health of 9,681 unduplicated people from 4,703 households through the distribution of 2.46 million pounds of food, amounting to 2.05 million meals.
Requests for food assistance during this pandemic year were up 27 percent.
As a part of the Middle Street Walk festivities, this Saturday, December 11th, professional Conservator, Lisa Mehlin, will be leading 15-minute tours of the Saunders House’s historic WPA Murals that are currently being restored at the Sawyer Free Library. She will speak to both their history and the conservation process.
The grand murals located in the Saunders House, completed in 1934 by Fredrick L. Stoddard and Howard Curtis as a part of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration, are currently being restored by the Sawyer Free Library. Titled “Scenes of the Region,” the murals depict maritime culture against a backdrop of the agrarian life that supported the early settlement of Gloucester, capturing the activity of the busy working harbor with views of the distant rocky shoreline, the city, Rocky Neck, Ten Pound Island and also a simplified representation of Dogtown Common and old “Whale’s Jaw.”
Learn more about the murals from conservator Lisa Mehlin. Fifteen-minute tours will be available from 10:00-12:00 pm. Registration for a time slot is required at sawyefreelibrary.org.
Interested in learning more about Ocean Alliance, the SnotBot, their innovative whale research and ocean conservation efforts? Don’t miss Dr. Iain Kerr, Ocean Alliance CEO, as he joins the GMGI Science Hour onThursday, December 9th at 7:30pm. Dr. Kerr’s talk is free and available to anyone who is interested. You can click here to register.
Be sure to sign up for our mailing list or reach out to Ashley Destino at ashley.destino@gmgi.org to stay up to date on future Science Hour talks. The new season begins on January 20th!
Cape Ann Community 