Join young Gloucester poet Willa Brosnihan to explore & enjoy poetry this Friday afternoon, August 26th at the Sawyer Free Library.
12:00 to 1:00 p.m. – For children entering grades 3 to 6 and younger. Write & read poems, try out rhyme, personification and haiku. Register here.
1:30 to 3:30 p.m. – For kids entering grades 6 to 12. Poets from various eras and movements will be explored. Writing in response to prompts and investigating the mechanics of poetry will be explored. Register here.
All workshops are free and open to all! If you have questions, contact: crosso@sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.
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.
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.”
Library kicks off summer reading fun with a family friendly concert on June 28at 11AM
The Sawyer Free Library (SFL) will officially be the hottest place to be this summer!
The Sawyer Free Library is excited to announce the launch of its annual “Summer at the Library,” offering free programs for all ages to entertain, spark, and encourage a lifelong love of reading and learning. From innovative reading challenges to ukulele lessons and shark week adventures to book discussions, author talks, and much more, there’s something for everyone. The summer fun kicks off on Tuesday, June 28 at 11:00 am with a family-friendly concert featuring Elijah T. Grasshopper’s Rainbow Dance Party in the Library’s outside amphitheater.
Family Concert at Library on Tuesday, June 28 at 11AM
The theme for this year’s annual summer reading challenge, “Read Beyond the Beaten Path,” encourages readers of all ages to explore new worlds and experiences in books that expand their imaginations. The Library’s innovative incentives and activities encourage kids and teens to stay active and read for fun and help them avoid the black hole that is the summer slide, when critical skills learned during the school year are lost over the summer.
“Learning for kids and teens goes on all year round at Sawyer Free Library, and we know how important free ways to keep learning through the summer are for families,” said Library DirectorJenny Benedict. “Summer is the perfect time for all ages to read, create, engage and have fun discovering new interests and exploring new topics. We hope all children and families make the Sawyer Free Library a regular stop this summer.”
To get started, young people and their families can pick up their “Welcome to Summer Reading Packets” Summer Reading and Activity Log at the Library, which has program information, the event calendar, activities, and fun summer treats. Children can stay on top of their summer reading with their “Read Beyond the Beaten Path” time-tracking reading logs. Then from June 28 to August 6, after reading for 500 minutes (or are read to), they win prizes, including tickets to the Topsfield Fair. People can register in person or online for the program.
Highlights of Summer at the Library programming for children include (with all details sawyerfreelibrary.org):
Learn to play campfire songs on the Ukulele with Julie Stepanek on July 5 and enjoy musical story time with Ruthanne Paulson on Friday, July 22, and August 19.
Move your body with Creative Movement in the Library’s Amphitheater on July 7 and be wowed by Jungle Jim’s Camp balloon magic on Wednesday, August 3.
Children can get an up-close look at exotic and native animals on zoom presented by Wildlife Encounters Ecology Center on Tuesday, July 12, and then learn about the snakes of the world with Rick Roth on Saturday, July 23.
Kids can get their hands dirty on select Thursday mornings with Backyard Growers while learning about gardening and planting in the Children’s Library garden.
And all are invited to a midsummer celebratory outside concert featuring the two bands, “Ants on a Log” and “Bee Parks and the Hornets,” in collaboration with Rockport and Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Libraries, on Saturday, July 30.
SFL has big plans for middle school kids and teens this summer too. Students entering grades 6-12 are encouraged to track their Summer Reading on the custom form available on the Library’s website to qualify for weekly prize drawings and the grand prize drawing of two whale watch tickets, courtesy of Cape Ann Whale Watch. There is also a full summer schedule of weekly programs, including Stem-tastic Thursdays, Science Saturdays, Tween Nights, Gaming Club, Summer Reading Help, and much more.
Due to last year’s success, SFL is once again giving adults the chance to get in on the summer fun with Adult Book Bingo 2022. From now until September 1, 2022, those 18 and older can keep track of the books they read on the Library’s downloadable custom bingo card by writing the title and author in the matching square. Each completed horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line enters you into a raffle to win $25, $50, or $75 Cape Ann Gift Certificates. In addition to the programs the Library always offers adults—technology training, job search help, author talks, etc.—there will also be summer-themed special programs available.
Thanks to the generous support of the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and the Gloucester Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, program participation is free. Registration is now open for all children, teens, and adult programs.
Sawyer Free Library’s summer operating hours beginning on June 18, will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 8am to 6pm, Thursday 10am to 7pm, Friday 10am to 5:00pm and Saturday 10:00am to 1pm and 24/7 at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
For more information about the “Summer at the Sawyer Free Library” and to register for programs, visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
This Saturday, June 25, from 10:00am to 12:00pm drop into the Sawyer Free Library’s Children’s Servicesand make your own mini STEM Sail Boat in celebration of Fiesta Weekend!
No registration required. While Supplies Last. For questions, call 978-325-5505, email mhall@sawyerfreelibrary.org or visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.
Sawyer Free Library is located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester.
