Gloucester 400

Congressman Moulton Nominates Sawyer Free Library and Cape Ann Museum for Prestigious National Medal of Museum and Library Services

~ Sawyer Free Library

Salem, Mass. – In honor of the Gloucester 400, Congressman Seth Moulton is proud to nominate two Gloucester cultural institutions, the Sawyer Free Library and the Cape Ann Museum, for the prestigious 2024 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. This award, presented annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), is the nation’s highest honor for institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities. 

“As we celebrate the Gloucester 400, I’m thrilled to be able to nominate two of the city’s impactful and inspiring institutions for this national honor. Both the Sawyer Free Library and the Cape Ann Museum inform, educate, engage, and connect our community every day in immeasurable ways. This recognition is very well-deserved,” said Congressman Moulton. 

“Above all, this nomination is a validation of Sawyer Free Library staff, who make a deep impact on our community every day,” said Sawyer Free Library Director Jenny Benedict. “In recent years, our Library has responded to the unprecedented challenges of our time by fostering belonging and leading by example with our holistic approach to sustainability. To be recognized nationally for our achievement through this nomination is an absolute honor.”

 “We are incredibly honored to receive this nomination from Congressman Moulton,” said Cape Ann Museum Director Oliver Barker. “We are proud to be able to contribute and be a part of such a vibrant and special community like Cape Ann.”

Approximately fifteen libraries and fifteen museums will be selected as finalists by IMLS. From these finalists, a minimum of three museums and three libraries will then be selected to receive National Medals. Medal recipients will be announced in Spring 2024. 


More information about the National Medal for Museum and Library Services can be found HERE.

Memoir Talk: Author Talk with Virginia McKinnon on Thursday evening, May 18

~ Sawyer Free Library

As a part of May’s Local Memoir Series, the Sawyer Free Library is pleased to present Virginia McKinnon as she reads from her newly released memoir, A Fisherman’s Daughter: Growing Up Sicilian-American in the Oldest Fishing Port in America. All are invited to this special evening on Thursday, May 18, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester.

At age 93, this first-time author shares short stories of her heritage growing up in Gloucester, spanning her lifetime, including her late husband’s WWII experiences in the Asiatic Pacific. Drawing on her vivid memories from throughout her life as a child when she could hop fishing boat to fishing boat during St. Peter’s Fiesta in Gloucester Harbor to the joyful celebrations of marriage and family life, to her community and public life work as a social worker, eucharistic minister, lector, and writer, Virginia’s book documents a cultural history of a way of life in Gloucester and America.

The event is free and open to the public at Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street, Gloucester. For more information and to register, visit, sawyerfreelibrary.org.