Get in on the summer fun at the Sawyer Free Library with ADULT SUMMER READING 2021: BOOK BINGO!
From now until September 1, 2021, those 18 and older can keep track of the books they read on the Sawyer Free 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.
Sawyer Free Library’s summer operating hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday 12 – 7:00 pm, and Saturday 10:00 am to 1 pm and 24/7 at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
For more information about the “Summer at the Sawyer Free Library,” or to register for programs, visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5501.
Join the Sawyer Free Library this Saturday, June 19 at 11:00 am outside in the Amphitheatre for live performance by musical group “KNOCK ON WOOD“
Knock on Woodis a high-energy, family-friendly acoustic folk-rock duo, featuring singer-songwriter Howie Newman on guitar, lead vocals and harmonica. Howie is joined by Joe Kessler, one of the top fiddlers in the area. They also play mandolin and sing backup vocals. The duo performs Classic Rock covers and funny original songs (suitable for all ages). It’s a very lively show with great musicianship, nice vocal harmonies and a little humor here and there.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Gloucester Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Page2Stage gives participants opportunities to deepen and expand their experience as audience members through pre-show facilitated discussions about each play’s subject and related content, including biographies, novels, and timely periodicals.
The four selected literary works for this season’s Page2Stage series are available now at the Sawyer Free Library located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester.
The program begins on Thursday, June 17 at 5:45 pm, discussing Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by New York Times best-selling author Cheryl Strayed, before Gloucester Stage’s production of Tiny Beautiful Things at 7:30pm.
On Thursday, August 12, the Book Club will discuss Anthony Bourdain’s memoir, Medium Raw, then will enjoy the regional premier of the play, Seared.
To bring the summer series to a close on Thursday, September 9, the group will discuss an article from The Atlantic, “The Case for Reparations”by Ta-Nehesi Coates prior to seeing the New England premiere of Reparations, a poignant new play by James Sheldon where personal revelations lead to laughs, tears, and coming to terms with racial injustice and personal betrayal.
This year with Page2Stage Book Club, discussions will happen before the show at Windhover Performing Art Center located at 257R Granite Street in Rockport.
The book group is free to join with discount theater tickets for registered members. There is no charge to participate in the group, but registration is required. Register for one or more groups at www.sawyerfreelibrary.org. Discounted show tickets of $25 will be available to participants by calling the Gloucester Stage Box Office 978 281-4433.
The SAWYER FREE LIBRARYand WELLSPRING HOUSE are pleased to announce the launch of GLOUCESTER CONNECTION. This innovative multi-lingual website (gloucesterconnection.org) connects the greater community to Gloucester’s vast social services for education, health care, housing, and much more. The new free-to-use web platform is an easy-to-navigate centralized online directory and calendar that consolidates information from local organizations, services, and events for residents, visitors, and service providers, prioritizing accessibility by making it available in over 100 world languages.
Recognizing the need to streamline access to critical local resources, the Sawyer Free Library and Wellspring House, with contributions from Action Inc., Gloucester Housing Authority and Gloucester Public Schools, came together to align their efforts —and created the Gloucester Connection. Social Capital, Inc. was hired to develop the site.
The group identified and enlisted over fifty Cape Ann social service organizations, both public and private, to participate, organizing their information into six categories: Basic Needs, Youth Education and Programs, Adult Education and Job Training, Housing, Transportation, and Health and Wellness. The Gloucester Connection resource partners collectively provide access to a wide variety of direct services from how to register kids for public school, sign up for MassHealth, find information and applications for housing, and information about Cape Ann transportation, where to find English classes, and more.
Through Gloucester Connection, users can directly contact the resource for assistance. Participating organizations can also access similar information and look up individual organizations’ pages to determine their services and update their own offerings, programs, and events. Lastly, the website features a community calendar where all Gloucester Connects’ resource partners can share events, programs, and new initiatives with the public.
“Every day, at the Sawyer Free Library, we aim to improve the lives of people in our community with the power of information. Gloucester Connection is a direct expansion of our core mission,” said LibraryDirector Jenny Benedict. “There is a wide range of social services available throughout Cape Ann, but trying to find what exactly you are looking for can be overwhelming, especially if you are new to Gloucester or English is not your primary language. With Gloucester Connection, we hope to change this with a welcoming platform that easily connects people to the resources and social services they need in a language they understand. From legal services, shelters, school and library services to mental health resources and more listed on the site, each organization acts as a lifeline for those in need on Cape Ann. We are proud to be a part of and sponsor such an important collaboration that directly supports our community.”
“We want community members to have easy access to the resources and services they need, whether they have just arrived or have lifelong family ties in Gloucester,” said Melissa Dimond, President and CEO of Wellspring House. “Gloucester Connection helps people get clear and current information for any number of life circumstances. For example, we see firsthand at Wellspring House the manychallenges immigrants face as they adapt and get acclimated in their new community. Our collective hope is that the Gloucester Connection will help make this transition easier. It is part of what it means to be a welcoming community.”
Cape Ann based non-profit organizations or resource-focused agencies are invited to join Gloucester Connection to help strengthen the resource network for Gloucester residents. Those interested in registering with the platform may contact Sawyer Free Library Community Librarian Julie Travers, jtravers@sawyerfreelibrary.org.
Gloucester Connection is sponsored by Sawyer Free Library with key support from Wellspring House. To access services or to learn more, visit www.GloucesterConnection.org.
How much do you really know about Gloucester? Join the Sawyer Free Library’s Local History Librarian as she hosts a fun competitive evening of GLOUCESTER TRIVIA, this Thursday, March 11 from 6:30-7:30pm and find out!
Register here as a team or by yourself, all are welcomed. Zoom link will be provided. Community teams are encouraged. Winners are entitled to indefinite bragging rights!
In celebration Women’s History Month, the Sawyer Free Library asked several of Gloucester’s cultural, civic, and community women leaders to share books that they love or have inspired them, written by fellow women. The results are a mix of close to 100 titles, including classics, new discoveries, and more. To see the full list of What She’s Reading at SawyerFreeLibrary.org. Recommended books are available at Sawyer Free Library or are easily ordered from libraries in their consortium.
Illustration by Jane Mount
Mark your calendar, the Sawyer Free Library is hosting a virtual screening of the documentary“Left on Pearl”presented by The 888 Women’s History Project on Saturday, March 20 from 2-4pm. This special viewing will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers, Susan Rivo and Iftach Shavit. “Left on Pearl,” tells the inspiring story of the highly significant but little-known event of the 10-day occupation of the Harvard-owned 888 Memorial Drive by grassroots feminist organizers during a 1971 International Women’s Day protest. With contemporary interviews, archival photos, and TV news footage, this lively documentary follows the movement as women vocalized the necessity of equal pay and access to child care, birth control, and many of the hopes, triumphs, conflicts, and tensions of Second Wave feminism. Registration through Library website for this event is required.
For more information about these programs and other Women History Month activities at the Sawyer Free Library visit: SawyerFreeLibrary.org
Get a team together and join the Sawyer Free Library Local History Librarian on Zoom for a fun night of Gloucester Trivia on Thursday, March 11 from 6:30-7:30pm! Sign up at here! Teams can be 1-5 members!
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 Community 