A staple of Davis Square is the Somerville Theatre. The theatre, which is located in the Hobbs Building at 55 Davis Square, dates back to 1914. The theatre was designed to show motion pictures as well as live performances such as plays and vaudeville acts. According to a Somerville Journal article, the newly constructed theatre “has a commodious stage flanked by a double tier of boxes and the seats are leather tufted and very comfortable. There is one balcony and the booth for the picture... Read Post
2020
December 17th 2020
It’s the time of year for The New York Times and other media to publish their lists of the best books of 2020. My list is a little different. I read a lot of books this year, but almost none of them were published in 2020. So here a list of the best books I read in 2020, regardless of publication date.
White Houses: A Novel by Amy Bloom. Lorena Hickock was a successful journalist and chief investigator the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, a Depression-era government agency... Read Post
December 8th 2020
Do you need an activity for your kids, but you want to make it somewhat educational? Look no farther than the West Branch STEAM Take & Makes!
Over the summer, the Somerville Public Library received a grant through CARES Act funding for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) related activities. One of the funded projects was STEAM Take & Makes at the West Branch. Take & Makes are project kits that combine fun, building, art, and open ended questions that allow... Read Post
December 3rd 2020
December is generally a quiet month at the East Branch. The days are getting shorter and temperatures are dropping. But we have programs to share with you throughout the month!
Meghan will continue to offer Wednesday morning story times - join us on Facebook Live each week at 11am.
Our East Branch Book Group will meet Friday December 18th to discuss The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows. Copies of the book are available at the East Branch, and the eBook is available via... Read Post
November 19th 2020
As the days get shorter and the number of COVID cases rises, a lot of us are really tired of staying in our homes and walking the same neighborhood streets. Unfortunately, health experts agree that traveling is a really bad idea right now.
However, libraries offer a way to travel that’s undeniably safer and cheaper than any plane, train or car. You are where are your mind is, so books can take you anywhere. Below are some titles that can take you to far-off locations in the pre-... Read Post
November 5th 2020
StoryWalks® are happening around all the Somerville Public Library locations this month. Laminated pages from children’s books are attached to fences and in windows near each library. Each page guides you to the next part of the story. We encourage you to take a walk with your friends and family and check out these beautiful books.
Windows by Julia Denos will start at the East Branch later this week. Come out to 115 Broadway near sunset and admire the changing light and the warmth... Read Post
November 3rd 2020
Have you ever seen a StoryWalk®? It’s a super fun way to read a book and get some exercise at the same time! Book pages are laminated and installed along a sidewalk, fence, or building. As people walk along the path of the StoryWalk®, they are directed to the next page in the story.
To make our StoryWalks®, your friendly children’s librarians selected some of our favorite books and performed magical arts and crafts to separate the pages and mount them on oversized paper. Then we... Read Post
October 29th 2020
The development and improvement of new weaponry made World War I the bloodiest war of its time. When Washington expressed a need for surgical dressings, those who could help offered up their time, including some Somerville High School students.
During the war, Somerville High formed the Somerville High School Patriotic Association to help with the war effort. Under the leadership of this association, the Surgical Dressings Department was formed. A faculty member by the name of Miss... Read Post
October 15th 2020
Did you know that the Library has a few hundred zines? They range from comic books, to small treatises on birds or movies, to poetry chapbooks, to pamphlets on how to intervene when a stranger is being abusive to another stranger.
Most of these items are hand-made, self-published, and printed in very limited numbers. Since many of them are locally-produced and cover topics of local interest, they offer a wonderful window into the minds of our neighbors. And as a group, they document... Read Post
October 5th 2020
Hello from the West Branch, where we have a thriving Kids Book Club!
Each month, a group of amazing kids meets to discuss books. We loved meeting in person pre-pandemic, and we incorporated physical activity, arts and crafts, and STEAM activities into our meetings. For example, we discussed the “I Survived” books through the concept of Novel Engineering: each child read an “I Survived” book of their choosing, then built something that would have helped the main character in their... Read Post
October 1st 2020
Hello from the East Branch Library!
We are excited to share two big programs in October. Both programs are free and everyone is welcome to participate.
Learn to Baby Sign with Baby Kneads, a 4-week class that teaches parents and caregivers to sign with pre-verbal children ages 5 months and up, starts on Wednesday, October 7th. Contact Meghan to register at mforsell@minlib.net.
Baby Sign class is made possible through a Federal CARES Act grant, administered by the... Read Post
September 24th 2020
We have had some amazing library staff over the years. One of our more famous staff members is librarian Sam Walter Foss.
Sam Walter Foss was born in Candia, New Hampshire in 1858 to Dyer and Polly Foss. Sam spent his childhood helping with his father’s farm and would later attend Portsmouth High School. After graduating, Foss would go on to attend Brown University in 1878 where he was known as the Class Poet. After graduating college in 1882, he began work as a journalist. With the... Read Post
September 17th 2020
It may seem that the news is all bad—COVID-19, hurricanes, forest fires--but by no means should we give up. Climate Preparedness Week is coming September 24-30, and the Massachusetts Library System has partnered with CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather) to host free virtual programs on the intersections of climate resilience and social and racial justice. In keeping with those themes, here are some books and films about the struggle for a better future.
Former Irish... Read Post
September 8th 2020
Hello from the West Branch! We miss you, and can’t wait to see you soon -- either for contactless pickup, Storytime, Kids Book Club, or just by chance in the grocery store or at CVS (yes, West Branch librarians run into library patrons all over the place!).
We feel strongly that libraries are a vital part of our community, and it’s been, well, different to be a librarian without that face-to-face interaction over the last six months. However, we’re doing our very best to offer you... Read Post
September 3rd 2020
September, here we are!
We miss seeing our patrons. Miss Meghan has been putting together some wonderful children's book bundles, some are themed and some are personalized. The feedback has been touching:
“Our daughter has been downstairs reading as soon as we got home, she is SO HAPPY and so am I - thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!! Such thoughtful choices, this is so wonderful!”
“Thank you again!!!!! I, too, missed the library VERY much, our whole family has... Read Post