Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/watertown-library/page/37/)
Come down to the Watertown Free Public Library to check out the solar eclipse. The eclipse will take place on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21. The library will have activities for the rare event from 1:30-3 p.m. While is some places in the United States it will be a full eclipse, in New England we will get a partial eclipse. The library will have activities on the front lawn of the library, located at 123 Main St., Watertown.
On Thursday, July 27 Hatch will close its doors at the Arsenal Yards for the last time and prepare to make a move to its new home at The Residence at Watertown Square on 20 Summer St., Watertown Free Public Library officials announced. Located in the Arsenal Yards, Hatch has operated out of a retail space leased to them free of charge for the past three years. Of the time there, Assistant Library Director Caitlin Browne said, “We have been so grateful for the generosity Wilder Properties has extended to us. The fact that we have been able to run Hatch with almost no overhead means that the majority of our resources are going right to the community and we’ve kept Hatch a free space to users with few exceptions. We can’t thank the staff of the Arsenal Yards enough for all of the help they’ve given us over the past three years, especially General Manager Allyson Reed and Facilities Manager Ruben Olivo.”
Similar to the arrangement with the Arsenal Yards, the Residence at Watertown Square will also offer Hatch a retail space rent free.
In celebration of Henry David Thoreau’s 200th birthday, the Watertown Free Public Library will host a free event on Thursday, July 20 from 1-3 p.m. where people can “meet” the man known for his love of nature, opposition to slavery and poetry.
The library sent out the following information:
Henry David Thoreau is a great American essayist, philosopher, naturalist, abolitionist, tax resister, poet, and historian. His 2-year experiment in living simply yielded the ever-popular ‘Walden,’ and his brilliant and powerful essay ‘Civil Disobedience’ is as relevant today as when he penned it in 1849 (after spending a night in jail for failure to pay the state poll tax). Mr. Thoreau will visit the library to discuss his life, work, and views on the role of man, nature, and governments. He will honor us with a reading of portions of ‘Civil Disobedience.’ We understand he enjoys cake, too, so we’ll provide one. Please stop by to help celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thoreau!
The Watertown Free Public Library will be closed on July 4, but there are plenty of activities the rest of the month. The Library sent out the following information:
SUMMER READING
Summer Reading is for all ages! This week, the Children’s Room kicked off our Summer Reading program with a fun and interactive performance by the Yo-Yo People! We have a ton of fantastic programs and performances for children this summer. Teens can challenge themselves this summer by tracking their reading, leveling up to win prizes along the way.
The Watertown Free Public Library’s newest online resource, Lynda.com, is a website with more than 5,000 self-paced courses on a wide variety of topics: web design and development, leadership and business skills, Microsoft Office and other software programs, online marketing, 3D modeling, animation, video production, and much more. Lynda.com offers something for everyone: job seekers, small business owners, musicians and photographers, teachers and students, HATCH enthusiasts, and users of everyday technology. Learners can dive into comprehensive courses or pick and choose individual videos to meet their immediate needs. For career guidance, Lynda offers Learning Paths: sequences of courses such as “Become a Project Manager,” “Improve Your Microsoft Excel Skills,” or “Become a Front-End Web Developer.”
“Individual subscriptions to Lynda.com start at $19.99 a month,” notes Library Director Leone Cole. “But with the library’s shared subscription, Watertown residents need only a library card and PIN to leverage this powerful resource in pursuit of their personal, educational, or professional goals.”
Starting June 1, residents can access Lynda.com from any computer or mobile device, via a link on the library’s website.
Watertown’s HATCH Makerspace has a temporary home when it loses its space in the Arsenal Mall, but library officials still need to find a permanent home.
Leone Cole, director of the Watertown Free Public Library, said officials are close to finalizing an agreement with The Residence at Watertown Square to move the makerspace into a vacant commercial space on the ground floor of the assisted living building at Spring and Summer streets. That combined with the hiring of a full-time coordinator for HATCH will expand the offerings of the makerspace. “We will be able to have more hours and better classes,” Cole said. The space in The Residence is 1,200 square feet, but it will need to be completely outfitted inside, including a handicap bathroom and enough electrical service for all the equipment at HATCH. Assistant Town Manager Steve said that The Residence has agreed to split the cost of the renovations for the HATCH space.
The Watertown Free Public Library is always filled with activities, and here are a few of the offerings in May. Some events require registration, so be sure to check with the Library if there is space available by calling 617-972-6436 or going to wfpl.eventbrite.com
Learn to Brew! Saturday 5/6 | 3-4:30 p.m.
Learn how to make your own beer and participate in National Homebrew Day! Randy Baril, author of Hosting Cask Ale Events, will go over necessary ingredients as well as provide a step-by-step walk-through of brewing your own beer. *Registration is required at the Reference Desk, 617.972.6436 or wfpl.eventbrite.com
The Birds and Bees: How We Love Them, Why We Need Them
Wednesday 5/3 | 7 p.m.
Come join us for a colorful and informative multimedia presentation illustrating the beauty and wonder of our winged creatures, their interdependence with other living things, and how we can help to protect them from population decline.
Project Literacy, the Watertown group that offers free help to adults seeking to learn to read, write or speak English, will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 30. Executive Director Philippa Biggers said that the celebration will take place on Sunday, April 30 from 1:30-4 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St., Watertown
Project Literacy provides free classes taught by professional ESOL teachers, as well as, one-on-one and small group tutoring by trained volunteers, and conversation circles led by native English speakers. To become a student, make an appointment to register. Contact Philippa Biggers at pbiggers@watertown-ma.gov or 617-924-8797 to schedule an appointment. Once registered, students go on a waiting list.