Around Town

Meet Thoreau, Coding and Yoga at the Watertown Library in July

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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.

Around Town

Meet Lynda, the Watertown Library’s Newest Online Resource

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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.

Government

Temporary Home for HATCH Found, Library Officials Seek Permanent Spot for Makerspace

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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.

Entertainment

At the Library in May: Learn to Brew, Nature Walks, Stress Reduction

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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.

Around Town

Project Literacy Celebrating 30 Years of Teaching English to Immigrants

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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.

Fiscal 2018 Budget

Town Manager Unveils FY2018 Budget Which Includes Five New Positions

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The Fiscal Year 2018 Watertown budget presented by Town Manager Michael Driscoll is nearly 4 percent higher than Fiscal 2017 and includes a 5 percent increase for the Watertown Public Schools and new positions for a handful of municipal departments, including the Police Department and Library. Tuesday night Driscoll presented the budget to the Town Council for the 25th time, see the presentation here. The town budget totals $132.6 million, which is $5 million more than the previous year. Local real estate and personal property taxes total $94.8 million and State Aide accounts for $12.1 million. Local receipts – inspection fees, motor vehicle excise taxes and hotel excise taxes – provide $11.9 million for the budget.

East Branch Library

Town Council to Consider Sale of Watertown’s East Branch Library

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The long vacant East Branch Library may be sold by the town, if the Town Council approves the proposal on Tuesday night. 

The 2,684-square-foot building at 481 Mt. Auburn Street was built in the 1920s and closed in 2006 after the main branch of the library was renovated and expanded. Now the town is considering selling the building and .28 acres of land to St. James Armenian Church for $1.2 million. The town put out a call for bids, which had to start at $1 million, and received just one bid.

Around Town

Watertown Library to be Closed Two Days This Week

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The Watertown Free Public Library will be closed on April 6 and 7 so carpet replacement work can take place. Other sections of the library have been closed during the the project, but the building will be closed on Thursday, April 6 and Friday April 7 for the whole day, the library announced. The library has more than 30,000 visitors a year, and more than 3.5 million since the renovated library opened in 2004. Find out more about the project here.