Entertainment

Watertown Library Kicks off Winter Concerts with Singer, Storyteller, Musician

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This year marks the Watertown Free Public Library’s fifth year hosting free concerts featuring a variety of musical styles performed by talented area artists, the library announced. Performances will be on the second Sunday of the month from December-March. All concerts are free and open to the public. The series kicks off with popular singer and harpist Kate Chadbourne, this Sunday, December 11 at 2 p.m. in the Watertown Savings Bank Room at the library. Kate Chadbourne is a singer, storyteller, and poet whose performances combine traditional tales with music for voice, harp, flutes, and piano.

Letters

LETTER: Simple Sign at Watertown Library Warms the Heart of a Resident

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Editor,

This morning I walked through the doors of the Watertown Library and was heartened to see a simple black and white sign in the door stating “The Watertown Free Public Library welcomes and serves everyone.”  

In these divisive times it was a welcome reminder that I live in a community that is diverse and that I believe takes pride in that diversity.  This diversity was evident to me in the families that came to the door trick-or-treating on Halloween, in the number of different languages spoken in the schools and in my work as a tutor with Project Literacy. As a white woman, I am unlikely to face discrimination in Watertown and I can’t presume that there is no discrimination or acts of harassment in our town.  But in general, Watertown feels like a welcoming community and my hope is that we will all look for ways to foster that sense of community as we move forward in 2017.  

Joan Blaustein
Riverside Street

Around Town

Watertown Library Offers Intro to Computer Class for Seniors

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The Watertown Free Public Library announced it will offer a three hour introductory computer class specifically for seniors who wish to learn the basics of using a computer. There will be plenty of time for questions. The class will be held Saturday, Nov. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Space is limited, so please visit the Adult Reference Desk at the library or call 617-972-6436 to register.

Around Town

Access the Watertown Library on a New Cellphone App

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Library users now have the ability to carry the Watertown Free Public Library in their pocket with the Minuteman Library Network app, the library announced. Users on the go can use the app to search the catalog and place holds, keep tabs on their library account, renew or freeze their items and manage holds. Users have access to a digital library card on their phone. The app provides access to thousands of eBooks, streaming movies, digital magazines, and premium subscription resources for lifelong learning. The app is customized for each library in the Minuteman Network – it’s like having 43 different apps, each with its own unique resources, events and social media.

Entertainment

Author of Book About Bob Dylan Going Electric to Speak in Watertown

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Local author Elijah Wald will speak about his latest book “Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night that Split the Sixties,” the Watertown Free Public Library announced. Mr. Wald’s writing has challenged fans of some music icons with previous books like ‘How the Beatles Destroyed Rock’n’Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music’ and ‘Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues.’

Join us to see how Mr. Wald views Bob Dylan going electric at the beloved Newport Folk Festival, and why it changed our popular culture. “Dylan Goes Electric!” Book Talk with Elijah Wald

Wednesday, Oct.

Entertainment

Check Out the HATCH Maker Expo During the Faire on the Square

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HATCH is Watertown’s public makerspace. If you haven’t experienced HATCH yet you’ll want to visit our first ever Maker Expo. We’ll have maker activities, demonstrations of some of our equipment, and exhibits from HATCH skill mentors and local makers. You can find us on the first floor of the library on Saturday, September 24 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. during the Faire on the Square. Special Guest Appearances by HATCH-designed Sumo Robots.

Around Town

Watertown Library Part of Harvard Study of Libraries as Center for Family Engagement

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When Harvard University researchers wanted a good example of a public library that fosters family engagement, it looked to the Watertown Free Public Library. 

The town’s library was one studied for the Harvard Family Research Project’s paper, Public Libraries: A Vital Space for Family Engagement by M. Elena Lopez, Margaret Caspe and Lorette McWilliams. The study looks at ways that libraries can promote family engagement which in turn promotes learning for children. For the study, Harvard partnered with the Public Library Association (PLA). They surveyed library directors around the country about their family engagement practices, met monthly with a learning community of nearly 20 librarians interested in family engagement, according to the paper. Watertown Library Director Leone Cole told the Town Council recently that she and her staff were pleased to contribute to Harvard Family Research Project’s study.