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* * * * * * SEPTEMBER 2014 * * * * * *
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Dear library patrons and friends,
As a final culminating project of our fiscal year, we compiled our yearly statistics. We increased our hours open to the public by 8% and our circulation increased by a whopping 36%! We can't wait for our new library so we can really provide the ultimate inspirational library experience our community demands. Construction is progressing rapidly, thanks to a dynamite project team. Structural steel is nearing completion and concrete pouring has begun.
Our kick-off Above and Beyond Fundraiser raised almost $10K for upgraded finishes and items for your new library. In addition to other items, we hope to raise enough funds to upgrade to hardwood flooring in our community program room. To learn more about the Above and Beyond Fund and donor opportunities, please contact me directly: [email protected] or 508.627.4221.
Please don't forget, library programs are generously supported by the Friends of the Edgartown Library. We hope you will consider making a donation to the Friends. The more funds raised, the more amazing the events!
We remain grateful for your support. The opportunities are endless. Thanks for a great summer. We enjoyed seeing so many of of you!
Warmly,
Jill Dugas Hughes
Director
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Library Hours
Monday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday & Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday: Closed |
Summer Programs in Review
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Mike Benjamin performs with the Grateful Dread.
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Sounds Like Summer, the library's series of free concerts on the front lawn, had a great season this year -- presenting eight well-attended musical programs on the Tuesday evenings of July and August.
The series, underwritten by the Friends of the Edgartown Library (and with the much-appreciated help of volunteers from the Friends each week), presented a Who's Who list of popular Island bands: The Cattledrivers with Kevin Keady, the Mike Benjamin Band, the John Zeeman Band (and later his jazz trio), Kent Riley's House Band, Sabrina & the Groovers, the Grateful Dread, and Johnny Hoy & the Bluefish.
This August, the library also presented an adult program series entitled Island History, featuring two programs in our Children's Room and two more in the Menemsha Room of the Harbor View Hotel -- space graciously
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Robotics in the Children's Room.
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donated by the hotel for our use. It was a good thing we had this larger space, because close to 90 people showed up on August 27 when Tom Dunlop and John Wilson presented a fascinating set of historic home movies depicting Island life as long ago as the middle 1920s.
When it wasn't closed for adult programs (which after all, was only a few times), the Children's Room was busier than ever this summer. The summer reading theme for 2014 was science, and over the course of July and August our librarians hosted programs ranging from animal science with naturalist Gus Ben David to demonstrations of cutting-edge robotics and hands-on experiences with fossils. The season ended with a tasty August 29 party featuring ice cream sundaes served on the front lawn.
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Don Groover performed with Kent Riley's House Band.
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Book Group Looks Ahead to Fall
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 The Edgartown Library book group met in August for an engaging discussion of Sylvia Plath's book, The Bell Jar. The group will take up Jess Walter's book, Beautiful Ruins, at 2 p.m. on Sept. 17. Up for discussion in October is Anita Shreve's novel, Testimony.
We have copies of these books available at the library desk, and gatherings of the book group are open to all. |
Viva Verdi! Library Presents
Listening Program Devoted to Great Operas
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 Susan Grunthal of the Taconic Opera is leading a free, three-session listening course on Giuseppe Verdi, exploring the final operas of this great composer -- including the magnificent Aida, Don Carlos, Otello and Falstaff.
Programs will be offered at 6:30 p.m. on two Tuesdays, Sept. 2 and 9, and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7. For more information, contact us at the library.
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Second Annual 5K Run Is Great Success
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The running pack turns from South 18th Street onto Pennywise Path.
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The second annual Pennywise Path Walk/Run, a project of the Friends of the Edgartown Library, attracted a field of about 65 runners and walkers this Labor Day, Sept. 1.
The 5-kilometer event began on South 18th Street on the outskirts of town,
and took participants along Pennywise Path on a winding route through the woods to the bikepath for the final mile to the destination: the Edgartown School and the construction site for our new library.
This year, every participant got a a certificate and a commemorative T-shirt bearing the winning design created by a counselor at the Boys' and Girls' Club.
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2014 race winners, first through third: from left, Charlie Burckmyer and Ryan Sawyer of Edgartown, and Reaan Steenkamp of Vineyard Haven.
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Knit a Scarf, Decorate a Cake -- at the Library
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Donna Blackburn of our library staff is sharing her crafty skills in two new programs beginning this September.
 Beginning Saturday, Sept. 6, beginning and intermediate knitters are invited to gather with Donna at 10:30 a.m. -- our plans are to continue this every Saturday morning into the fall and winter. Bring a skein of four-ply worsted knitting yarn and a set of number 7 or 8 needles -- or if you've already started on a project, bring it along for sociability and support.
 And once a month, beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Donna will share her cake-decorating expertise in a program she's calling the Cake of the Month Club. Please be sure to call ahead (at 508-627-4221) for this program if you plan to take part, so we can have enough materials on hand. Participants are asked to bring one nine-inch round cake of any flavor. Our first class will feature an autumn "patchwork" design so participants can learn to work with a variety of different decorating nibs.
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Ladybug Girl was a big hit on her visit to the library this summer.
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September in the Children's Room
This September, story hour programs in the Children's Room will be offered every Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m., and Toddler Time programs every Saturday at 10 a.m.
Free drop-in crafts activities are held every Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. this month. We're offering a special craft project for the last Saturday of the month -- Sept. 27: join us to make your very own Wimpy Kid Diary. We'll introduce young crafters to cartooning, and each participant will have a diary to take home. |
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