The Sawyer Free Library is pleased to share that it has selected a temporary location for the Library during the upcoming renovation and expansion project. The Library's Board of Trustees secured a multi-year lease for 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester, the former space of Cape Ann Cinema.

Click here for more information

Author Talk with Historian and Pulitzer Prize Winner

Dr. Marcia Chatelain

Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America

Wednesday, August 3

2:00pm

In Franchise, Chatelain uncovers a surprising history of cooperation among fast-food companies, black capitalists, and civil rights leaders, who–in the troubled years after King’s assassination–believed they found an economic answer to the problem of racial inequality.

Register here

Author Talk with

Liz Moore

Long Bright River

Tuesday, August 9

9:00pm



Drawing on deeply personal volunteer work, Liz Moore spins a story that is both graphically honest and dignified. Long Bright River puts a very human face on the effect that addiction can have on generations of families and communities. 

Register here

Author Talk with Michele Harper

The Beauty in Breaking

Monday, August 22

9:00pm

Michele Harper is a female African American emergency room physician in an overwhelmingly male and white profession. Her own story has taught her that each of us is broken - physically and emotionally. How we recognize those breaks, how we try to mend them, and where we go from there are all crucial parts of the healing process.

Register here

Treasure Islands

with Chris Leahy

Thursday, August 11

5:30-7:00pm

The coastal waters of Essex County from Nahant Bay to Cape Ann are dotted with more than 50 islands ranging in size from small rocky “skerries” to the well-wooded 83 acre Great Misery Island. Chris Leahy’s illustrated talk will showcase the diverse history of these islands.

Reimaging

Clare Higgins, Local artist

Originally a New Yorker, Clare has a B.A. in Modern Foreign Languages from the College of Mt. St. Vincent, Riverdale, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the City University of New York. She currently resides in Gloucester, where she continues to write musicals and create digital art.