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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
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| Ahead: August Awesomeness at the Library |
Programs at the Edgartown Library drew healthy crowds all through the month of July. Above is the audience that gathered on July 18 to enjoy an hour of music by Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish. (Our popular music series, Sounds Like Summer, continues through August -- you can read about it below.) Our program room was filled on July 12 when author Elin Hildebrand spoke about her new book, The Identicals, and we wrapped up our month of programs with a virtual tour of Edgartown's beautiful Caroline Tuthill Preserve, filmed by drone cameras and presented on the big screen.
Meanwhile, our patrons continue to find great books and fresh newspapers to read, new movies to take home and quiet places to escape the throngs of summer. Upstairs, our study rooms are in constant use, and on overcast days when the beaches are less inviting, the children's room is the summer place to be. Our foot traffic passed the 10,000 mark in the month of July. And thanks to the enforcement efforts of our Edgartown Police, we can still offer you that rarest of summer perks, convenient parking right behind the library.
We invite you to take a look at this month's lineup of programs, and we look forward to seeing you here in August.
Lisa Sherman,
Director
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Photography by Lanny McDowell was featured in our program room through July.
Read below for details of the library's August art exhibit.
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August's Art Exhibit:
Paintings by Wendy Weldon
Reception 5-7 p.m.
Friday, August 11
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Labyrinth, by Wendy Weldon.
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In an exhibition entitled Pure Color, the bold, color-drenched paintings of fine artist Wendy Weldon are on display in the Program Room this month. We invite you to enjoy our exhibit of her work and to meet the artist at the opening reception on Friday, August 11.
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Sounds Like Summer:
Free Music on the Lawn,
Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. -- rain or shine!
Sounds Like Summer, one of the Edgartown Library's favorite high-season traditions, continues on Tuesday evenings, rain or shine. Popular Island performers will play for an hour, and you're welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets. Be warned - there may be dancing.
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| Johnny Hoy performs on August 22. |
August 1
The PickPocket Bluegrass Band opens our August series.
August 8
Enjoy an hour of chill-billy roots music from Good Night Louise.
August 15
Guitar hero John Zeeman rocks the library lawn with his fabulous band.
August 22
Bring your dancing shoes for an hour of lively entertainment with Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish.
August 29
The Grateful Dread wraps up our summer music series.
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iPad Refresher Course:
A Program for Seniors
10:30 a.m. Wednesday, August 2
So you have an iPad and you're excited to use it -- but where to begin? Just want to refresh your skills? Kathy Lavieri, technology trainer with over twenty years experience working with diverse groups of adults, will hold an iPad Refresher Program for Seniors.
Call to reserve your spot, as space is limited.
This program is jointly sponsored by the Edgartown Library and Edgartown Council on Aging.
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Stranger in a Strange Land:
Film Series Concludes
7 p.m. Wednesday, August 2
Our film series concludes with an August 2 screening of The Visitor, a 2008 film from director Tom McCarthy. Richard Jenkins plays a lonely widower whose mundane life is shaken up when he befriends a pair of illegal immigrants. Please note, this series is for adults.
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Talk: Elizabeth Benedict
"Ten Tips for Staying Sane While Applying to College"
7 p.m. Thursday, August 3
Dreading the college application process? Elizabeth Benedict, bestselling novelist, journalist, editor, and long-time professor of writing at Ivy League colleges and universities, will share her wisdom in a lively hour-long discussion, with plenty of time for questions and answers.
She will offer books to consult and practical tips for parents and students. She writes about these issues frequently for The Huffington Post and on her blog, "Don't Sweat the Essay."
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Intergenerational Hip-Hop Round Table:
With Raphael Xavier and Sokeo Ros
6 p.m. Wednesday, August 9
Raphael Xavier and Sokeo Ros discuss the culture of hip-hop and how break dance changes over time with the maturing body. The two choreographers are in residence at The Yard and will be performing and offering classes while in residence. Join them at the library for this free event.
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The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific
Special Screening, followed by
Q&A with filmmaker Sam Low
7 p.m. Thursday, August 10
More than 1,000 years ago, the scattered islands of Polynesia were settled by an ancient seafaring people. Where did they come from? How did they navigate across the vast Pacific Ocean to settle one-third of Earth's surface?
Anthropologist and filmmaker, Sam Low, will introduce his film The Navigators, which documents the dramatic 2,500-mile journey of master navigator Mau Piailug aboard the Hokule'a, a replica of an original Polynesian canoe, from Hawaii to Tahiti.
The hour-long film follows archaeologists working in Tahiti, Fiji, and Hawaii, as they prove that ancient Polynesians voyaged from Southeast Asia in the world's greatest diaspora -- an ocean migration across ten million square miles of empty sea.
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Opera Club Presents
L'Elisir d'Amore
1 p.m. Sunday, August 13
Our Opera Club presentation for August promises an afternoon of memorable tunes, glorious singing, and well-played comedy, with Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore. Anna Netrebko as Adina, and Rolando Villazón as Nemorino provide lots of chemistry and star power. The Otto Schenk production was filmed live at the Vienna State Opera and conducted by Alfred Eschwé.
All adults are welcome.
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Special Screening:
Hidden Figures
7 p.m. Wednesday, August 16
Join us for a screening of Theodore Melfi's award-winning 2016 film chronicling the unsung African-American heroines, the "computers," who helped calculate the orbits for the early space program.
This film ties in with Harvard astronomer Bruce Ward's talk on Thursday.
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A talk by Bruce Ward:
7 p.m. Thursday, August 17
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| Henrietta Leavitt, American astronomer. |
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Dr. Bruce Ward, Emeritus Harvard Observatory, presents "Women Computers: Cracking Stellar Codes and Predicting Spacecraft Pathways."
More than a century ago women "computers" at Harvard College Observatory were instrumental in deciphering stellar features. Fifty years later, African-American women, also called "computers" and working for what was to become NASA, were vital to the success of the country's space program. We will explore the work of two Harvard "computers" and link their work to the story of how the NASA "computers," in the face of societal obstacles, made critical calculations to define the orbits of numerous space flights. In both instances it was the observational and mathematical skills of the "computers" that shaped their successful pathways in a male-dominated environment.
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Repeat Screening of
Hidden Figures
3 p.m. Saturday, August 19
See listings above for the first screening on August 16, and Bruce Ward's talk on August 17.
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beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Monday, August 21
While today's solar eclipse will not be
total for us, the moon will cover about 60% of the sun, as viewed from our Island. Astronomer Bruce Ward will set up a telescope on the grounds of the library for people to safely look at the eclipse.
Note: An entire afternoon of children's astronomy activities will take place concurrently in the Program Room from 1-4 p.m.
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7 p.m. Wednes
day, August 23
Author John Merrow presents his new book,
Addicted to Reform, A 12-Step Program to Rescue Public Education, in a public talk and book-signing event.
The prize-winning PBS correspondent presents his provocative antidote to America's misguided approaches to K-12 school reform.
"Pulling no punches, John Merrow lays out the deficiencies of American efforts at school reform and explains what needs to be done -- provided we have the wits and the will to do so."
--Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Come meet the author and bring your questions.
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7 p.m. Thurs
day, August 24
Author Skip Finley will speak on his book,
"Whaling Captains of Color: A Voyage of Discovery."
According to Mr. Finley's research, between 20 and 40 per cent of whalers were black, and the danger and difficulty of the business produced the opportunity for 64 of them to become captains, even during the days of slavery and continuing to the end of the industry. Join us to learn more about this very Vineyard subject, and meet the author at the reception to follow.
After retiring from a career in broadcasting where he was a well known radio executive, Finley decided on another career as a writer. Until recently the Oak Bluffs Town Columnist for the Vineyard Gazette, he coauthored "A Martha's Vineyard Love Story" with television and movie producer Kathleen McGhee Anderson, and has completed a non-fiction book on black whaling captains with plans for a documentary based on the book. Summering on Martha's Vineyard with his family since 1955, Oak Bluffs has been his year round home since 1999.
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New Film Series Begins
7 p.m. Wednes
day, August 30
Our new series examines true crime in the movies, and begins with a spellbinder:
All Good Things. Based on a notorious unsolved missing person case in New York, it stars Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, and Frank Langella. Directed by Andrew Jarecki (US, 2009).
Please note, this series is for adults.
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7 p.m. Thurs
day, August 31
The popular Island novelist discusses her latest work and past successes.
Ms. Stone is the author of eighteen novels, many of which take place on Martha's Vineyard, the first of which, Places by the Sea (Random House), was released twenty years ago. Her books have been translated and published in fifteen countries, and have been featured selections of The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club.
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August in the Children's Room
"Build a Better World" is the statewide theme for summer reading programs this year, and we're exploring that theme with a series of Friday programs, including hands-on experiences, this month. Here's the lineup.
Friday, August 4:
3 pm - Build a Better World with Science: iRobot returns to the library, with amazing new machines to demonstrate.
Saturday, August 5:
10:30 am - Special Story Hour: With a visit from the popular children's book character, Olivia.
Thursday, August 10:
10:30 a.m. - Milky Way Story Hour. Hear the Chinese Legend of the Milky Way and make glow-in-the-dark star charts of the Summer Triangle, three bright stars that bridge the Milky Way.
Friday, August 11:
3 pm - Build a Better World with Science: Make a weather station and learn about the Perseid meteor shower, coming on August 12 and 13.
Friday, August 18:
3 pm - Build a Better World with Science: Build a Lego block tower and test its strength.
Monday, August 21:
1:30 to 4 pm - Learn about the Solar Eclipse. Visit eclipse stations in our program room to show how an eclipse works, make a pinhole camera to view the eclipse, and more.
Thursday, August 24:
10:30 am - Story Hour with Rick Felty. Children's author Rick Felty will read and talk about his books: Tabitha Fink, the Cat witth One Eye, Tabitha Fink on a Mission to Mars, and Tabitha Fink, Ninja at Night.
Saturday, August 26:
11 am to 1 pm at the Edgartown School --
Touch a Truck.
Fire, police and highway vehicles will gather in the school parking lot for kids to explore. Please park at the library for this event.
Monday, August 28:
2 pm - Jewelry Crafts: We provide the supplies, you provide the creativity.
Tuesday, August 29:
2 pm - Making Slime. Learn the basics of polymers and sink your hands into the gooey subject.
Wednesday, August 30:
2 pm - Backyard Games.
Thursday, August 31:
2 pm - Make Sand Castles.
Friday, Sept. 1:
2 pm - Make String Drawings.
Saturday, Sept. 2:
10:30 am - Ice Cream Social. At our final program of the season, we'll hold an ice cream social to celebrate our summer readers.
Regular children's programs in August
Wednesdays, 10:30 am-Noon: Summer readers give their book reports. (This summer, read or listen to 10 books on your reading level and report on them to earn a T-shirt. You can report online as well,
using this link. For every book you read, choose a prize from the library's treasure chest.)
Mondays, 10:30 am: Brown Bag Story Hour at the Edgartown Rec Center, with Elyce.
Thursdays, 10:30 am: Toddler Story Hour with Debby.
Saturdays, 10:30 am: Toddler Story Hour with Weezie.
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Please Support the Library Friends,
Who Support Our Library Programs
Our programs at the Edgartown Library are supported by the Friends of the Edgartown Library, who have
their own page on our website.
This summer, the Friends are helping the library raise funds for a dramatic project which will enrich our community for years to come: a mural by celebrated Island artist Margot Datz, planned for the children's room. Please visit the Friends page if you are interested in supporting this project.
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