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Our Spring Appeal letter went out in the mail this week. If you're not on our snail-mailing list, you can read a copy of the letter below. To see a full page version, click on the image, and it will open in a new window. Click again and it will show full page.
To donate to our appeal and help us reach our fundraising goal, please click the DONATE button below the letter. Thank you!
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Borrow an Eco-Friendly Leaf Blower | |
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Try out one of our two new POWER+ 615 CFM leaf blowers, kindly donated by a local resident so that homeowners can try an eco-friendly alternative to gas-powered blowers.
Gas-powered blowers have been banned in many cities and towns across the country due to the air and noise pollution they emit.
These rechargeable electric blowers are lightweight and powerful with much less noise and no fumes. They can run for up to 75 minutes on a single charge, and have variable blowing speeds including a turbo mode.
Blowers may be borrowed for 1 week. To borrow a blower, contact the Library at 508-362-6636 and get your name on the waiting list.
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What other "things" does the Library offer to borrow?
- Traditional and wooden jigsaw puzzles for all ages
- A ukulele
- Code-a-Pillar Learning Toy ages 3-6
- A light box for use by artists, photographers, and crafters
- A telescope
- Wireless hotspots
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Switch from Overdrive to Libby by May 1st | |
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Starting May 1st, 2023, the Overdrive App will no longer be functional, and users will be prompted to switch to the Libby app to borrow downloadable ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines.
The Libby app is easy to use, and offers greater functionality than the Overdrive app. Best of all, your borrowed titles and holds will transfer to the Libby app.
To switch to Libby, follow the instructions on the user website at www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/switchtolibby
If you have difficulty with the transition, call the Library at 508-362-6636 or stop by and we'll help step you through it.
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Author Talk with Stephen Prothero | |
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Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 6:00pm
From New York City Editor to Sturgis Library President : Eugene Exman and the “Religion of Experience”
Join New York Times bestselling author Stephen Prothero for a discussion of his book, God The Bestseller.
Come learn about the fascinating life of Eugene Exman, former Sturgis Library Board president and NYC editor, who altered the course of religion in the United States.
Stephen Prothero is Professor of Religion at Boston University. His numerous books have been published on five continents and translated into eight languages.
For more information click here.
To register email Gabrielle at [email protected].
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Understanding Our History: A Lifelong Learner Series | |
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Come to one of the remaining lectures in this five-part series to learn about little-known or often misunderstood areas of US history.
Each session, led by a subject matter expert, will give participants a deeper understanding of their shared history as Americans.
Participants can engage more fully with the lectures by reading the selected reading material ahead of time. Copies will be available at the Library's circulation desk at least one month prior to the session dates.
For more information or to register, email Gabrielle at [email protected]
Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 6:00pm
The History of Voting Rights in America with Claudine Barnes, Professor of History at Cape Cod Community College
Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at 6:00pm
The Black Freedom Movement with Sara-Ann Semedo, Academic Coordinator at Cape Cod Community College and host of Intentional Critical Conversations
Date in June 27, 2023 at 6:00pm
Nation to Nation: Trade Commerce and Diplomacy Among Tribal Nations of New England with Hartman Deetz, enrolled member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and owner of Ockway Bay Wampum
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The History of Voting Rights in the United States | Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 6:00pm | |
"The struggle for equal voting rights dates to the earliest days of U.S. history. Now, after a period of bipartisan efforts to expand enfranchisement, Americans once again face new obstacles to voting." -carnegie.org
Join Claudine Barnes, Associate Professor of History at Cape Cod Community College, as she traces the history of voting rights in the United States.
To register email Gabrielle at [email protected]
This program is part of a five-session reading and lecture series called Understanding Our History: A Lifelong Learner Series. Each lecture, led by a subject matter expert, sheds light on areas of US history that are little known or often misunderstood. Participants can engage more deeply with the lectures by reading the selected reading material ahead of time.
The reading for this lecture is available here.
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Songbird Poets:
A Creative Share in Honor of Marion Homer Painter
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Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 1:30pm
Writers and artists are invited to Sturgis Library to share original poetry, storytelling, visual art, or acoustic music. There will be a four minute time limit for each participant. This gathering takes place on the first Thursday of the month. Tuning in via Zoom is an option as well.
Listeners welcome, too!
Registration is required. Interested parties can contact Sue via email at [email protected]
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Saturday, April 22, 2023 9:00am until 12:00pm
Kick off National Library Week and celebrate Earth Day!
Join us for a guided nature hike between Whelden Library in West Barnstable and Sturgis Library in Barnstable Village.
In honor of Earth Day, gloves and bags will be provided for hikers who wish to clean up trash during the hike!
Hike length is 6 Miles, with an opportunity to end hike mid-way.
For in depth details, click here.
Registration is required. Please email Christy at [email protected]
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10:00am until 11:00am on:
- April 1st
- May 6th
- June 3rd
- July 1st
- August 5th
Join us at Sturgis Library for this five-part series that combines tea and art. On the first Saturday of the month, artists of all ages and skill levels are invited to gather, sip tea, and sketch.
Different blends of tea represent different moods and evoke different feelings. The featured tea during the sketch session will be used as inspiration for the sketch prompt.
Basic materials will be provided by the library but participants are welcome to bring their own art supplies if they prefer.
Registration is not required. Space is ample but not limitless; first come first serve. Questions? email Christy at [email protected]
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Saturdays from 9:30am until 10:30am on:
- April 8th
- April 22nd
- May 13th
- May 27th
Join Yoga Neighborhood at Sturgis Library for Yoga this Spring!
Yoga Neighborhood fosters health and wellness across the community through compassionate and empowering yoga that is available to all regardless of age or fitness level.
Registration is not required.
Suggested donation: $5.00
Questions? Email Christy at [email protected]
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Barnstable Council on Aging: Sleep and Meditation | |
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April 18, 2023 from 10:00am-11:30am
Join Stacey Cullen as she discuses sleep and meditation. Sleep has been known as a restorative power and boosts the immune system. Let us follow the lead of the National Council on Aging formula to a good night rest.
Questions? Contact Stacey Cullen at
[email protected]
or call 508-862-4765
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Walpurgis Night with Gregory Williams | |
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Tuesday, May 2, 2023 from 6:30pm-7:30pm
Spring has come. Renewal, sunshine, flowers, and...witches and bonfires? We're halfway to Halloween...it's Walpurgis Night!
Walpurgis Night is a traditional holiday celebrated in northern Europe and Scandinavia. This ancient time for witches’ meetings marks the changing of the seasons and, like Halloween, occurs when the veil between the spirit world and ours is at its thinnest.
Join Gregory Williams as he presents witches’ sabbaths, a Christian saint whose healing oil counters sorcery, the Celts’ Beltane, Goethe and Mendelssohn, Faust and Mephistopheles, and more!
We'll end the night by the fire outside the library and maybe even sing a few traditional folk songs as we scan the skies for witches!
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Sturgis Library's Seed Library | |
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Sturgis Library's Seed Library is fully stocked for the season! Come on in and help yourself to a HUGE variety of organic seeds!
We kindly request a limit of four packets per person/family.
Questions? Email Christy at
[email protected]
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History & Society Book Group | |
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Meets on the Third Thursday of the Month at 2:00pm
This book group looks at history, politics, and society through literature. Books are available for checkout at the library. No registration is required. For information, please contact Maria at [email protected]
Book Line Up:
April 20th
Democracy in Chains
by Nancy MacLean
May 18th
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
by Katherine Boo
June 15th
American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis
by Adam Hochschild
July 20th
Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
by Jane Mayer
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Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at 4:00pm
Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 4:00pm
The Sturgis Library Cookbook Club chooses a different cookbook, cookbook author, spice, or ingredient each month! Members make recipes of their choosing from the cookbook (or using the selected spice/ingredient), and then meet on the second Tuesday of the month to discuss favorite recipes and other food-related topics.
Interested? Contact Christy at [email protected]
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Meets every Tuesday at 6:00pm
Adults and young adults of all skill levels are invited to Sturgis Library to share their writing!
Writers will gather, share their writing, and be sent home with a writing prompt to work on to share at the next gathering.
Registration is requested. Please email Christy at [email protected]
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Wednesday, April 19, 2023
at 12:30pm
Join artist Signe Sampou at Sturgis Library for a clay workshop happening during the week of school break! Young artists will gather and learn how to make their own clay leaf and worm keepsake. Clay will be fired in Signe's kiln and then brought back to the library for artists to pick up at a later date.
This program is for kiddos ages 6-9.
Space is limited. Registration is required. To register, please contact Christy at [email protected]
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Wednesdays at 10:30am
Swing by to read a story, illustrate a picture, talk with friends, and learn about nature at Sturgis Library's Storytime!
Geared to ages 2-4 but all are welcome to attend.
Registration is not required.
Questions? Email Christy at [email protected]
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Meets Monthly from 3:30-4:30ish
Upcoming Gathering Dates:
March 29, 2023
April 26, 2023
Master Builders are invited to gather at Sturgis Library to imagine, create, and make friends!
Registration is not required. Questions? Email Christy at [email protected]
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The Sprightly Bright Book Club | |
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Held in-person on the first Wednesday of every month at 4:00pm
Are you between the ages of 8ish to 12ish years old? Do you love to read? If you answered yes to these questions, then The Sprightly Bright Book Club is the place for you.
Let's choose, read, and discuss books together.
The discussion will take place on the first Wednesday of every month at 4:00pm.
Registration is required.
For more information and to register, please email Christy at [email protected]
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Adult Fiction to Check Out This Month | | |
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The House is on Fire
by Rachel Beanland
On the night after Christmas 1811, the Richmond Theatre is packed with more than six hundred holiday revelers. In the third-floor boxes, sits newly widowed Sally Henry Campbell, who is glad for any opportunity to relive the happy times she shared with her husband. One floor away, in the colored gallery, Cecily Patterson doesn’t give a whit about the play but is grateful for a four-hour reprieve from a life that has recently gone from bad to worse. Backstage, young stagehand Jack Gibson hopes that, if he can impress the theater’s managers, he’ll be offered a permanent job with the company. And on the other side of town, blacksmith Gilbert Hunt dreams of one day being able to bring his wife to the theater, but he’ll have to buy her freedom first.
When the theater goes up in flames in the middle of the performance, Sally, Cecily, Jack, and Gilbert make a series of split-second decisions that will not only affect their own lives but those of countless others. And in the days following the fire, as news of the disaster spreads across the United States, the paths of these four people will become forever intertwined.
Based on the true story of Richmond’s theater fire, The House Is on Fire offers proof that sometimes, in the midst of great tragedy, we are offered our most precious—and fleeting—chances at redemption.
Click here to reserve
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The Last Animal
by Ramona Ausubel
Teenage sisters Eve and Vera never imagined their summer vacation would be spent in the Arctic, tagging along on their mother’s scientific expedition. But there’s a lot about their lives lately that hasn’t been going as planned, and truth be told, their single mother might not be so happy either.
Now in Siberia with a bunch of serious biologists, Eve and Vera are just bored enough to cause trouble. Fooling around in the permafrost, they accidentally discover a perfectly preserved, four-thousand-year-old baby mammoth, and things finally start to get interesting. The discovery sets off a surprising chain of events, leading mother and daughters to go rogue, pinging from the slopes of Siberia to the shores of Iceland to an exotic animal farm in Italy, and resulting in the birth of a creature that could change the world—or at least this family.
The Last Animal takes readers on a wild, entertaining, and refreshingly different kind of journey, one that explores the possibilities and perils of the human imagination on a changing planet, what it’s like to be a woman in a field dominated by men, and how a wondrous discovery can best be enjoyed with family. Even teenagers.
Click here to reserve
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The Covenant of Water
by Abraham Verghese
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, known as Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.
A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the difficulties undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.
Click here to reserve
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The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho
by Paterson Joseph
It’s finally time for Charles Ignatius Sancho to tell his story, one that begins on a slave ship in the Atlantic and ends at the very center of London life. A lush and immersive tale of adventure, artistry, romance, and freedom set in eighteenth-century England and based on a true story
It’s 1746 and Georgian London is not a safe place for a young Black man. Charles Ignatius Sancho must dodge slave catchers and worse, and his main ally—a kindly duke who taught him to write—is dying. Sancho is desperate and utterly alone. So how does the same Charles Ignatius Sancho meet the king, write and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain, and lead the fight to end slavery? Through every moment of this rich, exuberant tale, Sancho forges ahead to see how much he can achieve in one short life: “I had little right to live, born on a slave ship where my parents both died. But I survived, and indeed, you might say I did more.”
Click here to reserve
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Adult Nonfiction to Check Out This Month | |
Still Pictures: On Photography and Memory by Janet Malcolm | |
For decades, Janet Malcolm's books and dispatches for The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books poked and prodded at reportorial and biographical convention, gesturing toward the artifice that underpins both public and private selves. In Still Pictures, she turns her gimlet eye on her own life--a task demanding a writer just as peerlessly skillful as she was widely known to be.
Still Pictures, then, is not the story of a life but an event on its own terms, an encounter with identity and family photographs as poignant and original as anything since Roland Barthes's Camera Lucida. Malcolm looks beyond the content of the image and the easy seductions of self-recognition, constructing a memoir from memories that pose questions of their own.
Click here to reserve
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Light Revealed: Scratchboard Engravings by Scott McKowen | |
Scratchboard artists use sharp instruments to etch lines into a board support layered with white chalk, silver foil and black ink to expose the white and grey surfaces underneath. Color, if used, is then added to make a spectacular work reminiscent of traditional woodcutting but as rich and dynamic as any full color painting. Because it is a reductive process -- you cannot fix mistakes -- it is considered one of the most difficult artistic techniques.
In Light Revealed, scratchboard master artist Scott McKowen builds on his 2009 retrospective, A Fine Line, with a personal selection of more than 150 new works. He gives a detailed analysis of each piece and describes what influenced his design. He includes images of the reference works he consulted during the conceptual process and talks about the struggles he had arriving at a design solution. He also discusses the influence and advantages of technological developments, such as Photoshop, which have carried the medium into the 21st century.
Click here to reserve
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Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House by Alex Prud'homme | |
Some of the most significant moments in American history have occurred over meals, as U.S. presidents broke bread with friends or foe: Thomas Jefferson's nation-building receptions in the new capital, Washington, D.C.; Ulysses S. Grant's state dinner for the king of Hawaii; Teddy Roosevelt's groundbreaking supper with Booker T. Washington; Richard Nixon's practiced use of chopsticks to pry open China; Jimmy Carter's cakes and pies that fueled a détente between Israel and Egypt at Camp David.
Here Alex Prud'homme invites readers into the White House kitchen to reveal the sometimes curious tastes of twenty-six of America's most influential presidents, how their meals were prepared and by whom, and the ways their choices affected food policy around the world. And the White House menu grew over time-- from simple eggs and black coffee for Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and celebratory turtle soup after and squirrel stew for Dwight Eisenhower, to jelly beans and enchiladas for Ronald Reagan and arugula for Barack Obama. What our leaders say about food touches on everything from our nation's shifting diet and local politics to global trade, science, religion, war, class, gender, race, and so much more.
Click here to reserve
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Kids' Books to Check Out this Month | |
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A Rover's Story
written by Jasmine Warga
The One and Only Ivan meets The Wild Robot in this unique and deeply moving middle grade novel about the journey of a fictional Mars rover, from the Newbery Honor–winning author of Other Words for Home.
Meet Resilience, a Mars rover determined to live up to his name.
Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop humanlike feelings. Maybe there’s a problem with his programming….
For everyone but especially for kiddos 8-12 years old.
Click here to reserve
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We're Not Weird
Structure and Function in the Animal Kingdom
written and illustrated by Michael Garland
Meet nature’s most extraordinary looking creatures. But they aren’t weird!
Birds with blue feet, fish that walk, unicorns in the sea, and more! Learn how these animals’ quirks help them survive. Perfect for budding naturalists who are always ready to share a cool (or gross) animal fact.
For everyone but especially for kiddos 4-8 years old.
Click here to reserve
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The Barnstable Newcomers Club is a social organization open to residents of the seven villages that make up the Town of Barnstable. Although many new members have resided in Barnstable less than five years, people may join the Club no matter how long they have lived in Barnstable. From monthly program meetings to bowling, book groups, bridge groups, dining, movies, and travel, core to the organization are activities where members with like interests get together on a more frequent basis. They currently have over 200 members, ad look forward to meeting new residents. Their next meeting is April 19th. For more information about the Newcomers Club, visit their website at http://www.barnstablenewcomers.com/
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Sturgis Library
3090 Main Street P.O. Box 606
Barnstable, MA 02630
www.sturgislibrary.org
[email protected]
508-362-6636
Our hours are:
Monday 10-5
Tuesday 10-8
Wednesday 10-5
Thursday 10-5
Friday 10-5
Saturday 10-4
Sundays and holidays CLOSED
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