Library News

Jacob Edwards Library

October 2022

Library Hours

Monday & Thursday 9 am - 8 pm

Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 9 am - 5 pm

Saturdays 9 am - 1 pm

Curbside pickup is available during library hours!

Museum Pass Program

Did you know you can borrow passes that will give you discounted admission to local attractions with your library card? Details about each pass we offer can be found on the Museum Pass page on our website. 

Take Libby on the road!

You spend enough on gas. Save with free audiobooks from JEL!

Start listening with CarPlay

Start listening with Android Auto

Talking Books Service

Tuesday, October 4th

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to host a presentation on the services available from the Worcester Talking Book Library.

Do you struggle to read standard print due to low vision, dyslexia, or another disability? The Worcester Talking Book Library (WTBL) can help! A staff member will be presenting information on the program and answering questions. Learn more about this free service that loans accessible reading materials, including audio and large print books, via postage-free mail. This presentation will cover:

·How to use a talking book machine

·The BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) app

·Large print services, including Book Club in a Bag

·Dial A Story

·Resources for children

CMRPC Transportation Study

Wednesday, October 5th

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to host the Central MA Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) transportation presentation with Project Manager Yahaira Graxirena. This event will be presented in both English and Spanish.

CMRPC is the designated planning entity for Central Massachusetts.

Founded by the Legislature in 1963, CMRPC provides a variety of planning services to our constituencies and brings a regional perspective to planning and development. One of 13 Regional Planning Agencies in Massachusetts, CMRPC serves the City of Worcester and 39 surrounding communities in the southern two-thirds of Worcester County. CMRPC’s programs include Regional Collaboration and Community Planning, Transportation, Homeland Security, GIS, and other services.

October Art Exhibit

"Keeping Summer" by Joe Smith

Meet & Greet

Thursday, October 6th

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Sponsored by Friends of Jacob Edwards Library.

The Library is pleased to present an exhibit of the work of Joe Smith.

From the artist:

"These pieces are my attempt to hold on to summer. While there is beauty in the other seasons, it is summer that truly inspires me. Summer is a time to explore new places and return to old favorites, to share special time with family, to revel in the warm embrace of the sun, and to feel the vibrancy of life exploding all around and the still, quiet warmth of summer nights. For much of my adult life summer vacation was the one time of the year I could devote to creating art. Now that I have more time for art summer seems to pass much too quickly. My drawings and paintings of special times and places, at the beach, on the lake, or in the woods, keep me warm through the long, cold months while I wait for summer to return."

Joe Smith is an award-winning Massachusetts artist best known for his scratchboard works featuring trees, forests, and New England landscapes. His art connects his lifelong enjoyment of drawing with his career as a forester and conservationist. He enjoys using a variety of media. He began producing scratchboards in 2010 and they immediately earned rave reviews and awards. He is a member of the Copley Society of Art, The International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA), the Gardner Area League of Artists, the Princeton Art Association, and the Rockport Art Association and Museum. Joe’s work is mostly drawn from the varied landscapes of his beloved New England home. His finely detailed work captures the unique character and spirit of the wild places that exist all around us, but just out of sight.

Oakes & Smith and Kala Farnham

Thursday, October 13th

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to host singer/songwriters Oakes & Smith and Kala Farnham for an evening of story and song. The performance will feature the artists’ original compositions, as well as songs by other artists.

Husband-and-wife folk duo Oakes & Smith create an ethereal sound not often heard in today’s popular music. The couple evokes a soulful sense of wonder, expressing themes of love, creativity, mystery, and an appreciation of natural beauty.

Armed with a voice and an entourage of instruments, songstress Kala Farnham set out into the world with one vision: To inspire through the transformative power of musical storytelling. Drawing from a classical education and professional career in musical theater, Kala presents a hallmark reinvention of the folk tradition: her lush musical arrangements, compelling vulnerability, and vivid storytelling draw her audience into imaginative re-creations of the familiar world.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Southbridge Local Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Cohasse Country Club:

The Influence of Olmsted and Ross in Southbridge

Thursday, October 20th

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Sponsored by Friends of Jacob Edwards Library and Cohasse Country Club.

The Jacob Edwards Library and Cohasse Country Club are pleased to host a presentation by Dr. Mark Wagner.

It's the spring of 1916. American Optical is driving Southbridge's vibrant economy, and the expansive Wells Family are shaping the city's culture. Over the following decade, out along Eastford Road, The Olmsted Brothers and Donald Ross, aided by the Wells Family wealth, will combine to shape a lasting gem in the landscape south of town: Cohasse Country Club, which emerges as a focal point of recreation, social engagement, and an enduring civic pride.

Dr. Mark Wagner has written extensively on golf architecture and golf history. His essay on Olmsted, Ross, and Cohasse Country Club appears in the July issue of Golf Course Architecture. He teaches writing at Worcester State University.

Virtual Book Talk with Itoro Bassey

Thursday, October 27th

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Join us for a virtual presentation by Itoro Bassey, who will discuss her recently published novel Faith. This novel is a coming-of-age story that follows several generations of women navigating identity, migration, and expectations.

Author Itoro Bassey is a Nigerian-American award-winning writer, playwright, cultural worker, educator, and the founder/executive director of Naija Meditate. She is a storyteller and journalist with over ten years of experience telling stories about the African immigrant and first-generation experience and the interior lives of ordinary women. She also serves as a producer and correspondent for Arise TV, one of Africa's largest media houses.

Meet Wilfredo "El Sucaro" Pagan

Thursday, October 27th

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The Library is pleased to host a discussion with Wilfredo "El Sucaro" Pagan, facilitated by Charles Diaz.

Pagan was born in Manati, Puerto Rico, and moved to Southbridge in 1999. He is a professional boxer who won the USA New England Welterweight Champion on July 15, 2022, at the Palladium in Worcester. His trainer is Dave DiGregorio at Uptown Boxing Gym.

The Southbridge Town Council proclaimed September 12th as Wilfredo “El Sucaro” Pagan day in recognition of his victory.

The Final Girl Support Group

Grady Hendrix

"A fast-paced, thrilling horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for, from the brilliant New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. In horror movies, the final girl is the one who's left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious, a victim and a hero. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her? Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she's not alone. For more than a decade she's been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette's worst fears are realized--someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again. But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife . . . they will never, ever give up"-- Provided by publisher.

With content from local, regional, and national sources, NewsBank is the largest resource of its kind. It includes diverse source types such as printed and online newspapers, blogs, journals, newswires, broadcast transcripts, and videos. Explore a specific issue or event through the detailed coverage provided by local reporting or compare a wide variety of viewpoints from across the country on topics such as politics, business, health, sports, cultural activities, and people.

Includes access to Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Boston Metropolitan Collection, USA TODAY, and magazines.

The Jacob Edwards Library subscribes to multiple online databases which can help you with everything from schoolwork, finding up-to-date health information, to learning a new language, or preparing for your driving test. Check them out here!

New Hope Workshop

Thursday, October 6th

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Have you started dating? Are you curious about what makes a healthy relationship? Do you know how to set healthy boundaries? What is consent? Find out the answers to these questions and more from New Hope, your local Domestic Violence Agency.

Trail Clean Up

Saturday, October 15th

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Join the Southbridge Trails Club and JEL's Teen Librarian to clean up the Heritage (A.D.A.) Red Trail. We will meet at the kiosk located near the West Street School lower soccer field. Trash bags and bug spray will be provided. Gloves are recommended.

TAG

Tuesday, October 18th

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Join our Teen Advisory Group (TAG) and help us improve our library services for teens. At monthly TAG meetings, you will weigh in on library programs, services, and materials, earn volunteer hours, make new friends, and build your leadership skills. Open to Southbridge students/residents ages 12-18.

Welcome to the Children's Page

October 2022

Gum Drop Challenge

Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022

10:30am

Using gumdrops and toothpicks is a fun engineering project to challenge young minds.

Celebrate Picasso Birthday

Tuesday October 25, 2022

1:00pm

Join us as Ms. Liz reads "Paris in the Spring with Picasso" by Joan Yolleck.

We will also make a "Picasso Face" Craft.

Monday Night

STEAM Club

Join us on Monday evenings at

6:30pm for STEAM Club! Activities include art, playdough, puzzles, building circuits, kinetic sand, tinkering and much more!

Lego Club

Tuesdays

3:00pm - 4:30pm

Saturdays

10:30am-noon

CRAFTY WEDNESDAY

All Day

Join us anytime from 9am to 5pm

Storytime with

Ms. Liz

Wednesdays & Fridays

at 10:30am

Tinkering Thursday

Join us on Thursday afternoons from

4:00pm - 5:00pm



What is Tinkering?

"to take things apart, put things together, figure out how things work, and attempt to build and make creations using tools."