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Library News
Jacob Edwards Library
November 2025
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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!
The Library will be closed on the following dates:
Tuesday, November 11th in observance of Veterans Day
November 27th - 29th for the Thanksgiving holiday
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Jacob Edwards Library Chess Park and Performance Space
“A place for everyone across the Board”
The Chess Park Ad Hoc Committee has started the fundraising phase for the project. The library has hosted a chess event on Saturdays for some years and looks forward to developing an open-air venue. To access the rendering (created by Joseph Coen, Landscape Architect) proposed for the space on the south east corner of the library property and most detailed information, please visit the Chess Park page on the Library's website.
Any questions, please contact Bernadette Meade at bmeade2979@gmail.com.
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Mass Center for the Book 2025 Reading Challenge
The Jacob Edwards Library is thrilled to be partnering with Mass Center for the Book to promote their 2025 Reading Challenge. Pick up cards and bookmarks at the Circulation Desk and participate by following the steps below.
Library staff will happily help you find a book that fits the monthly theme - or see the display on the main floor for monthly suggestions. NoveList Plus is a great resource to utilize, as well (library card required). Happy reading!
How it works:
- Choose a book that fits the monthly challenge.
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After you read, fill out this form to tell them about the book.
- Using the submission manager, you will be able to log in and access the entries you’ve logged throughout the year.
- Dedicated readers will be invited to a year-end celebration hosted by Mass Center for the Book.
- If you read a book in each of the 12 months, you will be entered in a drawing to win 1 of 2 totes filled with books. Additionally, they will be drawing two names on the last day of each month to win a free book!
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Celebrate culture, resilience, and legacy. Discover Native American authors and powerful stories on Hoopla.
Start streaming here!
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From cozy meals to party spreads! Find recipes, tips, and hosting inspo on Hoopla to make your holidays deliciously unforgettable.
Start streaming here!
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Programming
JEL programs are always free and all are welcome!
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Mindfulness Meditation
Fridays, November 7th & 21st
2:00 - 3:00 pm
The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to host Iris Vega, certified Mindfulness Meditation teacher and mentor, to present a series of sessions.
Inviting Mindfulness Meditation into your daily routine is an opportunity to cultivate awareness and presence.
You may bring your Yoga mat if you prefer doing the practice lying down.
Sponsored by Friends of Jacob Edwards Library.
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The Art of Julie Caprera
Meet & Greet
Thursday, November 13th
6:30 - 7:30 pm
Please join us for a meet & greet with our November artist, Julie Caprera.
Julie Caprera, a Southbridge painter, works in oils and acrylics in whimsical, impressionistic and abstract styles. Despite a lifelong interest in art, her actual art study began in her 50s. She and her youngest son took lessons with Southbridge artist Christine O'Brien. Later she studied with national artists Pamela and David Lussier in Woodstock, CT. Regardless of style of expression, Julie explains “color is always the focus no matter the subject” and her goal “is always to make the viewer smile."
Sponsored by Friends of Jacob Edwards Library.
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In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the group will discuss Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark History Anthology in November.
Copies of the book are available for checkout at the Information Desk.
"A bold, clever, and sublimely sinister collection of horror, fantasy, science fiction, and gritty crime by both new and established Indigenous authors that dares to ask the question: 'Are you ready to be un-settled?' Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief ranges far and wide and takes many forms; for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai'po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls a Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl and snatch the foolish whistlers in the dark. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear-and even follow you home. In twenty-five wholly original and shiver-inducing tales, bestselling and award-winning authors including Tommy Orange, Rebecca Roanhorse, Cherie Dimaline, Waubgeshig Rice, and Mona Susan Power introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples' survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon" - Provided by publisher.
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Poetry Reading
Thursday, November 20th
6:30 - 7:30 pm
The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to welcome Christine Omodi-Engola for a poetry reading.
Enjoy glimpses of Southbridge and surrounding town life in a reading by Christine Omodi-Engola. Her new book, Crimson Courageous, celebrates the area, as well as her family history and goings-on at work. If you have ever had a job, wanted a job, loved your family, or needed a pick-me-up, this is the event for you! People from all backgrounds will find something to cheer in this principled portrait of our wondrous nation.
Sponsored by Friends of Jacob Edwards Library.
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Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Toshikazu Kawaguchi
"In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee—the chance to travel back in time. Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold. Heartwarming, wistful, mysterious and delightfully quirky, Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s internationally bestselling novel explores the age-old question: What would you change if you could travel back in time?" - Provided by publisher.
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Mass Center for the Book
Student Reading Challenge
The Jacob Edwards Library is thrilled to be partnering with Mass Center for the Book to promote their Student Reading Challenge. Pick up your passport at either the Reference or Circulation Desk or at the display in the Teen area and participate by following the steps below:
- Choose a book that fits the monthly challenge prompt. Library staff will happily help you find a book that fits the monthly theme - or see the display in the Teen area for monthly suggestions.
- Once you have read your book, bring your Passport to the Reference or Circulation Desk and tell them what you read. They will give you a sticker for that month.
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Each month, the student (and a parent/guardian if the student is under 13) can fill out a short form to tell us about the book and enter into a raffle. Mass Center for the Book will run drawings for prizes. Monthly participation determines eligibility.
Have fun and happy reading!
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Welcome to the
Children's Page
November
2025
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Mass Center for the Book
Student Reading Challenge
June 2025 - May 2026
The Jacob Edwards Library is thrilled to be partnering with Mass Center for the Book to promote their Student Reading Challenge. Pick up your passport in the Children's Room and participate by following the steps below:
- Choose a book that fits the monthly challenge prompt. Library staff will happily help you find a book that fits the monthly theme.
- Once you have read your book, bring your Passport to the Children's Room Circulation Desk and tell them what you read. They will give you a sticker for that month.
-
Each month, the student (and a parent/guardian if the student is under 13) can fill out a short form to tell us about the book and enter into a raffle. Mass Center for the Book will run drawings for prizes. Monthly participation determines eligibility.
Have fun and happy reading!
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Board of Trustees
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for
November 24th at 12 pm.
Details will be available on the Town of Southbridge website, under Public Meetings Calendar, for all public meetings.
All meetings are open to the public.
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The mission of the Friends of the Jacob Edwards Library is to be the advocacy and fundraising arm of the Library. We raise money for items such as library programs, books, subscriptions, museum pass memberships, and other materials, as needed.
The next meeting of the Friends is scheduled for
Monday, November 3rd at 1 pm.
New members are always welcome!
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