Events
Press July 10, 2023
Opening on Board of Library Trustees
A mid-term opening has occurred and will be filled by nomination of the Select Board. It is a great chance to explore if working to bring the library forward into the next era intrigues you. The Library Board of Trustees is currently searching for a volunteer to serve as a Trustee on the Library’s Board on an interim basis until the next town election in the spring of 2024. The mission of the Trustees is to generally oversee the management of the library, including the selection of the Library Director, the approval of the budget, and the establishment of general policies. The Board meets monthly except during August. The Library Board of Trustees consists of three members, all of whom are elected for three-years on a staggered basis during elected terms.
If interested, please fill out a town application for volunteering on a board: http://www.manchester.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/559/Committee-Volunteer-Application-PDF?bidId= and send to Sara Collins, Library Director, scollins@manchesterpl.org. The library would like to have interested parties for consideration by July 19th for Trustees and Board of Selectman to review in August.
Summer Hours at the Library
On July 1 the MBTS Public Library will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays until September.
Children’s News & Events
*Please register for all programs on our website: https://www.manchesterpl.org/events/
*Summer Reading June 22 – August 11
Kids going into grade 6 and under are invited to sign up for summer reading, starting on 6/22 and ending on 8/11. Register in the library for a chance to win raffle prizes and get free admission to the Topsfield Fair!
*Summer Art and Sensory
Wednesdays at 3:00—4:00PM
Art and Sensory encourages students to explore their creativity through the fun of using many different art materials. The project is always step by step, hands on and guided to help create individual masterpieces! This program is for kids in pre-k –2nd grade and starts 6/28 and runs every Wednesday this summer. Space is limited and registration is required for each week’s session.
Storytime with Miss Audrey
Mondays at 10:30AM
Join Miss Audrey for stories, songs, and games for ages 0-5.
News & Events for Teens
*To register for the programs below and more: manchesterpl.org/events
*Summer Reading for Teens (11-18)
Teens can stop in the library at any time to pick up bingo sheets and instructions so you can win cool prizes all summer long.
*Creating Comic Strips and Gag Cartoons
Friday, July 14 at 1:00—3:00PM
For ages 11-16: Boston-based author/illustrator Jonathan Todd (the upcoming Scholastic graphic novel “Timid”) is back, this time for a two-hour workshop on writing and drawing cartoons geared for laughs. Registration is limited to 20 participants, and art supplies are included. Please register on the Library Events Calendar — and we’ll see you in the funny pages!
News & Events for Adults
*To register for the programs below and more: manchesterpl.org/events
*Navigating Career Options at Any Stage of Life (Virtual)
Monday, July 17at 2:00—3:00PM
Changing jobs is becoming a popular career move for plenty of American workers across the nation in search of better benefits, more money, and a positive work-life balance. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic also resulted in a major uptick in individuals making career changes. 37% of the U.S. labor force changed or lost their job in 2020. The average American worker has 12 jobs throughout a lifetime. Across the U.S., workers have an average tenure of about 4.1 years with a single employer. 65% of American workers are actively searching for a new full-time job right now. Let’s talk about where you are in your career path and what the next step might be. Led by Donna Dailey, Career Counselor for New England Career Services.
This program is made possible through a partnership with the Tewksbury Public Library and all registrants will receive the recording via email within 24 hours of the program.
Cold Brew/Hot Books on the Lawn
Thursday, July 20 at 11:00—11:30AM
Summer is hot and good books are even hotter! We’ll provide the cold brew coffee for you and we can all chat about the books we have been reading or hearing about. Thursday, July 20, 11 AM on the lawn with Lori, Sara and Maddy as we dish and ditch the good, bad, and ugly books that caught our attention in July. Whether you love gripping thrillers, historical fiction, laugh out loud comedies or romances that never go the way you want, we’ll have something to share. It’s 30 minutes and a free cold brew coffee, relax and chat about books, what could be better? See you here and bring a friend! Come back on August 10 for another cold brew and more book recommendations.
Author Reading and Chat with Karin Gertsch
Thursday, July 20 at 6:00—7:00PM
Karin Gertsch’s first fiction novel was just published in June, 2023 and she will be visiting the MBTS Public Library to read a selection from the book and answer your questions about her journey from guidebook writer to children’s book author to publishing Five Wishes. Karin will sign copies of her book brought to the event but will not be selling copies. Coffee and tea will be available during the program so consider bringing your favorite covered to go mug.
About Five Wishes: The setting is Hamlet, a New England town. Delbert MacInnes is content to live where he was born and raised. “I’ll look out another window if I want a different view,” he says. Matilda MacInnes isn’t the complaining type; she wants her family to believe she’s happy with her life, but for decades she’s hidden a big secret, and it wants out! When an unexpected event happens, Matilda discovers—though she is no longer young—that wishes can still come true.
Karin is a retired educator, who lives with her husband on a Christmas tree farm in Essex, Massachusetts. In 1997, her book, Cape Ann & Vicinity: A Guide for Residents and Visitors, was published by Acorn Press just in time for the City of Gloucester’s 375th anniversary. It was the first guidebook for this historic area. Fast forward to 2019, and Austin Macauley Publishers in New York produced her first children’s book, Flora Has an Adventure; it is the first book of a series.
Registration is encouraged but not required.
*A Look At The Life & Works of Agatha Christie (Virtual)
Friday, July 21 at 2:00—3:00PM
Agatha Christie is the most famous mystery writer in the world. In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records goes further and lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world’s most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare’s works and the Bible. Who was this remarkable woman? How did she come to write her indelible works? Why is she still such a popular literary figure? These and other questions will be explored along with a real-life mystery about Christie’s dramatic disappearance in 1926 that remains substantially unsolved to this day. Led by Dr. Bill Thierfelder, a retired college professor who taught a variety of Arts and Humanities courses for 32 years at several New York universities and colleges, including St. John’s University and Dowling College. He holds a Ph.D. in English, with minors in theater, art history and music history.
Program made available through a partnership with the Tewksbury Public Library. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 24 hours of the program.