Category Archives: Adult Services

Great American Unsung Heroes Who Changed the Course of History – Virtual Program

Great American Unsung Heroes Who Changed the Course of History: Dr. Benjamin Rush

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

7:00 – 8:00 PM – Virtual program

Register online!

Benjamin Rush / Thomas Sully / 1812 / Mr. and Mrs. Richard Stockton Rush III / National Portrait Gallery

Learn about one of America’s forgotten founding fathers — Dr. Benjamin Rush. Rush was a renowned writer, reformer and medical pioneer who touched virtually every page in the story of our nation’s founding. He was Franklin’s protegee, the editor of Common Sense, and Washington’s Surgeon General. Rush was a fierce progressive advocate – a vocal opponent of slavery and prejudice by race, religion, or gender, and a champion of public education – even as his convictions threatened his name and career, time and again. He was a confidant, and often the physician, of Washington, Adams and Jefferson. As a doctor, Rush became known as the “Father of American Medicine” and the “Father of Psychiatry”, whose brilliant, humane insights and institutional reforms revolutionized the understanding of mental illness in ways that still reverberate.

About the presenter: Dennis J. Curran served as a Massachusetts judge for 16 years, including in the Superior Court from 2006 to 2018. Prior to his time on the bench, Curran worked as an Assistant District Attorney and First Assistant Legal Counsel to the Governor, in addition to work in private practice. A graduate of Boston Latin School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia School of Law, Curran has taught law at Tufts University, Roger Williams University School of Law, and Brown University.

Sponsored by the Tewksbury Friends of the Library and a collaboration of Massachusetts Libraries.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Mass Center for the Book 2024 Reading Challenge

How the challenge works:

  • Choose a book that fits the monthly challenge.
  • After you read, fill out this form to tell Mass Center for the Book about the book you choose.
    • Using the Mass Center for the Book 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.
    • Mass Center for the Book will be drawing two names on the last day of each month to win a free book! Make sure you get those entries in before the end of the month.

September Challenge:

Looking for some ideas for this month’s challenge? Check out these suggestions!

America’s Spies — Why Do People Betray Their Country? – Virtual Program

America’s Spies — Why Do People Betray Their Country?

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

7:00 – 8:00 PM – Virtual Program

Register Online!

Have you ever wondered about the mind of a spy? Retired Army Intelligence and CIA clandestine officer Tom Hofer will delve into the history of espionage in the US, from George Washington’s Culper spy ring to modern times. Explore the career of notable American spies like Benedict Arnold, and the atomic spies and modern U.S. spies in the intelligence community: Aldrich Ames, Ana Belen Montes, and Robert Hansen. The program will examine the motivations for Americans who spy, contrasting with foreign citizens recruited to spy for the United States. Hofer will also share stories from his 40 years in the intelligence community, including personal knowledge of two imprisoned American traitors. While no classified information is revealed, you’ll come away with a deeper understanding of what motivates people to spy!

Sponsored by the Tewksbury Friends of the Library and a collaboration of Massachusetts Libraries.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will NOT be recorded.

The Places of the Muses — A Brief History of Museums – Virtual Program

The Places of the Muses – A Brief History of Museums

Thursday, September 26, 2024

10:30 -11:30 AM – Virtual Program

Register Online!

It would seem as though museums have always been around, but in truth, they’re a fairly recent phenomenon. Beginning with the early proto-museums of the Renaissance, this compact yet comprehensive discussion traces the development of public art institutions, from the “wonder rooms” of the Age of Exploration up through modern times — including the discovery of ancient world’s only known museum in 6th-century BC Mesopotamia.

Led by Gene Wisniewski, author of “The Art of Looking at Art.” He received his art education at Rutgers University, the New York Academy of Art, The National Academy of Design, The New School, and L’Ecole Albert Defois in Vihiers, France. Wisniewski has exhibited in galleries nationwide, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. He has twenty years’ experience teaching and lecturing on visual art.

Sponsored by the Tewksbury Friends of the Library, Corning Community Impact & Investment and a collaboration of Massachusetts Libraries.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Fun on Creativebug

September Creativebug Fun!

Fall is just around the corner, take some time to be creative. Discover exciting new crafts, hone your garment sewing skills and get to know a familiar New England fruit a little better. See what is new this month in Creativebug!

Using your library card and PIN, create your own account for FREE and nurture your creative side with 1000+ video classes in painting, knitting, crafting, sewing & more!

Explorations in Encaustic: A Daily Practice – September 1

Encaustic, an ancient artistic technique, involves painting with hot wax to create tremendous textural possibilities. Lisa Solomon, a multi-disciplinary artist and educator, guides you through an exploration of this unique medium. The wax, sometimes infused with colored pigments, is applied to surfaces, typically wooden panels, and manipulated using various tools. During the process, experiment with techniques such as embedding, mark making, layering, carving, and incorporating natural and 3D elements. The resulting encaustic paintings often exhibit a lustrous and translucent quality, providing a means for creative expression through the fusion of wax, pigments, and heat. This 16-day practice will release every other day this month.

CB Mixtape: An Apple a Day – September 4

CbMixtapes are playlists made of specific bits taken from different classes and grouped together by a common theme. It’s a fun way to learn how one topic is approached by a variety of artists with different techniques, all rounded up in one curated mixtape.​ Apples are part of the classic still-life and are inspiring for artists of all levels. They have the same basic shapes but can be so different in color and texture, and are easy to find in the grocery store. Learn how five artists draw, sketch, and paint apples in this CbMixtape.

Garment Sewing with Woven Fabrics: Beyond a Straight Stitch – September 11

When you make your own clothing, there are so many decisions to make along the way – you choose the fabrics, style details, and how each garment fits. Amanda Todaro, a sewing educator from Ditto patterns, has been sewing clothing for herself and others for over 20 years and helps simplify some of these choices for you. In this class, Amanda will show you some fundamental garment sewing techniques – how to sew and press curved seams, sew darts, set in a sleeve, make in-seam pockets, and sew a flat-felled seam – empowering you to make the wardrobe you are proud to wear.

Stitched Envelope Journal Using Kraft-Tex – September 18

Made with pockets for bits of ephemera, spacers for postcards or tickets, and pages for writing, drawing or gluing in to, this Kraft-tex Stitched Envelope Journal is ready to join you on your travels, near or far! Book artist Bel Mills of Scrap Paper Circus offers an exercise in measuring, structure, and form as she leads you through the construction of a journal designed to safely enclose your memorabilia. It has artful details including torn edge pages, a window in the spine, and a handstitched flap with a tidy closure. This class also introduces you to the wonders of Kraft-tex paper, a material more akin to fabric or leather, that ensures your journal is able to accompany you on all your adventures for years to come.

Garment Sewing with Woven Fabrics: Zippers – September 25

Zippers are a common way to close garments, but sewing them can sometimes seem tricky. Amanda Todaro is a sewing educator from Ditto patterns and has been sewing clothing for herself and others for over 20 years. She demonstrates three of the most common types of zippers for garments: lapped zippers, invisible zippers, and fly front zippers. With a little practice, you’ll be able to sew any of these zippers with ease.

Melrose Public Library Mission Statement

Mission

Melrose Public Library’s staff, building and collections provide a portal for all to explore, imagine and engage. The library is where literacy, local history and community connect!

 

Vision

Melrose Public Library– where people of all ages, experiences, abilities and beliefs can belong.  As a 21st century community institution with roots in the late 19th century, the library is grounded in the present and has its sights set on the future.  Carefully curated resources provide wide access to books, media, and technology.  Skilled and welcoming staff design innovative programming to foster individual growth and enhance community engagement.  The Melrose Public Library offers places to meet, study, read, engage in civic discourse and share all our stories.

 

 

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