In 2011, library patrons worked together to create a paper immigration "quilt" to tell the stories of the people who make up our City. Everyone was invited to make one or more squares representing their family's immigrant story, and the squares were connected to create the quilt. Since this year marks Somerville's 30th anniversary as…
The March. It was all any of us could talk about Monday morning as we gathered around the children's room desk asking how our respective weekends were. Who took the T? Who walked? Who chauffeured? Did LA or Chicago have the second largest crowd? We talked around and over each other, while one of us…
After just returning from Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok, where it was hot and humid, this New England weather is killing me. I would love to return to a sunny vacation where the authentic food was amazing, Buddhist temples await, adventures on rivers and massages at every turn. If you’re looking to take a…
So we had two primary presidential candidates (and by primary, I mean two with actual chances of winning). And the candidate more people voted for lost. So how does that work? People say this country's a democracy, right? Well, not quite: especially when it comes to electing the president. When the Constitutional Convention met in…
Yesterday the New York Times ran a two-part column discussing whether or not there is a "wrong way" to read a book. The best part was this quote from Doris Lessing: “There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those,…
Libraries are sanctuary spaces for First Amendment rights. All persons are welcome and have the right to use the library free from discrimination and from threat to individual safety. There is no “hate speech” exception to the First Amendment. Hate speech is any form of expression through which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate, or incite…
The new display at the Somerville Public Library on Highland Ave, created by our one and only staff member, Thy, is now in our glass case for viewing. The display features books, movies and upcoming programming happening all surrounding the Somerville Reads 2016 book "The Witches" by Stacy Schiff. Below are some pictures of the…
Blog by Kathryn Smith, author of The Gatekeeper: Missy LeHand, FDR and the Untold Story of the Partnership That Defined a Presidency. Thanks, Cathy, for letting me be your guest blogger today. Missy LeHand was one of Somerville’s most famous residents in the 1920s-1940s, when she was the private secretary of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Especially…
I’m re-reading The Great Gatsby for the first time since college and am astounded. I remember loving the lush, delicate writing at the time but little else. Now I can’t get over the deceptive, seeming simplicity of this very short novel that has so much going on it: a snapshot of the Jazz Age, a critique of…
By: Aimee Bender This endearing book is set in California and is about Rose Edelstein, who when tasting food, can feel the hidden emotions of the person who cooked it. The book is about her relationship with her out of touch parents, disappearing brother, fake classmates and how she handles all the emotions people dump…
