There is a lot of uncertainty in 2020, but of all the changes we face one thing has stayed the same – there is a presidential election. Votes will be cast for November 3, 2020 but how does one cast their vote in a pandemic? For Massachusetts voters the answer just got a whole lot… Continue reading Voting: One Less Thing to Worry About
This is probably unsurprising, but since I’ve been home, I’ve been reading. I just started A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit, and it’s a welcome piece of non-fiction as I, along with everybody else, try to adjust to the “new normal” and the heaviness of uncertainty. In the prelude to the book, Solnit… Continue reading Building Community in Times of Uncertainty
**Important One Book, One Watertown update: Due the unavailability of one of our presenters, we have made the decision to postpone all of our remaining One Book, One Watertown programming, which was scheduled to take place throughout the month of March. Rather than present programs piecemeal, we will aim to present all of the programs… Continue reading Your Mission – If You Choose to Accept It…
For movie lovers, there is no more magical season than this. The Golden Globe Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards have hosted their parties and declared their winners, and all eyes turn to the Oscars. On Sunday night, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will host the 92nd Academy Awards, and we'll all… Continue reading But When Can I Borrow It From the Library?
If you’re a frequent visitor of the Children’s Room, you might have noticed a few changes recently! We’re excited to announce that we’re bringing back Launchpads! These are small, portable touchscreen tablets pre-loaded with early learning games similar to those on the AWE computer we had. With educational games and puzzles featuring everything from farm… Continue reading New Children’s Room Technology
A map of Middlesex County from 1856, newly preserved and framed, has been installed on the second floor of the Watertown Free Public Library. Since the map measures about five square feet, the outlines of the towns are visible from a distance, but a closer look reveals fascinating detail. Prolific cartographer Henry Francis Walling (1825-1889),… Continue reading Restored 1856 Map Returns to WFPL
When did you last lay eyes on Mango Languages, the library’s online language learning resource? If it’s been a while, now is the time to give it a second (or first!) look. Mango has recently been updated to offer a streamlined learning experience, and it has a new logo to match. Gone is the playful… Continue reading A New Look for Mango Languages
I had the opportunity this past week to attend Book Expo America (BEA) in New York City! BEA is attended by publisher industry professionals, including publishers, editors, publicists, authors, illustrators, book sellers, and librarians. Over three days I learned about publishing trends, diversity in publishing, the future of library eBooks and of course … what… Continue reading Dispatches from the Land of Books
Do you know what percentage of Americans were eligible to vote for our first president? What year women were granted suffrage? When Asian immigrants were offered a path to citizenship and voting rights? Click here to explore our interactive timeline of American voting rights and restrictions, from colonial times to the present day. And don't… Continue reading A Brief History of Voting Rights
On August 16 newspapers throughout the country published editorials in response to the Boston Globe’s call to repudiate the current administration’s frequent use of the term “fake news” and more urgently the labeling of journalists as “enemy of the people”. I found it heartening to see the responses from over 400 newspapers denouncing these words… Continue reading First for a Reason
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