And to celebrate that, the folks at Not Your Average Joe’s in Watertown have picked us as February’s Not Your Average Cause recipient.
That means, if patrons of the library eat at the restaurant on Tuesdays in February, the restaurant will donate 15% of that night’s profits to the library. Find out more on our website!
Quilt by Missy Shay
Textile and quilting artist Missy Shay is this month’s showcase in the T. Ross Kelly Family Gallery.
Originally inspired by her mother and older sister, Missy started by sewing clothes for her dolls and later, for herself. Her father then taught her the art of measuring, taking apart, and recombining materials. After working as an occupational therapist, Missy discovered quilting, and has been teaching and quilting ever since.
Her pieces for this show showcase her comfort with multiple media types, using paper and foundation piecing, appliqué and reverse appliqué, and stained glass. Ms. Shay now teaches at Cambridge Quilt Shop. Be sure to check her work out!
On Saturday, December 19th, at 1:30pm, the Library will be hosting a special event with local filmmaker Roger Hagopian.
Mr. Hagopian has recently finished a new film about the Hood Rubber Company, and the Armenian immigrants from Watertown who were employed there.
Founded in 1896 as a chemical research lab, the company soon moved on to production of shoes, boots, and tires. By 1920, one-fifth of the United State’s footware came from the Hood Rubber Company.
Destination Watertown: The Armenians of Hood Rubber includes interviews with former company employees and Hood family descendants. It focuses on working conditions and is bound to be an impressive look into the lives of Watertown residents.
After the screening, Mr. Hagopian will be available to discuss the film with the audience. Be sure to stop by for this truly remarkable film.
Have you checked out our gallery space lately? Located behind the reference desk on the second floor, the gallery showcases a new artist every month.
The exhibit for November is up and if you like wildlife photography, you’ll love this! Brooks Mathewson is showcasing his photography and his exhibit features work from his two ongoing projects. The first is documenting birds local to Cambridge and Boston, and the second is capturing the salt marshes, mudflats, and barrier beaches in southern Rhode Island. 
If you haven’t stopped by the library lately, you might not realize that our new cafe is open and ready for business! Not only does the cafe have a light and dark roast everyday, they also have espresso, fresh pastries, juices, and sandwiches.
Also, while you’re having your snack, check out our large selection of used books. We have some really popular titles, and the materials are in great condition.
Read more about the cafe in the Watertown Tab’s Blog!
According to event organizer, Deborah Porter, Boston, up until now, was the only major American city without a book fair.
No longer!
This coming Saturday, October 24, from 10am-6pm, the Boston Book Festival will be taking over Copley Square. You can go to bostonbookfest.org to read up on all of the events and authors who will be present. You can also read the interview with Ms. Porter here, on bostonist.com.
It looks like a great festival, including appearances by John Hodgman (from the Daily Show and the Mac vs. PC commercials), Ken Burns, the well-known documentary film maker, and authors such as Anita Diamant (The Red Tent), Richard Russo (Empire Falls), and Ben Mezrich (The Accidental Billionaires).
There are also some really great events for kids and teens, which can be found here.
The entire schedule of events can be found here, and be sure to note that some events require tickets. Those events are, however, still completely free!
We’ll we’ve gone and signed up for a twitter account. If you aren’t sure what Twitter is, you can read about it here, and sign up for your own account here.
Basically, twitter broadcasts a short message to anyone following you. Some people use twitter to let people know how their day is going. Others use their accounts to broadcast news, traffic, or celebrity happenings.
The library twitter stream will contain mostly news about upcoming events, new/popular book releases, and anything relevant to the library user. To follow us, sign into your account, go here and click “follow.”
By now, most of you have probably heard about ebooks and audiobooks, but you might not know about Playaway books.
Playaways are devices that already have audio books pre-loaded. All you need is a set of headphones and you’re ready to go!
The Watertown Library has been lending Playaways for over 2 years now and we have 318 titles just in the adult department alone! Our children and teen departments also have playaways and we are all busy with plans to purchase more.
The devices themselves are smaller than a deck of cards, so they’re great for when you have to ride the bus to work, or for evening walks!
Wondering what we have available? Check it out here. You’ll notice we have lots of language learning titles, but if you look down the list, you’ll find novels and all sorts of offerings.
Check it out!
No one likes to look for a job (or, at least, no one I’ve ever met). And while the Internet is an important resource, do you know the best ways to search for information? And, even more importantly, can you tell which sites are ones to trust?
The Watertown Library is trying to help. We started by setting up a display of books we felt were good resources for those on the hunt. If you’re at the library, this display is located behind the reference desk, before the stairs to the gallery.
In addition to our display, we’re also offering a number of classes that might be useful for those looking to brush up on their skills. Most importantly, we offer a workshop specifically about the online job search once a month. We also cater to those who are not yet comfortable with computers with our “Intro to Computers Class,” and for those who want add some technical skills to their resume, “Intro to Word,” and “Intro to Powerpoint.” These classes happen monthly, and are popular. Space is limited, so be sure check out information on our homepage and sign up before they’re full.
We also have many public computers available to help you with your search. If you’re at the library and the computers are all full, you can make a reservation and one will be available to you in just 5 minutes!
If you’ve had experience with certain programs, like Word and Excel, but haven’t used them in awhile, a good way to remind yourself of what you already know is to check out something like the Step By Step books Microsoft offers.
Are you writing your resume and having a hard time describing your proficiency/skill levels with certain tools, be sure to look at Learning Library Express, one of our databases you can use while at the library. This incredibly helpful site offers practice tests, skill-forming exercises, and courses to increase your knowledge.
Are you not even sure what field you want to work in? Another database we offer, that you can even use from home, is Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center. This site explains what jobs are in high demand, what categories jobs fall into, and even what skills are required to obtain certain jobs in the field you would like to work in.
If you’re not able to attend one of our classes, and want to use the internet for help, just remember, before you spend tons of time writing your resume or cover letter, to take your time and read over lots of good examples, not just one.
If you’re from the area, be sure to use local resources, like Mass Resources, which offers links to employment assistance and job training. Also, check out CareerOneStop for great advice and links on the job search.
If you have a favorite resource, please feel free to share it in the comments, so others can check them out!
Most of all, stay positive and GOOD LUCK!
