Queer Reading Group

Hybrid Book Group!

Join us in person to read and discuss books by queer authors in a variety of genres. This group has a stress-free structure, where the conversation we develop about identity, gender, race, and all intersections that these generate is just as important as reading the book. We make space to feel safe, ask questions, and learn. Approach with curiosity and we’ll meet you more than halfway: you’ll fit right in.

If you are not able to join us in person, please register to join by Zoom.

Black History Month Talk with Dr. Rebecca Hall, Author of Award-Winning Graphic Novel WAKE: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts

Rebecca Hall, JD PhD is an independent scholar, activist, and educator. Her paternal grandparents were born enslaved. She writes and publishes on the history of race, gender, law, and resistance as well as articles on climate justice and intersectional feminist theory. Her most recent book, Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts (Simon & Schuster, 2021) has won multiple awards, and was a finalist for the N.A.A.C.P. Image Awards and the Pen America Open Book Award. Wake has been listed as a Best Book of 2021 by NPR and The Washington Post, Forbes, and Ms. Magazine. Her work has been supported by numerous grants and fellowships. She is a 2022-23 Radcliffe Institute Fellow.

Click here to register for this program!

About the Graphic Novel:
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts (written by Rebecca Hall, illustrated by Hugo Martinez) tells the story of Dr. Rebecca Hall, a historian, granddaughter of slaves, and a woman haunted by the legacy of slavery. The accepted history of slave revolts tells her that enslaved women took a back seat. But she feels the need to look deeper. Her journey takes her through old court records, slave ship captain’s logs, crumbling correspondence, and even the forensic evidence from the bones of enslaved women from the “negro burying ground” uncovered in Manhattan.

She finds women warriors everywhere.

Using in-depth archival research and the measured use of historical imagination, Dr. Hall brings to life the women who fought for freedom during the Middle Passage and the women who led slave revolts in Colonial New York.

We also follow Rebecca’s own story of resistance as living in the wake of slavery continues to shape her own life — both as a successful attorney and later as a historian seeking the past that haunts her. But in the process, she learns that the power of these women’s resistance, buried in the past, is still very much alive.

The past is gone. But we still live in its wake.

This program is in collaboration with the Watertown Free Public Library.

שעת סיפור בעברית! Hebrew Storytime!

Join us for an in-person Hebrew storytime filled with stories, songs, and poems! This storytime is geared for kids who are ages 0 to 6 years-old.

הצטרפו אלינו לשעת סיפור מלאה בסיפורים ושירים מוכרים ואהובים בשפה העברית ! שעת הסיפור מיועדת לילדים בגילאי 0 עד 6 שנים.

Space is limited, so please arrive early and stop by the Children’s Room Desk to get a storytime ticket. Only families with a storytime ticket will be admitted to the program.

מספר המקומות מוגבל, מומלץ להגיע מוקדם ולאסוף כרטיס לפעילות משולחן הקבלה באגף הילדים. הכניסה לפעילות תתאפשר רק עבור משפחות עם כרטיס.

For the safety of our program attendees and staff, masks will be required for all attendees ages 2 and older during the program.

למען בטיחותם של משתתפי הפעילות והצוות, יידרשו מסכות לכל המשתתפים מגיל שנתיים ומעלה במהלך הפעילות. תודה על שיתוף הפעולה

Douglass Day Transcribe-a-Thon

Douglass Day is an annual program that marks the birth (actual date unknown) of Frederick Douglass. Each year, a coalition of scholars from Penn State, the Colored Conventions Project, and elsewhere celebrate Douglass Day with a collective action for Black history. They gather people from across the nation to transcribe an online collection of Black history and culture.

In 2023, the Library will join in Douglass Day by hosting a public transcribe-a-thon, where community members can help transcribe the papers of Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893). Shadd Cary was one of the earliest Black women to edit a newspaper, serve as a Civil War recruiter, attend law school, and much more. Participants will learn how to use an online platform to transcribe and enhance newly digitized collections from Shadd Cary’s long and fascinating life, contributed by the Archives of Ontario and Libraries and Archives Canada.

You don’t need any experience with transcription or digital archives to participate in this celebration of Black history! And you can join us in person or online, anytime between 12 to 3 PM.

No registration is required for the in-person gathering; to participate via Zoom, please register here.

“Pirates: Lost at Sea” by Talewise Science

Set sail with us on a journey into the wondrous world of SCIENCE!

Help the performer conduct several exciting science experiments all about chemical reactions, air pressure, the changing states of matter, the transfer of energy, and more!

The science experiments are cleverly tied together by a fun, interactive tale called “Pirates: Lost at Sea.” The entire audience will help the performer tell the story — you’ll even get to decide what happens next!

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind learning experience, featuring stories and science experiments that ‘ARRR’ sure to amaze you!

This program is for ages 3 years-old to 11 years-old. Registration is not required.