Mar
30
Sat
English Conversation Circle
Mar 30 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

An opportunity for New  English Speakers to practice in a comfortable and welcoming environment and to gain confidence in general communication and in the communication skills needed in ordinary every day life situations.  

Students will learn to:

  1. Improve their pronunciation  
  2. Build their vocabulary, including slang and idioms
  3. Improve their comprehension
  4. Build cross cultural skills
  5. Gain confidence when speaking English
  6. Build life skills useful for seeking medical care, opening bank accounts, job searches and interviews

Classes will meet for one hour twice a week, with flexibility for participants to join once or twice a week as suits their schedule. The schedule can be adjusted to suit the participants’ own schedule needs once the group is formed. 

The initial round of sessions will run for five weeks, beginning Feb 17 & 20. Saturdays will be 10AM-11AM and Tuesdays will be 6PM-7PM.

For reservations or inquiries please contact Katya at kschapiro@ewmlibrary.org

Apr
1
Mon
Baby and Toddler Storytime
Apr 1 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Come join us for books and playtime! We will gather for songs and stories designed for ages 1-3, but babies, preschoolers, and siblings are all welcome as well. At 11am a craft project will be offered.

Apr
2
Tue
Brick Builders Club!
Apr 2 @ 3:45 pm – 4:45 pm

Calling all builders! Bring your friends and let your imagination run wild. Creations will remain on display at the Library until the Club’s next meeting.

Apr
5
Fri
Reading with Molly!
Apr 5 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Reading with Molly!

Molly is a Bright Spot Therapy Dog who likes to hear stories and look at the pictures. We will have sign ups for 10 minute slots with her as a reading buddy. Sign up for a timeslot here in person or by calling us at 413-527-1031 or emailing us at youthdept@ewmlibrary.org.

Apr
8
Mon
Baby and Toddler Storytime
Apr 8 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Come join us for books and playtime! We will gather for songs and stories designed for ages 1-3, but babies, preschoolers, and siblings are all welcome as well. At 11am a craft project will be offered.

Apr
9
Tue
Pokemon Club
Apr 9 @ 3:45 pm – 5:00 pm

Come share your love of all things Pokemon with other enthusiasts! Feel free to bring your device to play Pokemon GO, your trading cards to battle and trade, or any of the many handheld video games to play and share with each other. Each meeting of the Club will feature a game to play together on the Library’s Nintendo Switch.

Graphic Novel Book Club
Apr 9 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Our Graphic Novel Book Club meets monthly, on the second Tuesday, from 6:30 – 8 PM. All are welcome to join! Email Anastasia at bookclubs@ewmlibrary.org if you are interested in joining and to request the next book title.

Apr
12
Fri
Reading with Molly!
Apr 12 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Reading with Molly!

Molly is a Bright Spot Therapy Dog who likes to hear stories and look at the pictures. We will have sign ups for 10 minute slots with her as a reading buddy. Sign up for a timeslot here in person or by calling us at 413-527-1031 or emailing us at youthdept@ewmlibrary.org.

Apr
16
Tue
Brick Builders Club!
Apr 16 @ 3:45 pm – 4:45 pm

Calling all builders! Bring your friends and let your imagination run wild. Creations will remain on display at the Library until the Club’s next meeting.

All Hamptons Read Book Discussion: Master Slave Husband Wife
Apr 16 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

All Hamptons Read logo

Five communities are coming together during March and April in a partnership called All Hamptons Read. The inspiration for this multi-community initiative is the book Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo.

It is the remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery through daring, determination, and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave.

Spearheaded by the public libraries in Northampton, Florence, Easthampton, Southampton, Westhampton, and Williamsburg, All Hamptons Read is partnering to give readers throughout our region the opportunity to come together for discussion and exploration of the themes from Master Slave Husband Wife.

Programs include book discussions, Underground Railroad History program and a conversation with author Ilyon Woo and clothing historian Lynne Zacek Bassett.

Author’s Discussion Guide

Copies of Master Slave Husband Wife are available to borrow from the participating libraries in each community. Ebooks and E-audio are also available through Libby.

About the book:

The remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery through daring, determination, and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave.

In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. Posing as master and slave, while sustained by their love as husband and wife, they made their escape together across more than 1,000 miles, riding out in the open on steamboats, carriages, and trains that took them from bondage in Georgia to the free states of the North.

Along the way, they dodged slave traders, military officers, and even friends of their enslavers, who might have revealed their true identities. The tale of their adventure soon made them celebrities, and generated headlines around the country. Americans could not get enough of this charismatic young couple, who traveled another 1,000 miles criss-crossing New England, drawing thunderous applause as they spoke alongside some of the greatest abolitionist luminaries of the day—among them Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown.

But even then, they were not out of danger. With the passage of an infamous new Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, all Americans became accountable for returning refugees like the Crafts to slavery. Then yet another adventure began, as slave hunters came up from Georgia, forcing the Crafts to flee once again—this time from the United States, their lives and thousands more on the line and the stakes never higher.

With three epic journeys compressed into one monumental bid for freedom, Master Slave Husband Wife is an American love story—one that would challenge the nation’s core precepts of life, liberty, and justice for all—one that challenges us even now.