Most groups are meeting virtually while the building remains closed to in person groups. Call in information has been provided within each group’s information or will be emailed to registered patrons. Some groups will meet outside as the weather permits this spring and summer. 

Taste of Poetry

1st Tuesday of the month at 11:30am 

Location: This group will meet virtually until further notice

Bring your lunch and an appetite for poetry. Each month we look at few poems by a well-known poet. We provide copies of the poems and lead a discussion after reading them. All are welcome. Registration is required. Once you register, a PDF of poet and poems to review before discussion as well as a link to join the virtual discussion will be sent to you a few days in advance of the meeting. For more information contact: Tamara Dalton [email protected]

2020-2021 Meeting Dates & Poets:

March 2, 2021: Donika Kelly
April 6, 2021: Simon J. Ortiz
May 4, 2021: Aimee Nezhukumatathil
June 1, 2021: Clint Smith

 

NPL/COA Book Group

All meetings are at 2pm and meeting virtually. Open to all adults 18+. To register, click on the date or call the circulation desk at 508-528-3380. Registration is also available through the Council on Aging.

March 16th: Daughters of Erietown by Connie Schultz

April 20th: Hillbilly Elegy by J.D Vance

May 18th: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

June 15th: A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler

 

 

Real Life Reads (a non-fiction book group)

Do you like to learn something while you read? Think you could never enjoy non-fiction? Join Sarah for Real Life Reads, a non-fiction book group that will span a wide variety of topics including history, biographies/memoirs, nature, true crime, travelogues, and more. Copies of each title will be available at the circulation desk (regular print, large print, and audio), contact the library to request your copy and to schedule a pick up appointment. 

Registration is required, click on the date to be brought to the registration page. This group will meet on Town Hill, please bring a chair. Masks will be required. In the event of inclement weather everyone will be emailed and a new date chosen. 

Contact Sarah with any questions, [email protected].

May 14th: Dead Wake by Erik Larson

June 11th: Furious Hours by Casey Cep

July 9th: Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

August 13th: Troublemaker – Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini

September 10th: The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede

October 7th (Thursday): Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

November 19th (Thursday): Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

 

Take and Make Craft Kits

Each month there will be a different craft kit available to pick up and try at home. Each kit will include supplies and instructions. Please note, some basic supplies will be provided by you (scissors, tape, etc.). Supplies you need to provide will be listed under each week to help you decide and plan. 

Registration for each kit you are interested in will be required as supplies are limited. Registration for the first kit will open on September 1st. 

Kits will be available for pick up anytime in the small lobby by the bulletin board during the week listed. Please only take the kit with your name on it. 

March 15th: Book Nook (FULL)

April 12th: Glass Garden Markers

May 10th: Flower Pots with Nail Polish Marbling

June 14th: Sunflower Wreath

 

 

Watch. Read. Listen. Engage. How to Become an Antiracist Discussion Series

Second Wednesday evening of each month at 7:30pm. Registration is required. Click on the program date to register. Those that register will be emailed login information the day before each session.

Discussion group activities will include watching movies, listening to podcasts, and reading books (both fiction and nonfiction) that will help educate about systemic racism, prejudice, white privilege and what it means to be a black person in our society. Engage in what may be uncomfortable and possibly challenging discussions with fellow community members.

Meeting dates/agenda:

March 10: Watch. Just Mercy. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan Stevenson heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or those not afforded proper representation. One of his first cases is that of Walter McMillian, who is sentenced to die in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite evidence proving his innocence. (The library has the DVD; it is currently available to stream on HBO Max and Amazon Prime.)

April 14: Listen. NPR podcast: “Black and Up in Arms.” Part of NPR’s “Code Switch” Podcast series, this edition discusses the complicated history of Black Americans and guns. Listen before meeting in order to discuss.

May 12: Read. Medium article: 103 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice. Read before meeting in order to discuss. Please come prepared to discuss at least one item from the list that you have not done or were not aware of, and how you plan to implement it in your life moving forward.

Over the summer: Read. The Hate U Give. Copies will be available at the library; the ebook is also available through the Libby app

 

 

Suffragettes on Corselettes: The Evolution of Underwear and Our 19th Amendment

Saturday, March 13th, 3pm. Register here. 

Join us virtually to celebrate Women’s History Month with Ehris Urban & Velya Jancz-Urban from Grounded Goodwife.

For centuries, women have allowed themselves to be squeezed, twisted, and squished to conform to desired shapes. The history of underwear reveals a lot about women’s changing roles in society – how we perceive ourselves, and how we’re viewed by others. The 1910s saw an end to the hourglass figure with a tiny waist. Women were finally able to breathe and move more freely. Did the demise of tightlacing help women gain the right to vote in 1920? Underwear matters.

Registration is required.  Participants will be emailed Zoom login info the day before this program.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Norfolk Public Library.

 

 

The New Normal New England Road Trip with Ted Reinstein

Tuesday, March 16th, 7pm. Register here. 

Join us on a rollicking ride around New England—all in just one hour, and all from the comfort of your own home. 

Author of three books about New England and longtime “Chronicle” reporter Ted Reinstein is your tour guide as you go from Maine to Rhode Island, Mt. Washington to Mt. Mansfield, and Berkshire foliage to Fenway Park. 

But Ted’s 20-plus years of reporting and telling stories from all over New England means this is not your average bus tour. Prepare to meet colorful characters who’ve done the darndest things, learn odd facts about familiar places, and of course—this being a Ted talk—expect to visit at least a few fabulous classic diners. (Spoiler alert: Ted reveals where to find THE best clam chowdah in America—and it’s right here in New England!) 

Ted will take Questions following the talk.

Registration is required.  Participants will be emailed the Zoom login info the day before this event.

 

Museum of Bad Art: Tough Times – A Bad Day to Dystopian Apocalypse

Thursday, March 18th, 7pm. Register here.

The Museum of Bad Art collects, exhibits, and celebrates art that will be seen in no other venue.  Since 1993, they have collected art from thrift stores, yard sales, sidewalk trash and even artists who create it.  They analyze, compare to classic art, and share with thousands of fans around the world.  Art has always helped get us through difficult times, and there’s been no time quite like the present. In this presentation, Curator in Chief Michael Frank, will explore some of the ways artists react to disasters, small and large, real and imagined. 

Michael Frank, Curator in Chief, Museum of Bad Art is an acolyte who studied under the strict tutelage of the founding Esteemed Curator.  Mr. Frank now heads the entire department.  His appointment was due to his record of contributing more art to MOBA than anyone other than the Esteemed Curator and that he already had a tuxedo.  A professional musician and entertainer with enviable balloon-twisting skills, he lives in Boston.

Registration is required.  Participants will be emailed Zoom login info the day before this program.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Norfolk Public Library.

 

 

A Revolution of Her Own!

Monday, March 29th, 7pm. Register here.

Deborah Sampson, First American Female Soldier, Brings You The REVOLUTION!

The Norfolk Public Library and the Norfolk Questers virtually presents History At PlayTM, LLC’s Critically Acclaimed One-Woman Experience

This immersive solo performance of A REVOLUTION OF HER OWN!™ features HAP, LLC’s Founder and Artistic Director Judith Kalaora as Deborah Samson [Sampson], the first woman to enlist, to fight, and to be honorably discharged from the American Military. This hour-long program chronicles her life: An indentured servant by age five, Deborah grew up in a man’s world, where women were naught but second-class citizens. Without the ability to vote or to own property, Deborah knew her options were limited; breaking the rules may be necessary to accomplish a greater goal in life. Experience Deborah Sampson’s arduous upbringing, one and a half years of active combat, and success as the first female professional soldier through interactive stories. Deborah’s passion will take you back in time! Program includes simulated violence. Viewer discretion advised. This live event brings the vibrancy of theatrical performance direct to your home: Conducted in authentic period wardrobe, with vintage props, and professionally designed sets.

Josh Lederman, NBC News Political Correspondent, attests: “History At Play connects the dots between the characters that made up our past and the events they shaped that still influence our lives.” Jordan Rich, of CBS WBZ Radio, states that Judith Kalaora, the Founder & Artistic Director of History At Play, LLC, is “a one-woman force of nature and inhabits these women…it takes people like her to bring these stories to life…these lost pieces of history.”

About HAP, LLC: HAP, LLC was founded in 2010 by Artistic Director Judith Kalaora in order to create immersive living history entertainment and to chronicle the lives of influential and often forgotten women. Kalaora is a resident of Massachusetts and a graduate of Syracuse University, as well as completing the Education Program of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre of London, England. History At PlayTM, LLC has garnered international attention for their one-woman immersive living history performances. Since 2010, the HAP, LLC Troupe has brought the legacies of great heroines to life in museums, libraries, universities, historical societies, senior living communities, and schools across the United States. 

Register in advance for this meeting HERE:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpcumhpjsiGNAOrLddCR2haTsYAy1W504a

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.  

 

Hikes Through History

Tuesday, April 13th, 7pm. Register here.

Have you ever wandered through the woods and wondered who had been there before you?

In Massachusetts, many parks and trails have been carved out of historical sites. Author Alison O’Leary, an award-winning journalist and coauthor of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s new guide Best Day Hikes Near Boston, will share her favorites through this hour-long virtual program.

Using maps and historic photos, she describes several day trip destinations with historical significance and interesting features in Massachusetts. Special effort is made to include varying levels of difficulty (flat and easy to steep and challenging) and variety of scenery.

These sites include:

-A former rubber factory overlooked in the woods;

-Contributions of the Roosevelt-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to our favorite parks;

-Offbeat tales of local residents;

-Sites of former grand estates (and tales of the owners).

Best Day Hikes Near Boston (AMC Press 2017) is the second hiking/travel book O’Leary has published; her first was Inns & Adventures: A History and Explorer’s Guide to New Hampshire, Vermont, and the Berkshires, coauthored with Michael Tougias (OnCape Publishing 2015).

Their other coauthored nonfiction book is So Close to Home: The True Story of an American Family’s Fight for Survival in WWII. In 2017 she won the Silver Charlie Award from the Florida Magazine Association for history writing. For more information see www.alisonoleary.com.

Registration is required. Participants will be emailed Zoom login info the day before this program.

This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Norfolk Public Library.

 

Virtual Stop Motion Animation

Thursday, May 13, 7pm. Register here.

…Stop motion animation is almost as old as film itself….

Join us virtually as Dan Berman from the Rhode Island Computer Museum teaches us about stop motion animation.  Stop Motion animation is where a series of pictures are combined to make a moving image making for a great introduction into video for artists of all backgrounds. The components of stop motion animation will be covered through use of various programs. With these mediums you will capture live with the computer camera and put into interactive software. After the frames have been captured you will use basic video and audio editing techniques to create a finished animated video! 

Registration is required.  This is a virtual workshop using google “MEETS”. 

This program is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.