Fitzwilliam Town Library

Wed. Sept. 20, 7pm
In 1850 Fitzwilliam was a small rural community of some 1300 people who were mostly engaged in farming and the manufacture of wooden products such as tubs, pails and buckets as well as tanned leather. The new Cheshire Railroad Line to Boston gave Fitzwilliam easy access to a large market.

But by 1860, the country had fallen into a depression. Work was hard to find and wages fell. Some women who worked as domestics earned as little as $.75 a week while mill girls earned $1.00 a week.

In 1861 everything changed. The country was thrust into an extraordinary time, and nothing would ever be the same.

John Bigelow of Fitzwilliam wrote in his diary:

Fitzwilliam April 13
Rainy day.
Telegraph - Fort Sumpter was attacked yesterday by Southerners. War has started.

Come hear the rest of the story of those who took part in these extraordinary events!

Our 8-week fall session begins on Wed., Sept. 27 at 10:30am and will continue through Nov. l5. Storytime is for preschoolers age 3-5 to begin to develop social skills as they listen together to a few carefully chosen stories and are involved in a related thoughtful craft or activity with Elaine Bieber, our Preschool Librarian. This will help your child be ready for school in a few years time!

Sept. 11, 7pm

From the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Miniaturist comes a captivating and brilliantly realized story of two young women—a Caribbean immigrant in 1960s London, and a bohemian woman in 1930s Spain—and the powerful mystery that ties them together.

England, 1967. Odelle Bastien is a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London. When she starts working at the prestigious Skelton Institute of Art, she discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles, a young artist of immense talent and vision whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades. The excitement over the painting is matched by the intrigue around the conflicting stories of its discovery. Drawn into a complex web of secrets and deceptions, Odelle does not know what to believe or who she can trust, including her mesmerizing colleague, Marjorie Quick.

Spain, 1936. Olive Schloss, the daughter of a Viennese Jewish art dealer and an English heiress, follows her parents to Arazuelo, a poor, restless village on the southern coast. She grows close to Teresa, a young housekeeper, and Teresa’s half-brother, Isaac Robles, an idealistic and ambitious painter newly returned from the Barcelona salons. A dilettante buoyed by the revolutionary fervor that will soon erupt into civil war, Isaac dreams of being a painter as famous as his countryman Picasso.

Raised in poverty, these illegitimate children of the local landowner revel in exploiting the wealthy Anglo-Austrians. Insinuating themselves into the Schloss family’s lives, Teresa and Isaac help Olive conceal her artistic talents with devastating consequences that will echo into the decades to come.

Rendered in exquisite detail, The Muse is a passionate and enthralling tale of desire, ambition, and the ways in which the tides of history inevitably shape and define our lives.

After a little more than 2 years of hard work, the Library has written and adopted a long-range plan. Meant to guide development of Library services and practices over the next five years, this document is the result of research in the form of looking at the long-range plans of other local libraries, surveying the population of Fitzwilliam, critically considering the Library's current strengths and weaknesses, and thoughtfully compiling a series of 18 goals (in four areas) for this valuable shared community resource.

Attaining our goals will not be easy, and we can't do it alone. We hope that as the public becomes familiar with our plan, that individuals may see areas that they would be interested in helping us to achieve. We welcome any and all offers of assistance in achieving this somewhat ambitious program. Please drop into the Library or write to us to discuss any of these initiatives any time.

For now, we hope you will read the plan, enjoy the pictures, and think about what more the Library can offer to the Town over the course of the next five years.

HOW CAN I READ 1000 BOOKS? It’s easy! One book a day for three years=1000
Three books a day for one year=1000
Ten books a week for two years=1000

WHEN: Today! Register anytime when your child is between birth and five years old.

It’s one of the best gifts you will ever give your child…and yourself!

Newly available, this free service can help you decide if you need a lawyer, and if so, help find you one. More information .

Starts Feb. 7, 10-11am Join your friends and neighbors for a good cup of coffee, goodies, and all of the news!

The Fitzwilliam Town Library supports the needs and interests of our community by offering information, experiences and ideas in creative ways.

Adopted by the Board of Trustees on March 3, 2014