Visit magnificently decorated conservatories and mansions and beautifully lit gardens during the holiday season! This presentation on Tuesday, December 13 at 7PM via Zoom includes Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, Newport Mansions, Blithewold, and others.

Register on Zoom HERE.

This program is a collaboration between the Newburyport Public Library, the Langley Adams Library in Groveland, the Merrimac Public Library, the Groton Public Library, the Georgetown Peabody Library, and the Rockport Public Library.

Jana Milbocker is the principal of Enchanted Gardens, a lecturer, and an author. She combines horticulture, design, and travel tips to educate, inspire and delight both new and seasoned gardeners. Jana loves to visit gardens and historic sites in the U.S. and abroad, and share her trips through her books, photos and blog. She published The Garden Tourist: 120 Destination Gardens and Nurseries in the Northeast in 2018, The Garden Tourist’s New England in 2020, and The Garden Tourist’s Florida in 2021. The 2-acre garden surrounding her Victorian home features more than 140 varieties of trees and shrubs, perennial gardens, peony and rose beds, water features and shady retreats.

On Wednesday, November 2 at 7PM via Zoom, Peter Mandel, an award-winning adventure travel journalist for The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, National Geographic Kids, and The Boston Globe, will show slides of his most extreme travel experiences: surviving a coup in Ecuador, visiting a ‘city’ of penguins at the South Pole, fishing for piranha on Brazil’s Rio Negro, floating in the Goodyear Blimp, sailing on an Arctic icebreaker, camping in the African bush, and kayaking to the Statue of Liberty. He’ll deliver the scoop on how travel turns to prose on today’s magazine and newspaper pages.

This virtual event is a collaboration between several libraries. Register below:

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Learn the story of how a local break-in became a national scandal on Thursday, October 27 at 7PM via Zoom, and how it profoundly changed the way Americans think about their political institutions.

Fifty years after the break-in at the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, we still do not know the full story of how the burglary came to happen. What we DO know is that the events that followed, culminating in President Nixon’s resignation in August of 1974, continue to hold lessons about the nature of power that seem to resonate ever more strongly as the years go by. 

Led by Daniel Breen, a Senior Lecturer in Legal Studies at Brandeis University, and a recipient of the Louis Brandeis Award for Excellence in Teaching. While his primary academic interests lay in the law and politics of the Early Republic, he also holds a Ph.D. in American History and enjoys lecturing on a wide variety of subjects.

Register directly on Zoom HERE. This virtual event is a collaboration between several libraries.

Protect your investment in your garden tools by keeping them in good working order and helping them last longer. In this workshop on Saturday, October 1 at 10AM, Tom Falzareno will show you some best practices for cleaning, maintaining, and sharpening your tools.

Attendees may bring a small tool of their own on which to try applying techniques they learn in the workshop.

Sponsored by the Georgetown Native Species Planting Project and the Georgetown Peabody Library.

Newspapers can provide a wealth of information to help you fill in gaps in your family history research. This presentation on Monday, September 26 at 7PM via Zoom will explain how to search for newspapers online, beginning with the digitized newspapers typically available through library websites.

Led by Janeen Bjork, who has found thousands of elusive items for her family, her students’ families, and her client’s families for more than a decade. She will demonstrate how to access both free and fee online newspaper resources, including their interfaces, and the best practices for searching on your own. Learn more about Bjork HERE.

Register directly on Zoom HERE. Presented in collaboration with the Tewksbury Public Library/Tewksbury Genealogy Group.

Book bans are on the rise across the country as states seemingly compete to see who can place the most restrictions on free speech. As this latest wave of censorship activity continues to build, what is your role as a library user? In this interactive Zoom webinar on Thursday, September 22 at 7PM during Banned Books Week, you’ll learn about why intellectual freedom is important and what you can do to support libraries, library workers, and free expression during these challenging times.

Presented by Martin Garnar, PhD, director of the Amherst College Library, chair of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Intellectual Freedom Committee, and editor of the 10th edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual. 

Register directly on Zoom HERE. This virtual event is a collaboration between several libraries.

Author Rachel S. Geller will deliver a presentation based on her book, Saving the World, One Cat at a Time: What I Know About Cats – And Why You Should Know It, on Wednesday, September 14 via Zoom.

Dubbed the “Cat Whisperer,” Dr. Rachel Geller will explain common cat behavior problems encountered by owners, followed by a Q&A, so bring your questions for this expert’s advice. Whether the cat in question is avoiding the litterbox, acting hostile toward another cat in the same household, having separation anxiety, or scratching the furniture, Dr. Geller has easy-to-implement solutions and answers based on her lifelong understanding of cats and their behavior. Dr. Geller will also offer advice on how to choose the perfect cat for your household and integrate your new cat successfully into your family. 

Register directly on Zoom HERE. This virtual event is a collaboration between several libraries. 

Dr. Geller is a certified Cat Behavior and Retention Specialist through the Humane Society and a certified Humane Education Specialist through the Academy of Prosocial Learning. She is currently a cat behaviorist/consultant for The Cat Connection, Here Today Adopted Tomorrow Animal Sanctuary and Baypath Humane Society, and provides cat behavior help both locally and throughout the country to her clients, including cat owners and shelters. 

Learn about commonly encountered wildlife such as deer, coyote, and raccoons, and their intersection with the wild and developed spaces we inhabit on Wednesday, August 24 at 11AM via Zoom. Find out best practices for maintaining bird feeders and attracting visitors. From amazing pollinators to problematic mosquitoes and ticks, we’ll introduce some incredible insects and how we impact each other. Whether you watch it from your window or your screens, you’ll learn more about how to peacefully co-exist with these unique neighbors here in the Commonwealth.

Led by Tia Pinney, a Biologist, Lead Naturalist, and educator at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln. Since 1994, when she first started working at the farm, Tia has overseen efforts to maintain New England’s wildlife on our 206-acre property, managing staff and volunteers in planting projects and citizen science.

Register directly on Zoom HERE. This virtual event is a collaboration between several libraries.

This lecture on Thursday, August 11 at 11AM via Zoom focuses on the key points that gardeners should consider before they invest in a hydrangea. With over 600 cultivars to select from, it’s easy to select a plant based on some attributes only to find that it will definitely not be the “right plant in the right place.” The seven species are identified, examples of each are provided, and their best use in the landscape is examined.

Led by Kathie Skinner, a Senior Principal Master Gardener, the past Education Coordinator and current Master Gardener Training Coordinator for the Massachusetts Master Gardner Association.

Register directly on Zoom HERE. This virtual event is a collaboration between several libraries.

Receive a refresher on Monday, August 8 at 2PM via Zoom on the key skills that are required when interviewing for any job — (1) speaking confidently, (2) constructing answers to off-the-cuff questions, (3) giving and receiving feedback and (4) rehearsing. The session will include an interactive segment in which members respond to mock interview questions and receive feedback on their answers. Led by MJ Kahn, SVP of Technology at OpFocus and a seasoned Toastmasters member and leader.

Register directly on Zoom HERE. This virtual event is a collaboration between several libraries.