The Friends of the Falmouth Public Library will hold their Annual Summer Book Sale from July 1-July 6, 2022 on the lawn of the Main Library at 300 Main Street. It’s open every day from 10 AM-4 PM, except July 6; July 6 hours are 10 AM – Noon.
This beloved annual tradition is back at its usual time this year, and we’re so excited to see the book-lovers browsing for new reads! Books are very modestly priced, and every purchase goes to support the Falmouth Public Library. The Friends support these library projects that benefit the whole community:
Joy of Learning academic classes covering a wide range of subjects
Museum Passes for Boston and local area museums
Generous funding for Children’s Programs at all three locations throughout the year
Contribute to new furniture for the Chill Zone, the Tween area, in the Children’s Room
A new Circulation Desk for the East Falmouth Library
Provide additional funds for eBooks
Support for area book clubs
Upgrades to library technology
The Friends are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Are you interested in becoming a member of the Friends of the Library, or making a direct financial donation? Information is available at their web page.
Please note that the Friends are no longer taking donations for this year’s book sale. Donations will resume on Monday, August 15, 2022. Please call during Library hours at 508-457-2555 ext. 2918 to schedule an appointment.
Join us on Wednesday, May 25th from 7pm-8pm via Zoom to discuss the 2022WHOI & FPL Community Read, Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea by Dr. Edith Widder, in a group setting! We will have a special guest, Allan Adams, joining us. Allan is an Adjunct Oceanographer at WHOI in the Applies Ocean Physics and Engineering Department.
This event is free to the public and registration is required. Register online by clicking here or by calling the library at 508-457-2555 x7.
Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea takes readers deep into our planet’s oceans as Widder pursues her questions about one of the most important and widely used forms of communication in nature. In the process, she reveals hidden worlds and a dazzling menagerie of behaviors and animals, from microbes to leviathans, many never before seen or, like the legendary giant squid, never before filmed in their deep-sea lairs. Alongside Widder, we experience life-and-death equipment malfunctions and witness breakthroughs in technology and understanding, all set against a growing awareness of the deteriorating health of our largest and least understood ecosystem.
Come pick up a copy today at the library! Below the Edge of Darkness is also available for purchase at Eight Cousins and the WHOI Bookstore! The 2022 WHOI & FPL Community Read is part of Dispatches from an Ocean Planet: A Celebration of Film and Literature presented by the Yawkey Foundation and WHOI.
We’ve got three public events scheduled for Falmouth Reads Together in June – two documentary films and a discussion of the book The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery. Read on for details and registration links.
Documentary film screening of My Octopus Teacher.
Watch as a filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world. “One of the best nature documentaries I have ever seen. Absolutely beautiful and wonderfully narrated and educational–tremendous with its scientific breakthroughs on these amazing creature’s behavior and intelligence. “
Friday June 10, 2pm.
Location: Hermann Meeting Room.
Duration: one hour; appropriate for most ages. Discussion follows (optional).
Documentary film screening of Octopus: Making Contact
Follow an Alaskan professor as he raises and studies a day octopus in his home, making remarkable discoveries about its extraordinary intelligence, personality and skills.
Friday June 24, 2pm.
Location: Hermann Meeting Room.
Duration: one hour; appropriate for most ages. Discussion follows (optional).
How the Media Blends Fact & Fiction: ‘The Indiana Jones Effect’
Join the Falmouth Public Library on Wednesday, May 18th via Zoom from 7pm-8pm for the online lecture of Pseudoscience & Archaeology: How the Media Blends Fact & Fiction ‘The Indiana Jones Effect’ by Marie Zahn. Registration is required. To register online click here or call us at 508-457-2555 x7.
Marie will discuss how the evolution of science fiction has affected the public view of archaeology. Throughout the history of sci-fi, archaeological plot lines have become more popular in recent times. While this has furthered public interest in archaeology, the science fiction origins of the “ancient alien theory” have tarnished the view of legitimate archaeological studies. From H.P. Lovecraft to Indiana Jones and Doctor Who, the impact of the entertainment industry on archaeological research is examined.
Marie Zahn, a Cape Cod native, is the Director of the Brooks Academy Museum and A. Elmer Crowell Decoy Barn Museum for the Harwich Historical Society, as well as serving as the Administrator for the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth. Prior to this, she spent several years working on an early 18th century shipwreck as an archaeologist, conservator, and science education coordinator.
This free, online lecture is sponsored by the Trustees of the Falmouth Public Library.
The Falmouth Public Library is hosting a free, online Libby webinar by the experts at OverDrive on Wednesday, May 11th at 10am! With the Libby app, you can access the entire CLAMS digital library collection to read and listen to eBooks, eAudiobooks, and eMagazines all for free with your library card!
Register today to learn how to sign into Libby, navigate around, browse and search for titles, borrow titles and place holds, manage notifications, and much much more!
Can’t make this webinar but are interested in learning more about Libby? Register and a recording of the webinar will be sent to you for you to watch whenever it is best for you!
Join us for Chair Yoga with Janet on Thursdays, May 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th from 11am-12pm in the library’s Hermann meeting room! Chair Yoga with Janet is free and is sponsored by the Trustees of the Falmouth Public Library. Registration is required for each class and each class is limited to 25 participants. Use the links below to register for the classes that you would like to attend.
Chair-supported yoga is a complete practice of seated and standing poses, stretches, and a final relaxation. It is appropriate for everyone, regardless of age, experience, or level of fitness. We’ll focus on improving flexibility, strength, breathing, and balance in a calm, supportive atmosphere–all with no need to get on and off the floor. All poses and breath exercises will be done either seated in a chair or standing, with the option of using the chair for just a bit of extra support.
Janet Gardner is a 500-hour graduate of the Kind Yoga School in Centerville and is a registered Yoga Alliance teacher. Janet has a passion for sharing the benefits of yoga with everyone. She has been practicing yoga for four decades and teaching yoga and meditation in Falmouth since 2016.
“The New England landscape has long been battered by some of the most intense weather in US history. Discover the legendary storms that have devastated New England, including: the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 that killed 564 people; the Worcester Tornado of 1953; the Snow Hurricane of 1804 that demolished orchards and killed dozens of sailors off the coast; and the Blizzard of 1978 that brought Boston to a standstill for weeks.”
Eric Fisher is Chief Meteorologist for CBS Boston’s WBZ-TV News and anchors weather segments weeknights at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m., as well as WBZ-TV News at 10 p.m. on TV38 (WSBK-TV). He is also a contributor for CBS News, often found reporting on breaking severe weather across the country. Born and raised in New England, Eric says there are few places on earth that produce weather like this little corner of the U.S. It offers the challenges of blockbuster snowstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, heat waves, frigid cold snaps and dramatic seasonal shifts. Eric vividly remembers Memorial Day of 1995 as a day that helped solidify his path as a meteorologist, when an infamous tornado ripped through Great Barrington in the Berkshires. Glued to the red warnings crawling across the screen and watching the radar, his career in weather was born. Eric joined WBZ-TV News from The Weather Channel in Atlanta where he spent three years as a Meteorologist. He produced and delivered national forecasts and contributed to numerous live reports on extreme weather for The Weather Channel, NBC Nightly News, TODAY and MSNBC. Previously he worked as the morning meteorologist at WGGB-TV in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Mighty Storms of New England is also available for purchase at Eight Cousins.
Check out the video below of Marie Zahn’s talk from Please Tuesday, January 25th from 7pm-8pm as she discussed the Science and History of Shipwrecks: Archaeology and Conservation and answered audience questions!
The journey of an artifact from the past into the present. When it comes to shipwrecks, archaeologists have a potential time capsule of the past. It’s a safe assumption to claim that most shipwrecks happen unintentionally – all of the objects on board, from the parts of the ships themselves to the cargo and personal items of the crew, sink together. What you have is a single slice of history preserved in one place. A small moment in time captured unexpectedly. This discussion into the world of underwater archaeology focusses on the challenges of artifact conservation and the effects of different underwater environments on ships and their artifacts. See how material objects deteriorate and decay over time by looking at shipwrecks from diverse time periods throughout history as well as spanning the globe in terms of construction and final resting places – from ancient Greece to pirate treasure!
Marie Zahn, a Cape Cod native, is the Director of the Brooks Academy Museum and A. Elmer Crowell Decoy Barn Museum for the Harwich Historical Society, as well as serving as the Administrator for the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth. Prior to this, she spent several years working on an early 18th century shipwreck as an archaeologist, conservator, and science education coordinator. When she’s not talking about history, Marie volunteers as a Solar System Ambassador for NASA, acting as a liaison between the space agency and the public, spreading awareness of current and upcoming NASA missions and sharing news about ongoing work in the space sciences and space exploration. Marie’s work in science and archaeology has given her a unique perspective and appreciation for history. She believes that history is a continuous narrative, and that it is of the utmost importance to make connections between the past and where we are today. Marie aims to make science open, inclusive, and accessible to anyone that’s curious about the past, present, and future.
Climate Change on Cape Cod: What’s at Stake and What Can We Do
Please join us on Tuesday, November 9th from 4pm to 5pmvia Zoom as Dr. Heather Goldstone from theWoodwell Climate Research Center in Woods Hole presents a lecture on climate change on Cape Cod.
Two recent UN reports indicate that we are now committed to hitting 1.5C of warming by early next decade, and are on track to hit 2.7C this century. With the damaging impacts of climate change already apparent and increasing, it’s critical for communities to understand the risks they face—those that are inevitable and require adaptation, and those that we can still avert. This Climate Change on Cape Cod: What’s at Stake and What Can We Do lecture brings the risks, opportunities, and choices presented by the global challenge of climate change down to the local level. A Q&A will follow the lecture.
To register to attend this virtual climate change lecture, click here.
“Dr. Heather Goldstone oversees Woodwell Climate Research Center’s communications activities, bringing the rich stories of Woodwell scientists to diverse public audiences. Dr. Goldstone has extensive experience as both a scientist and a journalist, and she is passionate about melding data and narrative in climate change stories that build awareness and inspire action.” – Woodwell Climate Research Center
The Falmouth Public Library is hosting a free virtual Libby webinar by the experts at OverDrive on Wednesday, September 1st at 10am! With the Libby app, you can access the entire CLAMS digital library collection to read and listen to eBooks, eAudiobooks, and eMagazines all for free with your library card!
Register today to learn how to sign into Libby, navigate around, browse and search for titles, borrow titles and place holds, manage notifications, and much much more!
Can’t make this webinar but are interested in learning more about Libby? Register and a recording of the webinar will be sent to you for you to watch whenever it is best for you!
