The Manchester Library is excited to announce that limited browsing hours by appointment only will be on Fridays only starting October 23rd from 11 AM to 3 PM, with 11 AM being reserved for seniors and high risk patrons. Reservations for 45 minute browsing times will be available during the week of October 19th by calling the library at 978-526-7711. Please arrive on time to enjoy the full session to browse the collection, check out materials and to utilize self-service computer time, scanning, printing and faxing. Access to the computer must have an appointment as well. Masks and social distancing will be mandatory when inside the building, and staff will clean and sanitize between each session for safety. We ask that if you cannot make your appointed time to please call ahead and cancel so others will have a chance to enjoy this service.
Creativebug is a go-to digital resource that offers over a 1,000 high-quality online videos in arts and crafts instructional workshops and techniques. Learn how to paint, knit, crochet, sew, screen print, make jewelry and more! No matter what level maker you are, you can find a crafting medium that fuels your creative side! When accessing Creativebug from home you will need your library card’s barcode numbers. If you do not have access to your library card, please contact a librarian at the Manchester Library at 978-526-7711.
Library Events
Online Cooking Class with Simply Creative’s Rob Scott: Chocolate Cranberry Scones
Friday November 6th at 6:30 PM
Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library and the T.O.H.P Essex Public Library are partnering with Simply Creative's Rob Scott to whip up sweet and festive chocolate cranberry scones for this fall season! You can even get the recipe before-hand to join in! Please contact Rachael Meneades at [email protected] to register for this class, or click here to register online.
Library Closed for Veteran's Day
The Library will not be offering Curbside Pickup on Wednesday, November 11th in honor of Veteran's Day. The Library will reopen Curbside Pickup on Thursday, November 12th 4 PM - 7 PM.
Online Coffee Cupping Program with Rob Fitzgibbon
Thursday, November 12th at 6:30 PM
The cold weather is here and there’s nothing better than a great cup of hot coffee to fight off the chill! Join Essex local Rob Fitzgibbon as he teaches the art of Coffee Cupping, which is the practice of observing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee. You will be able to learn about different varieties of freshly brewed coffee brands and learn how, and why, one brew’s body, flavor and aftertaste differ from the other coffee’s and what that also says about the region it’s from. To register for this program please contact Rachael Meneades at [email protected] or please call 978-526-2017. or click here to register online.
Home Networking with Manchester’s John Carlson
Friday, November 13th at 7 PM
Manchester resident John Carlson will be hosting an online workshop on the basics of home networking and how to make it work for you! Whether you are home schooling, remote learning, or just want to know how your home network is set up, John will give a visual presentation on identifying and understanding your physical network, speed testing your Wi-Fi, and how to manage your local home router amongst other troubleshooting tips so that your network works for you. John has a MS in Computer Science that is focused on Network Design and over thirty years working on computer networks. To register for this program please contact Rachael Meneades at [email protected] or click here to register online.
The Mystery Book Group will be reading "Open Season" by CJ Box as this month's book. The group meets online through Zoom on the last Friday of the month at 10:30 AM. New Members are always welcome! Please contact Rachael Meneades at [email protected] to receive Zoom login to join the meeting. Books are available to checkout through the library's Curbside Pickup. A zoom account is not required to join the meeeting!
Diversity Matters Discussion Group
Tuesday, November 24th at 6:30 PM
Join us on Zoom and Contact Sara Collins at [email protected] to register for this group and to learn more about what books will be discussed. Please let any friends or neighbors, etc who might be interested, know of the readings and group. We are hoping to continue the exploration, thinking, and conversations of this important issue with more community members.
Thanksgiving Holiday Hours
The Manchester Library's Thanksgiving holiday hours are closed Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27th. The library will reopen for curbside pickup on Monday, November 30th.
We are always open online where you can check out our free to use digital collection! There you can find a great selection of eBooks, Audiobooks, and movies and TV shows to stream and enjoy along with many other digital resources by using your Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library card.
Check out some of the popular options below! To see more free resources visit our Virtual Library page.
Ancestry Library is a version of Ancestry.com that is now temporarily available for free at home. This resource contains a variety of collections that can help in educational or genealogical research. These historical records include a network of resources you can search, such as census, church, court, and immigration records. Ancestry Library will guide your research from the beginning and provide downloadable forms that can help organize the content you collect.
A nonprofit organization, Consumer Reports provides an easy to use guide for unbiased ratings on thousands of products and services used in everyday life. Included in the subscription are helpful tools for cars and televisions, satisfaction scores from nearly a million consumers, and expert tips on topics including health, food, tech and money. When accessing Consumer Reports from home you will need your library card’s barcode numbers. If you do not have access to your library card, please see a librarian at the Manchester Library.
Creativebug is a go-to digital resource that offers over a 1,000 high-quality online videos in arts and crafts instructional workshops and techniques. Learn how to paint, knit, crochet, sew, screen print, make jewelry and more! No matter what level maker you are, you can find a crafting medium that fuels your creative side! When accessing Creativebug from home you will need your library card’s barcode numbers. If you do not have access to your library card, please contact a librarian at the Manchester Library at 978-526-7711.
Freegal is a downloadable music service from your library. All you need is your Manchester Library card number and your PIN. With access to the Sony Music Entertainment catalog, it offers hundreds of thousands of songs, over 100 genres of music, and more than 50 record labels, all without having to download software or have any digital rights management (DRM) issues to deal with. Access to Freegal is limited to patrons of the Manchester Public Library.
Hoopla, the Library’s newest downloading service, will offer you a ton of fun and new content to enjoy! Using a web browser, smart phone or tablet, hoopla is an online streaming service that offers a great selection of feature films, television shows, documentaries, music albums and audiobooks you can enjoy at home or on the go. The content is always available so you don’t have to worry about ending up on any wait-lists and you get up to 10 checkouts per month!
In order to provide relief to Libraries and to provide more content to Patrons during this difficult time of sheltering at home, we are proud to announce the hoopla Bonus Borrows Collection with more than 1,000 top titles and hoopla favorites.
Each borrow from our free borrows collection is completely FREE to Libraries. Each patron will be debited zero borrows from their monthly hoopla borrows when they borrow something from the collection.
Kanopy is a video streaming service that provides instant access to thousands of critically acclaimed movies, documentaries and Kids favorites. We partner with studios like A24, The Criterion Collection, PBS and more to bring your library access to thoughtful entertainment. How can I watch Kanopy? You can stream Kanopy on any of your favorite devices! Kanopy is accessible via mobile and tablet apps for iPhone and Android. You can also access Kanopy on your Desktop, and SmartTV apps like Roku, Apple TV, and Fire Stick.
Lynda.com is a new online learning platform called Lynda.com with top-quality courses taught by industry experts. These courses are essential for students, teachers or anyone interested in learning. Lynda.com’s online tutorials offer a large variety of great resources such as learning how to create a website, updating your knowledge of Microsoft Office, and developing business and creative skills that will increase your ability to achieve personal and professional goals.
The Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library is happy to provide access to The Manchester Cricket’s Digital Archive up to 2009. The digitization of the Cricket was funded by an equal collaboration between the Friends of the Manchester Public Library and current owners of The Manchester Cricket Newspaper. Up-to-date physical copies of the 2019 Manchester Cricket papers are also available at the Manchester Library. The Manchester Cricket is an independent, family-owned weekly newspaper that has served the communities of Manchester and Essex since 1888.
Overdrive is used for downloading eBooks, Audio Books, Streaming Video and Magazines. To sign in, choose your library system from the dropdown menu — Massachusetts-by-the-Sea library cardholders are considered Merrimack Valley Library patrons (MVLC); use your library card number to login. Download or stream across multiple devices using the Overdrive or Libby app.
RBdigital is a state-of-the-art digital media platform and app that provides access to the broadest array of content services. Enjoy access to the broadest array of digital content services, including audiobooks, eBooks, magazines, newspapers, comics, entertainment, education, health and wellness, and more.
New Additions to the Library's Collection!
2030: How Today's Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything By Guillen, Mauro 2020-08 - St. Martin's Press 9781250268174 Check Our Catalog
INSTANT WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER
Bold, provocative...illuminates why we're having fewer babies, the middle class is stagnating, unemployment is shifting, and new powers are rising."
--ADAM GRANT The world is changing drastically before our eyes--will you be prepared for what comes next? A groundbreaking analysis from one of the world's …More
Bestselling author Walter Mosley has proven himself a master of narrative tension, both with his extraordinary fiction and gripping writing for television. The Awkward Black Man collects seventeen of Mosley's most accomplished short stories to showcase the full range of his remarkable talent.
Mosley presents distinct characters as they struggle to move through the world in
Didn't See That Coming: Putting Life Back Together When Your World Falls Apart By Hollis, Rachel 2020-09 - Dey Street Books 9780063010529 Check Our Catalog
Fear. Grief. Loss. Betrayal. Rachel Hollis has felt all those things, and she knows you have too. Now, she takes you to the other side.
With her signature humor, heartfelt honesty, and intimate true-life stories, #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hollis shows readers how to seize difficult moments for the learning experiences they are
" An] outstanding whodunit...Fans of impossible crime fiction won't want to miss this one."--Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
The extraordinary new thriller from Stuart Turton, author of the bestselling murder mystery The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, winner of the Costa Best First Novel Award.
The "master storyteller" (San Francisco Chronicle) behind the New York Times bestseller The Spy and the Traitor uncovers the true story behind the Cold War's most intrepid female spy. In 1942, in a quiet village in the leafy English Cotswolds, a thin, elegant woman lived in a small cottage with her three children and her husband, who worked as a machinist nearby. …More
A debut collection of moving and darkly witty stories from an "admirably fearless" (New York Times Book Review) writer whom critics have compared to Michael Chabon, E.L. Doctorow, and Dennis Lehane
A Massachusetts Book Award "Must Read" Selection
When marriages, friendships, and families come undone, to what lengths do we go to keep it all …More
What does it mean to be American? In this starkly illuminating and impassioned book, Pulitzer Prize-finalist Laila Lalami recounts her unlikely journey from Moroccan immigrant to U.S. citizen, using it as a starting point for her exploration of the rights, liberties, and protections that are traditionally associated with American citizenship. Tapping into history, politics, and …More
Gripping romantic suspense from USA TODAY bestselling author Colleen Coble.
A lie changed her world.
Police Chief Jane Hardy is still reeling from the scandal that rocked her small-town department just as she took over for her retired father--the man who wrecked her life with one little lie. Now she's finally been reunited with her …More
Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes By Lesser, Elizabeth 2020-09 - Harper Wave 9780062887184 Check Our Catalog
What story would Eve have told about picking the apple? Why is Pandora blamed for opening the box? And what about the fate of Cassandra who was blessed with knowing the future but cursed so that no one believed her? What if women had been the storytellers?
Elizabeth Lesser believes that if women's voices had been equally heard and respected throughout history, humankind would have
One of The Millions and BuzzFeed's Most Anticipated BooksA spectacularly inventive debut novel that reinvents the tall tale for our times--"Cuyahoga defies all modest description... it] is ten feet tall if it's an inch, and it's a ramshackle joy from start to finish" (Brian Phillips, author of Impossible Owls). Big Son is a spirit of the …More
A Peculiar Indifference: Race, Violence, and Social Justice By Currie, Elliott 2020-09 - Metropolitan Books 9781250769930 Check Our Catalog
From Pulitzer Prize finalist Elliott Currie comes a devastating exploration of the extreme levels of violence afflicting Black communities, and a blueprint for addressing the crisis
About 170,000 Black Americans have died in homicides just since the year 2000. Violence takes more years of life from Black men than cancer, stroke, and diabetes combined; a young Black man in the United …More
Set during the height of World War II, a powerful and unsettling tale about a woodcutter and his wife, who finds a mysterious parcel thrown from a passing train.
Once upon a time in an enormous forest lived a woodcutter and his wife. The woodcutter is very poor and a war rages around them, making it difficult for them to put food on the table. Yet every night, his
The Spymasters: How the Cia's Directors Shape History and the Future By Whipple, Chris 2020-09 - Scribner Book Company 9781982106409 Check Our Catalog
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Gatekeepers, a remarkable, behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to run the world's most powerful intelligence agency, and how the CIA is often a crucial counterforce against presidents threatening to overstep the powers of their office. Only eleven men and one woman are alive today who have made the life-and-death …More
In a world of pagan traditions and deeply rooted love, a girl in jeopardy must save her family and community. A transporting historical novel by New York Times-bestselling author Cathy Marie Buchanan. It's the season of Fallow, in the era of iron. In a northern misty bog surrounded by woodlands and wheat fields, a settlement lies far beyond the reach of the …More
Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day By Shetty, Jay 2020-09 - Simon & Schuster 9781982134488 Check Our Catalog
Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast On Purpose, distills the timeless wisdom he learned as a monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life. When you think like a monk, you'll understand:
From the acclaimed and award-winning author of The Hunger comes an eerie, psychological twist on one of the world's most renowned tragedies, the sinking of the Titanic and the ill-fated sail of its sister ship, the Britannic. Someone, or something, is haunting the ship. Between mysterious disappearances and sudden deaths, the guests of the Titanic have …More
This practical and inspirational guide to healing from the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Choice shows us how to stop destructive patterns and imprisoning thoughts to find freedom and enjoy life. Edith Eger's powerful first book The Choice told the story of her survival in the concentration camps, her escape, healing, and journey to freedom. …More
