Library Blog
The Industrial School for Girls, 1911
Located at 41 Atherton Street was the Industrial School for Girls, a vocational school aimed at helping young women secure trade jobs. The school opened on October 16, 1911 and originally offered classes in dress making, millinery, and supplementary training in subjects such as English and arithmetic. As the school grew in popularity, additional courses in household…
Fashion: Nuthouse or Refuge?
“AH! FASHION. A nuthouse? A refuge? Or maybe both. Yes, an asylum in both senses of the word. A place where unemployable crazy people are always welcome.” So begins Simon Doonan’s book The Asylum, with most of the ensuing 268 pages devoted to making his case that hardcore fashionistas and the mentally ill have…
The Hilarous Genius of Jenny Lawson
I’ve been following Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess for nearly 10 years, after stumbling across a copy of her first book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, at Porter Square Books one day. As soon as I finished reading it (which, fortunately, was at home, because people on the T get very nervous seeing a middle-aged…
A Few Good Cookbooks!
When it’s cold outside, or you can’t leave the house due to a raging pandemic, or you’re just plain bored, looking through a cookbook for just the right recipe and getting to work in the kitchen or planning a future meal can be just the ticket–after all, you can only knit so many shawls, show…
Meditate, Bake, Explore
It’s a little over a year since the pandemic began and in spite of lower case numbers and available vaccines, it’s still far from over. It’s so easy to feel our lives are on hold. But they aren’t. It’s just this is what are our lives are right now: staying at home and doing very…
Historic Blazes in Somerville Schools, 1979
Did you know that there was once a serious fire at Somerville High School!? The fire took place on March 18, 1979 and was labeled a three-alarm fire. The firetrucks first arrived at the scene at 4:30 am and were led by Fire Captains Thomas Doherty and Robert Glover. Seven classrooms were destroyed by the…
The Blizzard of ’78
While weather forecasting had improved by the late 1970’s, many people still believed that the forecasts were inaccurate most of the time. The day before the blizzard started, most people believed that it wouldn’t turn out to be that big of a problem. Workers and students went about their day like it was a normal…
Non Fic Book Club Coming in February!
Beginning next month, SPL will have a new online book group: the Non Fic Book Club. We’ll be reading relatively short, approachable books chosen by group members, so if the word “nonfiction” makes you think of Robert Caro’s 3-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson, fear not. For our first meeting we’ll be discussing acclaimed journalist Jon…
East Branch News: January 2021
This first week of January at the East Branch, our make-and-take craft is a snowflake. Stop by the East Branch to pick up yours while supplies last! Meghan is back on Wednesday mornings at 11 for storytime, on SPL Facebook Live. Other programs in January include the East Branch Book Group, which meets on Friday January 22nd…
Somerville Theatre, 1914
A staple of Davis Square is the Somerville Theatre. The theatre, which is located in the Hobbs Building at 55 Davis Square, dates back to 1914. The theatre was designed to show motion pictures as well as live performances such as plays and vaudeville acts. According to a Somerville Journal article, the newly constructed theatre “has…
Pitching in During WWI: SHS Students to the Rescue
The development and improvement of new weaponry made World War I the bloodiest war of its time. When Washington expressed a need for surgical dressings, those who could help offered up their time, including some Somerville High School students. During the war, Somerville High formed the Somerville High School Patriotic Association to help with the…
Sam Walter Foss: SPL Librarian, Journalist, and Poet, 1858-1911
We have had some amazing library staff over the years. One of our more famous staff members is librarian Sam Walter Foss. Sam Walter Foss was born in Candia, New Hampshire in 1858 to Dyer and Polly Foss. Sam spent his childhood helping with his father’s farm and would later attend Portsmouth High School. After…
Historic Somerville Meets “Hamilton”
Did you know that there is a house in Somerville that was built before the Revolutionary War? The “Oliver Tufts House” sometimes referred to as the “Peter and Oliver Tufts House” is believed to have been built on a parcel of farmland back in 1714. According to a June 26, 1935 Somerville Journal article by…
Lamps of Learning at the West Branch Library, 1909
Next time you are out and about by the West Branch Library in Davis Square – since we can’t yet go in – take a moment to appreciate the details of the entrance to the building that has welcomed readers for more than 100 years. Lamps are positioned on either side of the staircase, and on the…
Renovation, 1976
We are missing our patrons and we hope you haven’t forgotten what we look like! Maybe you are one of our patrons who would come in and head to the third floor balcony to find a cozy spot to do your work. Here’s a fun library fact for you, there wasn’t always a third floor…
The SPL Traveling Library, 1901
The library bookmobile is one way that libraries can meet their users who might not be able to use the library ordinarily. Bookmobiles date way back in the United States, beginning around the early 1900s. Back then they were typically referred to as “traveling libraries” or “wagon libraries”. Libraries would use various forms of transportation, such as bicycles,…
Cookie Cookbooks at the SPL (gluten free too!)
Looking for some inspiration for your holiday cookie baking (or perhaps for the SPL cookie swap at Remnant Brewing on 12/23)? Here are thumbnail descriptions of some great cookie books in the Somerville Public Library’s collection! Newest books are listed first. Gluten free titles are at the end of the list. Click on the title to…
The Book You Should Read This Month – November
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah Available in a variety of formats including print, large print, paperback, ebook, audiobook, digital audiobook and playaway. We hope you check out a copy today!
The Book You Should Read This Month- October
The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike It’s Halloween season, so why not read The Witches of Eastwick or you could even watch the movie with Jack Nicholson!
Spooky Somerville Reads Events
Something wicked this way comes…. To the Somerville Public Library! To celebrate our 10th year of Somerville Reads, we’ve chosen a spooky read just in time for fall: the classic horror novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Curl up with this creepy classic and a hot beverage, then come to one of…