Library Renovation Project Updates

 

Update July 16th, 2026

Our satellite library at 15 Church Street is closing today, Friday July 16th! If you have an item on hold you will be able to pick up today between 10am and 6pm. No other services are available today. If you are unable to pick up today, your items on hold will be available at 200 Main Street when we reopen. We tentatively plan to open the renovated building at 200 Main Street on Tuesday July 21st in the afternoon. Please check our website for confirmation of opening date and time. Please continue to return items using the book drop at Church Street, or just hold on to your items until we reopen the renovated building. 

Update July 10th, 2026

The Church Street Satellite Library is Closing! Saturday July 11th is  the last day the little library will be open for browsing and computer use. 

Starting Tuesday July 14th,  if you have an item waiting on hold, you can pick it up at the circulation desk at 15 Church Street, using the parking lot entrance, the front entrance and the rest of the building will be closed while we pack up. 

Please continue to return items using the book drop at Church Street, or just hold on to your items until we reopen the renovated building. We plan to open 200 Main Street on July 21st, with a grand opening celebration on Saturday July 25th!

Update July 4th, 2026

We are working hard to complete the renovated library as soon as possible for you to enjoy this summer! Our plan is to have the 200 Main Street building open by July 21st, though some services and collections may not be immediately available upon opening. The Church Street Library will remain open regular hours this week, but our schedule and services may be reduced as our move progresses. 

Update June 22nd, 2026

You will see moving trucks at the library building at 200 Main Street this week as we begin to move shelving fixtures back into the building. The project is nearing completion, but renovation work is ongoing. The Satellite Library at 15 Church Street will remain open in June, and a July reopening date will be announced soon!

Exploring the Deep: Technology, Discovery, and the Future of Our Oceans

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome Dr. Anna Michel, a Senior Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Chief Scientist of the National Deep Submergence Facility, for a presentation on Technology, Discovery, and the Future of Our Oceans. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, August 4th, at the Vineyard Haven Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Earth is an ocean planet—more than 70% of our home is covered by water an average of 12,000 feet deep, most of it unseen and unexplored. Dr. Anna Michel’s journey into this unknown began in high school, when she joined the Jason Project and traveled to the Galápagos Islands. There, she piloted her first underwater robot, sparking a lifelong passion for ocean exploration.

Today, Dr. Michel is a Senior Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Chief Scientist of the National Deep Submergence Facility. She develops new tools to monitor and understand the changing ocean. Her work takes her from the icy Canadian Arctic to track greenhouse gas emissions, to deep-sea volcanoes teeming with life, to coastal waters affected by microplastics. Whether three miles below the surface in the submersible Alvin or working with engineers in her lab, Dr. Michel is helping unlock the ocean’s secrets to better protect our blue planet.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

 

War for the Dawnland: Reimagining King Philip's War

Philip, King of Mount Hope,
line engraving by Paul Revere
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome Wôpanâak citizen and lifelong educator Brad Lopes for a Wôpanâak retelling of the events surrounding the historical conflict often referred to as King Philip’s War (1675 - 1678). This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, August 11th, at the Vineyard Haven Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public. No registration required.

The events commonly known by scholars and settlers as King Philip’s War (1675 - 1678) have been largely told through settler-colonial perspectives. Viewing events “from the land” instead of “from the boat,” participants will hear a retelling of the events leading up to, during, and after this historical conflict from a Wôpanâak perspective that takes into account written historical sources, oral history, and continued cultural epistemologies. The presentation will explore Metacom's (Philip’s) life, Indigenous resistance against English encroachment, violent and nefarious treatment by English settlers and courts, and the northern theater. Participants will come away with a greater understanding of the local and international context behind this war, often considered the bloodiest conflict in “American” history and a global moment of reverberation.

Brad Lopes is an Aquinnah Wampanoag citizen and life-long educator currently working within the traditional homelands of his people, the Wampanoag Nation. He currently serves as the Education Director for the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Education Department (TED) and as the Education and Public Programs Manager for the Aquinnah Cultural Center, an Aquinnah Wampanoag museum located on Nôepe (Martha's Vineyard). Brad has a degree in Secondary Education from the University of Maine Farmington, located in Wabanaki Homelands. After graduation, he went on to teach Social Studies for five years to students in grades 7 - 12. In his time in education, Brad has sought to decolonize the pedagogies, content, and ways of understanding education, including the ways in which public education can reinforce stereotypes and harmful understandings of Indigenous people.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Special Library Hours and Limited Services for July 14th-20th

 Library Hours for July 14th-20th

15 Church St Open for Holds Pickup and Book Returns Only

Tuesday July 14th: 10 am - 6 pm 
Wednesday July 15th: 10 am - 6 pm
Thursday July 16th: 10 am - 6 pm
BOTH LOCATIONS CLOSED Friday July 17th - Monday July 20th

Building Renovation Project Update

The Church Street Satellite Library is Closing! Today, Saturday July 11th, is the last day the little library will be open for browsing and computer use. Holds pickup will continue the following week, though hours are subject to change. 

Starting Tuesday July 14th,  if you have an item waiting on hold, you can pick it up at the circulation desk at 15 Church Street, using the parking lot entrance. The front entrance and the rest of the building will be closed while we pack up. Both library buildings will be closed from Friday July 17th through Monday July 20th.

Please continue to return items using the book drop in the Church Street parking lot, or just hold on to your items until we reopen the renovated building. We plan to re-open 200 Main Street in the afternoon on July 21st, with a concert in the new community room featuring the Tristan Israel Band at 6pm. A grand opening celebration will be held on Saturday July 25th! Continue to check our blog or follow us on Facebook for the latest information.

Download our Program Brochure or visit our event calendar

Author talk – Triage: A Novel by Elisa Speranza

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome local author Elisa Speranza for a conversation about her latest historical novel, “Triage.” This event will be held at 6:00 pm on Thursday, August 6th, at the Vineyard Haven Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven, with books available for sale by Edgartown Books. Free and open to the public, no registration required.

When the ghosts of war won’t stay buried, a former Army nurse must find a way to heal—or risk losing everything. In 1951 New Orleans, Laura Marino works as a nurse at Charity Hospital. She’s been home from World War II for six years, but peacetime has brought its own challenges. She’s frustrated at work, and her childless marriage to Nicholas, a surgeon she met in the Army, is strained. Laura is devastated when news arrives that Frances, her best friend from the front, has taken her own life. Turning to the wartime journal she has kept hidden away, Laura is plunged back into memories of the bonds forged amid chaos on the front lines of North Africa, during the siege of Anzio, and at a refugee camp in Italy. While her husband takes on an overseas assignment, Laura wrestles with her grief and guilt over Frances’ death. Then she meets Boyer, a wounded veteran who shares her pain. Their connection is intense— and dangerous, threatening to upend her life entirely. Triage is an intimate portrait of a woman’s hard-won journey through love, loss, and a quest for redemption. 

Elisa M. Speranza is the author of two historical novels, “Triage” (May 2026) and “The Italian Prisoner” (2022), a finalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. She is board chair and an instructor for the nonprofit New Orleans Writers Workshop and has been a featured author at the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival, the Louisiana Book Festival, Islanders Write, and the Salem LitFest. She is co-founder of the Washashores Writers Collective on Martha’s Vineyard and was a co-editor for and contributor to the 2025 anthology Washashores Review, Volume 1. She writes “The Bricklayer’s Daughter” newsletter on Substack. Originally from Boston, Elisa lives in New Orleans and Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. 

Elisa will be in conversation with Robin Stratton Rivera. Robin is a former Emmy-winning producer and programming executive for ABC Sports, who continues to work on independent writing and video projects at her home in Chilmark.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Re-Engraving Paul Revere: "The Boston Massacre" with Andy Volpe

In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome living history presenter Andy Volpe for a presentation on Paul Revere’s "Boston Massacre” print. This program will be held at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, July 28th at the Vineyard Haven Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public, no registration required. 

Revere's "Bloody Massacre" print is arguably one of the most infamous propaganda prints in American history. Better known today as the "Boston Massacre," its image has found its way into hundreds of publications, history books, and video. While the event itself is heavily analyzed and debated, the plate and print have an interesting backstory that is not often talked about. Andy will also touch on his own work replicating Revere's prints, including how he went about producing a hand-engraved, full-size replica of the Massacre—one of only two such replicas created in the 21st century—which he created for the event's 250th anniversary.

Andy Volpe is an artist, printer and living history presenter in Worcester MA. Since 2010, he has collaborated with Gary Gregory of the Printing Office of Edes & Gill, which replicates important American Revolutionary documents and images, notably the Declaration of Independence, using the same techniques and replica presses. Andy’s work focuses on replicating prints by Paul Revere as well as other notable 18th century prints. He is also involved with the Museum of Printing in Haverhill MA, where he gives tours, presentations and printing demos, and focuses on intaglio, graphics and illustration printing, spanning the years 1450-1800.  He holds a degree in Fine Arts from Westfield State University, where he fell in love with the printers in the Renaissance and Early Modern periods. He also regularly presents at the Higgins Armory Collection at Worcester Art Museum on various Arms & Armor periods with a few living history groups.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Book talk: “The Best Women's Travel Writing: True Stories from Around the World,” with Lavinia Spalding and Natalie Baszile

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome editor Lavinia Spalding and author Natalie Baszile for a conversation about the latest edition of “The Best Women's Travel Writing: True Stories from Around the World.” This event will be held at 4:00 pm on Friday, July 24th, at the Vineyard Haven Library, located at 200 Main Street in Vineyard Haven. Free and open to the public, no registration required.

Volume 13 of this award-winning series features twenty-seven inspiring and thoughtful writers as they traverse the planet, crisscrossing all seven continents and exploring the ways travel can illuminate, heal, inform, and transform a life. The essays probe themes as diverse as the locations, immersing us in experiences of kindness, adventure, nature, friendship, strength, marriage, motherhood, spirituality, the environment, belonging, healing, history, identity, romance, and resilience. This beautiful and far-ranging collection helps us celebrate an appreciation for other cultures while proving that travel can be a profound gateway to connection, self-awareness, and an expanded worldview. 

Lavinia Spalding is the seven-time series editor of "The Best Women’s Travel Writing," author of “Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Keeping Traveler” (named one the best travel books of 2009 by the L.A. Times), and co-author of four other books, including “This Immeasurable Place,” one of NPR’s best books of 2017. She has published two Modern Love essays in the New York Times, and her writing also appears in The Walrus, Longreads, Tin House, AFAR, River Teeth, Post Road, Off Assignment, The Guardian, and many other national and international publications. Her work has been widely anthologized, has won gold SATW Lowell Thomas and SOLAS travel writing awards, and has been noted in “The Best American Travel Writing.” She lives with her family in New Orleans. Spalding will be in conversation with Natalie Baszile.

Natalie Baszile is a writer and filmmaker. Her new novel, "Friends and Family," will be published in October 2026. Natalie’s previous novel, "Queen Sugar," was adapted for seven television seasons by writer/director Ava DuVernay and co-produced by Oprah Winfrey. Her non-fiction work includes the book "We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land & Legacy" and has appeared in National Geographic, The Bitter Southerner, O, The Oprah Magazine, and numerous anthologies. Natalie’s documentary film, HARVEST, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. A native Californian, her southern roots stem from Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama. She lives in the Bay Area. 

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.