Le Tour: Up Close and Personal

Gear up for the 2025 Tour de France! 

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome former Emmy-winning producer and programming executive for ABC Sports, Robin Rivera, for a presentation on the Tour de France. 

This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall).  Free and open to the public. No registration required.

With the 2025 Tour de France around the corner, this presentation by promises to be a wonderful combination of primer for those less familiar with the event and fond reminiscence. Filled with photographs from her personal archive, Robin will share some of the many unique and memorable experiences she had while following the Tour de France during the decade she worked for ABC Sports. 

Formerly an Emmy-winning producer and programming executive for ABC Sports, Robin Stratton Rivera continues to work on independent projects from her home in Chilmark. She is putting the finishing touches on her first novel and contributes occasionally to the MV Times.

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

Celebrate Amity Week with Author Talk and Cartoon Workshop by Award-winning Graphic Novelist Ira Marcks

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to celebrate Amity Week with a back-to-back author talk and cartoon workshop by award-winning graphic novelist Ira Marcks, author of the kid-friendly mystery Shark Summer. Set on Martha’s Vineyard in the summer of 1974, Shark Summer tells the story of aspiring documentarian Gayle Briar and her new friends, who set out to film a documentary about the island’s secret history just as a Hollywood film crew arrives to make history of its own. 

On Tuesday, June 24th at 6:00 PM, Ira will treat kids, adults, and JAWS fans to an evening of inspiration and humor as he shares the trials and tribulations of mixing local legends, cinematic history, and cartoon characters. This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall), with books for sale by Edgartown Books. Free and open to the public. No registration required.

On Wednesday, June 25th from 3:30-5:30 pm, Ira will lead a hands-on workshop for teens and tweens in designing expressive cartoon characters. Through a fun and engaging workshop, participants will learn an easy-to-follow process for designing a cartoon face and adapting the features to create emotional expressions for storytelling. This workshop will be held in the community room on the lower level of the Tisbury EMS Facility, located at 215 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven. No registration required, but attendance is limited.

Ira Marcks is the award-winning cartoonist behind the creepy kid mysteries Shark Summer, Spirit Week and the upcoming Snake School. His books have been recommended by The New York Times, appeared on ‘Best of the Year’ list for the American Library Association, received a Gold Selection from the Junior Library Guild, as well as Maryland’s student voted Black-Eyed Susan Award.

Ira’s creative interests in supernatural fiction and scientific research have led to an unlikely list of past collaborators, including a White House Fellowship Scientist, the European Research Council, and the Hugo Award-winning magazine Weird Tales. When he isn’t making comics and visiting schools Ira is teaching on the creative learning platform Skillshare where he has earned Top Teacher status by inspiring over 100,000 students.

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org, or consult the library website: https://www.vhlibrary.org.

A Conversation with T. Elizabeth Bell, author of "Sheepish: A Martha’s Vineyard Novel"

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome seasonal author T. Elizabeth Bell for the launch of her third novel, Sheepish: A Martha’s Vineyard Novel. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, June 17th at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Books will be available for sale on site by Edgartown Books.  Free and open to the public. No registration required.

When tech-savvy Aly Bennett loses her job in San Francisco, she does what any self-respecting millennial in crisis would do and hops a plane to Martha’s Vineyard. Comforted by her childhood best friend, Aly trades Wi-Fi for ocean waves, laptops for lambs, and the hustle of city life for something slower, gentler, and unexpectedly real.

As the Island works its magic, Aly crosses paths with Whit Dias, a local fisherman with a bruised and wary heart. The attraction is unexpected and undeniable. Aly begins to imagine a future that isn’t driven by apps and ambition, until the tug of her old life—and the secrets she’s kept hidden—threaten to undo everything. Sheepish is a charming, sea-swept tale of friendship, forgiveness, and the messy, beautiful work of finding yourself, and finding love.

T. Elizabeth Bell swapped writing legal memos for crafting sea-breezy, toes-in-the-sand novels (Goats in the Time of Love and Counting Chickens) inspired by her love of Martha’s Vineyard. A beachcomber, dog-lover, wild blueberry-and-beach plum picker and jam-maker, she also dabbles in silversmithing, glittering Mardi Gras shoes, and capturing the island’s beauty through her photography (@tb.dc.mv on Instagram and @telizabethbell on Facebook).

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org, or consult the library website: https://www.vhlibrary.org.

 

Library Renovation and Satellite Location

Renovation of the library building at 200 Main Street is now underway. The building has been fully emptied, and interior demolition work has begun in order to expose mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems for repair and replacement.

The week of May 12th, there will be minor pruning of plantings along the south property line and rear garden and removal of a declining tree on the corner of Greenwood and Main, that will be replaced following the renovation. Installation of construction fencing will begin on May 16th. The Main Street sidewalk will remain open, but a portion of the Greenwood Avenue sidewalk adjoining the library will be fenced.

The week of May 19th, exterior work will begin including removal of siding and trim, and demolition of dormers and the chimney.

While the Main Street library is closed, please visit our satellite library at 15 Church Street, just off Main Street in the center of town.

• The Church Street library holds more than 10,000 items, including new books and movies and a curated core collection of popular and classic books.
• The library will continue to acquire new books, subscribe to magazines and newspapers, and receive delivery from other CLAMS libraries and the Commonwealth Catalog.
• The Church Street Library has public computers, scanning, and printing services, as well as Wi-Fi hotspots and Chromebook computers to checkout for home use.
• Due to space limitations we do not have but no table seating or individual work spaces.
• The Church Street Library is currently open regular hours Monday - Saturday.

Our Queer Elders in History and Song

In celebration of Pride Month, the Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome singer, songwriter and storyteller Katie Castagno for an evening of music and storytelling. “Our Queer Elders” will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, June 10th at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Katie Castagno uses storytelling and original song to celebrate and elevate the lives of people who have queered social and gender norms throughout history. At a time when queer history and voices are increasingly erased, “Our Queer Elders” is both informative and cheeky, whether it’s an account of Rachel Carson’s whirlwind romance with Dorothy Freeman, a sweet love song about Mary Oliver, or an imagining of the night Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt took a joyride after dinner in 1933.

Katie Castagno is a geologist by day and a singer-songwriter by night. Drawing on roots in rural New England and collegiate a cappella, Katie writes about people, places, and geological phenomena. Katie has released several singles, including “High Tide,” an exploration of life as a menstruating field scientist. Katie’s first full-length album, Every House I’ve Known, is a collection of songs reflecting on what it means to call somewhere home, with each based on a different place of residence. When not making music, Katie is the director of the Land-Sea Interaction Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, MA, and spends most of the time in the salt marsh.

The Remarkable History of Penikese Island

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome Kimberly Ulmer at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, June 3rd for a presentation on the remarkable legacy and ongoing contributions to conservation and science education of Penikese Island. This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theatre located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Penikese Island, a 75-acre wildlife sanctuary at the southwest end of the Elizabeth Island chain, has played many roles throughout its rich history. Once home to a natural history summer school and later a leper colony, it now serves as a vital refuge for endangered seabirds. For 150 years, botanical surveys have been conducted on the island, documenting the island’s ecological changes. Today, the Penikese Island School uses this living classroom to inspire environmental literacy and stewardship.

Kimberly Ulmer is the Executive Director of the Penikese Island School. Kimberly is a scientist, educator, and all around hydrophile with a passion for science education and outreach. Her scientific research background spans genetics, neuroscience, and marine biology, with fieldwork conducted aboard sailing vessels investigating microbial genomes and ocean plastics. With experience in both formal and informal education, Kimberly taught biology, aquaculture, and environmental science at Tabor Academy and has also led programs for the Woods Hole Children's School of Science, Falmouth Academy's summer program, Sail MV, and Habitat Kids.

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org, or consult the library website: https://www.vhlibrary.org.