The featured artist for the month of October at Bushnell-Sage Library is Nanci Worthington. Nanci's extraordinary artwork will be on exhibition beginning October 1 through October 31.

There will be an opening reception of Nanci's exhibition on Friday, October 6 from 5 - 6:30 p.m.  Her exhibition may also be viewed during the library's regularly scheduled open hours.

Looking for a group to discuss your latest crafting projects? Find some new BFFs - the Berkshire Fiber Friends! Whether you knit, crochet, embroider, felt, or weave, this is the group for you. The BFFs meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of every month from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the library - October 3 and 17.

Interested in helping enhance the library experience? The Friends of Bushnell-Sage Library is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose purpose is to encourage and promote the enrichment and use of Bushnell-Sage Library and to foster support for the Library in the community. 

The next meeting of the Friends will take place Friday, October 6 at 9 a.m. in the library’s program room. For more information, contact the Friends at [email protected].

Join us Saturday, October 14 at 1 p.m. in the library program room as we welcome authors Heather Dune Macadam and Simon Worrall to discuss their most recent book Star Crossed: A True Romeo and Juliet Story in Hitler’s Paris. Star Crossed brings to life the story of ill-fated artists Annette Zelman and Jean Jausion, whose dazzling and passionate love affair at Paris’s renowned Café de Flore in the run-up to World War II ended in betrayal and tragedy.

Local historian Thomas Ragusa, Otis resident and Knox Trail expert, has spent 12 years mapping the part of the 300-mile trail through Otis and Sandisfield. The trail was used by General Henry Knox to transport cannons from Ticonderoga to Boston during the Revolutionary War. On Saturday, October 21 at 2 p.m., he’ll discuss this historic trail and its connection to Sheffield through surveyor Nathanial Austin.

Let’s get ready for the Halloween season with a spooky read! Join us in the Bushnell-Sage Library Program Room as we discuss The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz Tuesday, October 24 at 4 p.m.

"The book's pacing--a slow roll of dread and horror--is exceptional . . . A perfect winter night's haunting."-- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The BSL Book Club meets on the 4th Tuesday of the month from 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Please contact 413-229-7004 with any questions.

Pick up your copy at the circulation desk today!

Square Pegs, Round Tables: Four Early Arthurian Romances

 A Literary Seminar by Mark Scarbrough

September 27, 2023, through November 15, 2023
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Spaces still available, join us next week! Register here.

Stories of Arthur’s round table arose at a time of great change across France and England: as Celtic myths become the gold standard of storytelling, as the landscape was increasingly war-torn, as the crowns of England and France battled for supremacy, as Eleanor of Aquitaine brokered her infamous dowry, and as the Middle Ages gave way to the modern world. We’ll look at four of the earliest Arthurian legends: two tales written by a French court poet who single-handedly invented the stories as we now know them and two tales found as solitary manuscripts in estate collections long after their composition. Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the other knights show us distinct fractures in personal expression and political power as the medieval became the modern, rifts that still trip us up today.

Thank you to the Friends of Bushnell-Sage Library for sponsoring this seminar!

Join us weekly on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. for a session of gentle Kripalu yoga, accessible to any level of experience or fitness. Focus on flexibility, stress reduction, balance and gentle strengthening. Please bring a yoga mat and blanket and any props you like.

Donation based, $10 suggested with 20% of any proceeds donated to the library to support future programming.

We’re launching a new program series for our young patrons! Early Enrichment is a new program designed to engage children and their caregivers in activities that support and challenge their early development.

Each week we’ll read a book together, and then explore an activity designed to provide discovery experiences for children and caregivers. Activities will offer varying levels of challenge to support development at each stage of early childhood. There will be very little instruction with these activities. Supplies will be made available for children to explore as they wish.

Children must be supervised by a caregiver at all times. This program is designed as an opportunity for mutual discovery between child and caregiver. This is a drop-in program and we welcome families to come and go as they please. Stay for 5 minutes, or the full hour.

Join us on Thursday, October 5 any time from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. to squish some Play Dough! We’ll start with a story at 10:30, and then it’s time to squish!

Allergen Alert: Play Dough Contains Wheat. We will be using a homemade play dough which contains wheat, salt, and cream of tartar.

On Thursday, October 12 any time from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., we’ll explore Chalk Paint! We’ll be crushing chalk, mixing our own chalk paint colors, and using our paint to make our own masterpieces!

Lego® Construction Zone is back!

This session of Lego® Construction Zone will run from October 5 - November 16 on Thursdays from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Sign up today!

Due to the popularity of this program, and our limited LEGO resources, if your child is signed up and does not attend for two consecutive weeks, they will be removed from the sign-up and their build will be  disassembled. You can sign them up again at any time, space permitting.

Lego® Construction Zone is for grades K-8. Kids under 12 must have a parent or guardian on library premises. Kids under 6 must have a parent or guardian stay with them for the duration  of the program.

Our StoryWalk® for October is We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger, illustrated by Miki Sakamoto, on a new pathway around our playground! Stop by the Children’s Desk to pick up a fall windsock activity.

The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.

StoryWalk® made possible by our partnership with South Berkshire Kids.

Featured Resources

Borrow audiobooks, ebooks, comics, music, movies, and TV with no waiting or holds lists with Hoopla. You’ll get ten free checkouts per month, per card.

Newly added - FREE online access to Consumer Reports!

Visit from our library homepage or our Digital Resources page, click the blue ConsumerReports.org button and enter your library card number for access to expert ratings, reviews, and buying guides.

Free language learning with Transparent Language, works on virtually any Internet-connected device or computer!

Free access to thousands of award-winning art & craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists.

Find projects for every occasion at Creativebug.com.

Have you tried Wowbrary?

Sign up with your email and receive a free weekly newsletter about the newest books and movies at the Bushnell-Sage Library.

Click Here to view the Bushnell-Sage Library Programs And Events - October 2023