BPL March Library Events and Programs

BOSTON – February 28, 2016 – The month of March offers a wealth of author talks and Irish-themed programs for people of all ages to enjoy. Below are highlights of the upcoming month, for a full listing visit the BPL Calendar of Events.

Chinese New Year concert at BPL in March 2013 (file photo).

• The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center invites kids ages 5-11 to explore the world, enjoy activities, and learn about Ireland’s geography and culture on Tuesday, March 1, at 4:30 p.m. in the Map Center, located at 700 Boylston Street.
• Linda M. Blair takes the audience back to the 17^th century as she reads passages from her novelCauldron of Dreams, which details the lives of women yearning to pursue their dreams on Thursday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Roslindale Branch, located at 4246 Washington Street.
• Honor Molloy, a Dublin-born, Brooklyn-based writer, actor and director, talks and reads from her lyrical book, Smarty Girl, Dublin Savage, an autobiographical novel set in the 1960’s, on Saturday, March 12, at 1 p.m. at the West Roxbury Branch, located at 1961 Centre Street.
• Hear Irish music in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day with an Irish folk concert featuring Boston’s Erin Og on Monday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the Connolly Branch, located at 433 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain.
• St. Patrick’s Day-themed story times and crafts for children ages 0-5 take place on Wednesday, March 9, at 4 p.m. and on Wednesday, March 16, at 4 p.m. at the South Boston Branch, located at 646 East Broadway.
• BPL’s Collaborative Library Services Manager Anna Fahey-Flynn discusses the shoe industry in Massachusetts, dating from the 1800s through World War I, when the Commonwealth was the largest producer of shoes in the United States. Wednesday, March 16, at 6 p.m. in the Commonwealth Salon at the Central Library in Copley Square, located at 700 Boylston Street. Part of the Local & Family History Lecture Series.
• Irish author Colm Tóibín speaks about his novel Brooklyn, made into a film starring Saoirse Ronan, on Thursday, March 17, at 12 p.m. in the Abbey Room at the Central Library in Copley Square, located at 700 Boylston Street. This program is presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Ireland.
• Author David Ira Rottenberg reads his humorous stories accompanied by ballet dancers from Sheila Rosanio’s School of Dance in Revere on Friday, March 18, at1:30 p.m. at the Charlestown Branch, located at 179 Main Street. A program for children and their caregivers.
• The South Boston Branch hosts a St. Patrick’s Day book sale on Saturday, March 19, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at 646 East Broadway.
• The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center and the Boston Map Society welcome Joni Seager, Professor and Chair at Bentley University to talk about her book State of Women in the World Atlas. Tuesday, March 22, at 6 p.m. in the Commonwealth Salon at the Central Library in Copley Square, located at 700 Boylston Street. This author talk is presented in conjunction with the Map Center exhibition Women in Cartography: Five Centuries of Accomplishments.
• Historian Christopher Daley details the history of the Irish community in Boston in his “No Irish Need Apply” talk on Tuesday, March 29, at 6:30 p.m. at the Fields Corner Branch, located at 1520 Dorchester Avenue.
• Historian Alex Goldfeld explores the lives of people of African descent in the predominantly white Massachusetts Bay Colony in his talk “The Black Community in Colonial Dorchester and Boston” on Wednesday, March 30, at 6 p.m. Part of the Local & Family History Lecture Series.
• Irish flute player and singer Shannon Heaton, accompanied by a string quartet, blends new compositions and old ballads rooted in the Irish tradition on Thursday, March 31, at 2 p.m. in the Commonwealth Salon at the Central Library in Copley Square, located at 700 Boylston Street.

Boston Public Library has a Central Library, twenty-four branches, map center, business library, and a website filled with digital content and services. Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library has pioneered public library service in America. It was the first large free municipal library in the United States, the first public library to lend books, the first to have a branch library, and the first to have a children’s room. Each year, the Boston Public Library hosts thousands of programs and serves millions of people. All of its programs and exhibitions are free and open to the public. At the Boston Public Library, books are just the beginning. To learn more, visit bpl.org.