Westerly Sun Column | Last-minute Christmas Gifts at the Library

With only a week to go until Christmas, there’s not a lot of time left to shop for gifts — and even less if you want to have something shipped before the holiday! If you’re still scrambling to find the perfect thing to give your loved ones, we have a few great ideas here at the library.

Give the gift of a memory in time! The library has access to old issues of Westerly Sun on microfilm, and we now have the year 1893 to 1950 digitized. Fairly often, we have folks come in to print a page from these archives as a gift for a loved one. This could be a birth or wedding announcement, an article that was written about them, or even the front page on the day they were born … there are so many possibilities! Once printed and displayed in a nice frame, these make a wonderfully unique and meaningful gifts.

There’s also the gift of preservation. I have about 20 large albums chock-full of photos that were left in my possession when my grandparents passed, and I’m currently in the midst of scanning all of them. It’s a bit time-consuming, sure, but not at all difficult or costly … and, when I’m done, each of my family members will have access to a literal lifetime of photos, which is pretty much priceless. This can be done using our photocopier, but we also have equipment in our Makerspace that you can use to convert and save old memories — VHS tapes to DVD, records to CD, or photo slides to digital images. Call our Tech department at extension 311 to make an appointment to learn about and use any of these.

Handmade gifts are another great option, and there are projects for all ages and skill levels. Kids are invited to our drop-in “Gifts from the Heart” program on Friday, where we’ll have various supplies available to craft their own presents. We just wrapped up our adult Handmade Holiday series, but you can visit our YouTube channel to watch video tutorials for all of our take and make crafts from the last few years: book page jewelry, hot chocolate bombs, photo magnets, and gnome ornaments are just a few of the popular ones! If you have other ideas, you can also make use of the Makerspace, where you can craft one-of-a-kind gifts with the sewing machine or GlowForge.

If you don’t have the time, talent, or inclination to craft something, there are still gifts that you can get at the library. We currently have a wide selection of bookish goods in the Coy room on the first floor, which are available for purchase. Gifts include book-themed onesies and socks from Out of Print, library crafted stickers and leather bookmarks, mugs, and various Westerly Library and Wilcox Park swag. Stop by the circulation desk for more details, or to browse the full collection of goods. We accept cash and check, and all proceeds benefit the library!

by Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian