Staff Articles
Women in History
Browse below to find both fiction and nonfiction tales based on the real stories of many amazing women who have existed throughout time. Throughout history, many women's stories were treated as less important than their male counterparts'. Books like these remind...
Seeking out the Strange with Tor.com
If you like science fiction, fantasy and/or horror, this is the website for you. While Tor.com publishes their own physical books, it also has a website with a massive collection of short fiction (for free!) and articles galore covering all corners of pop culture...
Celebrate Edgar Allan Poe
Feeling squeamish? Celebrate Edgar Allan Poe on October 7th with a macabre celebration of gothic and supernatural horrors. All Hallows by Christopher Golden The Atrocities by Jeremy Shipp Bunny by Mona Awad The Cloisters by Katy Hays The Collected Tales and poems...
Top 14 Books I Read in College
We all know that you’re politely “forced” to read many books in college, especially if you’re in the Humanities, and sometimes they even end up being good! Long Division by Keise Laymon - I would consider this the most impactful book I read during my undergraduate...
I think the cover was…illustrated!
Illustrated covers are the next big thing and this bright, bold, colorful type of art is prevalent mostly in contemporary and romantic fiction. But sometimes not. Take a chance, break the stereotype and pick a book based on the cover! Fiction Astrid Parker Doesn't...
Books About Books
There’s nothing in the world quite like books. Recording stories has been a part of our history for as long as humans have had a form of language and communication; whether through cave art, cuneiform tablets, quill and ink or a computer keyboard. Through the ages,...
An Intro to NoveList
NoveList is a website curated by librarians about books and is a great place to explore genres to find new titles you might not have heard of before and to find read-alike books (ex. If you love Game of Thrones, you might like these authors). *Please note that not...
Goodreads Tutorial
Do you find yourself not remembering which books you’ve already read, or you can’t quite remember the title of new books you want to read? Goodreads is an Amazon-run website that allows you to keep track of your books. Whether it’s books you’ve already read, or...
So What’s a ChatGPT Anyway?
As a preface, I am not an expert in AI in any capacity, I just think it’s really cool! Take everything here with a grain of silicon. Artificial Intelligence. ChatGPT-4. Robot apocalypse. Social media has exploded over the last few weeks with ongoing developments in...
2022 Staff Picks
We wish all our library patrons the best and happiest of new years! Looking back through 2022, there were many great books that we enjoyed. Hopefully you can say the same. If you’re looking for tips on what to read next, why not check out a book that one of...
House Genealogy How-To Part 2: Sanborn Insurance Maps
Have you tried to trace the genealogy of your house? In this multi-part series, we will explore how to use local history resources at the library to write the genealogy of your house here in Westfield. In part one of this series, we focused on some of the best...
Tech Tuesday: New York Times Article Archive
Hi everyone! Welcome back to another Tech Tuesday - today we’re taking a look at the New York Times Article Archive, provided by Gale. This is an excellent resource that gives you access to all New York Times articles published between 1965 and today. Whether...
Book Display: International Day of Non-Violence
October 2nd is the International Day of Non-Violence, initiated by the United Nations in honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. The practice of nonviolent protest as an approach to dealing with systemic issues is an old one, with examples going back centuries. Some of...
Tech Tuesday: Gale In Context Elementary
Hello again! Welcome back to another Tech Tuesday, where we’ll be covering another offshoot of Gale In Context. This one is somewhat similar to the other In Context databases, but it is providing information for a younger audience. There’s some big differences in...
Halloween Reads
They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky, they’re…Halloween boooks! What better way to summon the spirit of the season than reading about ghastly ghouls, voracious vampires, or wacky werewolves? We encourage you to take a bite out of the fangtastic...
2022 Midterm Elections
Election season is upon us once more! As a community hub, we can act as a positive influence for all our citizens. One of the most important rights and obligations in a democracy is the freedom to vote. As the Athenaeum endorses and encourages education and freedom...
Tech Tuesday: Britannica Library
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another Tech Tuesday. Today we’re looking at the Britannica Library Edition resource, a very helpful resource to get started researching any topic. Like Wikipedia, Britannica will give a broad overview on a topic, and will provide...
Tech Tuesday: Transparent Languages
Hello all! We’re back for another Tech Tuesday, this time with one of the databases I am personally the most excited about - Transparent Language Online. As a huge fan of learning new languages, I am beyond excited that the state has made this available for us....
Celebrate Banned Books Week 2022!
“Books unite us, censorship divides us,” is the motto for 2022’s official Banned Books Week, where libraries, booksellers, and their communities come together to stand against censorship and uplift the sharing of diverse ideas. Launched in 1982 and sponsored by a...
Vintage Cookbooks of Westfield
Did you know that the Westfield Athenaeum has a collection of cookbooks in our archives? Our collection includes cookbooks that were donated to the Athenaeum and that range in age from Victorian to vintage, dating from the 1880s to the 1990s. These cookbooks...
