Wareham Library to get a boost from prize-winning author Tracy Kidder

Jun 12, 2018

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder will be coming to the Wareham Free Library on June 20 as a part of the library’s annual Author Series fundraiser.

This will be the fourth year that the event sponsored by the Wareham Library Foundation has taken place.

“We’re very excited to have Tracy come to Wareham,” said Library Association President Liz Wiley.

Kidder will be signing books at the Wareham Free Library from 5 to 6:30 p.m. as well as hosting a free lecture and question and answer session with fans. He is best known for “The Soul of a New Machine,” about the creation of a new computer, and many other works of nonfiction. Kidder's latest book, "A Truck Full of Money," explores the life of Paul English, the co-founder of travel search website Kayak.com.

Later, Kidder will be interviewed by Naomi Ahrenburg of NPR at the Rosebrook Conference center. That event will include dinner, and tickets are $100 per person. A seat at the author’s table is $250.

“It’s our largest fundraising event,” Wiley said. “It’s really important to the library.”

Wiley said that the money the library receives from the town isn’t enough to pay to operate the library, which makes fundraising crucial. In 2014, the library actually lost it’s state certification due to lack of funding. This made it ineligible for state assistance.

“We just couldn’t hire the type of staff we needed to keep our certification,” Wiley said.

According to Wiley, it’s the Friends of the Wareham Free Library and the Wareham Library Foundation that supply most of the funding.

“The Friends help sponsor our outreach programs,” Wiley said. “And the Foundation covers things like salary and maintenance.”

Wiley said the Wareham Free Library will be looking to renew it’s certification in the fall thanks to the combined aid of both groups.

“We’re really excited,” Wiley said. “And Tracy seems happy to helping us out.”

Tickets for dinner with Tracy Kidder are still on sale at www.supportwarehamlibrary.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Wareham Free Library or the Spinney Branch Library.