Local Author Will Discuss New Book at the Lenox Library

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LENOX, Mass. — The Lenox Library will host local author Kevin O'Hara to discuss his new book, "Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward: My 30 Years as a Psychiatric Nurse," in conversation with Bill Everhart, former Editorial Page Editor of The Berkshire Eagle, on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. 
 
The event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of The Bookstore.
 
Kevin O'Hara worked for three decades as a psychiatric nurse at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He is also the author of "Last of the Donkey Pilgrims," and "A Lucky Irish Lad." 
 
Now O'Hara tells the stories of the many colorful characters he encountered on the locked ward over those years, and of the camaraderie of hospital workers. Though intended to be entertaining, "Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward" has much to say about changes in the medical profession and mental health treatment over those years.
 
Set within the framework of a transformative week near the end of his career, O'Hara careens freely through the years to tell his story and those of others.
 
For more information, visit the Lenox Library's website at https://lenoxlib.org or call 413-637-0197.

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Lenox Library and Indie Lens Pop-Up Present The Librarians

LENOX, Mass.—On Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 2:00 p.m., Lenox Library and Indie Lens Pop-Up, presented by ITVS, INDEPENDENT LENS, will host a special free screening of The Librarians, the critically-acclaimed documentary that follows a network of besieged librarians as they unite to examine how book restriction policies are shaping library collections.

According to a press release:

From Oscar-nominated Director and Producer Kim A. Snyder (Death By Numbers, Newtown, Us Kids) and Executive Producer Sarah Jessica Parker, The Librarians takes viewers from Texas to Florida and beyond, where local libraries have become unexpected battlegrounds in a national struggle over parental control, intellectual freedom, and democracy itself. Sparked by the controversial "Krause List" in Texas, which targets 850 books centered on race and LGBTQIA+ stories, the film takes a deep investigative dive into the escalating movement against book banning. The film captures the courage and resilience of the everyday heroes, librarians, as well as concerned parents and students flanking them, who have become first responders in the fight for the freedom to read, standing defiantly against censorship at all costs.

After the screening, there will be an interactive panel discussion about censorship, its effects on democracy, and the broader implications for education and intellectual freedom:

Martin Garnar (he/him) is the director of the Amherst College Library and editor of the Intellectual Freedom Manual (10th ed.), the authoritative reference for librarians for day-to-day guidance on maintaining free and equal access to information for all people.

Jennifer Guerin (she/her) earned her M.A. in English from Georgetown University and her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas. She also received her Law for Librarians training from the American Library Association in May 2024. Jennifer currently serves as Librarian at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School in Great Barrington, MA, where a complaint against Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer in a teacher's classroom made national headlines in 2024.

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