September is Library Card Month

Over 42,000 Newton residents have library cards! We're so proud to have so many active library card holders visiting and taking advantage of all the different resources available through the Library.

But is there someone in your life - maybe a friend, neighbor or family member - that DOESN'T have a library card?

Don't panic, we're here to help! This month is Library Card Sign Up month - the perfect time to double check and make sure the people in your life aren't missing out on what the Newton Free Library has to offer.

Encourage them to sign up and when they open a library account at the Circulation or Children's Desk they'll have a chance to spin our prize wheel to win an item from our goody bin, a book sale coupon, or an entry for our grand prize raffle.

Behind the Scenes Tours

Everyday we surprise Library visitors by introducing them to offerings they didn't realize were available through the Library. Join us for a Behind the Scenes Library Tour that will:

 - Show you where and how we process new materials

 - Introduce you to some of our talented staff members that help make the library such a special part of the community

 - Get you up close to the automated sorter

 - Fill you in on some of the little-known facts of our wonderful library.

Tour lasts approximately one hour. Registration required, chose a date below:

Wed 9/6, 3-4pm

Wed 9/13, 7-8pm

Fri 9/22, 3-4pm
 
Library closed for Labor Day Weekend

Sunday Hours Return

Sunday hours return after Labor Day,
starting Sunday, Sept. 10th.

We're open 1-5pm on Sundays.

Summer Reading Wrap Up

Over 300 kids and teens participated in this year's this summer reading challenge, clocking in over 180,000 minutes of reading!

September 5th is the final day to submit Adult Summer Reading cards to qualify for our prize drawings. Submit your forms in person or online.

Thank you to all the wonderful shops/restaurants who partnered with us to offer prizes. And congratulations to all our readers!

New Museum/Recreation Pass to Merrimack Repertory Theatre

Museum/Recreation Passes

With your Newton Library Card you have access to over 30 different free or discounted museum and recreation passes. This month we are introducing a new pass to our lineup: the Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Located in Lowell, the 279-seat theatre produces seven works annually including several premieres. Their '23-'24 season features the following productions: Gaslight, A Christmas Carol, Dishwasher Dreams, The Porch on Windy Hill, and Spiritus/Virgil's Dance! Their first night of

productions is 10/18, so you can begin booking tickets on 9/18. Our pass gives residents a 50% discount on tickets.

Climate Preparedness Week is September 23rd-29th

Climate Preparedness Week, sponsored by CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather), is a week of learning, service, and actions to better prepare our communities for extreme weather events and the effects of climate change. Explore our upcoming programs, atrium display and reading suggestions:

9/27 at 6:30pm
Register here

Join us for a virtual event with Tory Stephens of Grist Magazine, an independent non-profit media organization focused on the climate crisis, and learn how he created Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors. Imagine is a storytelling initiative that calls for fiction writers to envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress, imagining intersectional worlds of abundance, adaptation, reform, and hope.

Did you miss our latest BookTalk event focused on climate reads? Here are some of our Librarian's suggestions for climate related nonfiction and fiction titles:

Friends of Newton Free Library

- Special Fundraiser -

Wine Tasting Social

Thursday, September 21 at 6:30pm in Newton Centre

Tickets are $30 per person, space is limited.

Purchase a Ticket Today!

Meet Helen, Supervisor of Adult Services

Helen Lee recently joined the Newton Free Library as the new Supervisor of Adult Services. They began as a volunteer at their high school library and have worked in several libraries in Massachusetts over the last decade, including the Boston University Libraries and the Cambridge Public Library. In fact, they have spent so much time in library buildings that it is quite possible you may have run into them once or twice at a different

library! When not at the Library, you might catch Helen at a local road race. Otherwise, they are probably binge watching a TV show at home. Stop by the Ask! desks and say hi! Here are some of Helen's favorite reads:

September Event Highlights

Unleash your Potential with AI Technology

9/12 -- Click to register

Encanto Singalong

9/18 -- Click for info

Managing the College Application Process

9/26 -- Click to register

Tiny Town Newton
    
Stop by the Children's Room anytime in September to enjoy their latest room-wide event: Tiny Town Newton.

This month their hosting "Tiny Town Newton", complete with self directed activities and puzzles around the room celebrating all the Villages that make our city unique!