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- The Concord Free Public Library will be closed on Sunday and Monday, February 16 & 17 for Presidents' Day.
- In this issue: Unsettling Thoreau Author Talk Rescheduled - Adult Programs - Virtual Films at Fowler - Meet Our 3D Printers - Teen Programs - Children's Programs - From Special Collections: Concord Authors
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Unsettling Thoreau Author Talk Rescheduled | |
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Due to the impending winter storm, this event has been rescheduled from Sunday, February 9 to Sunday, March 30.
Unsettling Thoreau - with John J. Kucich
Sunday, March 30, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library and on Zoom
Linda Coombs (Aquinnah Wampanoag), author and historian from the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah, will join John Kucich, president of the Thoreau Society, in a conversation about Thoreau and Native Americans and John's new book Unsettling Thoreau: Native Americans, Settler Colonialism, and the Power of Place (University of Massachusetts Press, 2024).
Register to attend in person or on Zoom. (You do not need to register again if you have already registered for the February 9 event.)
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Tuesday Book Discussion: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Tuesday, February 11, 10:00 - 11:45 a.m.
Trustees Room, Main Library
Each month, join other readers to discuss a range of books, from classics to contemporary. For February, we will discuss Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. Copies of the book are available at the Main Library. [Register for Tuesday Book Discussion]
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Ancient Wisdom Today: Practice and Principles
Tuesday, February 11, 7:15 - 8:00 p.m.
Zoom
How might our modern ways benefit from ancient wisdom practices based on compassion and interconnection? Join us to discuss short readings from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu as well as aspects of Buddhist, Indigenous and Zen teachings, among others. This 10-week online offering began January 21 and runs on consecutive Tuesday nights until March 25. Led by the Library's mindful wellness educator, Lara Wilson with meditation teacher, Jacob Millendorf. [Register for Zoom Link]
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Meet Cute Book Club
Thursday, February 13, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Trustees Room, Main Library
Join Library staff and discuss the most lucrative genre in publishing: romance. This month we will discuss Tessa Dare's Regency romance novel Romancing the Duke, the first installment of her Castles Ever After series. Mocktails (non-alcoholic) will be served at the meeting. [Register for Meet Cute Book Club]
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Dodsworth (1936)
Wednesday, February 12, 7:00 p.m.
(Discussion Date on Zoom)
A retired auto manufacturer (Walter Huston) and his wife take a long-planned European vacation only to find that they want very different things from life.
Please watch the film on Kanopy before the discussion. To register for the discussion and receive a Zoom link, send an email to the Coordinator of the program Randall Warniers at FilmsatFowler@concordlibrary.org. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library.
[View Winter 2025 Film Discussion Schedule]
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Interested in 3D printing but not sure how to get started? This special February MAKE-cation series is designed specifically to help younger makers and their families meet our 3D printers in small, guided sessions with one of our staff. We will get to know our 3D printers by printing a piece of the Monumental (Re)Make project, then use 3D pens to make a print to take home. For kids ages 5 to 10 and family.
Register for one -
[Tuesday, February 18, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.]
[Tuesday, February 18, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.]
[Wednesday, February 19, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.]
[Wednesday, February 19, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.]
[Thursday, February 20, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.]
[Friday, February 21, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.]
[Friday, February 21, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.]
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Fowler Teen Crafternoon (Grades 6-12)
Monday, February 10, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Meeting Room, Fowler Branch
Stop by after school to unwind and craft. Bring something you are working on, or learn something new from your peers. Crafts may include origami, crochet, friendship bracelets, and more. Snacks will be provided. No registration required.
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Teen Video Game Tournament
Tuesday, February 11, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Teen Lounge, Main Library
Prizes are up for grabs at this Mario Kart 8 tournament, but bring your deodorant because the competition in this free-for-all Rube Goldberg racer is gonna be extra sweaty (figuratively and literally, probably). [Register for Teen Video Game Tournament]
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Teen Dungeons and Dragons (For Middle Schoolers)
Wednesday, February 12, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Teen Lounge, Main Library
Drop in to this middle school game of Dungeons and Dragons: Settling Debt - Build your character, pick your gear, and lay waste to nasty critters with a roll of the dice. If you wish to drop in, please have a level 3 character ready to go, or, see Erick at the Teen Desk (sometime before game day) to build one.
For more Teen programs, visit here.
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Main Library Children's Programs | |
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Weekly Storytime Schedule
All storytimes are drop-in unless otherwise noted.
Crafty Tuesday, Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m.
Toddler Time, Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.
Baby Snugglebugs Storytime, Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m.
Storytime at Main, Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.
Alphabet Storytime, Fridays, 10:30 a.m.
Yoga & Movement Storytime, Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.
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Musical Monday with Matt Heaton
Monday, February 10, 10:30 - 11:15 a.m.
Goodwin Forum, Main Library
Matt Heaton's songs blend the mid-century rockabilly, surf, soul, western swing and country music he loves with a sense of humor that works for both kids and adults. This event is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. No registration required.
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Fowler Branch Children's Programs | |
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Lego Club at Fowler (Ages 12 and under)
Friday, February 14, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Meeting Room, Fowler Branch
Join fellow builders to construct from our Lego collection. Try out weekly challenges or work on your own project. Drop in at any time during Lego Club. No registration required.
For more Children's programs at the Fowler Branch, visit here.
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From Special Collections: Concord Authors | |
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In June 1873, the Concord Library Committee sent out a handbill requesting residents donate material to help create “a complete collection of the literary, historical, municipal, religious, educational, and other printed works of Concord men and women, to be placed in one Alcove.” These materials became the nucleus of both the William Munroe Special Collections and the Concord Authors collection.
By the time the first Library report was published in 1874, donations of books, pamphlets, essays, addresses, and more had been donated. That first Library report noted that the gifts were “all of inestimable local value and are placed in the Concord Alcove. We expect to see this niche filled with the works of our own people. It will contain a very full history of the town and present the most attractive feature of the library.” For over 150 years, the Library has embraced its place as the home for works by Concordians.
The collection consists of over 5,000 printed books by, about, and from the libraries of Concord authors from the 17th century on, beginning with the 1646 Gospel-Covenant by the Rev. Peter Bulkeley. It exists to document the full range of authors in Concord, major and minor, in all subject areas. The collection is rich in titles in law, economics, cookery, gardening, and astronomy, for example, as well as in literature and history. Its development is ongoing, with books by present-day Concord authors added as they are published.
For years, this collection has been widely spread over the first floor of the Main Library. Special Collections has undertaken an initiative to make the material easier to find and in fewer locations. All the books by our “Big Four” authors, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau, are now grouped in the Transcendental Alcove in the Rotunda. Books about the “Big Four” have been moved onto open shelving within the Special Collections’ reading room.
Most other Concord Authors collection books are now in the Trustees’ Room. While more changes will occur over the next year, including new uses for those empty cases in the Rotunda, we hope you will find using these materials easier. Many of the books by Concord Authors are also available within the circulating collection.
Click here to learn more about the Concord Authors collection.
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