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In among the Daffodils at the Chen Yang Li Restaurant - Bow, NH
Photo and Caption by Eric Anderson
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Greetings Bow Library Fans!!! Can you believe that, as of mid-May, I have been here at the Baker Free Library for half a year?!!!! WOW!! It has been such an honor to have met so many Bow community members and work with an amazing staff, board members and town employees! I look forward to getting to know you all even better and getting to see the Baker Free Library surrounded by popping flowers, green grass and abundant daylight and sunshine.
I have been blown away by the exceptional services and programming that come out of our library (and the marketing to let you all know about it). I love to see what fun craft club projects are coming out of Liesl’s programs, and love when I have a good morning to slip into the start of one of Juliana or Christina’s story times. And how many of you have learned about a fun program or been inspired to make a library trip based off of one of Lauren’s laugh out loud social media reels?! I attended one of Amy’s amazing book clubs and was reminded how I first really started to fall in love with libraries and the communities and friendships they bring together!! And to top it all off, we have the best students that work our circulation desk helping you leave with all the best books and resources!! Have I convinced you that there is something or someone for you to connect with at the library? Maybe pop into one of these great May offerings:
Yoga at the library in May!! This is a great way to try something new, or to practice an “old hat” skill with friends and community members in one of your favorite spaces! And if you haven’t signed your family up for life size candy land don’t forget to do that (this spills into May during the schools Spring break). Finally, what could be more intriguing as we all start to get outdoors than a presentation on Bigfoot?!!! Read about all of these events and more below!
One final word: If you have ever struggled to get yourself, your littles that are stroller bound, or multiple bags of heavy books into the library, fear not! Thanks to our lovely Foundation, we now have a set of automatic doors to help you. Just hit the blue button centered between the doors! Many thanks to the Foundation and all of you that have ever supported this organization.
Your joyful library director,
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Executive Order Reducing the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
and Its Impact on New Hampshire Library Users
An executive order issued Friday, March 14th, 2025 calls for the reduction and elimination of functions of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which is an independent federal agency that supports libraries and museums in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
This decision could/will greatly impact Baker Free Library patrons and Granite Staters.
In our state, the New Hampshire State Library receives $1.3- $1.5 million of IMLS money to fund its interlibrary loan program (ILL), as well as the online catalog & van service to support it.
In 2024, The Library loaned out 724 items to other libraries using the ILL service, and borrowed 2,463 items from other libraries to support the needs of our patrons.
The State Library also uses IMLS money to provide you with Talking Book services, and the platform for Libby, the eBook, eAudio and digital magazine platform, and staff that support these services.
What does this mean for you?
This funding, if not available, will dramatically affect the above mentioned services that we currently provide to our patrons. If these funds are cut these services could be impacted.
We want to continue to provide our patrons with the resources they ask for and need. However, we wanted to make you aware that our ability to offer all these services may be impacted in the coming months.
If you object to the elimination of these funds and functions of IMLS, we encourage you to contact your Congressional Delegation expressing why IMLS and the funds they provide are critical.
Thank you for supporting the power of libraries and as we learn more we will keep you posted with updates!
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Seasons of Reading
A Year-Long Reading Challenge for Teens and Adults!
Sign up at the library to receive your challenge, and work your way through a new set of reading prompts each season. Keep an eye on our Events & Programs Calendar throughout the year for meet-ups and events relating to the challenge. Learn more on our website!
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100 Acres More or Less by David Bundy
Fresh restock!!!
Baker Free Library was established in 1914... but did you know that was almost 200 years after the Town of Bow was first founded?
Back in the 60s, David Bundy published a book titled '100 Acres More or Less' as a way to share the Town's rich history and backstory, and we are so excited to announce that this book is now available for purchase at Baker Free Library! All proceeds will directly benefit the Bow Heritage Commission, and support them in their mission of preserving Bow's past.
Available to purchase for $20 at the circ. desk!
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Drop-In Storytimes
Every Tuesday at Thursday, May 6 - 29 | 10:30am
Join us for a short season of drop-in storytimes during the month of May, followed by open play time!
Registration is not required for this session. All ages welcome.
Every Tuesday and Thursday morning in May.
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Save the Date!
Summer Reading Kickoff Party ~
Magic Fred: Comedy, Magic, and Fun!
Friday, June 20 | 4:30pm
Come one, come all: Magic Fred brings his celebrated show to Bow! Enjoy laughs, illusions, and plenty of audience participation, including the famous Floating Kid trick! Recommended for ages 4 and up. No registration required.
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Tech Time with Liesl!
Every Monday | 4-6pm
Every Monday from 4-6pm, get help with: Libby/Overdrive, Hoopla, Kanopy, EBSCOhost, HeritageQuest, Ancestry.com, Kindle, email, Google Drive, Microsoft Office, using our library catalog, and more!
Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are strongly encouraged!
To make an appointment please email liesl@bakerfreelib.org or give us a call!
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Chair Yoga
Thursday, May 1 | 8:30am
Chair yoga will be held the first Thursday of every month, at 8:30 AM! You must be registered to attend, as space is limited. Please dress comfortably and bring water with you to class!
This gentle and welcoming Chair Yoga class will allow you to receive the benefits of practicing yoga while sitting in a chair or standing using the chair for balance. Through guided yoga postures and breath-work, this class will help to increase strength and range of motion, improve circulation, and deepen mental and physical relaxation. No experience needed!
Sara Withers has practiced yoga on and off for almost twenty years. She became a 200 RYT through Sharing Yoga in Concord, NH in the spring of 2024, and is also trained in Yin and Restorative Yoga/Yoga Nidra. When she’s not teaching yoga, she enjoys all sorts of adventures with her husband and two sons.
Register here.
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Adult Board Game Night
Wednesday, May 7 | 5:30pm
Come celebrate the library’s assortment of board games! Drop by for some snacks and socializing while exploring the library’s collection! Registration is encouraged.
If you have a specific game you'd like to request, please let Liesl know when you register and we will try to accommodate.
Register here.
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Gallery Opening:
Tulips and Other Living Things by Susan Rock
Monday, May 12 |1-3pm
Susan Rock will be in the gallery on Monday, May 12th, from 1 - 3pm, to speak about her artwork.
Of her work, Susan said, "My artwork represents who I am at the moment. I work in fiber and watercolor and seem to be always thinking about how and what I am seeing, hearing, its color, shape or texture can be part of my art. Someone once said my brain must be like the tangled threads I sometimes use to express the stirrings within." Tea and cookies will be provided!
Susan's work will be on display in the gallery for the month of May.
Register here.
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Flip the Script on Aging
Tuesday, May 13 | 1pm
This year, “Older Americans Month” is focused on promoting the importance of viewing aging not as a limitation but as a journey filled with purpose, exploration, and connection with the theme Flip the Script on Aging.
Join Granite VNA as we view an inspiring TED talk and then invite you to be part of the conversation about how we can flip the script on aging in our own lives and communities.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Register here.
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Granite State Bigfoot!
Wednesday, May 14 | 6pm
New Hampshire based Filmmaker, Adventurer and Cryptozoology researcher Aleksandar Petakov will present his findings and investigations into reports of strange encounters and sightings of Sasquatch-like creatures across the Granite State over the last decade.
Folklore, hoaxes, and credible encounters by upstanding citizens will be explored in a manner that allows the viewer to ultimately make up their own minds about this enigmatic mystery. Believers, skeptics, and anybody curious are welcome! Please register to attend!
Aleksandar will have DVDs for sale at the event.
Learn more at petakovmedia.com
Register here.
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Craft Club
Tuesday, May 20 | 6pm
Craft Club meetings will be held on the third Tuesday of every month in the Merrimack County Savings Bank Room. You must be registered ahead of time to attend, as space and supplies are limited.
For May, Craft Club will be making herb baskets with spring bows, presented by the talented folks at the Bow Garden Club!
This session of Craft Club is full, but click here to join the waitlist.
Tuesday, June 24 | 6pm
You must be registered ahead of time to attend, as space and supplies are limited. For June's session we will be making terrariums! If you miss this session, be sure to stop by the library on June 25th to grab a take-and-make terrarium kit. Take-and-make kits will be available beside the Circ desk, until supplies last.
Registration for this session will open on Wednesday, May 21st at 10am,
and will be available here.
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Wellness Reads
Friday, June 6 | 10am
Wellness Reads is an innovative collaboration between public libraries and Granite VNA Community Health with the intent to bring health and wellness literature to adult patrons and community members. All books selected are recommended by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Books and other resources designed to assist with this initiative can be found here.
Wellness Reads is a book club centered around health and wellness. Wellness Reads will meet every other month; and selected titles will be available for pick up no less than 6 weeks before each meeting. Guest lecturers who are experts in a particular book's health and wellness topic will attend each meeting to contribute to discussions. Please register to attend.
This month's book selection is The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old by Hendrik Groen and translated by Hester Velmans: "Technically speaking, Hendrik Groen is elderly. But at age 83 and one quarter, this feisty curmudgeon has no plans to go out quietly. Bored of weak tea and potted geraniums, exasperated by the indignities of aging, Hendrik has decided to rebel. He begins writing an exposé: secretly recording the antics of day-to-day life in his retirement home, where he refuses to take himself, or his fellow 'inmates,' too seriously. With an eccentric group of friends, he founds the Old-But-Not-Dead Club, and he and his best friend, Evert, gleefully stir up trouble, enraging the home's humorless director and turning themselves into unlikely heroes. And when a sweet and sassy widow moves in next door, he is determined to savor every ounce of joy in the time he has left, with hilarious and tender consequences. The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen is an inspiring, charming, and laugh-out-loud delight for readers of any age."
Register here.
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Book Talk at BFL
Tuesday, May 13
12:30PM & 6:30PM
Book Talk is BFL's long-running monthly book club. If you love to read, enjoy talking about books, and are willing to read outside your comfort zone, join us! Two meetings are offered each month for your convenience.
May Selection:
Varina by
Charles Frazier
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White Rock Book Group
Tuesday, May 20
1:00PM
Enjoy great books and even better conversations with this extension of the Book Talk book club, offered each month at White Rock Senior Living Center. This group meets on the third Tuesday of each month at White Rock.
May Selection:
Varina by
Charles Frazie
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Whodunits
Tuesday, June 3
1:00PM
Love mysteries? Join the Whodunits to sleuth through a new one every month! This mystery-exclusive book club meets at White Rock Senior Living on the first Tuesday of every month. Members select the next book.
June Selection:
Bluebird, Bluebird by
Attica Locke
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Copies of Book Club books are available at the Circulation Desk at the Library.
For more information about joining one of the book groups, contact
Amy Bain at amy@bakerfreelib.org.
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A heartbroken mother
When seventeen-year-old Isla Richardson is killed in a hit-and-run incident, a community’s lives are thrown into disarray. For Isla’s mum, Abby, it is her second devastating bereavement, having lost her husband five years ago. As Abby begins to uncover secrets about Isla’s life, she’s forced to rethink everything she thought she knew about her family.
A supportive best friend
For Abby’s best friend, Nicole, the tragic death sets in motion a chain of events that will have irreparable consequences for her husband and her two teenage sons.
A determined mum
For Jenna, Isla’s death threatens to expose secrets about her son’s past that she has done everything in her power to hide, to secure him a better future.
A tragedy unites them—but it could also tear their families apart
Tackling friendship, family, social prejudice and the pressures facing young women, Three Mothers how well do we really know our children? And how far would any of us go to protect the people we love?
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There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong…
. . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.
Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.
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A heartfelt and hilarious collection of essays from the comedian and entertainer known for voicing Olaf in Disney's Frozen and for his award-winning turn as Elder Cunningham in the Broadway smash hit The Book of Mormon
For the first and possibly last time Josh Gad dives into a wide array of personal topics: the lasting impact of his parents’ divorce; how he struggled with weight and self-image; his first big break; how everyone was sure his most successful ventures (both on the big screen and on the stage) would fail; his take on fatherhood; and much more. This trip down the rabbit hole of overly personal stories will distract readers from climate change, the downward descent of democracy in Western civilization, and the existential threat that AI poses to Drake’s music—with never-before-seen photos and few-to-no spelling errors.
Whether you know him from Disney or Broadway, YouTube, the silver screen, or not at all, one fact remains: Gad’s work never fails to bring people together (as long as they’re alive). His delightful debut, written in the tradition of Amy Poehler, Jim Gaffigan, and Mindy Kaling, reminds us to keep going, even when the chips and doubters are stacked against you.
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May Exhibit:
Tulips and Other Living Things
by Susan Rock
"My artwork represents who I am at the moment.
I work in fiber and watercolor and seem to be always thinking about how and what I am seeing, hearing, its color, shape or texture can be part of my art. Someone once said my brain must be like the tangled threads I sometimes use to express the stirrings within.
For example, when I look at a flower or a landscape or a building, and something catches my eye I feel a sense of excitement and want to translate it using fiber or paint. It invigorates me.
When painting the most important element for me is how the color speaks. It is ever fascinating to see how a loaded watercolor brush will react over icicle white paper, and then how another color merges and both speak poetry while I watch.
Fiber often tells a human story, recently I have been recreating women, some of the women are in my life and others in my imagination. Although I often use hand stitching, I find my sewing machine to be my best friend. Pedal to the metal, stitching integrates fibers helping them to tell the whole story."
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Select Board Chair Kip McDaniel (second from left) presented Beverly MacInnis (age 98) with the Boston Post Cane at the monthly meeting of the Bow Young at Heart.
Photo and Caption by Eric Anderson.
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Bow Rotary's annual Car Show to be held on May 17
The show has 19 vehicle classes with 21 trophies awarded. Classes include early to 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and newer, Camaro, Corvette, Imports, Mopar, Mustang, Rods and Custom pre-1949, Survivor (most original), Trucks, Motorcycles, British and Muscle Cars.
Registration is $15 before May 1 and $20 May 1 and after. Car clubs who pre-register six or more cars, pay $10 per vehicle. Registration information can be found at bowrotarycarshow.com.
The car show will run from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at 508 South Street, Bow. The entrance fee is $3.
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Bow Rotarians spent the morning of April 19 cleaning up trash from the side of Route 3A.
Photo and Caption by Eric Anderson.
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Rotarians clean up Route 3A, hauling in 40 bags of trash.
A group of 10 Rotarians cleaned up the roadside
on Route 3A on Saturday, April 19, filling 40 bags of trash.
During the cleanup, Rotarians found a Social
Security card, a title to a camper, three pairs of pants, nine non-matching
gloves and a deceased beaver. The group did find fewer discarded empty alcohol
bottles than in previous cleanups.
Bow Rotary participates in the roadside cleanup twice a year.
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Bow Young at Heart
Bring your own lunch at 11:30 with the club providing dessert. Presentations begin at 12:30. For more information about the club and joining us for our meetings or how to become a member contact Peter Cherici at (603) 774-7682 or email at fairfield_a@hotmail.com
May 14, 2025 | 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Pot luck luncheon. All are welcome. Bring your favorite dish or just stop by to sample the cooking.
May 28, 2025 | 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
The club will visit the miniature horse farm in Bow. Meet at the Old Town Hall for lunch followed by the visit to the horse farm.
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Town Updates
The Town of Bow has worked diligently in providing up to the minute notification of all that is happening in the community. In order to stay informed, visit the website Town of Bow or follow on Facebook @bownewhampshire.
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Baker Free Library
509 South Street
Bow, NH 03304
(603) 224-7113
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