New Milford Public Library Newsletter - January 2026 | | | |
Adult Winter Reading Starts Jan 5!
In celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this year’s Winter Reading theme is American History. One raffle winner each week -- and a final grand prize winner of a Kindle Fire!
Here are the guidelines:
- Join anytime from Jan 5-Feb 14. Ages 18 and older.
- Email your entries to adultreading@newmilfordlibrary.org – or bring your log to the library. The first time you log a book, we’ll add your name to our records and add a raffle ticket for you. E-books and
- e-audiobooks count, too!
- 3 raffle tickets for every program you attend. See our calendar for program offerings.
- 3 raffle tickets for every book you read from our Winter Reading List--or any American History nonfiction title. Visit the library for the list.
- 1 ticket for any book you read, including e-books and e-audiobooks.
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BINGO FOR BOOKS
Saturday, January 3, 2026
11:00-12:30
Fun for the whole family!
Please register in the Children's Department, or call 860-355-1191 ext 4217, to reserve your child's space for this program. Don't miss it!
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CHESS TOURNAMENT Saturday, January 10, 2026
1:00-5:00
Like chess? Show us what you got! :)
This tournament is for everyone--ages 8 and up! Sign up today!
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Community Engagement Day
Celebrate your community! We're hosting this event so you can find out more about what local organizations do to help the community--and how you can help, too!
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Library News:
Tech-Talk
Tech-Talk is a premier collection of articles, videos, and webinars developed each week by top training experts for busy professionals, educators, and learners. It helps people stay current, relevant and productive using technology … and become better communicators in the workplace and at home.
Tech-Talk also has a newsletter that patrons can sign-up for. Here is the link.
https://www.tech-talk.com/login/nmpl?login_code+nmpl
username: nmpl
password: nmpl
Live Tech-Talk Webinars:
1/14 @ 3 PM - Say Goodbye to Password Hassles with Passkeys!
1/28 @ 3 PM - OurStoryBridge: Connecting the Past and Present!
Registration link for
Tech-Talk webinars: https://www.tech-talk.com/webinars?login_code=nmpl
Large-Format Printer
The library now has a large-format printer for patrons to use! Just email your request to posters@newmilfordlibrary.org and we'll print it out for you in a week. Two sizes: medium is $7.00 and large is $9.30.
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Repair Café
Do you love fixing things, helping others, or reducing waste? We’re looking for friendly volunteers to join our Repair Café team!
What is a Repair Café?
It’s a community event where people bring broken household items—like toasters, lamps, clothing, bikes, or tools—and our volunteers help repair them for free. The goal is to share skills, keep items out of landfill, and build community connections.
We are looking for volunteers who would like to help repair or troubleshoot small electricals, bikes, clothing, furniture, or general household items.
Please contact director@newmilfordlibrary.org if you are interested.
| | | A Message From Our FRIENDS of the Library | | |
The winter holidays are wonderful – but exhausting! Now that shopping, visiting, and partying are done, we can all take a deep breath and relax. Sit in a comfy chair, put your feet up, throw on a lap blanket, and immerse yourself in a good book. But first you’ll need to stop by the Friendly Finds section at the library to pick out a book or two. You’re in luck – for the month of January, all adult books are half off our already incredibly low prices! New volumes will be regularly added to keep the shelves full. Every purchase helps to support the many varied programs the library offers. Cash, check, or Venmo are accepted.
We gratefully accept donations of books in good condition that you no longer need or want. Volunteers will be at the back entrance of the library every Saturday from 9:30 until Noon for assistance. (You can also return books that you previously purchased from the FRIENDS!) To learn more, visit our website at www.FONML.com or e-mail us at FONML001@gmail.com
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DID YOU KNOW?
Your library card can be stored digitally on your phone by choosing to use apps, such as Acorn, Express Checkout, Key Ring, Stocard, and cloudLibrary.
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Community Service Project for Knitters and Crocheters
We need your help! Knit or crochet hats, mittens, scarves and lap blankets to give to NM Social Services. Your simple act of kindness in the creating and giving of something handmade can bring a little warmth, comfort and joy to each recipient.
Call the library 860-355-1191 and ask for Jody for more information.
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Reserve Museum Passes
New Milford residents can now reserve museum and cultural passes on our website. Reservations can be made up to three months ahead of time. You may also visit the library and check out an available pass. Out-of-town residents can also come into the library and check out passes. Special thanks to the Friends of NMPL for sponsoring these passes. Remember that these passes are loaned for three days only.
Located in Torrington, the KidsPlay Children's Museum is a place where children learn through hands-on and multisensory activities. With your library passes, you receive half-price admission for up to six visitors. https://kidsplaymuseum.org/
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The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. With our passes, you may obtain two vouchers per year per household. Each library voucher can be redeemed for a free admission to the Museum’s permanent collection, as well as one special exhibition or show of the patron’s choice.
Please be advised that you will need to book a reservation online in advance. Voucher holders must visit amnh.org/plan-your-visit for current entry requirements.
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The next art exhibit will showcase the submissions from our Fall Fun Photo Contest. Please come to the Winner Awards and Gallery Opening on January 10 from 1:00-2:00pm. The photos will be on display from January 10-
February 19.
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SCORE at the Library!
Have a business idea? Want to grow your business? SCORE volunteers can help. Make an one-on-one appointment for January 13 HERE. There are four appointments for each session: 5:00-5:30, 5:30-6:00, 6:00-6:30, 6:30-7:00.
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January Tech Programs
Drop-in Tech Help:
Wednesday 1/7 at 6:00pm
Saturday 1/17 at 11:00am
Excel Classes:
Wednesday 1/14 at 5:00pm
Wednesday 1/28 at 5:00pm
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Library of Things
The library has so many things you can borrow--like board games to play before you buy them as gifts! You can borrow games like Adventure Land, Carcassonne, Balderdash, Mysterium, Mancala, Cribbage, and many more! Check it out!
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Hoopla Flex and Instant Borrows!
NMPL offers both Hoopla Instant and Hoopla Flex titles to patrons. Instant titles include over a million always-available items with no wait time. Flex titles are single-use checkouts purchased by the library. If a Flex title is checked out, patrons can place a hold and will be notified when it becomes available. A recent addition to the BingePass offering, SeasonPass extends this access to select full TV seasons with a single borrow. Patrons can explore new series or revisit a favorite, all with no waiting.
SeasonPass includes a wide range of TV content from BBC Studios, PBS Distribution, and other partners, with genres such as thrilling crime and mystery series, docuseries, dramas, period pieces, comedies, and educational shows—with more on the way in the coming months.
Explore these BingePass releases:
- Hoopla Magazines BingePass
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NoveList Plus
Everyone has their own criteria for what makes a book great. That's why it's important to get recommendations that consider a reader's unique interests, moods, and preferences. NoveList Plus does just that. It's powered by real people who love books. Check out this video:
https://youtu.be/YbJuS18ruGA?si=jw5OKXc6QdCssvN7
Here's the 2026 Genre Challenge on NoveList Plus. Check it out!
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Sign Up for Wowbrary!
NMPL buys many new books, movies, and CDs each week. Wowbrary is a weekly email alert that shows you the newest books, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks that we purchased that week. So, you'll see the many exciting bestsellers, movies, music, and recorded books almost the very moment they arrive at the library.
To get started and see what the emails look like, visit www.wowbrary.org.
Or sign up directly through this link: https://wowbrary.org/signup.aspx?l=2312
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Be sure to check out the January Calendar. We have a new book club for our patrons in their 20s and 30s, exploring different book genres.
Our monthly programs are going strong--Genealogy Club once a month, plus Friday Films, too. We also have Sit & Stitch every Tuesday from 3:30-5:00. Join us! For more info, call 860-355-1191 ext. 4216.
Click on the pictures below to register for these January Adult programs.
| | | | Bingo for Books!
Saturday, January 3, 2026
11:00-12:30
Join us for a morning of BINGO fun for kids ages 4 up and their families. Win books! Registration required.
Please register in the Children's Department, or call 860-355-1191 ext 4217, to reserve your child's space for this program.
Don't miss the fun!
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What is Story Time?
It’s time to register for Fall Story Times. Some people think that Story Time is just someone reading books to children. But there is a lot more that goes into our programming. At NMPL, we keep our groups separated by age. This way, we can offer the best program for your child’s social and emotional needs. The stories and activities are developmentally correct for your child. Depending on the age of the children, we use books, flannel board stories, puppets, music, arts and crafts that will enhance the session. So, it is important that the children are in the correct age group.
We keep the children with the other kids that they will potentially go to school with by being strict about the age of the child. Connecticut Public Schools are now requiring children to be five years old by September 1st of the school year in order to register for kindergarten. We back that up by having our registration for Story Time use the same cut-off dates.
- Little Ones Mondays (10:00 AM or 11:00 AM) Child must be 1 by Sept. 1, 2025
- Terrific Twos Thursdays (10:00 AM or 11:00 AM) Child must be 2 by Sept. 1, 2025
- 3, 4, 5- Year-Old Story Time Wed. (10:00 AM or 11:00 AM) Child must be 3, 4 or 5 by Sept. 1, 2025
We want to give your children the best start to a love of reading and using the library.
| | Check out these NMPL January Teen Programs. See the calendar on our website for more super programs. | | | | |
