Richards Free Library

Engage, Enrich, Entertain

Children's Programs

RFL December Calendar

To download the calendar, scroll to the bottom of this post!

12/1 Friends of the RFL meeting 10am. Monthly business and decorating for the Holidays!

12/3 Temporary Tattoo Drawing (Kids and teens), 3pm. Come use our stencils and skin safe markers or make your own designs!

12/4 Teen Hangout (Teens grades 6-12), 2:30-4pm. Join a librarian in the Elaine Frank room on the third floor to hang out, draw, write, color, read, do a simple activity, or just chat.

12/6 Holiday Photo Taking Event (All ages), 10am. Take your holiday photos in our historic Lowell Room. Antique furniture and Christmas decorations make the perfect backdrop for your family’s 2025 holiday cards!

12/8 DIY Shiny Button Magnets (Kids and Teens), Drop-in all week. Drop in at the library this week to make your own shiny or iridescent magnet or button pin!

12/9 Learn To Play Gloomhaven (Teens and Adults), 2:30pm. Teens and adults are invited to come learn one of the coolest games at the library. Defeat monsters and clear a dungeon with strategy!

12/10 Free Winter Holiday Picture Book Giveaway (Kids), Drop-in all day. Stop by to pick out a free winter or holiday themed picture book from our donated books. One book per child, child need not be present!

12/11 Teen Hangout (Teens grades 6-12), 2:30-4pm. Join a librarian in the Elaine Frank room on the third floor to hang out, draw, write, color, read, do a simple activity, or just chat.

12/11 Writer’s Workshop (Adult) 6pm. Writers of any genre, interest area, and experience level. We meet virtually, so for info email mchurchill@newport.lib.nh.us

12/12 Reindeer Light-Up Ornament (Kids), 3:30pm. Kids 6-11 can come in to make a Reindeer decoration with a real light-up nose!

12/15 Board Game Day (Teens), 2:30pm. play board games from our collection with your friends! Grades 6-12.

12/16 Brown Bags Book Club 12pm. This month we’ll meet for a potluck and select the next year of reading! Interested participants welcome.

12/17 Needle Felting (Kids and Teens), 1pm. Learn how to needle felt! Make a holiday ornament out of wool, or try your own project! Drop in between 1 and 4 to learn or practice your skills!

12/18 Adult Craft Club: Scherenschnitte Paper Snowflakes 6pm. Make a beautiful cut-paper 6-pointed snowflake to take home or to decorate the library!

12/22 Drop-In Snowflake Ornament Center (Kids), Drop-in all week. Drop-In Snowflake Ornament Center opens on the 22nd! Make a beautiful, beaded snowflake ornament all winter break while supplies last.

12/23 LEGO Day (Kids), 1pm. Let your imagination loose to build anything at all with the library’s LEGOs; Or build an ornament to decorate the tree in the children’s room.

12/29 Design a 3D Ornament (Kids and Teens), 2:30pm. Design your own ornament to print on the 3D printer, for kids and teens ages 6-18. We’ll print your ornament for you, but you will have to come back to pick it up in the new year as they will take time to print.

December 2025 Official (3)Download

Youth Service Room Renovations

We have some recent developments in Youth Services that we are proud to announce!

The Tomie DePaola Children’s Program Room on the 2nd floor has finished undergoing it’s refresh/renovation and is now back in use as a program room. Thanks to a grant from the Roy M. Malool Family Foundation, we have been able to transform this space into a functional, cozy, and inviting space. We have worked hard and had so much help along the way, and we are so delighted with how it has turned out.

The Elaine Frank Teen Program room redo is also complete thanks to the Malool Family Foundation, and it is now available for teen’s programs! The teens chose the color, and helped determine the layout of the room. Now it’s Minnie’s favorite room in the building!

We would like to acknowledge all of the work that Molly DiPadova and Mo Churchill-Calkins contributed to the execution of the refresh of both the DePaola room and the Elaine Frank room. While all staff helped during the process, the youth department staff secured the funding and facilitated the completion of this project. Without their leadership, this endeavor would not have happened.

RFL October Calendar

To download the calendar, scroll to the bottom of this post!

10/1 Needle Felting (Kids age 6-11) Drop-in between 1 and 4.
Learn how to needle felt or practice your skills! Make an acorn decoration out of wool or try your own project!

10/6 – 10/8 Leaf Pictures (Kids age 6-11) Drop in during typical library hours. 
Stop by the children’s room to make your own picture with a leaf-rubbing using real fall leaves.

10/7 Temporary Tattoo Creation (Grades 6-12) 3pm.
Come use our stencils and skin safe markers or make your own designs.

10/8 LEGO Day (Kids age 6-11) Drop-in 2-4pm. 
Let your imagination loose to build anything at all with the library’s LEGOs.

10/8 TAB Meeting (Teens and tweens ages 11-18) 3pm. 
We encourage those interested to join the Teen Advisory Board to help plan programs and events at the library.

10/10 Newport Rec Building Play Group story time (kids) 10-11am.
We’ll be hanging out and reading stories at the Rec’s play group! Stop in and play and listen.

10/14 Kid’s crafts with popsicle sticks (kids) 3:30-4:30.
Come up to the dePaola Children’s Program Room to experiment with popsicle stick crafts like Pom Pom Catapults and picture frames.

10/16 The Scam Landscape: Staying Safe! (adults) 5:30PM.
Presented by AARP NH Speakers Bureau and the Newport Police Departmen
AARP will be here for a scam presentation that talks about fraud trends, key warning signs, ways to protect ourselves. The program is open to everyone, not just people 50+!

10/16 Adult Craft: Create Your Own Book Jacket (adults) 6:00PM.
Celebrating National Book Month
Everyone has their favorite book, the one that you reread over and over.  Now’s your chance to design your very own book jacket!  Your artistic creations will cover the books and be put on display in the library for everyone to appreciate.

10/16 Sunshine Knitting Club (adults) 6:00PM.
Meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday of the month
Free to join for everyone! Bring your needles or hook and some yarn!

10/20 LEGO Day (Kids age 6-11) Drop in 2-4pm. 
Let your imagination loose to build anything at all with the library’s LEGOs.

10/21 Board Games (Grades 6-12) 3pm. 
play board games from our collection with your friends!

10/22 Notebook Decorating (kids and teens) 2:30-4pm.
Decorate a notebook with stickers, paper, coloring supplies, and more.

10/23 Spooky Movie Night: “The Witch” (2015) (adults) 5:30PM.
Celebrate Halloween with a screening of Robert Egger’s “The Witch” (2015).  A tale of one Puritan family’s experiences in the woods of colonial New England, this film is perfect to wrap up “Spooky Season” 2025!
Please note that viewer discretion is advised.

10/23 Poetry Group (adults) 7:00PM.
Meets monthly on the 4th Thursday of the month
Whether you write, read or simply enjoy listening to poetry come join us for a relaxed evening as we share poetry together. 

10/24 Keep Sarah Warm Kick off and Yarn Swap (all welcome) Drop-in 2-4pm.
We begin to accept scarf pieces (and it’s Sarah’s Birthday). Pick up and drop off yarn as crafters begin to bring in pieces for the community knit scarf!

10/27 Stitch-for-a-bit 2pm.
This is a craft meet-up group, where you can bring your work and socialize.

10/28 Historic (Haunted) Library Tour (families, small groups, and the general public) 4:30. 
Join Mo for a tour of the building featuring the history of the house, the family, and the ghosts.

10/29 Mini Pumpkin Painting (For kids and teens) 2:30-4pm. 
Decorate a tiny pumpkin to take home for Spooky week!

10/30 Ghosts of Mount Washington (adults) 6:00PM.
Presented by Marianne O’Connor
Author Marianne O’Connor will be presenting the memorials of Mount Washington, some of which are said to be haunted by supernatural beings.  Marianne will share stories related to “The Presence.”  Some believe it to be a spiritual being related to the many deaths on the infamous mountain!

10/31 Trick-or-Treat for books all day, 10-6pm. Stop by in your Halloween costume to trick or treat for children’s books.

10/31 Historic (Haunted) Library Tour (families, small groups, and the general public) 4:30. 
Join Mo for a tour of the building featuring the history of the house, the family, and the ghosts.

10/31 Scarf Put-together! 2:00.
Assembly sessions each Friday leading up to the Keep Sarah Warm wrap up, where crafters can help assemble the pieces of the scarf together and add to our “contributors” list! This will be repeated weekly until the end of this project, November 21st.

Wednesdays Family Storytime! 11am.
Everyone is welcome at this traditional Storytime with singing and stories! Babies and children up to age 5 will find something to enjoy.

Some Thursdays Teen Hang Out (Teens grades 6-12) 2:30-4pm. Teens grades 6-12 are welcome to join a librarian in the Elaine Frank room on the third floor to hang out, draw, write, color, read, or just chat.

October 2025 Official (4)Download

Project R.A.B.B.I.T. Read Aloud Night!

On May 29th at 5:00pm, join the library and the Richards School PTO for an evening of family fun, celebrating reading and literacy! Discover the old Newport tradition called Project RABBIT– which stands for Read A Book Because It’s Terrific. Special guests from the community like Fire Chief Yannuzzi will join us to read aloud some picture books, and the Richards PTO will bring snacks!

Bring a book or two to trade at our gently used Book Swap– it’s a great way to trade books your child has outgrown for something at their new level to keep challenging them to keep reading! Invite your kid’s friends’ families to meet you here, so the kids can be surrounded by friends as we all celebrate how important books, reading, and literacy are to us!