February 2026 Program Calendar!
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Library Closed December 2nd for Weather
Due the storm on Tuesday December 2nd, the Richards Free Library will remain closed for the day in order to keep staff and patrons safe. Thank you for understanding.
We will reopen on Wednesday morning, December 3rd, from 10 am to 6pm. See you soon!
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.
Friends Food Drive benefiting the Newport Food Pantry
The Friends of the Richards Free Library are conducting a Food Drive to benefit the Newport Food Pantry. Donations are especially needed now that SNAP Benefits have been suspended. Please bring in non-perishable food items to the library during regular business hours. A box for donated non-perishable food items is located in the library just inside the inner glass doors on the left. The Newport Food Pantry’s wish list of food items is posted on the window above the box. Thank you for supporting our community!
The Friends of the Richards Free Library
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.
