Richards Free Library

Engage, Enrich, Entertain

Calendar

Richards Free Library Book Sale

Making their return this year are the annual Friends of the Library Book Sale and the annual Friends of the Library Cookie Walk!!! Here is the rundown of library-related events taking place Saturday, August 27th in conjunction with the Apple Pie Craft Festival:

  • The Friends of the Library Book Festival will take place under the tents on the side lawn of the library from 9 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.! Raffle tickets to win some special baskets of goodies will be on sale as well!
  • The Friends of the Library Cookie Walk will take place under the tent on the right side of the front lawn of the library starting at 9:00 a.m. and ending when the cookies are all gone! What is a cookie walk you ask? Basically, you purchase a bag for $5.00 and walk around the tables under the tent, filling your bag with bundles of cookies.
  • The Library Board of Trustees will be offering breakfast on the library porch starting at 9:00 a.m. Drop by and purchase a cup of coffee and a quick bite!
  • Mo, our wonderful children’s librarian, will be offering a kid’s craft under the tent on the left side of the front lawn of the library from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.! In addition, Ali, one of our fabulous library assistants will be offering kid’s face painting from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon!
  • The library will also have a booth on the Common providing information on our fall programs. Show us your library card and you will be entered to win a “Basket of Books and Book Swag”!!!
  • Additionally, the library itself will be open extended hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.!

The library is NO LONGER accepting book donations for the book sale. If you have some that you want to drop off, PLEASE WAIT and drop off next week, after this years sale is over!

If the Cookie Walk caught your eye and you love to bake cookies, we are looking for cookie bakers to donate cookies for the Walk! If interested, please contact Janice Brehio at outreach@newport.lib.nh.us.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, August 27th. We look forward to seeing all of you!!!

Colin Calloway receives 2022 Hale Award

We are pleased to announce the recipient of the 2022 Sarah Josepha Hale Award is Colin Calloway. Calloway has been a professor at Dartmouth College since 1995 and has served 5 terms as chair of the Native American Studies Program. He has published 14 titles in the field of Native American and Indigenous and has edited 10 collections of essays and documents. He has received awards from the Missiquoi Nation of Abenakis and the Native American Students at Dartmouth. He was also selected for the American Indian History Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. His book, The Indian World of George Washington, was a National Book Award finalist in 2018, received the Daughters of the American Revolution Excellence in American History Book Award, the Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year Award, the American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia Book Award, and the George Washington Prize in 2019.

The Richards Free Library Board of Trustees and Sarah Josepha Hale Award Board of Judges are pleased to host Mr. Calloway on Saturday September 24th. Tickets for a dinner at the Old Courthouse Restaurant will be available for sale at the library beginning August 22, 2022. Following the dinner will be a free event, open to the public at the Newport Opera House at 7pm which will include the award presentation and speech by Calloway. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first serve basis.

Children’s Programs for June

Children's Corner

This June we are incredibly excited to welcome Molly Dipadova to the youth services staff as our Teen Librarian! You probably already know Molly, since she is a Newport local who’s worked at the front desk with us before. Now Molly is working towards her Master of Library and Information Science, and will be helping with the YA collection and with teen programming.

June is one of the busiest times of year for so many of our library-loving families, so we are focused on providing a chill, relaxing month here in the children’s rooms as we lead up to our summer reading program!

Storytimes:

Family Storytimes on Wednesdays at 11:00 will move outside to our big side yard unless it’s wet! This traditional family storytime features 3 picturebooks with songs and rhymes. 

~On Wednesday, June 15th we’ll read books that celebrate Pride Month! 

~There will be no storytime on June 22nd as Ms Mo will be away. 

Farmers Market Storytimes are held every (dry!) Friday at 4:00 at the Farmer’s Market on the Common. We start reading at 4:00 and usually read until at least 4:30. 

~On Friday the 17th we’ll have Rainbow Bubbles at storytime to celebrate Pride month!

Programs:

June 6th: 3:30 – 4 Afterschool Bingo for Books! Play bingo and win free books. Parents and little siblings are welcome! We have gently used books for children of all ages available as prizes, and we’ll play until everyone wins.

June 9th, 12-8pm: Drop in Activity: Black Out Poetry. Start with a photocopy of a book page, and then use a marker to black out all the words you don’t want in your poem.

June 14th 12-6pm Drop in Teen Craft: Pride Paper Hearts. Make a rainbow paper heart to decorate the library or your room!

June 28th: Summer Book Walk Launch! Come read it any time, night or day!

June 30th 1pm SUMMER READING KICK OFF! 
Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) will visit and bring some scaly reptile friends to meet and learn about! This is the first day that the summer reading program will be open for registration. Come pickup your reading chart, bookmark, and brag tag and start earning beads and books for all your summer reading!

Children’s Programs for May


May Story Times

Family Story Times will continue each Wednesday at 11:00 am, usually featuring 3 picture books and some songs and rhymes to enjoy with our littles! I gear this story time to anyone who will listen to picture books– usually ages 0-6. This story time will move outside to our big side yard as soon as the weather stays warm enough.

Little Wiggle Time, our shorter, action-focused storytime for our wiggliest little ones, will continue on Friday evenings at 5:00, until the Newport Farmer’s Market begins on the Common across the street on May 27th, which will be our first Farmer’s Market Storytime. I’ll be on the Common with my wagon, blankets, and books from 4:00 until 5:00, or I run out of listeners!
*I don’t hold storytimes on the Common if it’s raining or too wet.

May Afterschool Programs

Teen Hangman Hangout, May 11th, 2:30-3:30- for tweens and teens ages 10-18. Come play hangman, Apples to Apples, or whatever else we feel like and eat snacks with Mo.

Afterschool Bingo For Books! May 16th, 3:30-4:00-Play bingo and win free books. Parents and little siblings are welcome! We have gently used books for children of all ages available as prizes, and we’ll play until everyone wins.

Kids Craft: Memorial Day Pinwheels! May 26th 3:30-4:00- Stop by the library to make your own pinwheel for Memorial Day to decorate your room or yard, or to remember someone special on Memorial Day.

Summer Reading Program

It’s getting closer and closer to summer reading! What are you and your kids excited to read this summer? Let us know so we can consider adding it to our collection!
As always, you can reach Ms Mo at mchurchill@newport.lib.nh.us

National Library Week April 3rd-9th

Come to the library during National Library Week to enjoy all of the fun things we’re offering this Spring:

Everyone who visits the library between Monday April 4th and Saturday April 9th will be offered an “I Love My Library” sticker!

Join the new staff for coffee and a chat Monday April 4th at 1pm, Wednesday April 6th at 7pm and Friday April 8th at 10am.

Take a walk around the library building and enjoy this month’s StoryWalk featuring the picture book, Homer the Library Cat by Reeve Lindbergh.

Keep an eye out on NCTV for an interview with Alison Wood, discussing all of the great services we offer at the library.

Newport students will contribute to a display expressing their love for the library.