Engage, Enrich, Entertain
Due to the dangerous weather conditions, the library will be closing early on Monday, December 29th at 5pm.
The RFL will be open again on Tuesday the 30th from 10am-6pm.
The library is closed for the New Year Holiday Wednesday the 31st and Thursday January 1st.
Thank you for your patience. We wish all our patrons safe travels!
You may have noticed a new sign at the library entrance which states:
Library Property Guidelines:
Everything on this list may seem intuitive to you and me, but it is not so for the many children who come to the library after school every day. Because my staff and I are in the building and not outside, it is difficult to monitor the outside space. We have been experiencing issues with children throwing snowballs at patrons and at the building. They have also been congregating at the entrance to the building and in some cases, using the parking lot as a playground. In addition, unfortunately, on Wednesday, December 3rd, the art installation outside the Library Arts Center was damaged, perhaps in an attempt to access the roof of the building. The new sign is our way of clearly presenting the rules to everyone in the hope that we can maintain a safe outside space for all of our patrons. We thank you for your support in this endeavor.
To download the calendar, scroll to the bottom of this post!
1/1 Closed for New Years Day
1/5 Friends of the RFL meeting 10am. Monthly business and taking down holiday decorations!
1/6 LEGO Day (Kids and families),Drop in 1-5pm. Let your imagination loose to build anything at all with the library’s LEGOs! This month’s challenge is a balloon-powered car!
1/7 Needle Felt an Evergreen Tree, (Kids age 6-11) Drop in between 1 and 4. Make a lovely evergreen tree that stands on its own and learn very basic needle felting skills along the way!
1/8 Mystery Book Club (adults) 6pm. Join us for a cup of tea and a chat about Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen mystery Jane and the Year Without a Summer. adults
1/8 Writer’s Workshop (adults) 6pm. Writers of any genre, interest area, and experience level. We meet virtually, so for info email mchurchill@newport.lib.nh.us
1/9 Board Games (Teens grades 6-12) 3pm. Play board games from our collection with your friends!
1/12 Snowflake Cardboard Lacing Craft, (Kids and families), Drop in all week, while supplies last. Littles practice their hand-eye coordination lacing string through these cardboard snowflakes, + big kids create a snowflake masterpiece!
1/14 Faux Stained Glass Bookmarks, (Teens Grades 6-12), 3pm. Come make a bookmark with a “faux stained glass” look, and bring your friends!
1/15 Adult Craft Night: 2026 Vision Boards (adults) 6pm. Help manifest the year you desire by creating 2026 Vision Boards.
1/19 Board Games, (Teens grades 6-12) 3pm. Play board games from our collection with your friends!
1/20 Salt Crystal Snowflake Painting activity, (Kids and teens), 3:30pm. Science meets art in this neat activity to make a salt-crystal snowflake craft and use a pipet to add color to your creation!
1/21 Bead Bracelets Craft Drop In: (Kids and families) Stop by today to make beaded bracelets– we’ll keep supplies out the rest of the week so long as we don’t run out.
1/23 “Exquisite Corpse” Drawing Game (Teens Grades 6-12) 3pm. Play a drawing game created by the Surrealist artists, to come up with the wackiest artistic creations with your friends.
1/26 Needle Felting Drop in (Kids age 6-11) Drop-in between 1 and 4pm. Learn how to needle felt! Make a melting snowman or invent your own project!
1/27 Brown Bags Book Club (adults)12pm. This month the group is meeting to discuss Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt! Interested participants welcome.
1/29 LEGO Day (Kids and Families) Drop-in 1-5pm. Let your imagination loose to build anything at all with the library’s LEGOs!
Due to inclement weather, the Richards Free Library will close at 4 PM today, Wednesday, December 10th in order to keep staff and patrons safe. Thank you for understanding.
We will reopen on Thursday morning, December 11th, from 10 am to 8pm. See you soon!
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.
