Richards Free Library

We’re starting a new weekly program on Friday evenings at 5:00! Little’s Wiggles Time is a movement-focused storytime for our wiggly littles who may not be so sure about sitting still for a traditional storytime. We’ll sing songs, dance, and move our bodies, read a book, and work on some early literacy skills while we’re having fun! This program is for anyone who has ever worried about their kiddo fussing through a book at storytime! It will be held inside the library so our littles can move around without being in danger of running into the road.

The parents we asked, requested an evening time and a Friday time, so we’ve done our best compromise and chosen Friday evenings at 5:00. If this time does not end up working for folks, we may end up moving the day and time.

Please note that since this program is held inside, grownups will be required to wear masks. Littles can of course try to wear their masks, but we won’t require our tiny friends to keep them on if they are struggling. See you on Friday!

We have SO MUCH happening on August 28th, even with a reduced Apple Pie Crafts Fair & Book Sale.

Join the Library Board of Trustees on our beautiful new porch for cookies, lemonade and coffee. They’ll start serving at 9am and continue until they run out of refreshments.

Ms. Mo will be on the library front lawn with bubbles and a paper bag puppet craft from 9am until supplies are gone.

The Friends of the Richards Free Library will also be on the front lawn. Rather than the usual, large book sale, the Friends will have 3 smaller tents full of free books. Swing by and grab a book, or two, or ten!

Beginning at 9am, you’ll find Justine on the common with author Melanie Kirkpatrick. We’ll have Melanie’s new biography of Sarah Hale for sale, and Melanie will be signing copies! There will also be a Hale impersonator, perfect for some photos.

At 2pm, join us on the Library side lawn under the white tent for a lecture and Q&A with Melanie Kirkpatrick. Learn about Sarah Hale, Melanie’s writing, this new biography, and much more!

The Richards Free Library is requiring masks to enter the library, no matter your age (if you’re over 2) or your vaccination level. The Board of Trustees and Library Director continue to monitor COVID information and local cases.

If you are unable or unwilling to wear a mask, you are welcome to use our Cubby Pickup service (a rebrand of curbside service). Just give us a call or send an email with the items you’d like to pick up and when. We’ll put them in the cubbies in the lobby for you to grab at your convenience.

On Saturday, August 7th, Sy Montgomery accepted the Hale Award for literary excellence across the 31 books she’s published during her career as an author so far. She’s written incredible nonfiction titles for adults, as well as many picture books and nonfiction books for children. Come into the library to find many of Montgomery’s books on display and see what all the hype is about!

In her talk, Montgomery spoke about looking for teachers beyond classrooms throughout our lives, and how fulfilling it can be to find non-human teachers in the animals around us. We have so much to learn when we are willing to open our eyes and ears. She shared with us the touching story of the octopus she made friends with at the New England Aquarium. You can read all about it in The Soul of an Octopus.

Thank you so much Sy Montgomery, the Hale Award judges, RFL Trustees, John Lunn, Pris and Jerry Hagebusch, and all our other wonderful volunteers!

Ms. Mo is under the weather today so Story Time is canceled. We hope to see you during Story Time at the Farmers’ Market on Friday!

In your genealogical search, you can find more help in the History section of our website. We now have a page called History of Your House. Uncover the history of your house by investigating its architecture, its people, and its place in history. You can find the page here. Email the library at rfl@newport.lib.nh.us if you have questions.

Hello friends! We are still kicking off our summer reading program today! Sign-ups will start at 10:30, and the animal program “No Two Tails Alike” will start at 11:00am. We might have a few rain sprinkles, but we do have a great big tent set up on our side lawn to help keep everyone dry. We can’t wait to see you!

We sincerely regret to announce that the Friends of the Richards Library Annual Library Festival has been canceled this year due to concerns regarding the COVID pandemic. Hopefully next year things will be back to normal and we can pack our book tents elbow to elbow with our faithful buyers!

However, along with the annual Apple Pie Craft Fair held on the Newport Town Common by the Library Arts Center, the library will be hosting author Melanie Kirkpatrick, author of Lady Editor: Sarah Josepha Hale and the Making of the Modern American Woman. Ms. Kirkpatrick will be on the Common from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM for a book signing (books will be available for purchase, supplied by Morgan Hill Bookstore). Stop by to say hello! From 2:00 to 3:00 PM, join us under the library tent for a presentation given by Ms. Kirkpatrick. Hope to see you there!

Richards Free Library and the Judges of the Sarah Josepha Hale Award are pleased to announce that Sy Montgomery is the 2020 Sarah Josepha Hale Award Medalist.  The award presentation will be held on August 7, 2021. More details will be posted on our website soon.

Sy Montgomery writes for adults and children, for print and broadcast, in America and overseas in an effort to reach as wide an audience as possible at what she considers a critical turning point in human history. “We are on the cusp of either destroying this sweet, green Earth—or revolutionizing the way we understand the rest of animate creation,” she says. “It’s an important time to be writing about the connections we share with our fellow creatures. It’s a great time to be alive.” She speaks frequently at schools and museums, libraries and universities.

For more information on Sy Montgomery and the Sarah Josepha Hale Award, take a look at our website under the tab Sarah Josepha Hale.