Richards Free Library

Due to a significant rise in COVID-19 transmission in our area and across the state of New Hampshire, the library will be suspending walkthrough services after November 25th until further notice. The library will be closed November 26th, 27th and 28th for the Thanksgiving holiday and will reopen on Monday November 30th with curbside service and virtual services only. 

At the governor’s press conference on Thursday, very high numbers of hospitalizations, community transmission, shortages of hospital staff, towns that have active cases, and active cases in Newport made us reevaluate our service levels at the library. Until cases begin to decline, we will offer curbside and virtual services only. This decision was not made lightly, and we know this will affect and disappoint many of our patrons, but community and staff safety are our top priority. 

We encourage patrons to reserve materials online, by email, or by phone and reserve a pickup time. We also have a form you can fill out for some new book recommendations. Inter-Library Loan remains available. Don’t forget you can browse our new books right on our website too! Staff will continue to be in the library from 10am to 5:30pm Monday through Friday and 10am to 12pm on Saturdays to answer emails and phone calls. 

Our virtual services including Libby, Hoopla, Kanopy, The New York Times, Universal Class, and more are available 24/7 from our website. If you need help with any of our virtual services, please give us a call or send us an email. We’re always happy to help! 

We’ve missed it and we know you’ve missed it, but the good news is Inter-Library Loan is back! Because of quarantine requirements, it may take between 2 and 3 weeks to receive an item you request from another library, so please plan accordingly.

You can call the library at 603-863-3430 or email Justine at jfafara@newport.lib.nh.us to request an item. We are able to borrow books, DVDs, and audio books from other public libraries around New Hampshire.

The Richards Free Library will open for limited hours five days a week for Walkthrough Service beginning September 1!

We are pleased to announce the next stage of the library’s reopening.  We will be open limited hours five days a week for Walkthrough Service. Patrons may browse the collection, make a photocopy or use a computer.  Only 20 people will be allowed in the main library at one time. The Youth Services area is limited to one family at a time for 30 minutes. Families may schedule their visit by calling the library.
(Ms. Mo has more information below.)
In order to keep our staff and patrons safe, masks are required while in the building and we ask you keep your social distance as you move around the library. You will find hand sanitizer at the entrance and around the building.  

Just ring the doorbell on the right side of the door for admittance.

Library Hours:

Curbside pick-up is still available. Patrons are encouraged to put their materials on hold using the online catalog or by contacting the library via phone (603-863-3430) or email (rfl@newport.lib.nh.us).  The staff is happy to help you navigate our catalog or Novelist.
Please return all materials in the outside book drop.  All items are being quarantined for 72 hours and then checked in and put on the shelf.

Visiting the Library With Children:

Starting Tuesday August 4th, families are invited back to the library to browse in the Children’s Area during our opening times! For everyone’s safety, only one family will be allowed in the Children’s area at a time, so we recommend that you call ahead to reserve a ½ hour time slot. As always, anyone under age 9 must be accompanied by an adult (18+). In order to reduce surfaces to clean, we’ve removed all the toys, games, puzzles, coloring supplies, and seating from the Children’s Area, so plan on swinging by to pick up books, rather than to hang out or play! Any books or other materials that your family touches but does not choose to take home can be placed on our red quarantine cart or the Book Elephant. Thank you so much for your cooperation and flexibility in helping us keep our space safe for everyone!

Our hours and services may change, so please be patient with us as we do our best to meet our community’s needs while upholding best practices for public health.

A pass for New Hampshire State Parks is now available from the library. This pass will entitle the borrower to admission to most day-use parks for two adults and up to four dependents.

To reserve the pass, you must contact the library at 603-863-3430. We will reserve the pass on the system and email it to you to present at the park on the day of your reservation.

We will have one pass for each day of the week. There are more than 60 state parks, so plan accordingly! You can get more information about the State Parks on their website.

For more information on the NH State Parks pass, take a look at our website.

In light of the Governor’s relaxing of more rules and moving into a Safer at Home reopening stage, the library will open up to computer users three days a week by appointment only.

Patrons must call the library at 603-863-3430 to make an appointment on one of the three computers set aside for public use. At the time of their appointment, they must ring the doorbell to the right of the door for admittance and be checked in. Patrons must wear a mask. If they do not have one, we will provide it.

The appointments will be for one hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:30, 1:00 and 2:30 and on Saturdays at 10:30. We will close the library building to clean between the appointments.

Beginning Tuesday, June 2, 2020, Richards Library will offer contactless curbside pickup. This service will be available by appointment only. Pickup times will be between the hours of 11:30 AM and 5:30 PM on Tuesdays through Fridays and 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM on Saturdays.

You can find out all you need to know regarding Curbside Pickup on our website.

Our regular monthly knitting group will be meeting virtually this month.  Join us on May 19 at 6:00 in a social chat while knitting or creating other yarn projects!  Email us at rfl@newport.lib.nh.us to receive a Zoom meeting invitation. 

If you’re searching for Miss Mo’s storytime videos on our Facebook page, you can find most of them here.

The April 29, 2020 edition of our Newsletter is here!