The Main and the Fowler Branch Library buildings are now open with modified hours and by advance registration after being closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the Commonwealth's COVID-19 safety guidelines, the Library reopened on September 21st with reduced capacity at both locations. The new hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Fowler Branch Library closes between 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. daily for cleaning. The first hour of the day at both locations is reserved for senior citizens and other high-risk individuals. [View More Details][Reserve a Library Visit] [View Library's Phase 3 Service Restoration Plan]​

Curbside pickup service continues at the Main Library. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Concord Free Public Library!

Concord recognizes September 23-30, 2020 as Climate Preparedness Week.

Concord has committed to taking action on climate by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 and preparing to be resilient to the changes to our climate that we are already experiencing, including extreme heat, extreme precipitation, intense storms, and increased flooding.

For the second year, the Concord Free Public Library and the Sustainability Division are collaborating to participate in Climate Preparedness Week, a nationwide initiative organized by CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather). We invite and encourage all residents to join us in recognizing the Climate Preparedness Week by participating in events hosted by the Concord Free Public Library. See below for a week of virtual events.

Wednesday, September 23, 10:00 a.m.

(Premiering on Facebook Live - https://www.facebook.com/TownofConcordMA)

Tune in for virtual presentations from two influencers and leaders in the climate movement, Keith Bergman and Harriet Shugarman-- both long-time mentors with The Climate Reality Project founded by former Vice President Al Gore. Through a Climate Reality “Truth in 10” presentation, learn about the climate crisis and its solutions from Concord resident Keith Bergman, one of the first fifty trained by Mr. Gore in 2006, and a leader of Climate Reality’s Boston Metro Chapter. Learn how to talk to your kids about climate change from author Harriet Shugarman, Executive Director of ClimateMama, chair of Climate Reality’s New York City Metro Chapter, and recipient of Climate Reality’s 2017 Green Ring Award. For the second year, the Concord Free Public Library and the Sustainability Division are collaborating to participate in Climate Preparedness Week, a nationwide initiative organized by CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather). Keith Bergman is a Concord Resident, retired municipal manager and a MAPC past president. Harriet Shugarman is the Executive Director of Climate Mama and author of How to Talk to Your Kids About Climate Change: Turning Angst into Action.

Friday, September 25, 12:00 p.m. (Register for Zoom Link)

Wednesday, September 30, 7:00 p.m. (Register for Zoom Link)

Join us for a discussion of the film Call of the Forest. Take a walk in the woods with beloved Irish-Canadian scientist and author Diana Beresford-Kroeger as she reveals our profound human connection to the ancient and sacred northern forests and the essential role that they play in sustaining the health of our planet. Screen the film in advance between 9/23 and 9/29. [Register here for Screening]

September 29, 10:30-11:00 a.m., ages 3-6 [Register]

September 29, 3:00-4:00 p.m., ages 6-10

[Register]

September 30, 4:00-5:00 p.m., ages 11 & up

Join The Nature Connection through Zoom as we explore plants and animals, geek out over nature, and connect with ourselves and those around us in new ways – all through nature-based stories and poems.

For a complete listing of events hosted by CREW partners, please click here.

Thursday Morning Meditation Series on Zoom

Join Be Well Be Here for a 30-minute morning meditation practice with the Concord Free Public Library, and start your day with a moment of ease. Discover mindful tools that center the body, settle the mind, and open the door to well-being. [Register for September 24] 

In October, the book discussion group will discuss Up From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington. All are welcome. Copies of the eBook

are available through Hoopla at https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12375338. Please email bgugluizza@minlib.net for the Zoom link.

In October the Mystery book group will meet and discuss The Muralist by B A Shapiro. The ebook of the title is available to download on Libby. We also have some print copies available for pickup at the Fowler. [Register for Zoom Link]

Missing storytime at the Library? Join us on Zoom for some short stories, songs, & rhymes. This is a great way to build early literacy skills. Children of all ages are welcome. Register to receive the Zoom link. [Sign up for September 23]

Virtual Writing Studio 

The Virtual Writing Studio is back! And this time, we are open to individuals grades 3 - 8 for brain-storming, story-telling, genre-busting, and totally kid-oriented writing. Join resident poet and our Children's Department Assistant Cary Stough for a writing-themed mid-day break with collaborative poems, hilarious and engaging PowerPoint presentations. No writing experience required.[Register for Zoom Link]

Join Branch Librarian Dorrie Karlin for stories, songs, and rhymes. [Sign up for September 24]

Rockabye Beats is a fun family group whose music is reminiscent of founder’s Marcos Valles’s Puerto Rico. Join us on Zoom for an interactive 30-minute concert that includes movement, dancing, counting, singing, a little bit of Spanish vocabulary, and an instrument show and tell (drum, guitar, rhythm instruments, xylophone, and so forth). Sponsored by The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. [Register for Zoom Link]

Did you know that reading to dogs boosts reading, emotional and social skills for children? Join us for a "Read around the Zoom" group reading experience. Using Zoom meeting platform, we will all take turns reading aloud to Luna and to each other. [Sign Up]

Sunday, October 4, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Black poets Tommye Blount and Nathan McClain launch our virtual series with readings from their powerful, long anticipated debut collections. During the Q and A they will talk about their practice and the influences on their writing lives. Blount, author of Fantasia for a Man in Blue, is a Cave Canem alumnus, a recipient of a fellowship from Kresge Arts in Detroit and the John Atherton scholarship from Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and a graduate from Warren Wilson College. He has been featured in Magma, New England Review, Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day, Ecotone, Ninth Letter, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. Born and raised in Detroit, he now lives in Novi, Michigan.

McClain, author of Scale, is a recipient of fellowships from Sewanee Writers' Conference, The Frost Place, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson. His poems and prose have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Poetry Northwest, Green Mountains Review, The Common, The Critical Flame, Poem-a-Day, and Zocalo Public Square. He teaches at Hampshire College.

This virtual webinar series is sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library.

Register here for the Zoom link.

The Concord Free Public Library (CFPL) is pleased to welcome Dorrie Karlin as the new full-time Branch Librarian at the Fowler Branch Library.

Prior to joining CFPL, Dorrie served in a supervisory role for youth services at the Woburn Public Library and worked as a children's librarian at the Worcester Public Library and at the Beebe Memorial Library in Wakefield. Dorrie holds a BA in Comparative Literature from Dartmouth College and a dual MA/MS degree in Children's Literature and Library Science from Simmons College. Dorrie is also a member of the 2021 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature Committee.

Please join us in welcoming Dorrie to CFPL! Dorrie made a short video to introduce herself to you! [Watch Video]

Now in its 28th year, the Concord Festival of Authors goes LIVE online to celebrate the written and spoken word with a global audience. The Festival will take place from October 16 to October 31, 2020.

The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library will present the 2020 Ruth Ratner Miller Award to recipient Jill Lepore online. The event will kick off the 2020 Concord Festival of Authors. Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and is also a staff writer at The New Yorker. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, her many books include the international bestseller These Truths: a History of the United States, This America: The Case for the Nation, and If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future. Click here to read more and register for the event.

For a complete listing of the Concord Festival of Authors events, please visit www.concordfestivalofauthors.org.