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Calling all letter-writers |
August 2020 | Library & Community News |
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Thank you for celebrating summer with us |
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Gardens and crafts, postcards and book reviews, oh my! This summer, you rose to the challenge and completed over 3,000 activities during our Summer Reading Program! Check out some of your contributions that you’ve shared with the library over the past few weeks on our website.
In 2020, our first time doing an online Summer Reading Program, we had over 380 readers sign up! Thank you for joining us this year!
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We're starting our work on a 5-Year Long Range Plan focusing on programs and services for 2021-2026.
We want your ideas and input, given the ways the library has adapted in 2020. Over the past few months, we've realized that we have many opportunities to change how we serve the residents of Belmont.
Please share feedback on the ways you have used the Belmont Public Library during the past six months in this short survey. To thank you for your time, we're offering a free canvas bag to the first 250 survey participants!
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State Primary Election on September 1 |
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The State Primary Election is coming up on Tuesday, September 1! Contested races for Belmont include State Representative for the 24th Middlesex District and U.S. Senator.
The town encourages residents to vote be mail. To request an absentee ballot or early voting ballot for the September 1 State Primary Election, your application must be received by the Town Clerk by 5 pm on August 26. See the Town's Vote By Mail page for details on how to submit your application. Please file your request early to allow time for your ballot to be mailed to you so you can return it in time for it to reach Town Hall by close of polls to be counted.
In-person early voting is available this week at Belmont Town Hall. View the ballots and the dates/times for early voting here. Curious about becoming an election worker, reviewing past election results, or checking the Frequently Asked Questions? Visit the Town Clerk's informational page here.
The deadline to register to vote on September 1 has passed. Register by November 24 to vote in the November Presidential Election!
As the Precinct 1 polling location on September 1, the library building will be open to Precinct 1 voters from 7 am to 8 pm. We will not offer Parking Lot Pickup on September 1, but library staff will be available by email and phone 9 am to 5 pm to answer questions and connect you with resources.
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It's not too late to complete the Census! |
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In minutes, you can complete the 2020 Census online, by phone, or by mail! You may also see census takers in your neighborhood, visiting homes that haven't yet responded. Click to learn more about census takers.
Your responses are confidential, secure, and protected by law. Results from the 2020 Census will impact our community. Census data also determine representation in federal, state, and local governments. For Belmont, the stakes are high: the allocation of more than $880 billion per year in federal funding for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, social services, transportation and more will flow from the census count.
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Belmont Helps are BIG fans of reading, the library, and sharing that love with our community. They wanted to let you know about some of their initiatives and partnerships around books.
The Belmont Helps Book Exchange in partnership with Friends of Belmont Public Library:
Have any books in excellent condition that you'd like to pass along to a new home? Belmont Helps has set up an online book exchange. You can list books you'd like to donate and a list of those books will be available to people who would like to request them. Once a book is requested from the list, we will help arrange for it to get to its new home. Click here for more info Belmont Helps Book Exchange.
Free Little Libraries:
Belmont Helps is working in partnership with the library to come up with a list of the Free Little Libraries spread around town. Belmont Helps would like to offer them support and help residents find them. If you know of a Free Little Library in your area, click here to share its location: Belmont Free Little Libraries
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Highlighted events — click to register! |
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Welcome to Classics Corner! Every month we'll have a recommendation of a classic book for you to enjoy.
This month's recommendation is the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Generally considered Hawthorne's masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter is a tale of love and revenge set in colonial New England and revolving around the lives of three members of a Puritan community.
To read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne:
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News from the Friends & Foundation |
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We hope you're staying healthy while enjoying these beautiful summer days. Although it is summer, our board continued to work behind-the-scenes in support of our library.
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The Friends are accepting your gently-used book donations on Fridays between 9 am and 12 pm. Visit the Book Sales and Book Donations page for more information.
- FOBPL gave generously to the Massachusetts Correctional Libraries, thanks in large measure to the efforts of Louise Halstead and team, who culled together books that prison libraries typically seek.
- FOBPL provided a note of encouragement and a “Welcome Back Coffee” for the librarians and staff after months of library shutdown.
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Belmont Helps, a local Covid-relief organization, responded to the library’s needs by providing volunteers to deliver books to Belmont Citizens. During the library’s closure, Belmont Helps is offering a free online used book exchange and FOBPL is partnering with them to advance our Library’s mission of life-long learning in our town.
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Connect with the Belmont Library Foundation on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about our work to support the Library.
In 2004, the Belmont Library Foundation was established to raise money for a new library building and to create an endowment to support future library needs. Today, we continue this important work in partnership with the Library, Library Trustees, the Building Committee, the Friends of the Library, and our Town government.
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Everyone entering Massachusetts, except from a lower-risk state, must follow travel orders to slow the spread of COVID-19. Learn more here: MA Travel Order
Trusted Health Resources
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The Belmont Public Library building is closed to the public, but library staff are available Monday through Friday 9am-5pm to answer questions and connect you to resources.
Need to get a library card or reset your password/pin? Click here.
Parking Lot Pickup: 617-993-2871
Reference: 617-993-2870
Circulation: 617-993-2855
Children's: 617-993-2880
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