Get the family ready for some summer bike-riding adventures on Thursday, July 25 at 3pm!

Learn all about simple bike repair and maintenance from the Bradford Bike Guy.

Also, if you bring your bike with you, the Bike Guy will then be available until 6pm for a Simple Bike Repairs Clinic.

Tuesday, July 16 at 7pm via Zoom

Join us via Zoom as author James L. Parr discusses his new book, "World War II Massachusetts."

Learn some of the stories of the many Mass. residents on the home front and in the military (over 500,000) -- from the famous to the ordinary -- as they faced wartime challenges.

James L. Parr taught elementary school for 34 years before retiring in 2022. A longtime volunteer at several local historical organizations, Parr is the author of three additional books for The History Press.

Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Tewksbury Library and Corning Community Impact & Investment.

Tuesday, July 30 at 7pm via Zoom

Icons of the romance genre, Christina Dodd and Susan Elizabeth Phillips are joining us for a rollicking fun conversation about Christina's latest release, "A Daughter of Fair Verona", a frothy, irreverent, witty new series with an irresistible premise—Romeo and Juliet’s daughter as a clever, rebellious, fiercely independent young woman in fair Verona—told from the delightfully engaging point of view of the captivating Rosie Montague herself.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and in partnership with a multitude of MA Libraries.

Summer has returned to the Merrimack Valley, and so has the Farmers Market. The Nevins Library is proud to host the Methuen Farmers Market every Friday on the front lawn from 10am to 4pm.

Come and shop fresh produce from local farmers!  All the farmers accept SNAP/EBT/food stamps as well as debit, credit, and cash; GroundWorks Lawrence market coupons, WIC, and senior farmers market coupons are also welcome.

This year, thanks to a grant from the Mass Cultural Council, everyone is invited to enjoy Music at the Market as well. All performances are 11am-1pm, unless otherwise noted.

The musical lineup for July is:

• July 5 – John Waterman – acoustic rock and blues

• July 12 – G Force Quartet - Garret Savluk on trumpet. Jazz, funk, and NOLA style fun

• July 19 – Workingman’s Trio - Classic American Songbook standards, Latin jazz, and Country songs

• July 26 – Swing Friends Quartet - Swing, be-bop, Latin tunes with sax, vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. *10:30am - 12:30pm

Everyone is invited to meet Pepper the Robot! (She may not be available until July 10th, she's taking a bit of a vacation).

Pepper is part of a research study on human-robot interaction at Merrimack College. For the study, Pepper will read you a book. When the book ends, you will be asked to fill out short voluntary survey. Experiencing the reading session with Pepper does not require you to do the survey. While the survey is completely optional, and you can withdraw your consent at any time; your participation will help Merrimack College learn more about how people interact with robots! Pepper can also answer questions, dance, and show off her Tai Chi skills.

There is no registration required for this event. Pepper is best experienced in small groups and you may have a short wait before having a chance to interact with the Robot.

We will post times Pepper is planning to be available on our Calendar of Events and within the library. She will be here until the beginning of August.

Our summer is off to a great start, with lots of great programs last month and even more in store for July! You can look forward to a wonderful array of special events, including the entertaining Pineapple Project performance, the amazing Flying High Frisbee Dogs, a special storytime with Shannon May Sunshine, bilingual storytellers sharing the beautiful Guatemalan folktale “Song of the Chirimia/La Música de la Chirimia,” a fun hands-on STEAM playtime with Playful Engineers, and the unique Birds of Prey program with Wingmasters!

We’ll also continue our summer program series, including our “Unlocked” sessions that take deep dives into a variety of fascinating topics, hands-on “Summer Science” fun, outdoor “Read & Play” storytimes, and weekly “Summer Storytimes” based on our Summer Reading “Adventure Begins at Your Library” theme.

And speaking of Summer Reading, have your kids picked up their “passports” to keep tabs on their reading? Kids in kindergarten and above can drop by to collect their Summer Reading bag and start tracking their summer reading (and little ones can start, or keep working on, their 1000 Book Before Kindergarten goal).

And of course we have many of our regular programs ongoing throughout the summer, including visits with Murphy the Dog and with Pepper the Robot – and don’t forget our Friday morning Little Bookworms storytimes at the Nevins Farm MSPCA!

Keep an eye on the Youth Services calendar and the Children’s Room Facebook page to learn the latest about upcoming programs and special events – there’s so much fun ahead! (And remember that it’s always worth putting your name on a program’s Wait List if registration is full –we’re often able to open events up to more people.)

Happy July, and Happy Reading!