Gather your team of players (up to four participants per team) and race against time and other teams to complete your jigsaw puzzle.
Each team will receive the same 500 piece puzzle provided by the library and will have 2 hours to complete it. The team that finishes first or completes the most before time runs out will be crowned the winner!
The fastest team will receive a $30 gift card to a local business.
Date and Time
Monday, January 12th 6-8 PM
Registration
Only one person from each team should register. Both individuals and teams of up to 4 members are allowed to compete. Adults, teens, and families with children aged 9+ are welcome to participate. Register HERE!
The Library will close at 5 pm on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, due to inclement weather. All online services, such as Libby and Kanopy, remain available. Thank you for your patience and stay safe and warm out there!
Book Bites is a monthly discussion & potluck of a featured cookbook and meets every first Thursday of the month at 1PM*. Instead of plotlines and characters, we discuss food and recipes!
Pick the recipe you’d like to make and include it when you register HERE. Bring in your dish to share with the group. We’ll try each dish and talk about what went well, the challenges, what we would do different, and what we loved or disliked!
What do I need to bring on the day of the meeting? Your prepared recipe in a serving bowl or tray. We will supply paper plates, etc., but if you would like to be eco-friendly, feel free to bring your own reusable plates/utensils. You may also bring a non-alcoholic beverage if you would like, and water will be provided. If you would like to swap leftovers with others, feel free to bring a food storage container from home.
My recipe is supposed to be served warm or hot. Can I heat it up at the Library? We are unable to reheat or refrigerate dishes, so please bring your dish ready to serve.
Can I substitute ingredients or alter the recipe? Yes! Just be sure to list any substitutions you have made when you sign up so we can avoid any allergy or dietary mishaps.
Click HERE for a full Q&A. Email info@newburyportpl.org or call 978-465-4428 x2 with any questions.
Join NPL’s newly formed Classics Book Group! This group meets in-person 3-4 PM the third Thursday of every month in the Director’s Room. Please call 978-465-4428 x2 if you have any questions or would like to have a librarian put the book on hold for you. Registration is highly requests as space is limited. Click HERE to register.
For the month of November, we will be discussing Natsume Soseki’s “Kokoro.”
“Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature.”—Haruki Murakami
“The father of modern Japanese literature’s best-loved novel…Soseki’s “Kokoro”—meaning “heart” [or “The Heart of Things”]—is the story of a subtle and poignant friendship between two unnamed characters, a young man and an enigmatic elder whom he calls “Sensei.” Haunted by tragic secrets that have cast a long shadow over his life, Sensei slowly opens up to his young disciple, confessing indiscretions from his own student days that have left him reeling with guilt, and revealing, in the seemingly unbridgeable chasm between his moral anguish and his student’s struggle to understand it, the profound cultural shift from one generation to the next that characterized Japan in the early twentieth century.”
And that’s a wrap for our Fall Great Old Book Sale!
The biggest THANK YOU goes to our wonderful community of book lovers, book sellers and everyone else in between. October’s Sale brought in $10,014!
All proceeds from the Book Sale goes right back to the library for books, media, our ever popular museum passes, archival materials, library furniture and programming for all ages.
We are grateful to the Friends of the Newburyport Public Library for all of the hard work and dedication that goes into planning and running our biannual book sales.
Mark your calendars for our Spring Book Sale returning March 25-28, 2026!
Shelf Help is a book recommendation service that provides you with three to five book suggestions based on your reading preferences! To register for a book bag, fill out the online form below with your information and reading tastes. The more you tell us, the better our recommendations will be!
By filling out the form you are signing up for the November bag only. You will need to register again for any future bags.
Every bag will include:
Three to five book recommendations based on your reading preferences.
A custom bookmark.
An optional rating form to let us know how we did!
Please allow up to two weeks to process your recommendations.
You will be contacted via email when your recommendations are available to be picked up at the circulation desk.
By signing up for the Shelf Help Subscription Bag, you give the Newburyport Public Library permission to access your library account in order to check out materials. We will not access your account for any other purpose. The Shelf Help Subscription Bag will also keep track of books recommended to you in an effort to avoid duplication.
Registration for the November bag begins November 1st and ends November 12th or until we reach capacity.
MVLC is proud to announce that the new MVLC eCard now available to patrons. This card allows the card holder access to online resources provided by MVLC, the state of Massachusetts, and their home library.
Who is eligible?
Any Massachusetts resident who does not already have a library card from an MVLC library is eligible for an MVLC eCard.
The system will provide you either a full or provisional library card until it can verify your address. Regardless of the status, you will have access to the online resources.
After a successful submission of the form, patrons will receive an email at the address they provided, giving them their new barcode and PIN and more information about what privileges the card offers them.
Any exclusions?
If you already have a physical library card, you will not be able to get an eCard. You can continue to use your physical library card to access these online resources.
Libraries are for everyone. We might be a bit biased, but we librarians love libraries! And we love making sure our patrons have full access to our beloved library with a library card.
With a Newburyport Public Library card, you have access to all the incredible resources we offer here at the library and at home with a click of the mouse. Don’t have a library card?Getting one is easy!
Library cards are free to Newburyport residents and residents of towns within the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC) ages 5 and up. A photo ID and proof of residency or property ownership is required for new cards. Other Massachusetts town library cards may also be registered with the NPL.
Children who live in Newburyport or are residents of towns within the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC) may obtain library cards once they turn 5 years old. A parent/legal guardian must accompany their child and provide proof of residency. All patron card activity is confidential under state law, even for very young children.
Young adults ages 13 or older may obtain a Library card without a guardian present, but they must show photo ID, or some other proof of residency.
eCards
Need access right away, but the library is closed? Sign-up for a Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC) eCard and get immediate access to Libby and other digital databases. Any Massachusetts resident who does not already have a card from an MVLC library is eligible for an eCard. Click HERE to fill out the eCard registration form!
Did you lose your card? We’ll be happy to replace it for you. Speak to a librarian to get a replacement card.
Summer Reading runs June 14 – August 16. There are programs for children, teens, and adults.
KIDS (Ages 0-12)
Download the Beanstack app or visit newburyportpl.beanstack.org to create an account. If you used Beanstack last year, you should still have an account. We can reset your password for you if you’ve forgotten it.
If you want to log reading for multiple kids at the same time, we recommend using the app instead of a web browser. Please note that in addition to logging days, the app allows you to log minutes and books read. The library does not need this information, so only log that information if you want it for yourself.
Mark off each day you spend time reading (or listening, or being read to) this summer.
Everyone who signs up will be entered for the grand prize: a big lobster roll Squishmallow!
Every time you log ten days (consecutive or non-consecutive), you get to pick a prize from the Library’s prize bucket.
TWEENS & TEENS (Ages 12-18)
Tweens & Teens (Ages 12-18). Download the Beanstack app or visit newburyportpl.beanstack.org to create an account. If you used Beanstack last year, you should still have an account. If you need help logging in, please give the library a call: 978-465-4428.
Track minutes that you spend reading or listening to audiobooks to earn raffle tickets. Yes, required summer reading books counts for minutes!
Use raffle tickets to enter raffles to earn prizes. This year’s prizes include: a bluetooth speaker, gift cards, books and candy, and mystery prizes!
The Newburyport High School’s required summer reading is listed here.
Come play BINGO with us and track your reading progress for a chance to win a $30 gift card to Jabberwocky! Use the online form (linked above) to view the BINGO card and submit what you’ve read. Each submission will enter you into the raffle (even if you don’t hit BINGO), but you can only submit one book per category.
You can enter your submissions at any point during the Summer Reading Challenge. Three lucky winners will each win a $30 gift certificate to Jabberwocky and all winners will be drawn after the conclusion of the program. Participants can win only once.
If you have any questions or would like a physical copy of the BINGO card, please speak with a reference librarian on the second floor.
Prizes are funded by the Friends of the Newburyport Public Library.
Join the Newburyport Public Library for some creative fun with Maker Mondays. (See our calendar here for dates! Maker Mondays typically occur once a month.)
We are using this Maker Monday to officially launch our Seed Library on Monday, March 17! Come by the Library between 6 – 7:30 PM to check out the seeds available in our Seed Library and bring your own to share. Stop in at our Seed Starting Station where you can get planting right away or get creative at our Craft Station and make your own plant markers for your garden.
Due to limited supplies, crafters will be limited to no more than five plant markers. This program will not have a limit on the number of seed starts per attendee, but please be respectful of the time limit set for the program so staff will be able to clean up on time.
