Need some help getting started on researching your Newburyport home for If This House Could Talk? Or are you researching your family history in Newburyport?
In addition to our regular hours, the Newburyport Archival Center is offering special Drop-In House History Research Help on Wednesdays 2-4PM until July 24th.
Need help on a different date or time? Please view the Archival Center Hours here or contact us at 978-465-4428 or by emailing info@newburyportpl.org. While appointments are encouraged during certain times so that we can better assist you, you can always feel free to stop by the Archival Center (basement level) or Reference Desk (second floor) to check on availability.
The Summer Reading program runs June 8th through August 10th.
Events
The Newburyport Public Library is offering tons of fun events for summer! Check out our events calendar for details, and join us on Saturday, June 8, 2024 for our kickoff event with a petting zoo on the front lawn!
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. If you want to log reading for multiple kids at the same time, we recommend using the app instead of a web browser.
Mark off each day you spend time reading (or listening, or being read to) this summer.
Every time you log ten days (consecutive or non-consecutive!), you get to pick a prize from the Library’s prize bucket.
As you log days, you’ll also earn virtual raffle tickets. Use these raffle tickets to enter for a grand prize bag! We’ll pull winners at the end of the summer.
Grand prizes this year include Walkie Talkies, Glow in the Dark Magnatiles, and more!
Log the minutes you read to earn badges and tickets.
What can you read? Anything! Just track the time you spend reading (or listening). Tracking your reading time or achieving activity badges earns you tickets, which you can then use to win prizes. And yes, you can use your summer reading book for school to earn tickets.
We will have two drawings this summer. Some of the prizes will change between the two drawings, but you’ll be able to enter for the grand prizes all summer long. Grand prizes will be drawn on the last day.
This year’s prizes include gift cards to Jen Ju Boba, Lexie’s, a Bluetooth projector, themed mystery bags, books, and more!
ADULTS
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 below) 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). You can only submit one book per category.
Attending any program hosted by the Newburyport Public Library will also enter you into the raffle! Submit your attendance via the online form.
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. Please note, participants can only win 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.
View the BINGO card and submit your reading progress HERE!
Prizes are funded by the Friends of the Newburyport Public Library.
Join the Newburyport Literary Festival as it celebrates its 19th year! Events will be hosted in various locations around Newburyport. To view the schedule of events, please click here.
The Newburyport Public Library will host the following events on Saturday, April 27th:
9:30 AM: Celebrations of the Season: A Conversation with Nina MacLaughlin
Nina MacLaughlin’s Winter Solstice: An Essay “takes your breath away with lyrical leaps across time and space.” MacLaughlin (Wake Siren: Ovid Resung; Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter and the companion to Winter Solstice, Summer Solstice) looks at the season through every lens, from hot chocolate to waiting until just the right moment to light a candle so a passing stranger might see it go on. In conversation with Josh Bodwell.
11:00 AM: Colonialism, Racism, and the Cosmos: A Conversation with Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma’s award-winning novel Digging Stars blends drama and satire in the story of a young graduate student who is poised to attain her dream of researching the cosmos but is plagued by anxiety attacks she calls “The Terrors” and forced to grapple with questions about the life and death of her late astronomer father. Tshuma will be in conversation with author Yvette Lisa Ndlovu (Drinking from Graveyard Wells).
1:00 PM: Enlightened Transsexual Comix with Sam Szabo and Nikole Beckwith
In Enlightened Transsexual Comix, artist and Newburyport native Sam Szabo has created a world where a “raw, uncut heroine roams the wasteland in defense of trans rights and trans wrongs.” This subversive collection of work is “a psychedelic stew of social satire and gonzo gender theory.” In conversation with director, screenwriter, and playwright Nikole Beckwith.
Join two contemporary mystery writers at the top of their game as they discuss their newest novels with local crime writer Connie Hambley. In Blood Sisters, Vanessa Lillie introduces us to a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women—one of whom is her sister. In The Kind Worth Saving, Peter Swanson brings us a private eye who starts to follow a possibly adulterous husband, but little does he know that the twisted trail will lead back to the woman who hired him. How do the authors’ visions of the perfect murder inform each mystery they write?
The theme for National Library Week 2024 is Ready, Set, Library! National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and Newbery and Pura Belpré-award winning author Meg Medina is the 2024 Honorary Chair.
Ways to Celebrate
1. Visit your library.
National Library Week is the perfect time to visit your library. Bring the kids or invite your friends. Meet the librarians. Check out books or other great items in your library’s collection or attend a program. Take time to learn all your library has to offer!
2. Tell ALA how YOU library for a chance to win
The American Library Association needs your help spreading some library love by sharing what you appreciate most about the services and resources your library provides.
Do you love getting lost in the stories of the library’s summer reading program, storytime, or book club? When you walk through the library’s doors, are you looking for a quiet nook to study? Do you attend programs to enrich your mind, meet local authors, or find support from your community? What’s your favorite thing to check out—books, movies, outdoor games?
ALA wants to know how YOU library!
Participating is easy:
Snap a pic or shoot a video showcasing your favorite thing about your library.
What’s in it for you? In addition to the gratification of supporting libraries, there’s also a chance to win great prizes from ALA. The promotion starts Sunday, April 7, at noon CT and ends Friday, April 12, at noon CT.
Join the #HowILibrary movement, and let’s make this the best National Library Week ever! Official Rules (PDF)
3. Follow your library, ALA, and I Love Libraries on social media.
Join our new in-person Spanish conversation group for adults!
All levels are welcome! However, it may be best suited for beginner and intermediate level speakers. Please note, this is not a class, but it is a great way to practice your Spanish conversational skills and connect with others who have an interest in the language. The group is led by a Spanish-speaking librarian and will meet every other Thursday at 5:30 PM for 45 minutes. Starts April 11th!
Registration is highly requested as space is limited to 6 attendees in the Library’s Director’s Room. Visit the Events calendar for dates.
Please contact the reference desk if you have any questions!
