Blog
Jul 01

July 2021 Library News and Events

July 2021 Library News & Events

All locations will be closed July 4 & 5 in observance of Independence Day. All programs are free of charge unless noted otherwise.  Learn more at friendsofroslindalelibrary.org.

BPL Library Reopening!
All branch libraries not currently under reconstruction are now open for in-person services. All reopening plans follow the latest city and state public health guidance. While there will be no capacity limits or social distancing required, patrons using the library buildings will still need to wear masks since the library serves vulnerable populations and children who cannot yet be vaccinated. For more information, see https://www.bpl.org/news/reopening/.

Permanent Elimination of Late Fines
Mayor Kim Janey recently announced that the Boston Public Library will permanently eliminate late fines for patrons of all ages. This removal of late fines is supported by $125,000 of ‘revenue relief’ in Mayor Janey’s 2021 budget and will go into effect on July 1, 2021. The policy change will remove barriers and increase access to BPL resources for patrons across the City of Boston.  Read more about this policy change here.

Outdoor Seating!
The Boston Public Library, the Environment Department, and the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, will install outdoor pop-up connected work/learn spaces at six locations and continue offering free, 24-hour Wi-Fi at 14 of its branches. The BPL Outdoor Wi-Fi pop-ups will provide desks, additional lighting, and shade structures, allowing users to get online after hours and stay cool on hotter days. This project is part of the City’s ongoing efforts to expand equitable internet access, support community resilience, and create new points of community connection for residents emerging from a year of social distancing and increased social isolation.  Read more here.

BPL/BPS Collaboration
Boston Public Schools and the Boston Public Library announced a new Student ID Project initiative, which allows students to use their current BPS ID cards to obtain a pre-registered BPL library card, granting them access to all of the services offered by BPL at its 26 locations. BPL is also working with Boston Compact and METCO to offer participation in this program to all other schools serving Boston students, including public charter, parochial, and METCO. Read more here.

BPL COVID-19 Resources
Looking for reliable information about COVID vaccines? The BPL has put together a resource guide to help answer your questions.

Friends Summer Reading List!
It's time for summer reading, and we collaborated with Rozzie Bound to create a list of some of the hottest books coming out this season. We have books for adults, teens, and kids in print, ebook, and audiobook formats.  We have a wide variety of genres selected, including literary fiction, mystery, thrillers, romance, history, biography/memoir, science fiction/fantasy, and true crime! Best of all, the Friends receive 20% of the sales for all books sold from this list.   Get your summer reading shopping started here.

Even More Summer Reading!
If you are looking for more summer reading options, check out our Pride Month List, AAPI Heritage Month List, and our Craft and Hobby Online Book Fair. Not only will you be supporting the Friends, but you will also be supporting our locally-owned, independent bookstore Rozzie Bound!

Little Library Program at the Food Pantry Seeks Volunteers
Since early January, the Friends have been setting up a Little Library at the Roslindale Food Pantry.  The Pantry runs out of the Congregational Church (25 Cummins Highway) from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. every Saturday.  The Pantry serves between 75 - 90 individuals/families every week.  Before the Pantry opens, our volunteers set up a portable bookshelf and stock it with adult, young adult, early reader, and children’s books.  The volunteer is responsible for returning to the church at 4:00 p.m. (at the close of the Pantry) to break down the Little Library and store the shelf and books.   If you are interested in volunteering for this program, please e-mail Laura Sitterley at [email protected].  You do not need to commit to a certain number of Saturdays a month.  Thank you!

Please help keep our Community Library Network supplied!
The Friends have a team of volunteers who restock the business-based and home-based libraries that we put up in anticipation of the library being closed for renovation.  What a help they have been for our community during these COVID times too!  BUT we need more book donations to keep the libraries stocked.  Please drop off gently used, recent, fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books at 631 South St. or email [email protected] for a pickup.

BPL Summer Reading
The library is doing a summer reading program for both children and adults. Sign up and download a bingo card at bpl.org/bingo. The Bingo card has 24 challenges. Complete a row on the bingo card and submit it for a chance to win a $20 gift card to your favorite independent book store. Participants will also be entered into a grand prize drawing for a $200 gift card to an independent restaurant or grocery store. Challenge yourself to read and participate in library programs nine times throughout the summer. Please pick up a bookmark to track your progress at any BPL branch, and turn it in for a chance to win books, toys, and age-appropriate activity kits. Go to bpl.org/summer for more information.

Preschool Storytime Reads the Alphabet
Tuesdays, 4:30 PM 
Ms. Celeste returns to Zoom to continue the Preschool Storytime Reads the Alphabet series, which was temporarily put on hold while the BPL transitioned to in-person service. Families with children ages 3–5 are encouraged to tune in for a virtual storytime with Ms. Celeste. Each week we will focus on a different letter of the alphabet. Please register by 10:00 am on the day of the program with an email to receive the Zoom link. You do not need to register each child if you have multiple children.  Please go to https://tinyurl.com/BPL-Preschool to register. Registering once will sign you up for the whole series so you do not need to register every week. If you attended Preschool Storytime on Zoom with Ms. Celeste in the past, you do not need to re-register.

Bouncing Babies in Adams Park
Tuesdays at 10 AM
Adams Park, Roslindale
Beginning July 13. Babies from 0-2 are invited to join us for Bouncing Babies Story Time! Join Roslindale Children's Librarian Ms. Celeste for songs, rhymes, and stories. We will meet at Adams Park in Roslindale. Yoga mats will be used to mark socially distant seating. In the case of inclement weather, the program will be canceled. No registration is necessary

Future Readers Club
The Future Readers Club is for children ages birth to kindergarten and their caregivers, a club to support reading aloud to the very youngest children with a goal of reading 1000 books together before the child begins kindergarten. The Club includes programming like Preschool Storytime and Bouncing babies as well as an app to track the books you are reading with your little one and opportunities to receive free books to keep. We want your help to make the Future Readers Club even better! Please respond to our survey as we plan FRC programming for the fall and beyond. More info: bpl.org/future-readers-club.

Children’s Book Bundles
Roslindale Children’s Librarian Celeste Bocchicchio-Chaudhri and Jamaica Plain Children’s Librarian Barbara Rhodes are working together to create custom book bundles for kids to pick up at the Jamaica Plain library. We know it is hard to know what books to choose for your kids without browsing the shelves. Since the library buildings will remain closed for the time being due to escalating COVID cases in the city, book bundles are the next best thing to browsing! Fill out one of our request forms, or email the information to [email protected], and we will prepare a stack of books just for your kid!

After-hours Book Drops Are Now Open
While the Roslindale Book drop is still unavailable due to the ongoing construction, the after-hours book drops at the other city branches are now open. You can return books at your convenience.

Online Resource Highlight: Wall Street Journal

  • Access The Wall Street Journal from anywhere!
  • Simply create your account, and you can start using wsj.com immediately.
  • Your access will be available for the next three days (72 hours). A limited number of passes may be issued each day.
  • After three days, simply come back and click the above link again and log in as an existing user with the same username and password you originally created.

This resource requires you to create a free individual account. You may use your existing wsj.com account if you have one.

Enter the website here.

Business Donations!
Thanks to recent donations from Google, John Hancock, and Bain Capital we are able to continue doing online programming during the pandemic.  We welcome donations large and small to help defray costs to keep us going.  If you work with a company that offers donations and corporate matches to 501c3 nonprofits like the Friends, please consider contacting your human resources or external giving department and email us at [email protected].

Amazon Shopping with the Friends!
If you are doing more Amazon shopping during the lockdown, please consider registering with our Friends' AmazonSmile account.  For eligible purchases at AmazonSmile, the Friends receive 0.5 percent of the purchase price year-round.  There is no additional cost to the Friends or to AmazonSmile customers. You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for donation” on their product detail pages. The shopping experience is identical to Amazon.com with the added benefit that the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate that percentage to the Friends!  The percentage might seem minuscule, but this adds up if you are a regular Amazon customer who makes purchases several times a week or month.  Of course, if you just want to donate directly to the Friends, you can do so on our donation page or become a Friends member.  Every dollar and cent counts!

Online ESL Classes

The BPL offers various online courses for those learning English:

  • Beginner Class for Spanish Speakers, Fridays, 10:30-11:30 am
  • High Beginner/Elementary Class, Fridays, 11:30am-12:30pm
  • Intermediate Class, Wednesdays, 1-2:15 pm
  • Advanced Class, Tuesdays, 1-2:15 pm
  • Reading and Discussion Class, Thursdays, 11 am-12:30 pm
  • Conversation Classes, Mondays, 3-4:15pm, Tuesdays, 5:30-6:45pm, Wednesdays, 7-8:30pm, Fridays, 1-2:15pm

Students can register by emailing [email protected] or calling 617-859-2446. They also have an online ESL Singing Class with the Back Bay Chorale, Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30 pm, students can register at https://bbcboston.org/bridges/esl.  The BPL is partnering with St. Mark Community Education Program to offer online Citizenship classes. The classes have already started, but students can sign up for the waitlist at https://www.stmarksesol.org/copy-of-classes-resources.

BPL Reading Together
The Boston Public Library is launching Reading Together, a yearlong reading challenge for the year 2021. While many Bostonians remain isolated due to the global health emergency, Reading Together challenges BPL patrons to read a book each month that falls under a suggested theme. The themes were chosen to broaden perspectives and connect readers across the city throughout the year.  Readers of all ages and all language speakers are encouraged to participate in the yearlong challenge. Recommended booklists corresponding to the monthly themes are available for adults, teens, and children at bpl.org/yearlong. Readers are also welcome to choose their own books each month and to share their recommendations with others participating in the challenge.

Museum Passes
The Boston Public Library also announced it is reinstating a version of the Museum Passes program, granting BPL patrons access to free and discounted passes to Massachusetts museums and cultural institutions. As museums continue to open in Phase Three of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan, the library will add more institutions to the program. For more information on COVID-19 safety requirements when visiting these organizations, patrons can call or visit their websites directly.

Books of the Month

Each month we feature themed booklists grouped for adults, teenagers/young adults, and children, and can be borrowed as an ebook from bpl.org!

Big Library Read
Big Library Read connects readers around the world with the same book at the same time. Borrow The Quiet Girl today through July 12 without any waitlists or holds. Note: contains mature themes.  Get the book here. You can join the online discussion happening now here or participate in a virtual discussion with author S.F. Kosa on July 7 here.

Read Together
Read together with your BPL community throughout 2021! Visit bpl.org/yearlong to learn more about our Yearlong Reading Challenge and how you can participate, including book discussions for these Community Read titles.

Books about Microhistory
One book, one subject.  See some of the best microhistories here.

Books about Black Lives Matter
Now and always, the Boston Public Library stands with the Black community. Check out one of these titles today to educate yourself about police brutality, anti-Black racism in the present day and throughout history, and the BLM movement.  None of these books have waitlists!

Words of Wisdom

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful individual is a lot of hard work." - Stephen King

Sharing is Caring
The best way to know about upcoming offsite Roslindale library programs, special events, news, and renovation updates is to stay on this email list, like our Facebook page, and regularly visit friendsofroslindalelibrary.org and bpl.org.  If you know anyone who would like to join our email list, please tell them to sign up on our website's homepage at friendsofroslindalelibrary.org.  We would also appreciate it if you forward our emails and share and like our Facebook posts with your networks to help get the word out.

Support the Friends!
We are a volunteer-run organization. All the work we do for library programming, publicity, and building improvements is done with support from the community. There are many ways to support the Friends, like donating, becoming a Friends member, and even shopping on Amazon!

Contact the Friends
For information about the Friends, contact us.  We also share information about upcoming events, photos from past events, and other library news on Facebook, and on our blog!

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