This Thursday, we’re going to have our first ONLINE Magic the Gathering tournament for tweens and teens!

What do you need to participate? 1) First, download and install the free to play game Magic the Gathering Arena and work through the tutorial so you can access the full game (I know it’s tedious, veteran players, but it’s worth it!). Unfortunately, the game does not support Mac computers at this time. 2) Have an email address that you can use to report scores. 3) Sign up here to be part of the tournament! This tournament will be for fun and glory, no prizes, but we are looking into how we can have a second one WITH prizes once everyone gets used to the digital way of doing things.

But how will this work, anyway?

We will be using a battlefy.com bracket. I will enter in everyone manually, with your first name and your Direct Challenge Code. You can find your direct challenge code by clicking the crossed swords icon on the upper right of your screen, as seen below. Then, once the game begins, I’ll email the bracket to everyone, and you can grab the challenge code of your opponent to duke it out!

If you have any questions, please email [email protected]!

March 18, 2020

Dear Belmont Library Patrons,

We wanted to reach out and share some more updates about our services to you, and how things will be working for the near future. The Library will be closed to the public until further notice, but library staff are hard at work converting as many of our regular services online for digital access as possible.

We also want to make sure you know about all the great things we have to offer to you while the Library is closed to the public.

But first, some business. We are going to:

• Extend all due dates – Please keep and enjoy your library materials for now. When it’s time to bring them back we’ll let you know, and there will be no fines on anything.
• Freeze all holds – Anything waiting for you at the library will be here when we reopen.
• Suspend delivery — The Massachusetts Library System suspended the delivery of materials, so anything you’re waiting for from other libraries will still come, but not until the libraries open back up.

We would like to remind you about your free ticket to a never-ending string of resources right from home: your library card.

• Through our website, we offer you downloadable ebooks with the newer, sleeker Libby app from OverDrive.
• More downloadable ebooks, audiobooks, and movies through hoopla.
• Kanopy is a great resource to stream free movies, The Criterion Collection especially which contains many of the greatest films of all time.
• RB Digital has incredible amounts of magazines ready to read.

In the coming days, we’ll be creating some new interactive content for you all to enjoy. We are working together with many of our regular performers to share some digital experiences through our website and social media pages. We hope to see live programs streaming, and also have saved videos available, so that you can join in on some live face-to-face fun, or access recorded activities later around the schedule that works best for you.

Immediately, we wanted to say thank you to all of you for staying patient with us. While we can’t let you in to the Library to access our materials, we wanted to still to bring the materials to you.

Starting on Friday, March 20, we will be leaving care packages of donated materials outside of the Library in paper bags. These care packages will be themed bags of free books and other materials, all from donations to the Library.

In the coming days — when it’s not raining, and while supplies last — we will leave these care packages on the front steps, on the library walkway, and outside the Children’s Room. They will be closed bags. Please come, take a bag to keep forever, and open it at home. Bags were put together by library staff (wearing gloves).

These care packages are courtesy of the Belmont Public Library staff and made possible by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library. If you use social media at home (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), please share a photo of yourself with your care package and tag our accounts and use #BelmontPublicLibrary. 

Your Library Director,

Peter J. Struzziero

Get digital media from home! We have eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, movies, and more for all ages and interests.

Download the Libby app, then log in with your library card and PIN to borrow thousands of eBooks and eAudiobooks, and magazines from our OverDrive collection. Check out up to 10 items at a time. You can also use your Minuteman Library Network card to borrow from partner libraries across Massachusetts, including the CW MARS, NOBLE, and MVLC networks.

hoopla is like free Netflix, PLUS music and audiobooks! You can stream (or download to the hoopla app) 5 titles per month. Instantly borrow any title — no waiting, no holds. Sign up with your email address and library card, then search, borrow, stream, and enjoy!

To watch some of the world’s best films (over 30,000 of them!), try Kanopy. With film festival favorites, award-winning documentaries, and countless films from the Criterion Collection, Great Courses, PBS, Women Make Movies, Samuel Goldwyn, and more. Also available is Kanopy Kids with films and TV series like Sesame Street and Arthur, perfect for preschool and up! Stream up to 5 titles per month.

Special notice: Until April 12, Kanopy is offering a selection of films that won’t deduct from your monthly play credits — enjoy them here! — as well as free, unlimited access to Kanopy Kids!

RB Digital is a digital newsstand with over 40 popular magazines. There’s something for everyone: The New Yorker, OK! Magazine, Vogue, National Geographic, House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, and more! Create an account with your library card and email address, then browse and check out to read magazines instantly.

Still curious? Discover more online resources or try our Children’s e-resources.

Need a library card? Register online for a temporary library card to use state-provided databases and the OverDrive digital collection. Massachusetts residents can also sign up for a Boston Public Library eCard for access to more online resources!