Do you want to…

Study a new language? Practice with Mango Languages or go on adventures with Muzzy and his friends.

Learn to cook? Watch live cooking instruction using common pantry ingredients with chef Michael Symon on the Food Network Kitchen’s Facebook page, get tasty recipes from Leanne Brown’s Good and Cheap and From Scratch — free PDFs are available here, or search the Culinary Arts collection from Gale OneFile.

Stay up on current events and news? Visit our Subject Guide and explore “Current Events” and “Newspapers and Journals”, or watch some of the over 3000 TED Talks or animated TED Ed videos that will spark your curiosity.

Gain a new skill? Learn to code at FreeCodeCamp.org, take an online course through Lynda.com, or start a new project around the house backed by information from the Home Improvement collection from Gale OneFile, or research your family tree with HeritageQuest.

Practice self-care and relaxation techniques? Whenever you need a break, practice guided meditation on hoopla, listen to a new-to-you podcast, or chill out with a free movie from Kanopy.

If you’re not sure where to start, send us your questions through our Ask a Librarian service!

Stuck at home with absolutely nothing to read? Your Belmont librarians are here to help.

First things first, you can always contact us for personalized recommendations! Through our Ask a Librarian service, tell us what you like (genre, author, other book titles) and we’ll respond with a few suggestions that you might enjoy. We can match you with books, movies, TV series, podcasts, and more — just ask! Teens and tweens can fill out this Personalized Recommendations form here.

Check our staff picks book lists for recommendations on popular topics in fiction and nonfiction. Don’t forget to get ideas from our reading recommendations for teens/tweens and book lists for kids, too! The Minuteman Library Network also has recommended reads — if you’re stuck, start with this list of Books You Can’t Put Down.

Need even more ideas? Looking for something in a niche genre or a read-alike for your last favorite read? Explore NoveList to find new authors and titles, using your interests based on mood, genre, or appeal.

Wowbrary helps you discover the latest books, magazines, DVDs and CDs at the library, and allows you to place holds. Sign up for Wowbrary’s newsletter to receive a weekly email with what’s new.

Through May 31st, Kanopy is offering a selection of films that won’t deduct from your monthly play credits — enjoy them here! In addition, get free, unlimited access to Kanopy Kids to enjoy storytimes, educational TV shows, animated films, and more.

With your Belmont Public Library card, Kanopy gives you film festival favorites, award-winning documentaries, and countless films from the Criterion Collection, Great Courses, PBS, Women Make Movies, Samuel Goldwyn, and more. In addition to the credit-free viewing above, you can stream up to 5 titles per month. Once you press the play button on a film, you have 3 days to view it as many times as you like, without using another one of your 5 “play credits.”

To use Kanopy on your computer, sign up online; on your TV, use AppleTV, Chromecast, or Roku; or on a mobile device, download the Kanopy app for iOS or Android.

Still curious about what the library can do for you? Discover more online resources or try our Children’s e-resources.

March 14, 2020

Dear Belmont Library Patrons,

Effective immediately, the Belmont Public Library will be closed to the public until further notice.

During this time please continue to visit the library website as we will be working to highlight what options are available through our digital resources. We will be offering services via phone calls as usual at our public desks, so please call us if we may be of service to you:

Main Phone Number: 617-489-2000
Circulation Desk: 617-993-2855
Reference Desk: 617-993-2870
Children’s Room: 617-993-2880

We will be forgiving all library fines on any materials that are returned via our outside book drop during this time.

Please visit the Town of Belmont website to keep up on all updates from Town Administration and the Belmont Health Department.

Stay safe, Belmont Library Patrons.

Your Library Director,

Peter J. Struzziero

Listen to Dr. Kwan Kew Lai discuss her humanitarian work around the globe, as an infectious disease specialist. Dr. Lai first volunteered abroad in the aftermath of the South Asian Tsunami, in 2005, and has since been a part of nearly 30 global humanitarian relief efforts. In this interview, she discusses the South Asian Tsunami; her work in Liberia and Sierre Leone during the 2014 Ebola outbreak; her time in Bangladesh, in 2018, helping Rohinga refugees fleeing religious persecution in Myanmar; and her most recent volunteering stint in Yemen, in 2019, where a cholera outbreak has occurred due to the ongoing civil war.

View a full list of Dr. Lai’s humanitarian efforts, since 2005.

If you are interested in becoming a part of Belmont’s oral history project, contact Nancy McColm at [email protected] or 617-993-2870 or Joanna Tzouvelis at [email protected]

Voting results for Belmont Book Discussion 2020 are in! For our meeting on January 15 we will be reading The Widow’s War by Sally Gunning.

BBD meets on the third Wednesday of every other month at 3pm in the Flett room. Find all six titles and dates in our BBD flyer.

On Tuesday, October 29th at 3:30pm come join us for some spooky crafts and fun.  Feel free to come dressed in your Halloween costumes!

And once the sun goes down, come back from 6:00-8:00pm and try your hand at our virtual reality haunted house!  We will have several scares on the menu so you never know what you might experience!  Be brave and see how long you last!

Listen to Hal Learson discuss his memories of the Great Depression, World War II, and his 30+ years of service to the U.S. Navy during the Cold War. 

In this excerpt, he shares his experience at the Suez Canal in 1956, right after Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser retook control of the canal from the British and French.  

If you are interested in becoming a part of Belmont’s oral history project, contact Nancy McColm at [email protected] or 617-993-2870 or Joanna Tzouvelis at [email protected]