Join us for Sustainable Belmont’s Fix-it Clinic, Saturday, May 25th 1-4pm, Assembly Room!   

At Fix-It Clinics, participants bring in small household appliances, clothing, electronics, mobile devices, toys, and anything else and receive free guided assistance from volunteers with repair skills to disassemble, troubleshoot, and fix their items.  A set of tools is available for each participant to use. 

This is an all-ages, hands-on event.  Fix-It Clinics teach valuable troubleshooting and basic repair skills, build community connections, and reduce the number of repairable objects that are thrown in the trash.

We are looking for volunteers to help coach participants on troubleshooting and repair of a wide variety of items from bikes to electronics to clothing and everything in between. 

Please contact Sustainable Belmont at [email protected] for more information or to volunteer to be a repair coach.

Wildlife photographer Peter Christoph will present several talks – sharing his award-winning images, knowledge, and skills.

This series is made possible by the support of the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

The Art of Bird Photography
Tuesday, May 14th at 7pm, Assembly Room

Peter Christoph will share with you his epic birding adventures in a presentation that is both entertaining and informative. Filled with lively anecdotes he explains the techniques he uses to capture his intimate portraits of birds in their natural habitat. This presentation covers essential gear for photographing birds and discusses important settings and features of your camera which are useful for wildlife photography. Peter will take you beyond simply enhancing your bird photography skills and share with you his own approach to the art of bird photography in terms of lighting, composition, action, environment and background, in order to make outstanding images that tell a story and are sure to connect the viewer to the subject.

Birds of New England Swamp
Tuesday, May 21st at 7pm, Assembly Room

Peter Christoph will present a narrated slideshow, sharing both his award-winning images and his photographic secrets as he brings you inside a typical New England swamp. Peter provides an intimate look into the many varieties of birds that inhabit our swamps, including ospreys and herons, shorebirds, woodpeckers, and other cavity dwellers. Sloshing and crawling through the swamp so you don’t have to, Peter captures the bird’s many activities including building the nest, feeding their young, and catching their prey. You’ll almost want to bring your own wading boots and bug spray for protection as you sit down to watch this captivating presentation.

What Happened to the Birds of J.J. Audubon?
Thursday, May 30th at 7pm, Assembly Room

Peter Christoph will compare and contrast his own bird photographs with the works of ornithologist, hunter, and painter, John J. Audubon.  If Audubon’s birds no longer exist, Peter will offer observations of what may have happened to them.  JJ Audubon lived a fascinating life and Peter will share stories of Audubon’s adventures. He will discuss his methods of using a camera to document birds and their behavior, instead of bagging them with a rifle.

Belmont resident Ron Sacca speaks with Joanna Tzouvelis about his family’s long history in town, his love of Belmont, and his hopes for the future.

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]

Friday Movie Night! We’ll have popcorn and refreshments, come make a night of it!

Film Viewing: Friday, September 20th at 6:30pm, Library Assembly Room

Film Discussion: Tuesday, September 24th at 7:00pm, Library Flett Room  

DIAL M FOR MOVIES, hosted by Library Director, Peter Struzziero. Watch the film on your own or at the Library on our Film Screening Night with popcorn and drinks, and then join Peter and other film buffs for a lively discussion! Generously sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

Join us for a discussion of “Refuge,” by Dina Nayeri. This work of contemporary fiction explores the lives of immigrants, as well as a father-daughter relationship challenged by distance, differing cultures, and each one’s personal shortcomings.

Copies are available in the library’s main lobby.

See the book selections and dates for 2019

Sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

Author Kwan Kew Lai will discuss her book Lest We Forget: A Doctor’s Experience with Life and Death During the Ebola Outbreak.  After fighting through yards of red tape, leaving her family, and putting her own health at risk to help suffering strangers, Kwan Kew  Lai finally arrived in Africa to volunteer as an infectious disease specialist in 2014,  during the largest Ebola outbreak in history.  What she found was not only blistering heat, inhospitable working conditions, and deadly, unrelenting illness, but hope, resilience, and incredible courage.

Thursday, March 21st at 7:00PM in the Library Assembly Room.  This event is part of the Friends’ Author Series.  Find out more about the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

The Assembly Room is handicap accessible. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Listen to Irving and Shirley Gerber speak with their grandson Michael Souza about growing up in the 1930s and 1940s, how Belmont has changed over their 70+ years living here, and their secret to a long and happy marriage.

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

Author Julie Dobrow will speak on her new book After Emily: Two Remarkable Women and the Legacy of America’s Greatest Poet at Books and Bites on Monday, March 11th at 11:00 AM in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library.

Emily Dickinson may be the most widely read and beloved of all American poets, but the story behind her work’s initial, posthumous publication in 1890 and the mother-and-daughter team most responsible for her enduring legacy are barely known.  After Emily recounts the extraordinary lives of Mabel Loomis Todd and her daughter, Millicent Todd Bingham, and the powerful literary legacy they shared.  Mabel’s complicated relationships with the Dickinsons–including her thirteen-year extramarital affair with Emily’s brother, Austin–roiled the small town of Amherst, Massachusetts.  Mabel and Austin’s love led to her work with Emily Dickinson’s poetry, which inspired both Mabel’s life and her daughter’s, and fed controversies over the poetry’s promotion, editing, and ownership.  Julie Dobrow has unearthed hundreds of primary sources to tell this compelling narrative and reveal the surprising impact Mabel and Millicent had on the Emily Dickinson we know today. Julie Dobrow is Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Tufts University.

All are welcome to attend this free program, sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.  Refreshments will be provided. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Join us for Cookbook Club on Tuesday, October 1st at 7pm in the Assembly Room. We’ll all be cooking & sharing the results from the same cookbook once a month.

This month’s cookbook is:

Small Victories by Julia Turshen.

Copies are available at the library.

Registration is required each month. Questions? Contact [email protected] for more info!