Library News
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Franklin Public Library is currently closed to the public. Curbside Pickup is available Monday through Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the vestibule of the entrance at the top of the parking lot ramp. Library Staff are available by phone (508-520-4941) and email (frkill@minlib.net) Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday hours are not available at this time.
The Library will be closed and Curbside Pickup will not be available on Monday, February 15 for Presidents Day.
No donations are being accepted at this time. Please do not place them in the return bins or outside the building.
Friends of the Franklin Library
Library staff would like to thank the Friends of the Franklin Library for their incredibly generous donation of $4000 to the Library. This gift will be used to fund programming for children, teens, and adults.
New Materials
Check out the list of new books, movies, and music added to the Library's collection in the last month!
https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library/pages/new-materials
Curbside Printing
The Franklin Public Library is now offering Curbside Printing! Send your document as an email attachment to the following email address: frkill@minlib.net .
In the email subject line, in all caps, type: CURBSIDE PRINTING
- Can only be printed on 8.5 x 11 or 8.5 x 14 inch paper
- Can only be printed in black and white
- Must be ten pages or less
- Limit of one print job per week
- Must be Microsoft Office compatible or standard PDF format
- Single sided pages only
- For Franklin residents only
- You will receive an email when your document is ready for pick up
- This is a free service
Staff members cannot alter your print job in any way prior to printing. Please carefully check the print preview option on your computer or personal device before submitting our document.
Privacy information: Please do not send print jobs that contain private or sensitive information. Your document will be placed in an envelope, but it will be left for pickup in the Curbside Pickup area – this area is open to the general public.
Have some questions about this service? Send an email to frkill@minlib.net . In the subject line, type CURBSIDE PRINTING QUESTION.
Book & Movie Bundles for Kids and Adults
Miss browsing the stacks? Looking for some book or movie recommendations? Help is here! Introducing Book & Movie Bundles! Fill out a form indicating your preferences, and Library staff will customize a bundle of five items just for you. Once your bundle is ready, you will receive an email that it is available in our Curbside Pickup area. To get started, visit the Franklin Public Library's website https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library/pages/book-movie-bundles .
Programs for Children and Teens
Weekly Virtual Events for Kids!
Wake Up Wiggles! Mondays @10:30AM on Facebook Live!
Virtual Dungeons & Dragons! Mondays @3:30PM
email mgousie@minlib.net for more details!
Zoom Tummy Time for Babies! Tuesdays @9:30AM
email Miss Caleigh at ckeating@minlib.net to register for Tummy Time!
Zoom Toe Tapping Tuesdays! (Super Silly Dance Class for Ages 2+!) Tuesdays @4:00PM
email Miss Bree at bcomeau@minlib.net to register for Cool Cruisers!
Bookworm Bounce! Thursdays @4:00PM on Facebook Live!
Virtual Dungeons & Dragons! Mondays @ 3:30PM
Kids Ages 7-15! Join us each week for virtual D&D on Roll20.net! Then join a community of gamers for fun on FPL's own Discord Server! "Chairs" are open for New Players and Dungeon Masters are always in demand! Email mgousie@minlib.net for more details!
Teen Advisory Board, 2nd Wednesday of the Month on Zoom @6:30PM!
Teens! Want to get involved at the library from a distance? Join us as we plan teen-centric events, book displays, revamp our website and more! The perfect way to earn community service hours remotely! Email ckeating@minlib.net to get involved!
Girls Who Code!
Grades 3-5 Friday Feb. 5th & 19th @ 3:00PM
A Coding club for grades 3-5. We are bringing back G.W.C. at the Franklin Public Library! Learn to Code, Join a community, and Share your passions. All kids interested are welcome! Email mgousie@minlib.net for more details!
Grades 6-12 Friday Feb. 5th & 19th @ 4:00PM
A Coding club for grades 6-12. We are bringing back G.W.C. at the Franklin Public Library! Learn to Code, Join a community, and Share your passions. All teens interested are welcome! Email mgousie@minlib.net for more details!
Special Programs for Families
Take and Make: Chinese New Year Dragon Puppets!
Starting Saturday, February 1st, stop by the library between 10:00am-7:00pm and call the children's room (508-520-4941 ext. 2) to pick up your very own Dragon Puppet Kit! Kits include supplies and instructions for making a charming Dragon Puppet to celebrate Chinese New Year! This year is the Year of the Ox! SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED! Dragon Puppet Kits will be distributed on a first come first serve basis!
Black History Month Book Bingo!
Celebrate Black History Month with a special reading challenge! We've got a special BINGO board with reading prompts relating to Black historical figure, authors and illustrators! Complete BINGO in any direction in order to receive a prize! Special prizes will be available for anyone who completes their entire board! Find the Bingo Board in the library vestibule or on our website starting February 1st, and email your titles to ckeating@minlib.net! All entries must be received by Sunday, February 28th!
Zoom Cooking Class for families with Miss Sandhya! Saturday February 13th, 1:00PM
Join Miss Sandhya of Sandhya's Kitchen for a special zoom cooking class for kids and their grown-ups! To register for the class and receive the zoom link, email Caleigh at ckeating@minlib.net!
Take and Make: Slime!
Starting Saturday, February 13th, stop by the library between 10:00am-7:30pm and call the children's room (508-520-4941 ext. 2) to pick up your very own Slime Making Kit! Kits include supplies and instructions for making your very own slime, with glue and liquid starch! The perfect vacation week craft! SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED! Slime Kits will be distributed on a first come first serve basis!
February StoryWalk at DelCarte Reservation!
Starting Saturday, February 13th, the Franklin Recreation Department and the Franklin Public Library are teaming up again for a cozy StoryWalk on the trail! The StoryWalk will be up until mid-March, so you have plenty of time to enjoy the story, while social distancing!
Teen Zoom Murder Mystery Party! Wednesday, February 17th @6:00PM
Teens! Join us on Zoom for a teen-centric virtual soiree, as we celebrate February vacation week with a 1920s, Gatsby themed interactive mystery! To register and receive the zoom link, please email ckeating@minlib.net!
Make with Miss Mitzi Craft Class: Hand Warmers! Saturday February 27th, 1:00PM
Join Miss Mitzi for a special zoom crafting class! She will be teaching us how to sew our own heart-shaped hand warmers! To register for the class and receive the zoom link, email Mitzi at mgousie@minlib.net!
Adults
Love in All its Forms: A Valentine's Reading and Performance, Wednesday, February 10, 7:00 p.m.
Love in All its Forms will feature four local authors reading and performing original works spanning literally all forms of love: gay, straight, undecided, male, female, cringe-inducing, heart-warming, humorous, pathetic, vanilla and not-so-much, millennial and middle-aged, romantic and platonic.
The New England Indie Authors Collective will present their latest work on the modern state of love. The Zoom event will include time for a Q&A. Authors will include Jenny Pivor, Judah Leblang, Jason M. Rubin, and Randy Ross. To register, please visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqf-yvqDopHNGUcKO_rtyzEOrzgSC... .
Roots of Black Music in America presented by Karlus Trapp, Wednesday, February 17, 7:00 p.m.
Karlus Trapp's delightful, educational, and entertaining presentation "The Roots of Black Music in America" is a 100 year journey back through time to hear, experience anew, and learn about the music of America's black musical giants. It is a joyful show that encourages and comes alive through audience participation and interaction with singing, dancing, call and response and percussion playing. Please be warned: If you view this show, you may find yourself uncontrollably smiling, singing or humming for hours afterward.
To register for this Zoom program, please visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUudO-uqzMsHNKi6AUaGVu1mkziEz0... .
Take-And-Make Craft for Adults: Embroidery Kit
In a collaboration with the Franklin Mill Store, the Franklin Public Library is now offering Take-And-Make craft kits for adults! The project for January is embroidery kits. The embroidery kits include everything you need to create your own hand embroidered hoop. The pattern design is pre-printed on 100% cotton fabric, so there's no need for transferring or tracing. Just pop the fabric in the hoop, thread your needle, and start stitching!
These make easy and wonderful gifts. Embroidery is a great way to slow down, get cozy, and get crafty. Each kit contains: pre-printed (in color) fabric pattern, coordinating embroidery floss, needle, wooden hoop(s), full color card with image on front and stitching notes on back, a 'getting started with hand embroidery' guide and instructional how-to for basic stitches. The finished design is sized to fit nicely in a 6" hoop.
Kits are available to the first 35 Franklin residents to register, and will be placed in Curbside Pickup. To register, please contact Assistant Library Director Kim Shipala at 508-520-4941, or email kshipala@minlib.net .
Franklin Public Library Book Club, Tuesday, February 23, 7:00 p.m.
The book for discussion is Such a Fun Age, by Kiley Reid.
Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other. With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone "family," the complicated reality of being a grown up, and the consequences of doing the right thing for the wrong reason.
To reserve a copy of the book or for more information, please contact Assistant Library Director Kim Shipala at kshipala@minlib.net . To register, please visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsf-yrrDIuGNZUG2MU5BiraLtGa3d... .
Online Resources
Even though we are closed to the public, the Library still has so much to offer! Here are updates and information regarding the Library's services during this closure:
- Our digital library is still open! Explore our collection of audiobooks, ebooks, and more at https://minuteman.overdrive.com/ . On your phone or tablet, download the Libby and Minuteman Library Network apps!
- Learn a new language with Rosetta Stone, or try out Kanopy, hoopla, and Consumer Reports on the Featured Databases page (exclusively available to Franklin residents).
- Learn something new, find articles for school assignments, read newspapers like the New York Times, or pick up a new skill using the links on our Databases & Research Resources page.
- Tune in to our Facebook page for streaming storytimes, book discussions, and other live programs. https://www.facebook.com/FranklinPublicLibrary/
- For email Reference service, or help with your library account, send questions to frkill@minlib.net . Inquiries will be answered within 24 hours.
- Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube!
