All Brookline Libraries will be CLOSED for Friday, July 4th

Get Ready for the April 8 Solar Eclipse!

Posted on by Macy Davis

On April 8, 2024, the United States will experience a Total Solar Eclipse! While Brookline won’t be in the the path of totality, we will experience approximately 92% obscuration. The eclipse will begin at approximately 2:20 PM with maximum obscuration of 92% occurring at 3:30 PM and then the partial eclipse will conclude around 4:30 PM.

The Public Library of Brookline wants to help you safely experience the upcoming eclipse because there won’t be another total solar eclipse in the lower-48 states until 2044. We hope you’ll join us for a slate of eclipse themed programming at our Library locations.

  • Kids ideaSPACE: Eclipse Exploration
    • Join us on Wednesday, March 6 at 3 PM in Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library to learn about what causes a solar eclipe, create an eclipse-themed craft, and safely view the sun. This program is for kids ages 5-9.
  • Eclipse Exploration for Everyone
    • Join us at the Brookline Village Library in Hunneman Hall on Saturday, March 9 at 2 PM to learn about the Eclipse, participate in Eclipse themed activities, and safely view the sun. This program is for all ages!
  • Tween ideaSPACE: Eclipse Projectors
    • Tweens in grades 5-7 should join us to make do-it-yourself eclipse projectors on Wednesday, March 13 at 3 PM in the Rabbit Hole at the Brookline Village Library. You’ll also get the chance to use a solar telescope and sunoculars to (safely) view the sun. Limited to the first 12 participants.
  • Eclipse Exploration at Putterham
    • Join us at 11 AM on Saturday, March 16 at the Putterham Library to start preparing for the upcoming eclipse! We’ll learn about Eclipse conditions, safely view the sun, and decorate (and eat!) a planetary cookie. Weather permitting, the first half of this program will take place outside. This program is for kids ages 7+ and supplies my be limited.
  • Solar Eclipses: Tracking the Shadows of the Moon!
    • Join Jim Zebrowski, president of the Aldrich Astronomical Society for a family friend talk about solar eclipses. This program is at 3:30 PM on Thursday, March 21 at the Putterham Library.
  • Let’s Go to the Moon! With Benadette Manning
    • NASA Solar System Ambassador Benadette Manning will join us at the Brookline Village Library on Monday, March 25 at 7PM to talk about the moon and give a hands on demonstration of how an eclipse works. This program is for all ages!
  • Kids ideaSPACE: Eclipse Viewers
    • Eclipse glasses aren’t the only way to safely view the eclipse! Kids ages 3-9 are invited to drop by the Rabbit Hole at the Brookline Village Library on Wednesday, April 3 between 2 and 3:30 PM to make their own solar eclipse viewer using our ideaSPACE tools and materials.

Limited quantities of eclipse glasses will be available at programs for program attendees only. For more information on suppliers of eclipse glasses, visit the American Astronomical Society. 

Becoming

Posted on by Lily Weitzman

Part of Gateway Arts’ 50th Anniversary series, Art of the Possible, this exhibit celebrates the diversity of our current cohort of artists.

Vinfen’s Gateway Arts provides professional development for adults with disabilities who have talent in fine art and hand crafts. Artists pursue unique and individualized careers, learn and develop new skills with the support of a professional staff of artists, and receive local and international recognition through Gateway Arts’ onsite and online store and gallery.

Making Democracy Work

Posted on by Lily Weitzman
This month, displays by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Brookline feature information about voting–how to register to vote and the 2024 elections calendar–as well as highlights of suffrage history and voting rights today. Books for young people about our democracy, government, and the voting process will also be featured.

The League of Women Voters of Brookline celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment certifying women’s right to vote in the United States. It remains important today to work to ensure equal access to the polls for all citizens.

Upcoming Poets: March

Posted on by Bryan Kreusch

Eileen Cleary (she/her) (left) is the author of Wild Pack of the Living (Nixes Mate, 2024), 2 a.m. with Keats (Nixes Mate, 2021) and Child Ward of the Commonwealth (Main Street Rag Press, 2019), which received an honorable mention for the Sheila Margaret Motton Book Prize. She co-edited the anthology ‘ Voices Amidst the Virus’ which was the featured text at the 2021 MSU Filmetry Festival. Cleary founded and edits the Lily Poetry Review and Lily Poetry Review Books, and curates the Lily Poetry Salon. A multi-Pushcart nominee, her work is published widely in journals and anthologies.

Maureen McElroy (right) grew up in Boston as one of seven children. She attended Boston University and holds an MFA from Emerson College.  She is the author of For Crying Out Loud (Kelsay Books 2024). Her chapbook Car Poems (Finishing Line Press) came out in March of 2020. Her work has appeared in numerous literary magazines, including Nixes Mate, Mothers Always Write, Trampset, Fickle Muses, Literary Hatchet, and Io. She is a committee member of the reading series Rozzie Reads Poetry sponsored by the Roslindale Public Library. She taught English and Latin for a number of years before entering a career in real estate. She owns Jamaica Hill Realty in Jamaica Plain. She lives in Milton, MA with her husband and son.

Bella, Gracie, and Max’s Hip-Stitch Collection and Alexa’s Shopkins

Posted on by Carrie Zuttermeister

Check out the collections on display in the Children’s Room!

In our flat case, Bella, Gracie, and Max are displaying their Hip-Stitch creations.

In our wall case, Alexa is displaying her Shopkins.

Stop by the Brookline Village Children’s Room to see these amazing collections! And sign up for a slot in our display cases here!

My Special Friend and I, Magical Space From My Bedroom, & My Adventures with Leo

Posted on by Ginger O'Day
About the artist:
Leda is 7 years old. She is a 1st grade student at Holy Name Parish School in West Roxbury. She enjoys reading, writing, drawing, and playing with her litter brother George.
From a very young age, she has enjoyed visiting the Museum of Fine Arts and took several classes there. She started taking private art lessons with teacher Meena @MEENA_ART.DESIGN about a year ago. She has been using color pencils and is moving to different mediums of art including digital art. Leda hopes to be an artist when she grows up.

Amy Lowell 150th Anniversary

Posted on by Lily Weitzman

Poet Amy Lowell was born 150 years ago this month in Brookline. This display features photographs of Lowell, biographical information, and examples of her poetry.

The Library, in partnership with the New England Poetry Club and Brookline Commission for the Arts, will hold a celebration of Amy Lowell on Monday, February 26 at 6 PM. All are invited to attend.

Learn more about the Amy Lowell 150th Anniversary Celebration here!

Black History in Brookline: Spotlight on Florida Ruffin Ridley and Roland Hayes

Posted on by Lily Weitzman

This month Hidden Brookline and the Brookline Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Relations invite you to learn more about two Black trailblazers who lived in Brookline and had a national impact. (Hayes’ impact extended to Europe.)

Two Brookline schools now proudly carry the names Florida Ruffin Ridley and Roland Hayes. Before, the names of both schools (Devotion and Heath) were directly linked to enslavers.

The Roland Hayes Display showcases a special exhibit created by the Young Scholars, an affinity group for Black & Latine students in grades 2-8, at the newly re-named Roland Hayes School. You will find the youths’ work in the display case as well as on several large format posters in the Library.

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