Category: News

September 23, 2019 — On Saturday, October 5, from 10am-2pm, Forbes Library and Northampton Connects will host a community-building event in the Reading Room on the 1st floor. Living Books is an event in which community members share the experiences that have informed their lives and have shaped how they identify with the world, during brief one-on-one conversations. People…

September 10, 2019 — Forbes Library is adding pollinator friendly plants to the grounds with the help of young gardeners from the library’s Preschool Storytime Explorers on Tuesday, September 17th at 1:45. The group will gather at 1:30 to listen to a storybook about pollinators and then head outside to help the library plant its new garden. Heather Cupo…

September 4, 2019 — The Trustees of Forbes Library have compiled a brief midyear review about the library and its services over the last year. The review includes: Detailed statistics on the library’s collection and services and their use, including our increased hours, the growth of our Outreach department, and increased circulation of library ebooks Forbes Library’s 125th anniversary…

August 16, 2019 — Article published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette August 7, 2019 https://www.gazettenet.com/Trustee-positions-at-Forbes-Library-draw-five-candidates-27540837

July 1, 2019 — Now, not only can Northampton residents use their local library card to check out materials at any CW MARS public library across the state, but checked out items will be automatically renewed. Patrons will no longer have to remember to log into their account to renew physical items they have checked out. If a checked…

June 27, 2019 — Forbes Library is eliminating all late fees for children and young adults beginning July 1, 2019. Lisa Downing, Library Director, says, “Our goal is to emphasize the return of library materials rather than penalizing our youngest patrons. Using the library should not be a source of stress for families. We recognize that fines can serve…

May 22, 2019 — All of the library’s 150+ original windows are in the process of being restored. The first windows are being removed today, Wednesday, May 22. They will be removed in batches, approximately 20 windows at a time, starting in Arts & Music. The windows will be refurbished off site, and then returned in about 3 weeks,…

April 24, 2019 — If you have a musical instrument that works fine but you just don’t feel like playing it anymore, you can de-clutter and make others happy at the same time by donating it to the Forbes Library musical instrument collection! Forbes lends ukuleles, banjos, hand drums, synthesizers and many other string, percussion, and electronic instruments. They’re…

March 26, 2019 — ONLINE DAY OF GIVING ESTABLISHED TO SUPPORT LOCAL LIBRARIES Three local libraries are raising funds through an inaugural Library Giving Day campaign. This one-day online fundraising event will occur on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 and will encourage patrons and Library lovers to make a gift to participating local libraries. This is the time of year…

March 21, 2019 — The 32nd Gertrude P. Smith Trustees Award will be presented on Wednesday, April 3 at 6:30 P.M. The event will take place in the Coolidge Museum on the second floor of the Forbes Library. The award presentation will be followed by an illustrated talk about First Lady and longtime Northampton resident, Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge,…

March 11, 2019 — The Friends of Forbes Library took third place in the Florence Bank’s Customer Choice Award program. President Martha McCormick accepted the grant of $3,767 from bank president, John F. Heaps, Jr. The Friends will use this donation towards continued support of the library which includes money for books, museum passes and the popular summer reading…

February 25, 2019 — Springfield Republican/MassLive, February 24, 2019; reproduced by permission https://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2019/02/northamptons_forbes_library_turns_page_on_first_125_years.html By Cori Urban Special to The Republican The Forbes Library in Northampton is turning the page on its first 125 years and beginning a new chapter in the life of the public library that opened in 1894. During the anniversary year Forbes Library is hosting special…