Director's Update, February 1, 2025

Dear Patrons,

The Library is planning for its future and your input matters! To participate, we invite you to take our online community surveyor drop by one of our community chats. Your feedback will help us improve library services and set priorities for the coming years in our next strategic plan. The survey will be open through Feb. 23. To learn more about planning for the Library’s future, please visit the Library’s strategic planning home page, where you can learn more about the process and also watch Director McCauley's video message about planning for the Library's future.

Upcoming Programs and Events

February is Black History Month a time of the year when we celebrate the lives, lived experience, and contributions to the African American and Black communities to our nation. The Library is pleased to host a number of exciting programs and events in celebration of Black History Month, see what we have planned.

Join us on February 5, from 6-7, for the 4th lecture in a 7-part lecture series celebrating the 250thanniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, titled Objects of Memory: Washington and Material Culture, the lecture will examine how Americans understand the material culture of Washington and the Revolution, including art and clothing. The panelist are Zara Anishanslin, author of The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution and Associate Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware, and Erica E. Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Registration is required.

Best,

Maria McCauley, Ph.D.
Director of Libraries 

 

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Weekly Activities for Kids

This week, these programs will be offered at our Boudreau, Central Square, Main, O’Connell, O’Neill, and Valente locations.  

Book Groups

Learn more about our Book Groups.  

The Hive Workshops

Check out this week’s classes in The Hive.

ESOL Classes

Find an ESOL Class.

Tech Help

 

Aging with Mindfulness (Virtual)
Monday, February2
9-10 a.m.

This program, led by Zeenat Potia, will introduce and utilize mindfulness techniques to help us examine and regulate everyday life changes with a focus on aging. Participants will learn and benefit from the development of a mindfulness practice to enable responding to getting older in a calm, clear and thoughtful manner. Registration is required. This is a virtual event. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants 1 hour before the event.

 

Wellness for Older Adults: Let Your Yoga Dance (Virtual)
Monday, February 2
11-11:45 a.m.

A fun, dynamic, and ultimately blissful class.  We'll work our way through the seven energy centers (chakras) with Let Your Yoga Dance. You will leave with a good workout and a peaceful happy mind/body/spirit. Good for everybody! Registration is required for each session. This is a virtual event. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants 1 hour before the event.

Remembering Together: Grief Support Group (Central Square)
Tuesday, February 3
12-1 p.m.

The "Remembering Together" support group is for patrons who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Facilitated by the library social worker, this online group offers a safe and confidential online space for peers to come together, share common experiences and heal in community. If you are interested in participating, or simply learning more about this offering, please email Brett Dixon, the library social worker, at bdixon@cambridgema.gov.

Fire Cider Class (Central Square)
Tuesday, February 3
2-4 p.m.

What do you get when you mix honey, vinegar, ginger, horseradish, and whatever else hot and spicy you find in the back of your fridge? A powerful and delicious fire cider that can help our immune system kick out colds, flus and more. In this class, we will discuss the ingredients in fire cider, different recipes for different conditions, and when and how to use them (salad dressings! mocktails!).

Mo Katz-Christy (they/them) is a queer Ashkenazi Jewish herbalist born and raised in Cambridge, MA on unceded Massachusett land. They approach herbalism by connecting folks to the knowledge they already have about their body and herbs through working with kitchen medicine, ancestral traditions, and mulberries falling on the sidewalk!

Mo graduated from a three-year clinical herbalism program at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism in 2022. They work one-on-one with clients to address the root imbalances that are causing dysregulation and to promote long-term healing, focusing on gut health. You can find out more about their work at mokatzchristy.com.

Sit ‘n’ Knit (Main)
Tuesday, February 3
2:30-3:30 p.m. 

Bring your project and enjoy the company of other fiber crafters. Drop-in with this informal group to work on your craft, get inspired, pick-up skills and socialize. Knit, embroider, crochet, spin, mend. Refreshments will be provided.

Youth Dungeons & Dragons Session 1/4 (Valente)
Tuesday, February 3
4-5 p.m.

Youth ages 10-16 are welcome to join four sessions of cooperative role-play and storytelling as we build out skills playing the table-top game DnD. The first session will include a character-building introduction followed by play continued into the next four sessions. No prior DnD experience is required, and experienced players are also welcome to join. Registration is required, as the program is capped at 8 players. Please plan to attend all sessions!

Crafternoon: Paper Lanterns and Sun Catchers (Main)
Tuesday, February 3
4:30-5:30 p.m.

Celebrate the coming Lunar New Year and bring some light to the dark winter by learning the art of tissue paper collage! Make a paper lantern or sun catcher to bring home. All materials are provided. Recommended for ages 5 and up. Registration is not required for this event.

Free Drop-in Tutoring for Teens (Main)
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
5-6 p.m.

Do you need help with a class? Have a question before an exam? Tutors are available to help you! Cambridge School Volunteers and the Library are pleased to offer tutoring services in the Teen Room. No registration required. Stop by the Teen Room or call 617-349-4027 to learn more.

Movie Night: WE WANT THE FUNK! (Valente)
Tuesday, February 3
6-7:30 p.m.

Join us for movie night at the Valente Branch to celebrate Black History Month! WE WANT THE FUNK! is a syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, spanning the genres African, soul, and early jazz roots, to its rise into the public consciousness. Registration helpful.

Knitting Group (Boudreau)
Tuesday, February 3
6:30-7:30 p.m.

Bring your project, yarn and needles to enjoy an hour in the company of other crafters.

Starting a Small Business workshop series (Central Square)
Tuesday, February 3
6:30-8:30 p.m.

Ready to Level Up Your Business? Join Our 4-Week Workshop! Whether you're just starting out or already running a business, this workshop is for you! Over four weeks, we'll give you the practical skills to make your business run even better. We'll focus on what you need to learn to succeed. This isn't just theory – it's the stuff you need to know to build a strong business. Think of this as your essential business toolkit. If you're new to the business world, we'll give you the confidence and know-how to get started and grow.

Workshop 1: Foundation and Idea Validation - Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Please register here. If you have any questions or issues with registration, contact Tyrone Fells at 617-349-7223 or tfells@cambridgema.gov.

Documentary Photography with your Smartphone [55+] (Main)
Wednesday, February 4
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

We live in an age where we carry our smartphones everywhere we go. Built into this device is a camera that can help us document the world around us. Whether it’s taking family portraits, beautiful landscapes, or in some cases the meal we just sat down to eat, we’re all constantly taking photos. This class will not only teach you to take the best possible photos, but how to edit your photos to make them look as good as they possibly can. We will also cover how to organize the photos on your phone. We will learn how to become visual storytellers through projects I'll assign each week followed by thoughtful group discussions of your photos. You need only bring two things to this class: your smartphone and your imagination. The workshop will be led by Jerry Russo. Russo received a BFA from Tufts University and a studio diploma from The School of Fine Arts Boston. His photographs are held in the collection of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at UMass Amherst and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. He was a Traveling Scholar Recipient from The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Registration is required.

Fiber Crafts Group - Drop-In (O'Connell)
Wednesday, February 4
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Bring your project and enjoy the company of other fiber crafters Drop-in with this informal group to work on your craft, get inspired, pick up skills and socialize. Knit, embroider, crochet, spin, mend, cross stitch and more. All crafts are welcome!

Wednesdays of Wonder - W.O.W.! (O'Neill)
Wednesday, February 4
2:30-4 p.m.

Come to the Library for games and a different activity each week! Kids of all ages can hang out and do crafts or STEAM activities. No registration required.

Wednesdays of Wonder - W.O.W.! (Valente)
Wednesday, February 4
2:30-4 p.m.

Come to the Library for games and a different activity each week! Kids of all ages can hang out and do crafts or STEAM activities. No registration required.

Read to a Dog (Valente)
Wednesday, February 4
5-6:30 p.m.

Read to Dante, our local cuddly therapy dog! Trained therapy dogs provide warm and non-judgmental reading companions for new or experienced readers up to age 14. Registration for each 15-minute time slot is required and begins on Wednesday, January 28 by calling or visiting the Valente Branch (617-349-4015).

CPL Presents: Johnisha Matthews Levi, the author of Numbers Up (Main Library) 

Wednesday, February 4
6-7:30 p.m.

On February 4, from 6-7:30 p.m., the Library will host Johnisha Matthews Levi, the author of Numbers Up in celebration of the Black History Month at the Main Library. For four decades, Johnisha Matthews Levi believed a conventional story about her birth, picturing her happy parents at the hospital together. While sorting through her late mother's belongings, however, she discovered a document indicating that her father was instead serving time in Lorton Correctional Complex. This revelation, along with rumors about an FBI investigation of her deceased parents' "private business," leads Levi to unearth the hidden history of her family. She ties this story to public policy, demonstrating how state lottery legalization and the War on Drugs disrupted the Black institutions and communities in Washington, DC. Registration is required

Puzzle Party (Main)
Thursday, February 5
2:30-3:30 p.m.

Join our librarians for tea, cookies and a jigsaw puzzle. An hour of fun and conversation on a Thursday afternoon at the Cambridge Main Library.

Teen Hangout 
Thursday, February 5
3:30-5 p.m. 

Hangout with other teens in the Valente Branch Community Room after school: socialize, unwind, play a game, make some art - your choice!

Fiber Arts Circle (Central Square)
Thursday, February 5
4-5 p.m.

Bring your project and join other fiber crafters in your community! Crochet, sew, embroider, knit, cross stitch, spin, mend, and more at this informal drop-in fiber arts circle. All crafts are welcome!