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We invite children and their caregivers to a 30-minute session of songs and stories in Mandarin Chinese with Mina (Yating) Fan, a local mother and educator. This fun and interactive session brings families together to enjoy lively songs and engaging stories in a warm, welcoming environment. This program can accommodate 45 people. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis on the day of the program. The entire party must be present to receive a ticket. This program starts promptly. Unclaimed seats will be offered to someone waiting. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Please call 617-349-4038 for more information. Funding for this program has been generously provided by the Cambridge Public Library Foundation.

Join the Cambridge Public Library in celebrating our Summer Reading theme—“Plant a seed, read!”—by gathering with us for a reading and talk with author and biologist, David George Haskell, author of How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature's Revolutionaries, published just this past March. The recipient of mutliple starred reviews, How Flowers Made Our World has been described as “a work of real passion” (The New York Times) and “a seamless melding of poetry and science” (Wall Street Journal) and in it, David George Haskell, a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, argues that flowers “belong at the center of the story of how our world came to be.” Registration is required.

While COVID-19 cases are declining, infection rates are still high in Cambridge and the state. The Cambridge Public Health Department reminds residents who have COVID-19 to notify your close contacts so that they may take precautions to help stop the spread. A close contact is anyone who has been within 6 feet of you for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period while indoors during the two days before you got sick OR the two days before your positive test was taken if you don’t have symptoms. By telling your close contacts that they may have been in contact with COVID-19, you are helping to protect everyone.

Think you can spot what’s real and what’s made by Generative AI? Put your sleuthing skills to the test in this interactive workshop presented by Joint Family and the Cambridge Public Library. Through hands-on activities, we'll see how easy it is to create AI-generated images, voices, and videos and how hard it's becoming to tell the difference. Together we'll explore emerging trends in deepfakes and AI-generated content, real-world case studies of scams and misinformation, and practical strategies for protecting ourselves, our families, and our communities. No prior experience with Generative AI necessary. Open to ages 13 and up. Bring someone you trust - a friend, a grandparent, a neighbor!

CPD's Secret Santa for Seniors Gift Drive is Back for Its 19th Year. This program relies solely on generous donations from Cambridge businesses, residents, community members, and CPD employees. Gift bags are organized and distributed to seniors throughout the city on the days leading up to Christmas to remind them that they are not forgotten. The program is a great way to support Local Businesses and Seniors This Holiday Season. Gifts can be dropped off 24/7 at drop boxes in the first-floor main lobby of the Robert W. Healy Public Safety Facility at 125 Sixth Street in Cambridge through Monday, December 19th. For more information, please contact Kessen Green at (617) 349-6009 or email kgreen@cambridgepolice.org.

Using 30 languages represented in Cambridge, the new Welcome poster states, “You are welcome here,” and was woven together in a quilt-like design to represent the City’s rich cultural diversity. It also contains text to remind community members of their right to receive services and information in their preferred language, regardless of their immigration status. We encourage you to display this poster in a public-facing area of your department, like a reception desk. The poster is intended to convey solidarity with our immigrant community members visually. It can also be used as a tool for visitors to indicate the language they prefer to communicate in, which will help City staff coordinate appropriate interpretation or translation follow up.

Celebrate one year of the Cambridge KiOSK with an afternoon of live music, participatory activities, and community gathering in Harvard Square. The event will mark the KiOSK’s first year as a site for visitor information, cultural programming, and community connection. Visitors are welcome to stop by throughout the afternoon. Program schedule: 12:00–3:00 PM: Participatory activities, including screenprinting and a seedling exchange 3:00–4:00 PM: Cambridge Symphony Orchestra ensemble performance 4:00–5:00 PM: Reception recognizing the artists, organizations, community members, and visitors who have helped shape the KiOSK’s first year Throughout the event, visitors will also be invited to share ideas for the KiOSK’s next year. This event is free and open to the public.

In May 2026, the Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) purchased two existing residential buildings located at 1648 & 1654 Massachusetts Avenue with financial support from the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust (CAHT). The CHA will convert these properties to fully affordable housing as the existing market-rate units naturally turnover. The buildings contain a total of 56,614 square feet, including 62 one-bedroom units and 17 two-bedroom units and two commercial spaces. The commercial spaces are located on the first floor of the 1654 Massachusetts Avenue building and are currently leased to Huron Cleaners and Marathon Sports. Located between Harvard Square and Porter Square in Neighborhood Nine, the buildings are located in a prominent location with near access to local restaurants, shops, and public transit.

You’re invited to our November Brewery Book Club, where Lamplighter and the Cambridge Public Library team up to highlight contemporary works from marginalized voices while having a beer. We meet at Lamplighter Brewing Co., 284 Broadway, in the back taproom. This month we’ll read We Will be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People by Nemonte Nenquimo. Copies of the book are available at the Main Library Q&A Desk. The e-book and digital audiobook can be borrowed through the Libby app. The e-book is also available (with no waitlist) through the Hoopla app. We’ll gather in the Lamplighter back taproom to discuss the book, what we learned from it, what we found ourselves touched by, and all other thoughts. Register here

Due to the popularity of Sifu Diaz's classes, we expect participants to attend all sessions and participation in this program will be decided by lottery. Join us in this twelve-week Tai Chi Paradigm practice, which focuses on the mind and body connection. Tai Chi is a fluid sequence of movements choreographed in a low impact routine. To enter the lottery, please register for the waitlist below. This waitlist will constitute the pool from which 15 names will be drawn randomly. Registration will open Friday, August 1 at 9AM and close Friday, August 15 at 5PM. Participants selected will be notified on Wednesday, August 20. This is an in-person event in the Community Room, Main Library. Sponsored by the Cambridge Public Library Foundation