Search

Join us for a special MA Space Week 2025 Space Film Festival screening of Contact, followed by an expert panel discussion exploring the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, interstellar communication, and the intersection of science and policy. About the MA Space Week Space Film Festival The MA Space Week Space Film Festival is a statewide celebration of space in cinema, featuring films that highlight the wonders of space exploration, astronomy, and our place in the universe. Each screening is paired with expert insights, making space science accessible and engaging for all audiences. This year’s Massachusetts Space Week theme, "Life in the Universe", explores humanity’s search for extraterrestrial life. Contact, based on Carl Sagan’s novel, is the perfect film to spark this discussion.

Join Gretchen Sisson, the author of Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood (a finalist for the 2025 Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction) in conversation with Cameron Russell, the author of How to Make Herself Agreeable to Everyone. Gretchen Sisson is a research sociologist at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, where she studies abortion and adoption in the United States. Her research was cited in the Supreme Court's dissent for Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, and has been covered in the Washington Post, TIME Magazine, The Nation, NPR, New York Magazine, VOX, Mother Jones, and many other outlets. Registration is required.

November Selection: Nicked by M. T. Anderson A book discussion group for adults at the O'Neill Branch Library, reading a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Past titles include Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Print copies are available for pickup at the O'Neill Branch Library. This month's book selection is also available as a digital audiobook through Libby/OverDrive.

December Selection: In the midst of winter by Isabel Allende A book discussion group for adults at the O'Neill Branch Library, reading a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Past titles include Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Print copies are available for pickup at the O'Neill Branch Library. This month's book selection is also available as a digital audiobook through Libby/OverDrive.

February Selection: Five-Carat Soul by James McBride A book discussion group for adults at the O'Neill Branch Library, reading a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Past titles include Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Print copies are available for pickup at the O'Neill Branch Library. This month's book selection is also available as a digital audiobook through Libby/OverDrive.

March's selection is Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler A book discussion group for adults at the O'Neill Branch Library, reading a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Past titles include Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Print copies are available for pickup at the O'Neill Branch Library. This month's book selection is also available as a digital audiobook through Libby/OverDrive.

May's selection is Absolution by Alice McDermott A book discussion group for adults at the O'Neill Branch Library, reading a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Past titles include Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Print copies are available for pickup at the O'Neill Branch Library. This month's book selection is also available as a digital audiobook through Libby/OverDrive.

September Selection: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner A book discussion group for adults at the O'Neill Branch Library, reading a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Past titles include Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Print copies are available for pickup at the O'Neill Branch Library. This month's book selection is also available as an ebook and digital audiobook through Libby/OverDrive.

October Selection: We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry A book discussion group for adults at the O'Neill Branch Library, reading a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Past titles include Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Print copies are available for pickup at the O'Neill Branch Library. This month's book selection is also available as an ebook and digital audiobook through Libby/OverDrive.

April's selection is The Prime of Miss Jean Brody by Muriel Spark A book discussion group for adults at the O'Neill Branch Library, reading a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Past titles include Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Print copies are available for pickup at the O'Neill Branch Library. This month's book selection is also available as a digital audiobook through Libby/OverDrive.