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People of all ages who enjoy children's books can read and discuss together. We encourage families to participate along with their children. Food will be provided. This month we will be reading and discussing Holes by Louis Sachar. Please pick up a copy of the book beforehand at the O'Neill Branch Library. This book group will meet in person at the O'Neill Branch Library. Please register below.

January Selections: Love Japan : recipes from our Japanese American kitchen by Sawako Okochi & Aaron Israel with Gabriella Gershenson and The gaijin cookbook : Japanese recipes from a chef, father, eater, and lifelong outsider by Ivan Orkin and Chris Ying. Join friends and neighbors for a potluck! Try a recipe and bring your results or thoughts to share and discuss with other cooks. All experience levels welcome. No need to bring a dish to join. Books will be available for pick up at the Boudreau and Collins Branches during library hours. This event will take place indoors at the Collins Branch (64 Aberdeen Ave.) For more information contact Liz at edanner@cambridgema.gov or call the Collins Branch at 617-349-4021.

Join us for a walk at Fresh Pond as we explore the wonderful world of bugs! We will learn about some common local insects, arachnids, and other invertebrates, and get to know some plants that host lots of local bug species.\ This program is open to all ages, from adults to children and their caregivers. Registration is required. For more information, contact Michael McGlathery at mmcglathery@cambridgema.gov or call the Boudreau Branch at 617-349-4017.

Join us for a walk at Fresh Pond as we explore the wonderful world of bugs! We will learn about some common local insects, arachnids, and other invertebrates, and get to know some plants that host lots of local bug species. This program is open to all ages, from adults to children and their caregivers. Registration is required. For more information, contact Michael McGlathery at mmcglathery@cambridgema.gov or call the Boudreau Branch at 617-349-4017.

Join Earthwise Aware for a thought-provoking workshop examining how land use and climate change influence the design, function, and future of urban green spaces. Starting at the library’s front lawn, we will explore how conventional designs can undermine biodiversity and tree health. What makes a space truly nature-friendly? Can a lawn, sidewalk, or plaza be transformed into habitat? We will compare low-functioning green spaces with examples of micro-forests, native plantings, and meadows. Along the way, we will observe seasonal changes in plants and wildlife through the lens of phenology, the study of nature’s calendar. We will also introduce simple participatory science tools that help monitor habitat quality, foster community engagement, and inform better decisions. Even a modest native plant patch can be a pocket of resilience. Come learn how to spot, support, and reimagine urban nature that works with the ecosystem, not just mimics it. The program will start with a workshop in the Rossi Room, then move outside to Joan Lorentz Park. Registration required.

Learn about the ducks that live at Land’s Sake Farm. We will have a story time and activity, then children can touch and interact with a live duck. This program will happen outside. In case of rain or bad weather it will be inside the O'Neill Branch. This program is for children of all ages with a caregiver. Registration is required. When registering, please list how many children are attending. Adults do not need to be included in the numbers for registration

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series. Explore how Americans have remembered and forgotten Washington’s involvement with slavery over the past 250 years. Three historians who work at the intersection of scholarship and public history will shed new light on our founding contradictions: Kelli Racine Barnes, ACE Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow and historian of 18th- and 19th-century U.S. history John Garrison Marks, author of Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory (forthcoming April 7, 2026) and Vice President of Research and Engagement at the American Association for State and Local History Kyera Singleton, Executive Director of the Royall House & Slave Quarters and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Tufts University Center for the Humanities This event will conclude with a book signing by John Garrison Marks. Copies of Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory will be available to purchase.

Extended reality (XR) opens the door to worlds and experiences outside the everyday through virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality equipment. Test drive our Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality glasses, Structure Sensor 3D scanner, Merge headsets, and more. Registration is required. You must complete Hive Safety Training before registering for this workshop.

Extended reality (XR) opens the door to worlds and experiences outside the everyday through virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality equipment. Test drive our Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality glasses, Structure Sensor 3D scanner, Merge headsets, and more. Registration is required. You must complete Hive Safety Training before registering for this workshop.

Extended reality (XR) opens the door to worlds and experiences outside the everyday through virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality equipment. Test drive our Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality glasses, Structure Sensor 3D scanner, Merge headsets, and more. Registration is required. You must complete Hive Safety Training before registering for this workshop.