Bibliobites Book Group

Bibliobites is a book group with a culinary focus. We read a combination of cookbooks, culinary memoirs, and food-centric fiction. We often pick a theme for a meeting and encourage members to try recipes related to the theme. We do not discourage members from bringing i......More

Bibliobites is a book group with a culinary focus. We read a combination of cookbooks, culinary memoirs, and food-centric fiction. We often pick a theme for a meeting and encourage members to try recipes related to the theme. We do not discourage members from bringing in those recipes for taste-testing!

Main Library - Fireplace Area

Novel Conversations Book Group

In December, the group will be meeting to discuss Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout"With her "extraordinary capacity for radical empathy" (The Boston Globe), remarkable insight into the human condition, and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns......More

In December, the group will be meeting to discuss Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout"With her "extraordinary capacity for radical empathy" (The Boston Globe), remarkable insight into the human condition, and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters as they deal with a shocking crime in their midst; fall in love and yet choose to be apart; and grapple with the question, as Lucy Barton puts it: What does anyone's life mean? It's autumn in Maine, and the town lawyer Bob Burgess has become enmeshed in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother. He has also fallen into a deep and abiding friendship with the acclaimed writer, Lucy Barton, who lives down the road in a house by the sea with her husband, William. Together, Lucy and Bob go on walks and talk about their lives, their fears and regrets, and what might have been. Lucy, meanwhile, is finally introduced to the iconic Olive Kitteridge, now living in a retirement community on the edge of town. Together, they spend afternoons in Olive's apartment, telling each other stories. Stories about people they have known--"unrecorded lives," Olive calls them--reanimating them, and, in the process, imbuing their lives with meaning"Copies of the book are available at the Main Library's circulation desk.New members are always welcome! This group meets in-person at the Main Library downstairs in the Conference Room.

Conference Room

Construction Zone: come build with us! Drop in for all ages

Come build with our giant collection of Legos, Duplos, and other construction toys! Drop in for all ages. Note: Legos have very small pieces; please use caution if attending with very young children!

McCarthy Meeting Room (Entire Room)

Teen DnD One-Shot Adventure!

Casually interested in D&D? Looking to get a taste of play without committing to a group or campaign? Grab your dice and join us for a fun, action-packed one-shot encounter! No experience is necessary, and character sheets are available at the library. Please create a c......More

Casually interested in D&D? Looking to get a taste of play without committing to a group or campaign? Grab your dice and join us for a fun, action-packed one-shot encounter! No experience is necessary, and character sheets are available at the library. Please create a character ahead of time, and contact us with any questions. This program is for grades 7 - 12.Contact Julia Sullivan (978) 256-5521 ext. 1123, [email protected] with any additional questions

Conference Room

Writer's Group

Stop by the library every other Monday for this participant led group. Aspiring and seasoned writers can use this time to work on their writing, discuss their work with other writers or bring copies of your work to get feedback. This is a space to use how you need as yo......More

Stop by the library every other Monday for this participant led group. Aspiring and seasoned writers can use this time to work on their writing, discuss their work with other writers or bring copies of your work to get feedback. This is a space to use how you need as you start out or continue your writing career and allows participants to network with other local writers.

Conference Room

Intermediate English Conversation Circle

Join our small informal group to practice speaking English. Come for 2 hours or drop in for a little while. We talk about anything and everything. There is no homework, and our conversations range from world issues to personal stories. Come listen, and talk if you want......More

Join our small informal group to practice speaking English. Come for 2 hours or drop in for a little while. We talk about anything and everything. There is no homework, and our conversations range from world issues to personal stories. Come listen, and talk if you want to.Anyone interested in the English Conversation Circles should contact Jianna Christopher at [email protected] or 978-256-5521 x1107.

Conference Room

Homework Cafe Grades 5-8

McCarthy Meeting Room (Entire Room)

Zoom Book Club for Grades 3-5

Please join us for a Book Club for children in grades 3 - 5. Each week kids will be expected to read several chapters from a chosen book. Each book will be completed over the course of several weeks. Books will be available at the Circulation Desk at the Chelmsford P......More

Please join us for a Book Club for children in grades 3 - 5. Each week kids will be expected to read several chapters from a chosen book. Each book will be completed over the course of several weeks. Books will be available at the Circulation Desk at the Chelmsford Public Library. Each week participants will engage in discussions, games and fun activities related to the book that the group is reading. A good time is had by all! Registration is required. The Zoom link will be emailed in the early afternoon on Tuesday. For more information feel free to reach out to Deborah in the Children's Room at [email protected] - TBD

Online - Zoom (Chelmsfordlibraryzoom)

Between the Sheets: A Romance Book Group

Did you know that romance novels generate over $1.4 billion in revenue--making romance the highest earning genre of fiction? Romance novels sold more than 39 million print copies in 2023, which represents a 52% increase over the previous year. Sales of romance novels ......More

Did you know that romance novels generate over $1.4 billion in revenue--making romance the highest earning genre of fiction? Romance novels sold more than 39 million print copies in 2023, which represents a 52% increase over the previous year. Sales of romance novels MORE THAN DOUBLED over 2021 sales, and last year was the third consecutive year of increasing romance sales. Meaning: romance readers, we know you're out there, and we've got the book club for you! Join Julie Iatron, Reference and Readers Services' Librarian AND romance devotee, for "Between the Sheets: A Romance Book Group." We'll gather on Tuesday, December 9th at 6:30 PM in the conference room to discuss "We Could Be So Good" by Cat Sebastian. Cat Sebastian writes queer historical romance. Her books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, and she’s been featured in the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly,and Jezebel. Before writing, Cat was a lawyer and a teacher and did a variety of other jobs she liked much less than she enjoys writing happy endings for queer people. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling down in a swampy part of the south. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, having one-sided conversations with her dog, or doing the crossword puzzle. "Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy. Andy Fleming’s newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He’s barely able to run his life—he’s never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he’ll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it. Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can’t deny. But what feels possible in secret—this fragile, tender thing between them—seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they’re willing to fight." Join Julie to unpack this 1950s historical and talk characters, happily ever afters (or happily for now), and alllllll the romance tropes! Copies of "We Could Be So Good" are available at the Borrower Services desk and as an eAudiobook and eBook on the Libby app. For more information or questions, email [email protected]. See you on December 9th at 6:30 PM!

Conference Room

VIRTUAL: Jane Austen’s Sanditon: From Unfinished Swan Song to British Costume Drama

Commemorating Jane Austen’s 250th birthday on Dec. 16, 2025, join author, former UK resident, and Anglophile Claire Evans for a look at Austen’s final, unfinished manuscript and its path from family heirloom to a fully imagined costume drama, airing on American PBS. Lea......More

Commemorating Jane Austen’s 250th birthday on Dec. 16, 2025, join author, former UK resident, and Anglophile Claire Evans for a look at Austen’s final, unfinished manuscript and its path from family heirloom to a fully imagined costume drama, airing on American PBS. Learn about the real-life people and locations that informed Austen’s last work before her untimely death at age 41, as well as how the seeds of her ideas came to life on the small screen.Claire Evans is an author, former journalist, attorney, and college lecturer who started her love of most things British as she and her mother watched countless Britcoms on PBS. She studied abroad in London and, against the odds, she married a Brit she met in Peoria, Illinois. They lived in England for a number of years. Her business, Tea with Claire, grew from friends asking for travel advice. Her memoir, High Tea and the Low Down, is the true story of what it's really like to marry a witty Englishman, move to Britain, and make every cultural faux pas imaginable.teawithclaire.comJane Austen’s last manuscript, given to King’s College Cambridge by her great niece in 1930. Courtesy BBC.

Online - Zoom (AAdams)

Beginner English

ESL learners can stop by for basic lessons in English with an instructor. The instructor has taught for many years in both local schools and abroad. Please bring a notebook and your questions about English and its challenges. Materials will also be provided for partici......More

ESL learners can stop by for basic lessons in English with an instructor. The instructor has taught for many years in both local schools and abroad. Please bring a notebook and your questions about English and its challenges. Materials will also be provided for participants. This is a weekly meeting, every Wednesday afternoon. Students are not obligated to come for meetings each week and are welcome to drop in on the weeks they are able. If you have any questions, please reach out to Jianna Christopher at [email protected] or 978-256-5521 ext. 1107

Conference Room

Homework Cafe Grades 9-12

McCarthy Meeting Room (Entire Room)

French Conversation Circle

The French Conversation Circle usually meets in the Conference room every second Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm. If you would like to be added to his list, please contact Jianna Christopher at [email protected].

Conference Room

Virtual: Dealing with a Stamp Collection

This is a virtual only program - Please CLICK HERE to register on zoom and receive the link to join the program on Thurs. Dec. 11th at 7pm.Some people are selling their own Stamp collections, which they probably understand. And others are selling collections that they i......More

This is a virtual only program - Please CLICK HERE to register on zoom and receive the link to join the program on Thurs. Dec. 11th at 7pm.Some people are selling their own Stamp collections, which they probably understand. And others are selling collections that they inherited and have absolutely no concept of value. This program will help attendees to better understand US and Foreign Stamps, how & where to sell them in today's market, and will cover such topics as:Brief History of Postage StampsHow to Sort, Analyze, and Evaluate a Stamp CollectionVarious types of Stamps including Definitives, Commemoratives, Blocks & Plate Blocks, Sheets, 1st Day Covers, Coils, Air Mails, Postage Due, moreWe'll introduce you to the Scott's Catalog # SystemWe'll discuss five common types of Stamp Collectors & CollectionsWe'll discuss what's Hot & Not in StampsWe'll introduce Discount Postage?What is "Grading" and why is it so important to valueHow…and where…to sell a Stamp CollectionWe'll discuss 'Retention' and why so many different stamps are issued each yearWe'll discuss both US and Foreign StampsWe'll introduce you to assorted useful Stamp web sites, reference books and toolsWe'll include important Tips, Strategies and Vignettes…and much more MIKE’s BIO: Mike Ivankovich has been involved in some phase of the Antiques & Collectibles business for more than 40 years. He is a frequent lecturer and spoken before groups too numerous to list. He has authored more than 20 books and eBooks in his areas of specialty and has written articles and columns for most major national trade papers. He is the host of the “What’s It Worth? Ask Mike the Appraiser” Radio Show that airs on the First Friday of every month from 9:30-10:30 AM on WBCB 1490 AM & 107.3 FM in Philadelphia PA. As a Home Downsizing Expert & Author he guides clients through the entire Home Downsizing process, helping them deal with their Antiques, Collectibles, and General Household Contents. His Home Downsizing in Four Easy Steps book can be found on Amazon.com. Mike is also a professional GPPA & MPPA Appraiser specializing in Appraisals for Estate, Insurance, Inheritance, Divorce, Insurance Claim, Non-Cash Charitable Donation, or other legal purposes. As a Pennsylvania Auctioneer, he has been named Pennsylvania's “Auctioneer of the Year” by fellow Auctioneers.

Online - Zoom (AAdams)

Knit-Lit Book Group

In December, the group will meet to discuss The Spectacular by Fiona DavisSummary: "New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion Brooks knows she should be happy. Her college sweetheart is about to propose and sweep her off to the life everyone has always expected they......More

In December, the group will meet to discuss The Spectacular by Fiona DavisSummary: "New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion Brooks knows she should be happy. Her college sweetheart is about to propose and sweep her off to the life everyone has always expected they'd have together: a quiet house in the suburbs, Marion staying home to raise their future children. But instead, Marion finds herself feeling trapped. So when she comes across an opportunity to audition for the famous Radio City Rockettes-the glamorous precision-dancing troupe-she jumps at the chance to exchange her predictable future for the dazzling life of a performer. Meanwhile, the city is reeling from a string of bombings orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the 'Big Apple Bomber,' who has been terrorizing the citizens of New York for sixteen years by planting bombs in popular, crowded spaces. With the public in an uproar over the lack of any real leads after a yearslong manhunt, the police turn in desperation to Peter Griggs, a young doctor at a local mental hospital who espouses a radical new technique: psychological profiling. As both Marion and Peter find themselves unexpectedly pulled in to the police search for the bomber, Marion realizes that as much as she's been training herself to blend in-performing in perfect unison with all the other identical Rockettes-if she hopes to catch the bomber, she'll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. In doing so, she may be forced to sacrifice everything she's worked for, as well as the people she loves the most." --Language: EnglishCorporate Subject:Rockettes (Dance company) -- Fiction.Genre: Historical fiction. Novels. Thrillers (Fiction)Geographic Term: New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction.Subject Term: Dancers -- Fiction. Physicians -- Fiction. Bombings -- Fiction. Nineteen fifties -- Fiction. Copies of the book will be available at the main library circulation desk.This group meet will now be meeting in person only in the fireplace room. Bring yourself, your discussion points, your crafting project or just to listen! All are welcome. Any questions? Contact Jill Kenny, [email protected]

Main Library - Fireplace Area

Morning Munchkin Storytime! (Formerly Dads & Donuts) Drop in for all ages

Children are invited to bring their favorite grownups to enjoy this special storytime! Munchkins, juice, and coffee will be provided.This event is generously sponsored by the Family Resource Network. The Family Resource Network is funded by the Coordinated Family andCo......More

Children are invited to bring their favorite grownups to enjoy this special storytime! Munchkins, juice, and coffee will be provided.This event is generously sponsored by the Family Resource Network. The Family Resource Network is funded by the Coordinated Family andCommunity Engagement Grant from the MA Department of Early Education and Care.It is managed by Community Teamwork.

McCarthy Meeting Room (Entire Room)

Genealogy: Irish SIG

For those interested in Irish Genealogy, please stop by for the monthly meeting of the Irish SIG group. Bring in your research to share or questions you have for others on how to approach genealogical research on your Irish ancestors.

Conference Room