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

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)

VIRTUAL: 50 Job Seekers Networking Group -- Marketing Plan ("Plan Your Work & Work Your Plan")

The Library 50 Job Seekers Networking Group meets via Zoom on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, from 9:30am to 11:30am. Informal networking takes place from 9am to 9:30am and 11:30am to noon. If you are unemployed and actively looking, underemployed, seeking a n......More

The Library 50 Job Seekers Networking Group meets via Zoom on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, from 9:30am to 11:30am. Informal networking takes place from 9am to 9:30am and 11:30am to noon. If you are unemployed and actively looking, underemployed, seeking a new career direction, re-entering the job market after a long employment gap, or recently retired and looking for your "Encore Career," this networking group program is perfect for you! Remember, 85% of jobs are found through networking!Join us in a professional forum for networking with peers in a safe and comfortable environment conducive to developing new relationships and developing skills and strategies to help in your career transition. Each meeting features a new topic. Meetings include a presentation and interactive workshop on topics relevant to career transition, guest speakers, access to hiring managers, small group breakout rooms to network, and 1-on-1 coaching guidance. Participating on a regular basis will give job seekers the many tools and strategies needed for a successful job search.Each biweekly meeting is facilitated by Deborah Hope, MBA, PCIC, an experienced executive career coach. Deborah is a former Fortune 500 executive, investment banker and entrepreneur. She transitioned to executive coaching over 12 years ago. Deborah has coached with Harvard Business School Executive Education programs and the Massachusetts Conference for Women. She has been trained or certified in a variety of coaching models and assessment tools. Deborah has facilitated 50 job seekers networking groups since 2016. This week's topic (December 17) is Marketing Plan. Register directly on Zoom HERE. This group is sponsored by approximately 50 Massachusetts public libraries.RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program

Online - Partner Organization

Wednesday Morning Book Group

The Wednesday Morning Book Group reads and discusses a wide-selection of fiction, genre-fiction, and nonfiction. Our group is always looking for new members. You can choose to come to the library to meet in-person or meet via Zoom. To receive the link to join via Zoom, ......More

The Wednesday Morning Book Group reads and discusses a wide-selection of fiction, genre-fiction, and nonfiction. Our group is always looking for new members. You can choose to come to the library to meet in-person or meet via Zoom. To receive the link to join via Zoom, please register or email [email protected], and I will add you to the group's email list.This month, the group will read and discuss The Book of Joy, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Copies of the book are available at the Main Library circulation desk, or electronically via Overdrive's Libby app.

Conference Room

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