A Look at Bellingham Public Library News & Activities in July

Please check the alert on the library website, www.bellinghamlibrary.org, for the most up-to-date information about the status of library services, since details may have changed. 

As of the date of this submission (June 15), the library is still closed to the public and we are still not accepting returns because statewide delivery has not yet resumed. We will announce the date that we’ll begin accepting returns as soon as we know.

Curbside Pickup

On June 1st, the library began our first foray into resuming traditional library services to patrons by offering a curbside pickup service. Patrons who wish to access library materials that are currently in the Bellingham Library can request materials in one of three ways:

• Through your library account online at www.bark.cwmars.org (holds placed online may be processed first),

• Through a form on our website,

• By telephone (508-966-1660) during the hours noted below.

Hold requests will generally be processed in the order in which they are received. Please keep in mind that the status of library materials is in flux and we may or may not be able to fulfill your request. We also cannot guarantee any date/time in which they will be ready, although we have been filling most available requests by the next business day.

You will be notified by email or phone when requests we were able to fill are ready for pickup, and details on the pickup procedure will be provided.  

Curbside Pickup Hours and Phone Hours:

The Library Reopening Subcommittee continues to work on our phased reopening plan. The plan has 4 phases with no specific timelines; we are currently in Phase 1, which is curbside pickup. Each new phase of the plan will be reviewed by the Bellingham Board of Health to ensure that we meet our safety goals. Please contact us if you need assistance:

• Call us at 508-966-1660 (staff will be available to answer calls during the hours noted above) or

• Email us at [email protected].

As of Bulletin deadline, the book drop remains closed, and we are asking you to keep all library materials until we announce that we are ready to accept returns. There will be no fines on materials checked out during this time.

Don’t have a library card?  Call 508-966-1660 or email us at [email protected], and we’ll get you a virtual card so that you can use our electronic resources while we are closed to the public.

We ask that you please do not drop off book donations at the library while we are closed.

In June we continued to offer some remote events through the Zoom platform and will be using it for the foreseeable future as our way to reach out to the community. Check the library calendar for upcoming events and to register. 

Summer Reading Program

Sign up for summer reading at https://bellinghamma.beanstack.org/reader365. You can sign up any time, but you cannot start logging your reading until June 29. Between June 29th and August 18th there will be a daily drawing to win a gift card to a local business, so make sure to log your reading every day.

The library has purchased some books to support the Bellingham Public School summer reading assignments. As of this submission, statewide delivery has not resumed, so our access to titles from other libraries is limited. We encourage people to place holds on the summer reading titles early as demand might exceed our capacity.  The lists are available on the school websites.

Special Programs (via Zoom)

• Monday, June 29, 7-7:30 PM — Summer Reading Kick Off! — Jungle Jim’s Wild About Balloons Magic Show
• Friday, July 3rd, at 8 PM — Independence Day Party
• Wednesday, July 8th, at 9:30 AM — Act!vated Story Theater
• Monday, July 13th, 5–6:30 PM — Reading with Daisy on Zoom
• Tuesday, July 14th, at 4 PM — Where’s Waldo? Scavenger Hunt
• Wednesday, July 15th, at 4:30 PM — Bookventures on Zoom
• Thursday, July 16th, at 10 AM — Princess Visit: Aurora on Zoom
• Tuesdays, July 21st and July 28th, at 6 PM — Sciencetellers: Dragons, Jr.
• Friday, July 24th at 6:30 PM — Virtual Family Cooking Class on Zoom
• Wednesday, July 29th at 9:30 AM — Jester Puppets
• Friday, July 31st at 8 AM — Harry Potter Birthday Party

Recurring Programs (via Zoom)

• Mondays at 9 am — ABCs with Mr. Steve
• Mondays at 12 noon — Ravenous Readers (no session on 7/27)
• Tuesdays at 9:30 am — The Zoo and You Story Time (no session on 7/28)
• Tuesdays at 12 pm — Ravenous Readers (no session on 7/28)
• Wednesdays at 12:30 pm — Picnic Stories—may be at the Common or on Zoom; check calendar for details (no session on 7/29)
• Wednesdays at 1:30 pm- Krafty Kids
• Thursdays at 10 am — Fairy Tales & Stories (no session on 7/16)
• Thursdays at 1 pm — STEAM Time

Adult Programs

• Monday, July 6th at 6:30 PM — Virtual Book Discussion Group on Zoom
• Monday, July 20th at 7 PM — Story of the French Neutrals, a Zoom Presentation of the Bellingham Historical Commission and the Bellingham Library.

We continue to offer remote services while the library building is closed to the public.  Click on the Online Resources link on our website for access to Digital music from Freegal® Music; free online classes from UniversalClass; ebooks and audio books from OverDrive; popular magazines from RB Digital; online tutorials from Niche Academy; genealogical research from Ancestry.com; and language learning from Mango Languages.

If you need assistance using any of these resources, please call or email us!

History Book Now Available

 The commemorative book, Bellingham Now and Then: Celebrating the 300th Anniversary of Bellingham, MA, is now available. 

To be included in the next batch of orders, you may either order online or mail a check to the library.

To place an order online, visit www.BellFOL.org.

To order by mail, send a check for $19.95 (+$3 if you would like it mailed directly to you) payable to Friends of Bellingham Library, Bellingham Library, 100 Blackstone Street, Bellingham MA 02019.