Arts:

Yarn & Needle Club

Tuesday, September 9 & 23, 3PM | Meeting Room

If you like to knit, crochet, embroider, or sew, join the library to work on your project and socialize! Whether you’re new to yarn work or an experienced enthusiast or you’re a new English learner looking to practice your conversational skills this is the place for you.

Adult Writing Group

Thursday, September 4, 6:00 – 7:00 PM | AML Conference Room | Register

Writing Club is a free group for prose, poetry and non-fiction writers to come together, connect, share and create in a welcoming environment. Join the conversation, work on optional weekly prompts or use the time to work on an existing project that your passionate about. Feel free to join in person or on Zoom, all writing levels welcome!

Optional Prompt: Take a pre-existing piece of your writing, or write a new piece (1-3 pages), and then rewrite it in the style of your favorite author.

Meditation Series – Remaining Stable in Challenging Times

Monday, September 8, 15, 22, 29, & October 6, 6:00—7:00 PM | AML Meeting Room

Space is limited, sign up on the program page on our website.

This meditation series explores practical ways to remain centered and resilient. Discover how to create powerful layers of inner protection and experience a deep sense of stability from within.

Free event – Conducted by Brahma Kumaris Meditation Center, Watertown, MA

Flower Bookmarks

Flower Bookmarks @ AML | Wednesday, September 17, 6:00—7:00 PM | AML Meeting Room | Register

Flower Bookmarks @ West | Saturday, September 20, 11:00 AM—12:00 PM | West Acton Citizens’ Library | Register

Join us at the library for a relaxing and creative crafting session! We’ll be making beautiful flower bookmarks using glue, pressed flowers, and other natural elements. All supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring any small items you’d like to include—just keep in mind that the bookmarks are small, so tiny additions work best.

Whether you’re an experienced crafter or just looking to try something new, this is a great way to unwind and make something lovely to take home!

Sewing and Embroidery Club

Sewing and Embroidery Club @ West | Tuesday, September 30, 12:00—1:00 PM | West Acton Citizens’ Library | Register

Sewing and Embroidery Club @ AML | Tuesday, September 30, 5:30—6:30 PM | AML Meeting Room | Register

Join us each month for a cozy and creative evening at the library! The Sewing & Embroidery Club is a welcoming space for all skill levels to try their hand at fun, hands-on textile projects. Each session will feature a new sewing or embroidery activity, with all supplies provided—just bring your creativity and curiosity!

Whether you’re a seasoned stitcher or a complete beginner, come learn new techniques, share ideas, and enjoy crafting in community.

This month’s craft will be: Fabric Teabag Bookmarks

English At Large:

Beginning English Classes:

Sign up for a free Beginner English class at Acton Memorial Library! This 90-minute class for Complete Beginners meets twice a week from September to December. You will learn basic English speaking skills to talk about yourself, family, home, community, as well as time, money, shopping, and weather.

The class is free, but registration is required.

Sign up for information about the Acton class at the English At Large website. You will receive an email in September with the class schedule and registration form in September

Registration is required through English At Large, registration cannot be completed through the Library. Contact English At Large with any questions: Call 781-395-2374 or email info@englishatlarge.org

Beginner English Learners | Every Monday & Wednesday from September 15th to December 10th | AML Conference Room

Conversation Classes:

Our conversation groups are groups of 8-12 learners who meet weekly to practice their English speaking skills. Our groups provide an opportunity for learners to improve their speaking confidence and meet other adults who are learning English.

• All groups are free! There is no cost to attend our conversation groups.
• All adults who want to practice their English speaking skills are welcome at our groups.
• We recommend that you have an at least an intermediate English speaking level. If you can speak on the telephone without too much difficulty, your English speaking ability is likely at an intermediate level.
• Conversation groups are not English classes. Our trained volunteers focus mainly on listening and speaking, and less on reading and writing.

Topics usually covered in conversation groups include American culture and holidays, idioms, casual spoken English, and daily life situations (the bank, the post office, speaking with neighbors, etc.).

Registration is required through English At Large. Registration cannot be completed through the Library but rather through this registration link . For more information, please contact English At Large to register: Call 781-395-2374 or email. For more information, visit: English At Large

Conversation Class | Every Monday from September 22 to December 15 | AML Conference Room

Tech Classes:

Teaching Tech – Instagram

Teaching Tech @ AML | Tuesday, September 16, 4:30—5:30 PM | AML Meeting Room | Register

Teaching Tech @ West | Tuesday, September 23, 3:00—4:00 PM | West Acton Citizens’ Library | Register

Join us each month for Teaching Tech, a free, hands-on series where we explore a new technology topic in an approachable, beginner-friendly way. From apps to devices to digital tools, each session focuses on building your confidence and skills.

This month’s topic: Instagram!

Learn the basics of Instagram, including how to create an account, post photos and stories, follow others, and stay safe while using the platform.

No experience necessary—just bring your questions and curiosity!

Please bring your smartphone, tablet, or laptop if you have one. If you don’t have a laptop, one can be supplied for you.

Drop-in Tech Help:

Need help with common smartphone (iPhone or Android), tablet or laptop functions? Our Drop-in tech appointments offer patrons an opportunity to bring in their mobile devices and have a librarian assist them with questions related to using library apps or related services. These events offer 1:1 tech assistance so please bring your device and any questions you might have!

• Senior Center: Drop-in sessions take place on the second Thursday of the month between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. Only for members of the Senior Center. Sign up for a 15min slot with the Senior Center.
• West Acton Citizens’ Library: Sign up for a 15-minute 1:1 tech help session. Please bring your device and any questions you might have. Registration is required!
  • 1:30pm Slot
  • 1:45pm Slot
  • 2:00pm Slot
  • 2:15pm Slot 

Lectures:

Gallery Artist Series – Ancient Light Photographing: Nebulae & Galaxies

Wednesday, September 9, 5:30—6:30 PM | AML Meeting Room | Register

Award-winning astrophotographer Marsha Wilcox will talk with us about photographing things that are unseen with the naked eye.There is art in the science, and science in the art.

Marsha Wilcox’s work will be displayed in the Acton Memorial Library Meeting Room from September to October. 

Teaching Tech – Instagram

Teaching Tech @ AML | Tuesday, September 16, 4:30—5:30 PM | AML Meeting Room | Register

Teaching Tech @ West | Tuesday, September 23, 3:00—4:00 PM | AML Meeting Room | Register

Join us each month for Teaching Tech, a free, hands-on series where we explore a new technology topic in an approachable, beginner-friendly way. From apps to devices to digital tools, each session focuses on building your confidence and skills.

This month’s topic: Instagram!

Learn the basics of Instagram, including how to create an account, post photos and stories, follow others, and stay safe while using the platform.

No experience necessary—just bring your questions and curiosity!

Please bring your smartphone, tablet, or laptop if you have one. If you don’t have a laptop, one can be supplied for you.

Learn more about Beekeeping with John Hedly!

Thursday, September 18, 6:00—7:00 PM | AML Meeting Room | Register

John Hedly has been a beekeeper for 17 years. He is the former librarian for the Worcester County Beekeepers Association and a two-term member of the WCBA Board of Directors. In 2024, he was voted Beekeeper of the Year by the WCBA. Come to learn more about bee keeping and a honeybee colony!

Great Decisions Group Discussion – International Climate Cooperation in an Era of Geopolitical Turmoil

Wednesday, September 24, 6:30—8:00 PM | AML Meeting Room

Great Decisions is America’s largest discussion program on world affairs. The program model involves reading the Great Decisions Briefing Book and meeting in a Discussion Group to discuss the most critical global issues facing America today. This months topic will be on Artificial Intelligence. A short article is available from the Great Decisions briefing book. Please read it ahead of the meeting. It is available in the library.

Book Discussion Group:

Check out future month’s books for all groups on the “Book Groups” page on our website: https://www.actonmemoriallibrary.org/kids-teens-and-adults/just-for-adults/book-groups/

Acton Memorial Library Book Discussion Group

Tuesday, September 16, 6:30 – 7:45 PM | AML Conference Room

The AML Book Group meets at 6:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month. All are welcome. Copies of the books will be available at the circulation desk.

This month’s book is: Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro

West Acton Citizens’ Library Book Discussion Group

Wednesday, August 13, 3:30—4:30 PM | West Acton Citizens’ Library

Join your fellow community members at the West Acton Citizens’ Library for a lively book discussion led by our Librarians. Limited copies of the book in multiple formats will be available at the West Acton branch. First come, first serve. All are welcome!

This months book is: Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery

Cookbook Club:

Cookbook Club @ West

Thursday, September 11th, 12:00-1:00pm | West Acton Citizens’ Library | Register

Cookbook Club @ AML

Thursday, September 11th, 6:00-7:00pm | AML Meeting Room | Register

Join us each month for a deliciously fun and free event! In our Cookbook Club, we’ll explore a different cookbook together—then meet to share and enjoy dishes we’ve each prepared from that month’s selection. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just starting out, it’s a great way to try new recipes, swap tips, and connect with fellow food lovers. Cookbooks will be available to check out at both library locations. First come, first serve. 

Bring a dish from the cookbook to share—and come hungry!

This month’s book is: The Blue Zones kitchen: 100 recipes to live to 100 by Dan Buettner

Big Events:

Sign up for Library Card Sign Up Month Bingo!

All Month & All Ages | West Acton Citizens’ Library & Acton Memorial Library

Sign up to play.

To celebrate September as Library Card Sign-Up Month, there will be a month-long bingo contest held at both libraries for ALL AGES! Pick up a bingo sheet at either library location for a chance to win passes to Monsterbash at NARA or trinkets from Wish Boutique!

How to Play:

Earn tickets by getting a library card between September 1–30, getting bingo, and completing the entire bingo card. The last day to submit tickets is September 30 and winners will be announced on October 1!

Fix It Clinic

Saturday, September 13, 10:00 AM—1:00 PM | AML Meeting Room

Register your item here: https://tinyurl.com/4npjy9m7

Join the folks from Fixit Clinic to learn and (with luck) repair! We provide the space, tools, and expert coaches to help you tinker, troubleshoot, and perhaps fix your small appliances, toys, devices, clothing, electronics, or other items.

Concerts:

Winter Concert Series To Be Announced…

Virtual Events:

Virtual – Author Heather Wolf Discusses: The Colors of Birds – Beauty and/or Evolutionary Advantage?

Monday, September 8, 7:00—8:00 PM | Zoom

Register for the Zoom link here.

Join Heather Wolf, one of our very favorite speakers and author of “Find More Birds: 111 Surprising Ways to Spot Birds Wherever You Are” and “Birding at the Bridge: In Search of Every Bird on the Brooklyn Waterfront”, as she shares her beautiful images of colorful birds – just in time for the Fall colors! We’ll discuss the birds, their colors, the purpose of their colorful feathers, as well as any evolutionary advantages they may have because of their coats. We hope you can join us for another great discussion!

This program is in partner with the Ashland Public Library

Virtual – Democracy Talks: Your Brain on ChatGPT

Wednesday, September 17, 7:00—8:00 PM | Zoom

Register for the webinar link here

Does using ChatGPT and AI have a cost on our brain cognition? A new study from MIT found the answer could be yes. Hear from lead researcher and professor Dr. Nataliya Kosmyna of MIT Media Lab about this groundbreaking study and its implications.

This program is in partner with the Watertown Free Public Library 

Virtual – Cooking Demo with Heidi McIndoo: Sloppy Joes and Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Monday, September 22, 7:00—8:00 PM | Zoom

Sign up for the Zoom link here.

Just in time for the Fall, comfort food for the soul! Learn how to make Sloppy Joes and Deep Dish Cookie Pies with our favorite chef, Heidi McIndoo! And, with yummy, nutritious food like this, there’s no guilt in having dessert first!

This program is in partner with the Ashland Public Library

Virtual – Who REALLY Wrote Shakespeare? with Author and Historian David Kruh

Monday, September 29, 7:00—8:00 PM | Zoom

Register for the Zoom link here.

Who Really Wrote Shakespeare? Hear the story of one man’s search for the “real” author of the works attributed to William Shakespeare and how – in a stunning piece of historical irony – that search played a role in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.   

This program is in partner with the Ashland Public Library

Programs at West Acton Citizens’ Library:

Sign up for Library Card Sign Up Month Bingo!

All Month & All Ages | West Acton Citizens’ Library & Acton Memorial Library | Register

To celebrate September as Library Card Sign-Up Month, there will be a month-long bingo contest held at both libraries for ALL AGES! Pick up a bingo sheet at either library location for a chance to win four passes to Nightmare at Nara or trinkets from Wish Boutique!

How to Play:

Earn tickets by getting a library card between September 1–30, getting bingo, and completing the entire bingo card. The last day to submit tickets is September 30 and winners will be announced on October 1!

Tech Help at West Acton Citizens’ Library

Wednesday, September 10, 1:30—2:30 PM | West Acton Citizens’ Library

Sign up for a 15-minute 1:1 tech help session.

Please bring your device and any questions you might have!

Registration is required!

1:30pm Slot

1:45pm Slot

2:00pm Slot

2:15pm Slot 

West Acton Citizens’ Library Book Discussion Group

Wednesday, August 13, 3:30—4:30 PM | West Acton Citizens’ Library

Join your fellow community members at the West Acton Citizens’ Library for a lively book discussion led by our Librarians. Limited copies of the book in multiple formats will be available at the West Acton branch. First come, first serve. All are welcome!

This months book is: Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery

Cookbook Club @ AML

Thursday, September 11th, 6:00-7:00pm | AML Meeting Room | Register

Join us each month for a deliciously fun and free event! In our Cookbook Club, we’ll explore a different cookbook together—then meet to share and enjoy dishes we’ve each prepared from that month’s selection. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just starting out, it’s a great way to try new recipes, swap tips, and connect with fellow food lovers. Cookbooks will be available to check out at both library locations. First come, first serve. 

Bring a dish from the cookbook to share—and come hungry!

This month’s book is: The Blue Zones kitchen: 100 recipes to live to 100 by Dan Buettner

Teaching Tech @ West – Instagram

Tuesday, September 23, 3:00—4:00 PM | AML Meeting Room | Register

Join us each month for Teaching Tech, a free, hands-on series where we explore a new technology topic in an approachable, beginner-friendly way. From apps to devices to digital tools, each session focuses on building your confidence and skills.

This month’s topic: Instagram!

Learn the basics of Instagram, including how to create an account, post photos and stories, follow others, and stay safe while using the platform.

No experience necessary—just bring your questions and curiosity!

Please bring your smartphone, tablet, or laptop if you have one. If you don’t have a laptop, one can be supplied for you.

Flower Bookmarks @ West

Saturday, September 20, 11:00 AM—12:00 PM | West Acton Citizens’ Library | Register

Join us at the library for a relaxing and creative crafting session! We’ll be making beautiful flower bookmarks using glue, pressed flowers, and other natural elements. All supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring any small items you’d like to include—just keep in mind that the bookmarks are small, so tiny additions work best.

Whether you’re an experienced crafter or just looking to try something new, this is a great way to unwind and make something lovely to take home!

Sewing and Embroidery Club @ West

Tuesday, September 30, 12:00—1:00 PM | West Acton Citizens’ Library | Register

Join us each month for a cozy and creative evening at the library! The Sewing & Embroidery Club is a welcoming space for all skill levels to try their hand at fun, hands-on textile projects. Each session will feature a new sewing or embroidery activity, with all supplies provided—just bring your creativity and curiosity!

Whether you’re a seasoned stitcher or a complete beginner, come learn new techniques, share ideas, and enjoy crafting in community.

This month’s craft will be: TBD