MPL: Beating the Heat

By Chilling at the Library

Rebecca Appelbaum
June 24, 2025

Hello friends, and welcome to the official start of summer! We’ve had a slow build up to this heat wave, but hopefully we’ve got a couple things going that’ll help cool you down!

Starting with the most obvious— us! The Millis Public Library is a cooling station (as are the senior center and the fire station, open 9am-3pm), and we’re open 10am-8pm, Monday through Friday, 10-3 on Saturdays. With as hot as it’s supposed to be this week, we have no doubts that the rest of summer is going to have the same repeating weather patterns and we want you to stay safe and hydrated. Stop by, grab a chair, and enjoy the sweet joy of air conditioning.

In the spirit of summer, we also want to let you know that July 4th is coming up fast, and that we at the library will be closed for Independence Day on that Friday, July 4th. We’ll still be open on Thursday, July 3rd and Saturday, July 5th, if you need anything, but feel free to stop in and grab any books, movies, or games you may like for the long weekend and your holiday road trips. And, if you do happen to miss us, check out our e-resources! They’re available from the comfort of wherever you are, so long as you have a little internet~

Which, honestly, we should introduce you to a couple of them! We’re pretty sure most of you know Libby and Hoopla, the portals for eBooks and eAudiobooks, but how many of you play with Freegal? Freegal is a digital music service, much like Spotify, with a twist: you get to download the music to keep. Get three hours of free streaming each day, and five song downloads per week, all with the power of your library card. Make your own playlists, or pick from theirs if you want a pre-built holiday jam to put on in the background of your get togethers. Start listening today.

If you missed the first session of our Improv Games, don’t worry! We’ve got more coming. Learn the amazing art of Improv comedy through games. Our next one will be on Tuesday, July 1st, but with two more sessions on July 8th and 22nd respectively. Each Game session will be at 4pm, and each will have it’s own unique experience— that’s the joy of improv after all! For kids entering 4th through 6th grade, register by clicking on the dates.

Summer’s here, and that means it’s time to beat the heat with Toddler Waterplay! Put on your bathing suit & sunscreen and join us for water tables, sprinklers and a kiddie pools every Wednesday morning (weather permitting) at 10am. Recommended for kids age 1-3, siblings welcome! No registration is required, but check the event calendar if you’re curious about a particular Wednesday— we’ll update the each event on the calendar if it’s been canceled.

We also want to update you on the Clicquot book club. For everyone who’s been looking to join a fun, lively book club during the day, this is your chance! If you love books and talking about them, but don’t necessarily want the rigidity of a traditional book club, this is it. Clicquot is a book club where you don’t have to read any of the books first; just pick the ones you think sound interesting once our leader gives a spoiler-free recap! You can also get first dibs at the books. No registration required, our next meeting will be Thursday, July 10th at 2pm, in the Local History Room!

And, if you’re a bit too young for a book club we’ve got a craft. The next instance of Creative corner will be on Thursday, July 10th at 4pm, and we’ve got room! Join us for a relaxing craft at the library aimed at students entering 1st-3rd grade, where each creative corner will feature a new activity. Registration required.

Last on our docket of immediate upcomings is the return of Color and Chill. Join us on Friday, July 11th for another night of ‘you’ time, fresh coloring sheets (on the good paper), and all the art supplies you need to get started! And if you’re picky about your art supplies (I get it, I am too), feel free to bring your own! We just want you to have a good time. The room will be open around 4:30pm with the snacks and music starting at 6:30pm. No registration required.

As always, there’s so much more that happens at the library than we can fit into any one newsletter. If you want to see it all, check out our event calendar! It’ll have everything we have planned, starting from the moment we’re ready to show it!

We hope something in here will sound like your cup of (iced tea/iced coffee—we are New England) and that we’ll see you soon!

Til then, take care and stay cool,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Librarians