MPL: Jumping January

Kick-starting the New Year at the Library

Rebecca Appelbaum
January 09, 2025

Happy new year, everyone! We hope 2025 has been treating you kindly so far and you had an exceptional holiday. We decided to start the new year off strong, and we’ve got so much coming up to tell you about!

First thing’s first! The Millis Public Library will be closing for a couple hours next Tuesday, January 14th for a staff strategic planning session from 1-3:30pm. We apologize for any inconvenience, and welcome you to visit us before or after so we can try to make our library even better for our community!

We’ve also got Martin Luther King jr. Day coming up so much sooner than we expected! The Millis Public Library will be closed on Monday, January 20th in honor of the holiday, but stop in beforehand to pick up anything you think you may need for the long weekend! And if you miss us, our e-resources are still yours for the perusal and use! Check them out anytime and anywhere you like!

We’re officially in January, and a Novel Occasion is right around the corner. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s one of the fundraisers the Friends of the Library do to support us, and it’s massive. The event is a virtual live experience where you can meet bestselling authors from the comfort of your own home. The Friends have gathered 10 authors for this year’s lineup, and you get to pick your top two to listen to, ask questions of, and spend time with in an intimate roundtable session! Between roundtables, you’ll listen to the other authors talk about their books, a learn bit of their processes, and have the chance to win prizes. In addition, if you buy a ticket, you’ll get a swag box with the book of your top pick author and a number of other goodies~

If you love books, any of the authors (listed here), cool get-togethers to go to with your friends, or just want to support the library while listening to some amazing authors talk, mark your calendars and buy your tickets here. We’ll look forward to seeing you online on Saturday, January 25th!

As a welcome for the new year, we’d like to invite you to join us for Color and Chill. Pop down to the library on Friday, January 10th for at least an hour of coloring to relax and unwind from your busy week. Snacks and music start at 6:30pm, but the room will be set starting at 4pm so take as much time as you’d like. Coloring has been proven to help reduce stress, so grab some ‘you’ time and distract yourself with a variety of intricate pages waiting for you with soothing music and snacks.

No registration necessary and everything you'll need will be provided - just bring yourself!

Looking for something to get your heart pumping and blood racing?

Starting on Monday, January 13th at 6:30pm, a new book club will be starting that promises to do just that! Come down to meet fellow enthusiasts of the dark and exciting worlds we’ll be exploring in the Horror and Thriller Book Club! Bring friends, suggestions for novels or authors, and get ready for a chillingly good time!

This first meeting will be an opportunity to share what you have read/want to read in the genres and for us to get to know each other – no reading required. Copies of the book for the February meeting will be available at this meeting.

Are you ready? It's almost time to duke it out during our monthly Board Game night (for Adults!) on Thursday, January 16th at 6pm. Get ready to face rivals, friends, and maybe let them switch places as you settle in for this month's featured game. Whether there's an individual winner or there's a cooperative effort, the only thing guaranteed is a good time!

We welcome gamers of all levels, so whether you want to try something new or join a group, there's a place for you. Feel free to bring in your favorite game to teach as well! Please register so we get a sense of how many games we will need.

Have you heard about microgreens, but aren’t sure what all the fuss is about? Wondering how to scratch your gardening itch without going outside? Want an easy way to add more nutrients to your diet? Join us for Adventures in Microgreens on Tuesday, January 21st at 6pm for an informative and hands-on class with gardener and teacher Judith Taylor that will explore the benefits of growing and eating microgreens.

Attendees will get step-by-step instructions on how to grow microgreens, and create their own microgarden to take home! Register here to join us whether you’re new to gardening or a vegetable-growing veteran or check out the Seeds2Plate’s website for more information.

We also want to invite you to join us for the very first Teen Anime Night of 2025! On Friday, January 24th we'll be watching the first three episodes of “This Art Club has a Problem!”. Starting at 6pm, bring your friends (we’ll get the snacks) and prepare to laugh at this slice-of-life comedy.

For grades 6 to 8, no registration required.

An ordinary arts club at an ordinary middle school, Tsukimori Middle School. One member, Uchimaki Subaru, wastes his abundant talent trying to draw his perfect 2D waifu. Another, Usami Mizuki, can't stop thinking about the loser that is Uchimaki-kun. Then there is the club president, who, despite being asleep all the time, seems to care for the two, and another vague, sketchy member, Colette. Today, yet again, in this art club full of mild disappointments, a problem arises.

Finally (for this letter), we’ve got something from our Library Legends series: the programs for teens, by teens. Join us after school on Tuesday, January 28th for a lively Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament for Middle School. The winner will receive a $15 Dunkin' Gift Card (and bragging rights). No registration necessary, the tournament will start at 2:30pm!

As always, there’s so much going on that won’t fit into the newsletter, so check out a full list of our programs on our event calendar. Until next time, take care of yourselves, and we’ll see you in the library!