Library Closed Saturday, November 11 for Veterans Day 

The library will reopen on Sunday 11/12 at its normal hours. Many of the library’s free digital resources are available from anywhere 24/7. Visit manchesterpl.org/resources and use your library card to access.

Help Us Plan the Next 30 Years

Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library is preparing a grant application for the next round of construction grant funding from the state. To apply for the grant, which is due next Spring, we are preparing a Library Building Program, a planning document which identifies what the community wants and needs from their library in the next few decades. To begin that process, we need lots of community feedback, so we are inviting community members, library users and non-users to participate and let us know what you think!

Please take our survey! Click here to take the survey online, on your own phone or device, or pick up a paper copy at the library.

Also, come to one of our public forums open to all:

November 15, 11am at Town Hall, room 5

November 15, 6pm at Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library

Friends of the Library Present an Evening with Judy Rakowsky:  

A Book Reading, Q&A, Book Signing and Refreshments 

When: Thursday November 9, 2023 at 6:00-8:30PM 

Where: First Congregational Parish Hall 

Come join us and enjoy a cheese and wine reception on Thursday November 9th for an evening with author Judy Rakowsky. Her recently published book, “Jews in the Garden - A Holocaust Survivor, the Fate of His Family, and the Secret History of Poland in WWII”, reads part memoir, part thriller. Come to hear her read and stay for a Q&A and get your signed copy. For more information email [email protected]   

From Darkness -- Color

Paintings by Allison Moir-Smith

Concussion Recovery Art

On Display From November 6 - December 4 during normal library hours.

“From Darkness -- Color" is a collection of acrylic paintings celebrating a return to life and learning after a prolonged concussion recovery.

In 2017, Allison fell and sustained a severe concussion. She struggled for years to find treatment for debilitating physical, cognitive and emotional symptoms. In 2020, a cognitive rehabilitation specialist suggested spending time with adult coloring books to calm her nervous system. This hastened her healing, and as she healed, she moved on to watercolors then acrylics.

What began as brain-injury recovery has grown into a robust daily painting practice and a full creative life of art classes and participation in the local art community -- a far cry from her painful homebound years.

The subjects in “From Darkness -- Color” are full of life — vibrant florals, fruits and vegetables, beloved landscapes, and loved ones doing what they love -- and reflect Allison's joy of living more fully again..

A concussion activist, public speaker, brain-injury art teacher, and facilitator of an online concussed moms support group, Allison lives in Manchester- by-the-Sea with her family. For more information, visit www.concussionrecoveryart.com and @concussion_recovery_art on Instagram.

Meet Allison Moir-Smith, the artist whose work is on display on Saturday, November 18 at 2:00-4:00PM. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.

Weekly Events