Library News
May’s Note From the Director
Hello Manchester-by-the-Sea,
It’s May which means it’s time for Manchester Reads!
“An adventure about friendship and community” …that is a brief description of Elaine Dimopoulos’ early middle-grade novel, The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow, a 2024 Mass Book Awards Honor title. Why, you may ask, has the library chosen a children’s book as the next Manchester Reads 2025 title? In these tumultuous, divisive times, the library strives to be the space where our community can come together, meet their neighbors, share ideas, and connect. Dimopoulos’ title touches on the courage it takes to reach out to those you may not yet know. It’s a story that highlights the importance of storytelling and appreciating different voices.
And so, we hope you will join us in reading the book, by yourself or as a family, and then join us for a visit from the author on May 1! Through the generous support of the Mass Book Awards Speakers Bureau, Elaine Dimopoulos will be visiting Manchester Public Library on May 1. All ages are invited to this wonderful conversation where audience questions will be encouraged, and free copies of the book will be given out while supplies last.
We’ll be exploring the themes of storytelling, finding community and combatting loneliness throughout the month of May with plenty of events and suggested titles for further reading and discovery. A screening of the documentary Join or Die by Robert Putnam takes place on May 14 with a discussion to follow. Storyteller Judith Black will be featured at the Annual Friends of the Library meeting on May 20, and we hope you will share your story (and get your Moth on!) at our Story Slam on May 27.
In addition to these special programs, there will be plenty of book group meetings, story times and role-playing game opportunities this month, so we hope you’ll give one of these events a try and perhaps meet a new friend at the library!
Meet you at the library!