Current Library Services as of January 10, 2022

Due to staff shortages caused by the COVID surge, Abbot Public Library has established new service hours. Starting the week of January 10, 2022 we will close to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of February. Curbside Pick Up will be offered 1:00 pm – 5:30 pm on both days. Please see our full schedule below:

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Monday: 9:30 am – 8:00 pm
Wednesday: 9:30 am – 8:00 pm
Friday: 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday: 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm from January 23 – March 13

Per the Marblehead Board of Health, masks are required inside the library. 

CURBSIDE PICKUP SERVICE
The building will be CLOSED to the public

Tuesday*: 1:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Thursday*: 1:00 pm – 5:30 pm

*Please Note: Staff will be available to take calls on Tuesdays from 9:30 am – 6:00 pm and Thursdays from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm.

To register for Curbside Pick-up service, call the library at (781) 631-1481, Ext. 217 or 237 for children’s items, or Ext. 201 or 223 for teen or adult items, or go here and click on an available date and time to pick up your items. All items can be picked up outside the back door, through the rear parking lot off Maverick Street in bags labeled with your last name.

Please wait until you have received a notification that your items are ready for pick up before registering for an appointment. Have questions? Call the library at (781) 631-1481 for assistance.

This service is generously funded by the Friends of Abbot Library.

Please see our website and Facebook for changes to the programs previously scheduled for these days.

* * *

Sign up for the Constant Contact newsletter here.

Did you know BookPage is available through the library? Stop by during our open hours to pick up a print copy or view it online here!

---

FIRESIDE SUNDAYS 

Warm Up at the Library on Sundays

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm from January 23rd to March 13th, 2022.

Our popular afternoon fireside reading program returns from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Sponsored by the Friends of Abbot Public Library.

---

MUSEUM PASSES

• Boston Children’s Museum
• The House of the Seven Gables
• The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
• Museum of Fine Arts
• Museum of Science
• New England Aquarium
• Peabody Essex Museum
• Zoo New England

The Abbot Public Library is proud to announce the return of our beloved Museum Pass Program. Patrons can log on here to reserve passes and promo codes for some of the best museums in the Greater Boston area. Thanks to the generous support of the Friends of Abbot Public Library, we are able to offer passes and promo codes to:

Patrons without access to the internet can reserve a pass/promo code right at the circulation desk or by calling (781) 631-1481, though some passes may require an email address in order to be used. 

Advertisement

APL Service Updates Beginning 9/8/21: Open Monday Through Saturday, New Grab and Go Service, And More!

Abbot Public Library will be opening on Wednesdays from 9:30 am – 5:30 pm beginning on Wednesday, September 8. A Grab & Go Service will replace the current Curbside Pick-up Service on Wednesdays. All items can be picked up inside the library in bags labeled with your last name. Adult and Teen items will be located in the foyer of the front entrance of the library. Children’s items will be located at the entrance of the Children’s Room.

To register, click on an available date and time here or call  (781) 631-1481 to pick up your items.

Public computers are available with limited access to printing.

*Please note: You must receive a notification that your items are ready to pick up before registering for an appointment.

Have questions? Call the library at (781) 631-1481 Monday-Friday from 9:30 am – 5:30 pm and Saturday 9:30 am – 4:30 pm for assistance.

Click on a date and time in the calendar here to register for Curbside Pickup of your library items on September 1 or Grab and Go on September 8.

Please see our full schedule below:

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Monday through Friday: 9:30 am – 5:30 pm

Saturday: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Public computers are available with limited access to printing.

NEW GRAB & GO SERVICE

Wednesday: 9:30 am – 5:30 pm

The building is Open to the public. If you would like to pick up your pre-checked out items, please make a reservation here, click the button below, or call (781)-631-1481, Ext. 217 or 237 for children’s items and Ext. 201 or 223 for teen or adult items. Adult and Teen items will be located in the foyer of the front entrance of the library. Children’s items will be located at the entrance of the Children’s Room.

Please wait until you have received a notification that your items are ready for pick up before registering for an appointment.

Please note: Masks are optional. However, we encourage and support the wearing of masks by those who have not been vaccinated or who would prefer to continue to do so.

With thanks to the Friends of Abbot Public Library, we are happy to announce that our popular Museum Pass Program resumes in the Fall. Please check our website for details.

Follow us on Facebook or visit our website to stay updated on our services.

Browsing By Appointment Coming in April!

Abbot Public Library is pleased to announce the expansion of our services to include an additional way for patrons to select and borrow tangible materials. Based on the results of our Library Services Survey, we will be offering limited browsing, by appointment, one day per week, while continuing to provide our very popular Curbside Pickup Service, five days per week.

Our hours for Curbside Pickup and the Browsing By Appointment Services will be as follows, starting the week of April 8th:

Curbside Pickup Service

Monday: 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Tuesday: 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Wednesday: 10:00 am – Noon & 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Friday: 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Saturday: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm & 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm 

Browsing By Appointment Service

Thursday: 10:00 am – 12:30 pm & 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Appointments will be ½ hour long with ½ hour between appointments for sanitizing and cleaning. 

Registration for browsing appointments will be open on Thursday, April 1st. The first appointment date will be Thursday, April 8th. Appointments will be a half hour long, and browsers will be required to wear masks (patron-provided) and gloves (library-provided). Browsing will be limited to designated areas where new and recent additions to all categories of the Library’s collections will be gathered.

Appointments will be specific to the department you would like to browse – either Children’s/Teen, or Adult. If you would like to browse multiple areas, you will need to make separate appointments for each space.

To browse the adult sections on the Main Level, please register for an Adult appointment by calling the Main Desk at 781-631-1481, Ext. 201 or 223 or emailing mar@noblenet.org. 

To register for an appointment in the Children’s Room AND/OR the Teen Room on the Lower Level, please call the Children’s Room at 781-631-1481, Ext. 217 or 237, or email the Children’s Department at marchild@noblenet.org or the Teen Department at marteen@noblenet.org. 

Adhering to social distancing space requirements, we are able to accommodate up to four adults on the main level, and an additional four total patrons – children, teen, or adult – on the lower level in the Children’s Room and/or the Teen Room, per half-hour appointment. 

Please watch for further details of our expanded services by following us on Facebook, or by visiting our website or here on our blog.

Thank you for your patience and your continued support, as we navigate through these unprecedented times!

Check Out Our Lineup of Virtual Programs for October 2020!

In case you missed it on the Abbot Public Library’s website or Facebook page, our October 2020 calendar of virtual events has been revealed! This month, you can look forward to the continuation of many of our regular events, including the monthly Poetry Salon (this month featuring Major Jackson) and Story Time Yoga with Lindsey Kravitz; the weekly Songs with Spencer and Story Time A-Go-Go (see the latest video of each below); and the bi-monthly Music with Dara!

In October, you can also look forward to the return of the Teen Advisory Group, for teens in grades 7-12, which will continue on Discord! Teens will need their own library card to register for this program through our online registration service. If you do not have a library card in your name, email the Teen Librarian at marteen@noblenet.org or call her at 781-631-1481, Ext. 218 to find out how to get one. On the afternoon of Monday, October 19th, you’ll also be able to hear the Teen Librarian give reading suggestions on YouTube for ya books to enjoy this fall!

We’ll also be working with the Swampscott Public Library and JCCNS to bring Medicare 101, presented by Scott Maibor, to Zoom! This free program will help those turning 65 to better understand the Medicare system.

All the programs are free, so please join us! Read more details about them on our website, where you will find the PDF version of the print calendar we will have available in the Curbside Pickup area.

Our Favorite YA Vampire Stories

We gave you dragons and fairies and mermaids, but as we get closer to Spooky season we’re going a bit more paranormal and less mythological. And with the new release of Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, which revisits her original novel from 2005 from a different perspective, we decided to deep dive into tales of vampires. This list includes some of our favorite vampire stories, two of which are still on order! Physical copies can be reserved for Curbside Pickup – please see our instructions. 

*All book descriptions are from the publisher.

The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans is a safe haven after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent in the middle of the carnival season, Celine is quickly enraptured by the vibrant city, from its music to its fancy soirées and even its danger. She becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s enigmatic leader, Sébastien Saint Germain.

When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in Sébastien’s own lair—the second dead girl to turn up in recent weeks—Celine battles her attraction to Sébastien and suspicions about his guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.

After a third murder, New Orleans becomes gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one who has now set Celine in his sights. As the murderer stalks her, Celine finally takes matters into her own hands, only to find herself caught in the midst of an age-old feud between the darkest creatures of the night, where the price of forbidden love is her life.

Accessible as an Overdrive ebook/audiobook and physical book. 

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (The original novel which inspired this post.)

Isabella Swan’s move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn.

Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife — between desire and danger.

Accessible as an Overdrive ebook/audiobook and physical book/audiobook.

Crave by Tracy Wolff

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

Accessible as an Overdrive ebook and hoopla audiobook. 

Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With a Fresh Bite edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker

In this delicious new collection, you’ll find stories about lurking vampires of social media, rebellious vampires hungry for more than just blood, eager vampires coming out―and going out for their first kill―and other bold, breathtaking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night.

Welcome to the evolution of the vampire―and a revolution on the page.

Vampires Never Get Old includes stories by authors both bestselling and acclaimed, including Samira Ahmed, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Julie Murphy, Mark Oshiro, Rebecca Roanhorse, Laura Ruby, Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, and Kayla Whaley. 

Accessible as a physical book. 

The Fell of Dark by Caleb Roehrig

The only thing August Pfeiffer hates more than algebra is living in a vampire town. Located at a nexus of mystical energy fields, Fulton Heights is practically an electromagnet for supernatural drama. And when a mysterious (and annoyingly hot) vampire boy arrives with a cryptic warning, Auggie suddenly finds himself at the center of it. An ancient and terrible power is returning to the earthly realm, and somehow Auggie seems to be the only one who can stop it.

Accessible as a physical book.

Fun YA Themed Quizzes from the Interwebs

Internet quizzes are great. You can spend hours down the rabbit hole of figuring out what kind of soup you are or if you can guess which Disney movie a close-up photo was taken from. Completing these quizzes can be mindless fun that doesn’t require a lot of stress, and while stuck at home sometimes that is exactly what is needed. We especially appreciate when internet quizzes include books where you are able to test your knowledge and try to guess the answer before you finish. 

So, if you are looking for a fun way to pass the time while you are stuck at home, here are a few YA themed quizzes. 

Can You Remember Which YA Books These Quotes Came From? from Epic Reads

Which YA Series Do You Belong In? from Bookstr

Which Boy from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Fits Your Personality? from Book Riot

You can read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han on Overdrive or through the Libby app! 

Can You Guess the YA Novel from its First Sentence? by SparkNotes 

And the amazing quizzes from the Wizarding World are always fun.

Don’t forget – you can access teen books on Overdrive/Libby and hoopla!

YA Books About Mental Health

May is Mental Health Month, and even as 1 in 5 people will experience a mental illness during their lifetime, everyone will face a challenge with their mental health at some point. It could even be now, as we all cope with the stress and worry that comes from the COVID-19 pandemic. The YA stories listed below feature characters and conversations surrounding mental health, and through them we can begin to identify and recognize the mental health challenges that everyone faces. We may even find our own stories reflected in their pages. 

*All descriptions are from the publishers.

(Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health by Kelly Jensen

What does it mean to be crazy? Is using the word “crazy” offensive? What happens when a label like that gets attached to your everyday experiences?

To understand mental health, we need to talk openly about it. Because there’s no single definition of crazy, there’s no single experience that embodies it, and the word itself means different things—wild? extreme? disturbed? passionate?—to different people.

In (Don’t) Call Me Crazy, thirty-three actors, athletes, writers, and artists offer essays, lists, comics, and illustrations that explore a wide range of topics: their personal experiences with mental illness; how we do and don’t talk about mental health; help for better understanding how every person’s brain is wired differently; and what, exactly, might make someone crazy. If you’ve ever struggled with your mental health, or know someone who has, come on in, turn the pages… and let’s get talking.

Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan

Jubilee has it all together. She’s an elite cellist, and when she’s not working in her stepmom’s indie comic shop, she’s prepping for the biggest audition of her life.

Ridley is barely holding it together. His parents own the biggest comic-store chain in the country, and Ridley can’t stop disappointing them—that is, when they’re even paying attention.

They meet one fateful night at a comic convention prom, and the two can’t help falling for each other. Too bad their parents are at each other’s throats every chance they get, making a relationship between them nearly impossible… unless they manage to keep it a secret.

Then again, the feud between their families may be the least of their problems. As Ridley’s anxiety spirals, Jubilee tries to help but finds her focus torn between her fast-approaching audition and their intensifying relationship. What if love can’t conquer all? What if each of them needs more than the other can give?

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in fragile bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the thinnest. But then Cassie suffers the ultimate loss – her life – and Lia is left behind, haunted by her friend’s memory and racked with guilt for not being able to help save her.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people do in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The broken glass washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you.

Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge.

---

You can also learn more about Mental Health Awareness month and access some tools and resources for dealing with your mental health by visiting Mental Health America’s page for Mental Health Month.

ARTfull at Home with the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum wants you to get your creative energy flowing! Part of their ARTfull at Home program, they have put together a handy virtual guide of creativity prompts to inspire kids and kids at heart alike to create art with what they have.

Designed to get little ones engaging with their built and natural environments in experimental ways, the guide includes a list of objects from your home or backyard that can be used for art projects, as well as prompts for creating, such as sound sculptures, shadow art, paper planes, and looking for patterns in nature. 

The deCordova has a lot of other great virtual content, including an ARTfull at Home Story Time featuring Andrea Beaty’s Iggy Peck, Architect (you may also know Iggy’s friends Rosie Revere, Engineer and Ada Twist, Scientist, too!). They’ve also got a lot of content for the not-so-littles (i.e., grown ups), like a virtual tour of the sculpture park, that is not to be missed.

For more inspiration to jumpstart your creative projects at home, check out these titles from our digital collections:

• 

• 

• 

Books for Art Project Inspiration:

Art Lab for Kids and Art Lab for Little Kids by Susan Schwake

Art For Spring (from the Outdoor Art Room Series) by Rita Storey

• 

• 

• 

Books About Artists:

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, ill. by Melissa Sweet

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art by Barb Rosenstock, ill. by Mary GrandPré

Viva FridFrida Kahlo,a by Yuyi Morales

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

• 

• 

• 

Books About Art & Design in Our World:

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds (also available on hoopla as an audiobook)

The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola

Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa Howell, ill. by Rafael López

Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty (also available on hoopla as an ebook, audiobook, movie, and Read Along!)

“Find Your Place” on the Abbot App Map

April 19-25 is National Library Week! This year’s theme is “Find Your Place at the Library,” which was chosen before COVID-19 forced us all to close the doors of our physical spaces. But, you can still find your place in the library! Libraries across the country have been dedicated to providing more online resources—ebooks, movies, music, virtual story times, programs, and more. Help us celebrate by diving into our virtual world!

This “app map” shows the ways you can enjoy the Abbot Public Library’s e-collections! You can access all of these by downloading the Libby, RB Digital, and hoopla apps here or in your device’s app store, or by clicking the buttons on the eBooks, Movies, and More! page to read, watch, or listen from your computer!

Before They Were Netflix Originals, They Were YA Novels

In the world of YA adaptations, Netflix has become a major player. Rom-coms, high fantasy, Christmas stories, and more have all been adapted into a Netflix Original movie or series. For any adaptation that catches your interest, you may also want to read the original source material. Below you will find some of the YA novels that have been adapted into Netflix originals, all of which are available digitally with your library card and two of which haven’t been released yet! Whether you have Netflix or not, these stories are great to explore and enjoy.

If you need any help navigating Overdrive/Libby or hoopla, please see our FAQ page.

*All descriptions are from the publisher.

Let it Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson

An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train, setting off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives. Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with an adorable stranger, three friends set out to win a race to the Waffle House (and the hash brown spoils), and the fate of a teacup pig falls into the hands of a lovesick barista.

A trio of today’s bestselling authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—brings all the magic of the holidays to life in three hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and kisses that will steal your breath away.

Available on: Overdrive

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold—a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite—and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.

As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.

Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.

Available on: Overdrive 

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Prepare to be swept into a world of breathless fairy-tale romance, swoonworthy characters, glittering gowns, and fierce intrigue, perfect for readers who loved Divergent, Delirium, or The Wrath & the Dawn.

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape a rigid caste system, live in a palace, and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her, and competing for a crown she doesn’t want.

Then America meets Prince Maxon—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Available on: Overdrive

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin'” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body.

With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked… until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There, she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any girl does.

Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

Available on: Overdrive and Hoopla

The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles

A cool, sexy romance novel written by seventeen-year-old British sensation Beth Reekles.

Meet Rochelle “Elle” Evans: pretty, popular—and never been kissed. Meet Noah Flynn: badass, volatile—and a total player.

When Elle decides to run a kissing booth at her school’s Spring Carnival, she locks lips with Noah and her life is turned upside down. Her head says to keep away, but her heart wants to draw closer. This romance seems far from a fairy tale.

Is Elle headed for heartbreak or will she get her happily ever after?

Available on: Overdrive

If you like this book list or any of the titles in it, leave a comment and let us know!