January 7, 2025
 
HOURS
Sunday - Closed
Monday & Friday 9AM-6PM
Tuesday - Thursday 9AM-7PM
Saturday 10AM-2PM
 
Closed at 5 on the first Wednesday of
each month for a staff meeting

From the Director 
 
I think that one of the most interesting parts of my job is pulling together statistics on as many different aspects of the library as possible. This allows me to see what we are doing well and where we can use improvement. It helps me work with the library board to plan for the future. The numbers help validate what you like best about our services and what should be dropped or improved. While I gather numbers monthly, the year end stats give me a clearer picture of what is working and what is not.
 
2025 demonstrated sustained strength in collections, programming and attendance. 
 
 
 
Our annual report for the Town will show these statistics compared to those of past years.
 
The one noticeable place where our numbers are down are in the circulation of digital materials. This is likely from the loss of Hoopla, where patrons could take out ebooks and audio without a waiting list. We have increased money for Overdrive to purchase specific materials for you when you reach out directly to me, requesting something that falls within our collecting policy. I will continue to look for other digital options.
 
I look forward to sharing more statistics with you this year as we continually look to improve.
 
Melissa
 
Coming to KCL...

CHILDREN'S NEWS & PROGRAMS


ADULT NEWS & PROGRAMS

Upcoming Matinee Movie
         
 
January 7 - Conclave (2024) 2h - Conspiracy Thriller
When Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with leading the selection of a new Pope, he finds himself in a web of conspiracy and intrigue that could shake the very foundations of the Catholic Church.
January 14 - The Penguin Lessons (2024) - Drama
A disillusioned Englishman who goes to work in a school in a divided Argentina in 1976 finds his life transformed when he rescues an orphaned penguin from the beach.
Older Adults News


 
Come join us once again to learn more about AI!
 
 
KCL Tween and Teen News

 
 
 

Friends News
Book Sale News
 
Come visit our fully-stocked puzzle area for something to do on these cold winter days! We also have many books for all ages to enjoy while curled up under a cozy blanket with a cup of tea or cocoa. It's an especially good time of year to read aloud to those you love, no matter their age. 
 
Beginning Friday, January 9th, we will have an area set aside for graphic novels and comics at special prices marked on the orange stickers. That same day is the start of the "Big P" half-price sale: all James Patterson, Robert Parker, Jodi Piccoult and Diana Palmer books are only 50¢ for hardcovers and 25¢ for paperbacks. They can be found on the sale shelves.
 
COMMUNITY NEWS
Budget Committee Public Hearing

Saturday, January 10 - 9am-4pm - Join the public meeting and support your library. For the 4th year in a row, we are asking for no increase to our operating budget. Small COLA raises are requested for staff. An additional raise is requested for our Assistant Director who is underpaid compared to others in her position in NH. A small additional raise is also requested for our children's librarian. 
 
 
BOOK CLUBS
Director's Monday Book Club (Monday 2/2 at 3:00pm)
Prophet Song: A Novel (Booker Prize Winner) by Paul Lynch
Prophet Song: A Novel (Booker Prize Winner)
by Paul Lynch

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find two officers from Ireland's newly formed secret police on her step. They have arrived to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist. Ireland is falling apart, caught in the grip of a government turning toward tyranny. As the life she knows and the ones she loves disappear before her eyes, Eilish must contend with the dystopian logic of her new, unraveling country. How far will she go to save her family? And what-or who-is she willing to leave behind? Exhilarating, terrifying, and surprisingly intimate, Prophet Song offers a shocking vision of a country at war and a deeply human portrait of a mother's fight to hold her family together--
Nonfiction Book Club (Tuesday 1/20 at 4:00pm)
The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr
The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket
by Benjamin Lorr

In this page-turning expos, author Benjamin Lorr pulls back the curtain on the highly secretive grocery industry. Combining deep sourcing, immersive reporting, and sharp, often laugh-out-loud prose, Lorr leads a wild investigation, asking what does it take to run a supermarket? How does our food get on the shelves? And who suffers for our increasing demands for convenience and efficiency? In this journey:
Romance Required Book Club (Friday 1/30 at 1:00pm) 
Say You'll Be Mine by Naina Kumar
Say You'll Be Mine
by Naina Kumar

When Seth, Meghna's one-who-got-away writing partner and best friend, asks Meghna Raman to be the 'best man' for his last-minute wedding, Meghna is determined to move on, even if it means telling her mother she's finally open to an arranged marriage. Since she-a theater teacher and an aspiring playwright-won't fulfill her parents' dreams of becoming an engineer, she might as well marry one. Grumpy, handsome, no-nonsense engineer Karthik Murthy has seen enough of his parents' relationship to know marriage is not for him. He only agreed to his mom's matchmaking attempts to make her happy, never dreaming he'd meet someone as vibrant as Meghna. Though he can't offer a real marriage, a fake engagement could help him avoid the absurd number of arranged set-ups his mother has planned for the next year. Thinking a faux fiancâe will dampen the sting of her ex's wedding festivities, Meghna agrees to team up with Karthik until the wedding ends. But as they find common ground and their undeniable chemistry takes shape, their expectations and insecurities threaten to risk something that's become a lot more real than they had hoped--
Cook Book Club (Monday at 1/26 at 12:30pm)
Come Hungry: Salads, Meals, and Sweets for People Who Live to Eat by Melissa Ben-Ishay
Come Hungry: Salads, Meals, and Sweets for People Who Live to Eat
by Melissa Ben-Ishay

In Come Hungry, Melissa shares her favorite everyday recipes and tips for creating nourishing, delicious meals the whole family will love. With flavorful ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions, Melissa encourages home cooks of all levels to cook outside of their comfort zones and reveals her go-to techniques for creating the perfect bite. Packed with colorful, craveable recipes, Come Hungry offers a wide range of simple dishes for any diet, including: Mediterranean Grain Salad, Coffee Shop Sesame Chicken Salad, Crunchy Ramen Slaw with Grilled Ribeye, Green Veggie Pizza, Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake. From her grandmother's kitchen in the Catskills to her in-laws' home on the Mediterranean, Melissa features recipes inspired by meals that have shaped her as a cook and promote a veggie-packed way of eating, from mouthwatering toasts topped with leftovers to filling a pita with flavorful small plates. Ultimately, each and every recipe encourages creativity in the kitchen and invites the reader--as Melissa's family says to guests on their way for dinner--to come hungry.
Mystery Book Club (Tuesday 1/27 at 4:00pm)
Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
Eight Perfect Murders
by Peter Swanson

New York Times bestseller, Swanson rips us from one startling plot twist to the next... A true tour de force. --Lisa Gardner[A] multilayered mystery that brims with duplicity, betrayal and revenge. --USA Today. From the hugely talented author of The Kind Worth Killing comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction's most ingenious murders. Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre's most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack--which he titled Eight Perfect Murders--chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie's A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin's Deathtrap, A. A. Milne's The Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox's Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain's Double Indemnity, John D. MacDonald's The Drowner, and Donna Tartt's The Secret History. But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She's looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal's old list. And the FBI agent isn't the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. The killer is out there, watching his every move--a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal's personal history, especially the secrets he's never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife. To protect himself, Mal begins looking into possible suspects . . . and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn't count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly, a series of shocking twists leaves more victims dead--and the noose around Mal's neck grows so tight he might never escape.
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