The Friends of the Library

Now in its 50th year, the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library is a nonprofit, charitable 501(c)(3) organization that supports the library and promotes its vital role in our community. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1970, the Friends has a board of 12 volunteers, elected annually by the members. With about 750 member families, the Friends help the library by organizing programs listed below, volunteering at events, book signings, semi-annual book sales, as well as funding educational activities for the library staff and museum passes for patrons. Please review our volunteer opportunities and contact us if you are interested in volunteering for any of these events.

Benefits of membership include early notification to many of the programs supported by the Friends, including author & poetry readings, musical performances, museum passes, film series, summer concerts and more. 

To join the all-volunteer Friends, please download and return our membership form, below.

Our gifts and programs are funded through memberships, sales of donated books, and sales of Historic Concord, a book published by the Friends. 

Current Friends Officers:

Anne Irza-Leggat, President
Aiyana Currie, Vice President
Stephan & Faith Bader, Co-Treasurers
Jacqueline Barnard, Film Series
Janet Kaminstein, Chair of Booksales
Monika Kennedy, Membership
Betsy Levinson, Publicity 
Lara Wilson, Author Series
E. Glenn Mitchell, Adult Programs
Nancy Lyons, Clerk
Matt Boger, member at-large

Connect with us!

Program Offerings

  • Book Sales

    **Update** Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Friends' June Booksale will be postponed to Saturday, September 12th, 2020.  Note that this date is subject to change.

    The Friends' Holiday and June book sales are our biggest sources of revenue as well as being much loved community events. The heart and soul of this year-round operation is a team of over a dozen enthusiastic volunteers who sort the many volumes donated to the Friends each year and prepare them for the book sales.  If you have books you'd like to donate, please see the reference desk at the Main Library and if you'd like to volunteer some of your time to help for a few hours - or more - please email us.

  • Museum Passes

    All Passes (unless otherwise noted) are funded by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library and may be used for free or reduced admission. Please contact the library if you have suggestions on museums that you would like to see added to our list. Existing passes include Boston Children’s Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, New England Aquarium, and many others.

  • Film Series

    Friday Flicks

    Friday Flicks at Fowler is a FREE event sponsored by the Friends and include popcorn and refreshments. All are critically acclaimed international films carefully selected by the Film Program Coordinator that invite conversation both before and after each film.  Films are at 7:00 pm and doors open at 6:30. Please refer to the Events calendar for an upcoming schedule.   

    Movies for Tweens and Teens

    Movies offered at the Main Library, appropriate for middle school age children as well as Monthly Teen Friday Flicks offered for high school students.

  • Poetry Series

    The Poetry at the Library Series brings established and emerging poets to the Concord Library community. Each year, the Friends host six to seven readings with Q and A, followed by book signings and light refreshments.  Most readings occur on Sundays at 3 PM in the Main Library, with an occasional Saturday evening poetry event.

  • Music Series

    Music on the Lawn or Concert on the Lawn is a free enjoyable, notable and diverse music offerings on the Main Library front lawn on select Wednesdays during the summer at 7:00 p.m. Additionally, Music from the Library every year from late January through March/April.  Notable musicians from the greater Boston area and other parts of the country perform at the Music from the Library series. The Music from the Library Series celebrated its 20th season winter of 2017. 

  • Author Series

    Inspiring and topically relevant author readings throughout the year. We have hosted distinguished historians such as Drew Gilpin Faust, Nathaniel Philbrick, and Doris Kearns Goodwin, as well as recipients of the Ruth Ratner Miller Memorial Award for Excellence in American History.

  • Festival of Authors

    https://www.concordfestivalofauthors.org/

    We are seeking volunteers to assist with the Festival.  Please contact us if you are interested in volunteering.

  • Miller Award

    The Ruth Ratner Miller Memorial Award for Excellence in American History has been presented by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library annually since 1998. The award was offered to the Concord Library by Concord resident Richard Miller, to honor the legacy of his mother, a founding member of the Holocaust Commission and Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. Dr. Ruth Ratner Miller believed that learning history was not merely desirable but a civic and religious duty.

    Miller Award recipients have included Daniel J. Boorstin, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Sandra Day O’Connor, David Halberstam, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Drew Gilpin Faust, Nathaniel Philbrick, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, and Gordon S. Wood.

  • Media

    Movies on DVD

    Every year, the Friends purchase hundreds of films. The Library is a perfect (and free!) place to discover new movies and find your old favorites.

    Audio Books

    Audiobooks offer the convenience of listening in your car or on the train, while exercising, or because reading is physically challenging.

    Music CDs

    Find classics and new hits in this collection of music.

  • Childrens Programming

    A host of programs organized by the library for the children in our community are sponsored by the Friends, including the Sing-a-long day with Ed Morgan programs, CCHS study days. In addition the Friends provides books for the children of the guests at Open table in Concord and Maynard as well as to the Prison Outreach Program.

  • Professional Development

    The Friends fund professional development opportunities to our beloved library staff each year.