Northampton Area Public Library will be closed Jan. 20 for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In honor of Dr. King’s peaceful protests to strive for the best for the downtrodden, why not spend an hour or two helping out at a local food bank or soup kitchen or make a donation — it doesn’t have to be large — to a local nonprofit? Every small, peaceful act for change can make large ripples in our community!

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Kits can be picked up starting 9 a.m. Jan. 6 for teens to make their own whipped peppermint lotion at home. It’s important to take care of all your skin in winter; after all, it is our biggest organ.

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The Game Club for grades 3-5 will next meet 6 p.m. Jan. 9.

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Adult craft hour will feature watercolor snowflake suncatchers 6 p.m. Jan. 13. Register is highly recommended as the community room can only fit so many people.

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Early literacy storytimes will begin again Jan. 14, with lap-sit storytime 10:30 a.m. and will continue weekly throughout the month.

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Stitch and Chat, a community craft hour focused on needlework, will be 6 p.m. Jan. 14.

Bring your chosen project, and work on it as we snack and talk. Our beloved Deb will always have our backs with snacks of one sort or the other.

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The STEAM Craft Club for grades 3-5 will meet 6 p.m. Jan. 16.

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Grades K-2 Storycraft is back, beginning 6 p.m. Jan. 23.

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Family story hour will take place 4:30 p.m. Jan. 27 to read, sing and craft about the Lunar New Year with the library director.

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Once Upon a Crime will meet 6 p.m. Jan. 27 to discuss serial killers. Lily has a specific serial killer she’s looking into in order to start the discussion, but feel free to bring a serial killer of your own to discuss.

Once Upon a Crime is strictly for adults ages 19 and up. If you are sensitive to discussions of violence or crime scene photos, do not attend.

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Book Club will meet to discuss “The Reading List” by Sara Nisha Adams 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 28. Choose the time that works best for you.

We try to wrap up the 1:30 p.m. discussion by 2:30 p.m., so you can get out before the schools do.

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If you received a new piece of technology this holiday season and you’d like to learn more about it, feel free to sign up for a Tech Tutoring time slot with one of our volunteers. To do so, you may visit our website at northamptonapl.org, call us at 610-262-7537 or visit the help desk at the library.

Register at least a week in advance of your chosen time slot, so we can contact our volunteers to see if they can accommodate us. Our volunteers’ time is precious, and they only come in when we confirm appointments with them in advance.

Once our volunteers are confirmed, we will call to let you know your appointment is confirmed. Bringing you Tech Tutoring is only part of our Information Literacy initiative for 2025!

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We have a feeling there will be a lot of changes in this new year. We’ve got our fingers crossed for good changes at the library and for everyone living in Northampton Area School District!