Programs

Impact of Your Support

One hundred percent of your donations go toward library programming. In fiscal year 2024-2025, the Friends sponsored over 90 library activities in the following categories:

#

Adult

Youth

Movie

Music

Total

Events

26

45

4

16

91

Attendees

1,450

850

200

300

2,800

Specific examples of recent events and programs sponsored by the Friends include:
  • Paula Clare and Friends Afternoon of American Jazz Standards and Brazilian Bossa Nova
  • Atwater Donnelly Traditional American Folk Music and Dance performance
  • Yanni Pandelidis and Friends Greek Music Performance
  • Music at the Blissful performance by Evan Haller
  • Black Flags, Blue Waters talk by best-selling author Eric Jay Dolan
  • Common and Uncommon Backyard Birds of Rhode Island with Geoff Dennis
  • Conservation Through Birding Tourism by Charles Clarkson, Audubon Society of RI
  • Apples, Art, and Spirit: Growing an Organic Apple by author, artist, and orchardist Linda Hoffman
  • Silvermoon Mars LaRose presentation on the Tomaquag Museum
  • World premiere of the documentary Beyond Bucha: Finding the Spirit in Ukraine
  • Poetry Reading and Dialogue by RI Poet Laureate Colin Channer
  • Mushroom Hunting with “Ryan the Mushroom Hunter”
  • Atlantic Shark Institute conservation presentation by Jon Dodd
  • Spanish Bilingual Story Time sessions throughout the year for preschool youth
  • Youth chess classes throughout the year
  • Summer Reading Program and Winter Reading Challenge activities for all age groups
  • Book clubs, movies, and craft events for all age groups throughout the year
  • Vacation and holiday programs for preschool, elementary, and middle school age groups
  • Three annual electronic waste collections (free for most items)
  • New addition by popular demand: free paper-shredding event

The Friends continue to seek community input on library patrons’ programming interests. A recent survey showed that the most requested topics (cited by at least one-third of respondents) are:

  • Music performances
  • Movies / film series
  • Author readings and talks
  • Historical presentations
  • Marine biology, oceanography, and fisheries
  • Sustainable gardening
  • Environmental protection
  • Wildlife protection and observation
  • Coastal resiliency
  • Creative writing and literature
  • Nutrition, health, and wellness
  • The Friends will use this guidance to schedule and arrange future activities.