The Library will be close on Monday, August 1 for the Civic Holiday.

Explore new books, authors, and genres as you complete our 2022 Reading Challenge. Read or listen to one book from 12 categories before the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 2022.  

 
Once you've completed your 12 book challenges, please submit your form online or in-person to enter our draw to win a prize. You can track your reading in a favourite app or use the check-out history in your library account. 

We're heading out to the parks again this summer for the ultimate story time experience!  

Every Tuesday we will be at a new park in the city singing songs, telling stories, and having lots of fun. Don’t forget a blanket, your hat and your singing voice!  

• July 5: Barnardo Park - 955 Barnardo Ave. -  CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN
• July 12: Rogers Cove - 131 Maria St. 
• July 19: Knights of Columbus Park - 5 Park St. 
• July 26: Kinsmen Park - 1 Kinsmen Way 
• Aug. 2: Kiwanis Park - 234 Middlefield Rd. 
• August 9: Nicholls Oval - 725 Armour Rd. 
• August 16: Millennium Park -130 King St. 
• August 23: Riverview Park & Zoo Gazebo - 1300 Water St. 

In the event of inclement weather, join us indoors on Wednesday mornings for Drop-in Story Time from 10:30 to 11:15 am in the FOL Community Room. 

Children under 5 must be with a caregiver

Join us in person for a fun and lively story time program for you to enjoy with your preschooler. We will help expand your child’s imagination and attention span through stories and songs while focusing on early literacy skills.

Please Note:  the location of this program is now the Children's Story Corner, accessed from the Children's Area on the lower level of the Library.

This program is now full. For Waitlist information, please refer to Registration Options below.

Come learn the exciting circus skill of flow arts! Victoria Wood will lead us in an interactive, fun and energetic workshop with the Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts.  
 
Victoria will use dance, creative exploration of movement and props (hoops and poi) to empower youth to learn and try new skills. 

Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts (PACA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing the artistic livelihood of the region through education via recreational and social circus programs.  

Children under 5 must be with a caregiver 

Chill out in our air-conditioned FOL Community Room and watch a family-friendly movie. We’ve picked some of our favourites to share with you this summer, so get comfortable and grab some popcorn while supplies last. 

• July 8: Encanto 2021 1 hr 42 min (G) 
• July 22: Luca 2021 1 hr 35 min (G) 
• August 5: The Addams Family 2 2021 1 hr 33 min (PG) 
• August 19: Raya and the Last Dragon 2021 1 hr 47 min (PG) 

Take a break from the summer heat and watch a recent feature film for free. Just because you missed it in the movie theatre doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it on a big screen. Popcorn provided! 

August 5: Spiderman No Way Home

With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter (Tom Holland) to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. 

Check out our last Friday Feature Film:

• August 19: Belfast (PG)

Visit the Library on Saturdays and bring home a Family Grab & Go Craft Kit! Each kit contains the materials and instructions you need to make a fun craft or activity at home. 

Kits are available on a first come, first served basis every Saturday morning at the Children's Check-Out Desk.  

July: 

2: Sometimes I Feel Like a … Animal Mask 

9: Watermelon Magnet 

16: Stick Mosquito 

23: Popsicle Puppet 

30: Pool Noodle Boats 

August: 

6: Parrot Pal 

13: Lemonade in a Glass 

20:  Paper Pineapple Craft  

28: School of Paper Fish 

September: 

10: Handmade Hug (Grandparents Day) 

17: Paper chain snake 

24: Rainbow Wand (Pride) 

October: 

1: Pinecone Hedgehog 

8: Clothespin Turkey (Thanksgiving) 

15: Itty Bitty Book (OPLW)  

22: Diwali Elephant Bookmarks 

29: Ghost Straw Puppet 

We’re going casual with crafts this summer and offering some simple but creative projects you can complete at the Library! You can drop in anytime, but we recommend you give yourself about an hour to explore your artistic side with paints, canvas, and fabrics. 

August 6: Painted Fabric Wall Art

Choose from our fabric stash and paint some bold, abstract wall décor. You’ll finish off your piece by framing it in some charming, lightweight embroidery hoops, perfect for sprucing up a bedroom or making any space your own. 

This program is now full. For Waitlist information, please refer to Registration Options below.

Ages 3 to 8 years 

Children under 5 must be with a caregiver 

Each week we will read a new story and work on a fun craft inspired by the book.  

• July 11 Dragons Love Tacos  
• July 25 Elephant and Piggie 
• August 8 Pete the Cat 
• August 22 The Kissing Hand 

Spend some dedicated time learning the 3C’s of computer skills: Confidence, Create, Communicate. In this session you will learn to get more comfortable with the Windows environment, Microsoft Word and Excel, internet browsing and email.  

This course is ideal for volunteers or older adult learners and those needing basic computer skills for employment. Registrants should commit to attending most of this 7-week series. Registrants will be contacted by phone by our community partners, the Peterborough Native Learning Program (PNLP), who will lead this series. They require  detailed information for all program registrants in order to collect statistics essential to government funding for this program.

PNLP provides Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people opportunities to improve communication, numeracy, and computer skills needed for success in further education & training, employment, or greater independence in life.

If you love reading and like sharing your opinions, we have a great volunteer opportunity for you!

Join our Teen Reviewers and share your insights on books and media by creating reviews in various formats. We'll focus on discussing and writing about books and media for different audiences and how to publish your literary opinions for the world to see.  

Earn volunteer hours for participating in our monthly discussion and contributing reviews for various media platforms. 

We're heading out to the parks again this summer for the ultimate story time experience!  

Every Tuesday we will be at a new park in the city singing songs, telling stories, and having lots of fun. Don’t forget a blanket, your hat and your singing voice!  

• July 5: Barnardo Park - 955 Barnardo Ave. -  CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN
• July 12: Rogers Cove - 131 Maria St. 
• July 19: Knights of Columbus Park - 5 Park St. 
• July 26: Kinsmen Park - 1 Kinsmen Way 
• Aug. 2: Kiwanis Park - 234 Middlefield Rd. 
• August 9: Nicholls Oval - 725 Armour Rd. 
• August 16: Millennium Park -130 King St. 
• August 23: Riverview Park & Zoo Gazebo - 1300 Water St. 

In the event of inclement weather, join us indoors on Wednesday mornings for Drop-in Story Time from 10:30 to 11:15 am in the FOL Community Room. 

Children under 5 must be with a caregiver

Join us in person for a fun and lively story time program for you to enjoy with your preschooler. We will help expand your child’s imagination and attention span through stories and songs while focusing on early literacy skills.

Please Note:  the location of this program is now the Children's Story Corner, accessed from the Children's Area on the lower level of the Library.

Learn about the lives of the people on your family tree using local resources. Experienced researchers from the Kawartha Branch of Ontario Ancestors will guide you to information in the library's combined local history and genealogy collection and online tools and resources. Bring your laptop and explore free library access to Ancestry online.

Did you know that the storm drains on our roads and parking lots lead directly to local creeks, streams and rivers, which provide habitat for fish and other aquatic species?  

This one-hour interactive presentation and activity will teach you about the aquatic species that live in local watercourses, how water moves through a watershed and what you can do to protect our environment.   

At the end of this presentation, we will work on a mural that will be displayed in the Library to show others how to protect our water quality and fish habitats. 

Each child will also receive a grab bag of materials and activities from Otonabee Conservation to take home. 

Join other writers in a safe place to share your writing, receive feedback, offer advice, and discuss issues you may be experiencing with your writing. 

Our Writing Circle welcomes writers looking for a small community of artists who want help staying motivated, disciplined, and productive while pursuing their art.

In each of the three creative writing workshops, you will develop different writing skills that will grab a reader’s attention. We will get the creative juices flowing through activities, prompts, and writing games.  

 Depending on your interests, you can register for one or all three sessions.  

• July 28: What a Character!  
• August 11: A Good Setting and Why on Earth it Matters 
• August 25: Plot Your Own Adventure

Explore technology questions and solutions with our Library tech coaches! We can help you with technical skills related to eBooks and other Digital Library resources as well as basic questions related to computers and mobile devices.  

If we cannot help with a specific technology-related question, we may be able to suggest alternative resources in the community. Please note that Tech Coaches cannot help with computer or hardware repairs or provide ongoing appointments to be used as tutoring sessions.  

Explore technology questions and solutions with our Library tech coaches! We can help you with technical skills related to eBooks and other Digital Library resources as well as basic questions related to computers and mobile devices.  

If we cannot help with a specific technology-related question, we may be able to suggest alternative resources in the community. Please note that Tech Coaches cannot help with computer or hardware repairs or provide ongoing appointments to be used as tutoring sessions.  

For Ages 5+

Come craft with us this summer! We’ve planned a new craft every other Friday in July and August for you to get messy and have fun. We’ll supply the materials - you bring your imagination and creativity. 

Ages 4+ years  

Drop off your stuffy at the Library for an overnight sleepover adventure! Each child can fill out their toy’s registration form to tell us all about their friend and make them a nametag.  

Come back at 10:30 the next morning to pick up your stuffy, enjoy a breakfast snack, and find out what your stuffy got up to after we closed.  

You and your stuffy will take home a souvenir from the sleepover.  

Drop Off: Friday, August 12, between 1:00 and 4:00 pm in the Story Corner 

Pick Up: Saturday, August 13, 10:30 to 11:30 am in the FOL Community Room 

Visit the Library on Saturdays and bring home a Family Grab & Go Craft Kit! Each kit contains the materials and instructions you need to make a fun craft or activity at home. 

Kits are available on a first come, first served basis every Saturday morning at the Children's Check-Out Desk.  

July: 

2: Sometimes I Feel Like a … Animal Mask 

9: Watermelon Magnet 

16: Stick Mosquito 

23: Popsicle Puppet 

30: Pool Noodle Boats 

August: 

6: Parrot Pal 

13: Lemonade in a Glass 

20:  Paper Pineapple Craft  

28: School of Paper Fish 

September: 

10: Handmade Hug (Grandparents Day) 

17: Paper chain snake 

24: Rainbow Wand (Pride) 

October: 

1: Pinecone Hedgehog 

8: Clothespin Turkey (Thanksgiving) 

15: Itty Bitty Book (OPLW)  

22: Diwali Elephant Bookmarks 

29: Ghost Straw Puppet 

Ages 4+ years  

Drop off your stuffy at the Library for an overnight sleepover adventure! Each child can fill out their toy’s registration form to tell us all about their friend and make them a nametag.  

Come back at 10:30 the next morning to pick up your stuffy, enjoy a breakfast snack, and find out what your stuffy got up to after we closed.  

You and your stuffy will take home a souvenir from the sleepover.  

Drop Off: Friday, August 12, between 1:00 and 4:00 pm in the Story Corner 

Pick Up: Saturday, August 13, 10:30 to 11:30 am in the FOL Community Room 

Wind down from your busy day with our themed bedtime stories, a song or two, and a simple craft or STEM activity your family can work on together.  

• July 18: Year of the Garden 
• August 15: Fairy Tales 

Children under 5 must be with a caregiver.