Since 1973, the Friends has presented an annual program series to educate and enrich the public and to encourage meaningful civic dialogue. Our programs may include lectures, author readings, demonstrations, performances and recitals. In addition to producing events of interest to adults, we underwrite programs for children that are produced by the library staff.
Each year, a committee of volunteers selects and organizes the adult series, which typically begins in the fall and ends with our annual meeting in June. Many of our programs are videotaped by The Needham Channel and may be seen on the library’s YouTube channel or The Needham Channel’s YouTube channel.
Our programs are free and all are welcome. Most take place in the Library’s Community Room from 2-3:30 PM on Sunday afternoons.
Registration is required, but we are happy to seat drop-ins as space permits. Programs are listed below and on the library’s Events Calendar. You can also download a Printable PDF file of the complete schedule.
Click here for directions to the Library.
If you enter the Library through the main entrance from the Rosemary Street parking lot, the Community Room is just inside the doors and to the right.
If you enter the Library through the Highland Avenue entrance, the Community Room is on the lower level on the opposite side of the building.
We hope you’ll join us!
2025-2026 Programs
Each music lover is a unique listener. Dr. Rogers – a Berklee School of Music professor who produced and engineered records for Prince and others — will describe the “listener profile,”a constellation of mental sweet spots where music delivers the optimal reward for you. She is the author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You, published by W. W. Norton & Co.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Gullette argues, cultural bias and government abandonment resulted in disproportionate deaths among older people living in nursing facilities. She believes that “Nothing about it was inevitable.” Her talk will be based on her 2024 book, American Eldercide: How it Happened, How to Prevent It.
Dr. Gonzalez, a Wellesley College professor, celebrates the Harlem Renaissance of 100 years ago through the lens of dancer/educator/translator Dorothy R. Peterson, an important figure whose legacy has been overshadowed by other luminaries. Peterson influenced novelist Nella Larsen and poet Langston Hughes, and later played a key role archiving the manuscripts and ephemera of the Harlem Renaissance.
Sunday, January 11, 2026, 2:00–3:30 PM
Flavor Scientist/Author Ariel Johnson, “Flavorama”
For Dr. Johnson, it’s never been enough to just have great food experiences. Understanding how they work—the deep mechanisms that go into making real, delicious food—that’s the stuff. From a PhD in the science of flavor to the test kitchens and labs behind the world’s best restaurants, she has explored the cosmos of taste from every angle and condensed it down into a single, handy book, Flavorama: A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor. Details and registration
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 2:00–3:30 PM
Public History Scholar Dr. Kyera Singleton, “Slavery in Massachusetts”
19th century Massachusetts led the abolition movement, but in the 18th century had been a slave state. In observance of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Dr. Singleton, director of the Royall House and Slave Quarters, will discuss the nature of slavery in Massachusetts, including Boston and outlying areas like Needham and Medford, where the Royall House is located. Plus: Why understanding this history matters more than ever in the 21st century.
Sunday, March 1, 2026, 2:00–3:30 PM
NOVA Executive Producer Chris Schmidt, “Bringing Science to the Public”
Mr. Schmidt will explain the art and science of producing NOVA, public television’s premier science program. The show’s lofty mission is no less than to bring audiences “stories from the frontlines of science and engineering, answering the big questions of today and tomorrow, from how our ancestors lived, to whether parallel universes exist, to how technology will transform our lives.”
Sunday, April 26, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM
Author Emily Franklin, “Writing Fiction about Real Women”
Ms. Franklin is author of The Lioness of Boston, a novel based on the life of Isabella Stewart Gardner. Her new novel, Love & Other Monsters: The Lost Diary from the Year without Summer, is based on Mary Shelley’s overlooked stepsister. It’s a coming-of-age story of love, lust, art and betrayal set at a lakeside mansion during the cold, scandalous summer of 1816. She will discuss how she gets her ideas and how she does her research, and answer questions about both books.
Sunday, June 7, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM
Trevor Smith, Landscape Designer and Educator, “Regenerative Gardening in Today’s World”
Mr. Smith, a leading force in ecological gardening in this area, will discuss the practices that climate change has prompted in home gardening: shifting climate zones, native plantings to preserve biodiversity, invasive species, water management, avoiding pesticides and building healthy soils. You can pose your questions about your own garden during a Q&A session following the presentation.
Here’s a look back at our 2024-2025 Programs
- Sunday, October 13, 2024, 2:00–3:30 PM
Author Wayne R. Petersen, “The State of Massachusetts Birds” - Sunday, November 3, 2024, 2:00–3:30 PM
Author Mimi Baird, “He Wanted the Moon” - Sunday, January 12, 2025, 2:00–3:30 PM
Author/Critic Sebastian Smee, “Impressionism, War, Strife and Secret Romance” - Sunday, February 9, 2025, 2:00–3:30 PM
Educator Dr. Ted Landsmark, “Racism in Boston: How Far Have We Come?” - Sunday, March 2, 2025, 2:00–3:30 PM
Historian Dr. Paul Fischer, “Mysterious Doings in Boston: William, Alice and Henry James Meet Séance Spiritualism” - Sunday, April 27, 2025, 2:00–3:30 PM
GBH Executive Producer Susanne Simpson, “Inside MASTERPIECE: Behind the Scenes” - Sunday, June 8, 2025, 2:00-3:30 PM
Author/Musician Dr. Warren Zanes, “Putting Music to Words: A Biographer’s Story”
Here’s a look back at our 2023-2024 Programs
- Sunday, October 29, 2023, 2–3:30 PM – Paul Fisher, PhD, The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World
- Sunday, November 12, 2023, 2–3:30 PM – Peter O’Neil, Frederica Saylor Lalonde and Jeanne Hopkins, “News Flash: Needhamites Revive Local Journalism”
- Sunday, January 14, 2024, 2–3:30 PM – Maureen O’Connor, PsyD, “Successful Brain Aging: Understanding the Latest Science”
- Sunday, February 4, 2024, 2–3:30 PM – Imari Paris Jeffries, “Embrace Boston”
- Sunday, March 3, 2024, 2–3:30 PM – Author Stephen McCauley, “Public Libraries, Pseudonyms, and Valley of the Dolls: One Writer’s Journey”
- Sunday, April 7, 2024, 2–3:30 PMArtist Lisa Rosowsky, “Art as Storytelling”
- Thursday, June 6, 2024, 7:30–9 PM – Emily Norton, “The State of the Charles River”
Here’s a look back at our 2022-2023 Programs
- Sunday, October 23, 2022, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Film Producer/Director Eric Stange and Team, “Pony Boys”.
- Sunday, November 6, 2022, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Author Marjan Kamali, The Stationery Shop.
- Sunday, January 8, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Author Catherine Marenghi.
- Sunday, February 5, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Gilda Barabino, President of Olin College of Engineering, “Engineering for Everyone” (details and registration)
- Sunday, March 26, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Marsha Bemko, Producer, “The Antiques Roadshow Story” (details and registration)
- Sunday, June 11, 2:00-4:00 p.m. Annual meeting and program. Author Stephanie Schorow, The Coconut Grove and Other Great Fires of Boston.