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!
2024-2025 Programs
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 2:00–3:30 PM
Author Wayne R. Petersen, “The State of Massachusetts Birds”
Since the Pilgrims arrived, bird populations in Massachusetts and New England have undergone many changes. Mr. Petersen, a former Massachusetts Audubon Society expert who has written a number of guide books, will discuss the impact on birds of landscape alterations, human persecution for feathers and food, pesticides, competition with introduced species, natural biological competition and global climate change.
Sunday, November 3, 2024, 2:00–3:30 PM
Author Mimi Baird, “He Wanted the Moon”
Ms. Baird tells the story behind her book, subtitled “The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird.” A chance meeting with a former colleague of her father, a mid-century doctor whom she did not know, prompted her quest to piece his life together and make sense of her own. The resulting book is a raw, unvarnished account of his descent into madness. Ms. Baird lives in Westwood.
Sunday, January 12, 2025, 2:00–3:30 PM
Author/Critic Sebastian Smee, “Impressionism, War, Strife and Secret Romance”
Impressionism was born in upheaval: In 1870-71, Paris was rocked by a siege and starvation, culminating in a humiliating surrender to Germany. An internal revolution – the Commune – then followed along with violent civil war, as government forces eventually re-took the city. Mr. Smee, a Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic for The Washington Post, will focus on the Parisian painters Berthe Morisot and Édouard Manet through the lens of this period, and discuss its effects on their art and on Impressionism generally.
Sunday, February 9, 2025, 2:00–3:30 PM
Educator Dr. Ted Landsmark, “Racism in Boston: How Far Have We Come?”
In 1976, Dr. Landsmark, a young professional African American, was attacked on Boston City Hall Plaza by a white teenager wielding an American flagpole. The notorious incident during the city’s busing crisis was captured by a news photographer. In this Black History Month talk, Dr. Landsmark will share observations on the evolution of Black life in Boston, as both a social space and a physical environment. He is currently Director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University.
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”
One of the most fascinating encounters the distinguished James family had in Boston was with trance medium Leonora Piper. As the fad of séance spiritualism swept the US and the world, various Jameses saw it in more complex and intellectual ways. Drawing on his acclaimed family biography, House of Wits, Dr. Fisher shows how a clash with this “occult” world illuminated the characters of William, Henry and Alice James.
Susanne Simpson, executive producer of MASTERPIECE, PBS’s longest-running primetime drama series, will share stories and insights about MASTERPIECE, the series that has brought the best of British talent to American audiences for more than 50 years. From classic literary adaptations to original dramas and\ mysteries, she will provide a sneak peek into the series’ acclaimed programs and what’s still to come. Details and registration
Sunday, June 8, 2025, 2:00-3:30 PM
Author/Musician Dr. Warren Zanes, “Putting Music to Words: A Biographer’s Story”
Dr. Zanes, a former guitarist in Boston’s 1980s Del Fuegos rock band, returns to the “old neighborhood” to talk about his life as a writer, musician and filmmaker. He’ll discuss his work as biographer of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, along with his work in film. He’ll give special attention to the “border crossings” that have punctuated his career as he’s gone from making music to writing about it – and back again.
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.