On Friday, March 14, the White House issued an executive order that calls for the elimination of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) "to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law." 

A Night at the Opera – special matinee performance!

The Avalyn Reed Trio will play instrumental arrangements of operatic favorites and melodies from lesser-known operas that might just become your new favorites! Join us for a free performance featuring Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, and more all on 2 clarinets and a bassoon!

Registration is not required. Learn more about the Avalyn Reed Trio!

We craft, ewe craft, we all craft together! Join library staff and fellow crafters on the third Friday of each month from 5 - 6:30 PM for an after-hours, drop-in, open crafting time. All crafts and experience levels are welcome, from knitting and crocheting to rug hooking and drawing, from beginners to master crafters.

Have craft materials you no longer need? Add them to our supply swap! All gently used items are welcome and all supplies are free for the taking!

Put on your comfiest pajamas, grab your favorite stuffie and meet Miss Gretyl for pajama story time!  This story time is geared toward children ages 2-5 and will feature bedtime stories, songs, rhymes and more!

Registration is requested but not required.

Chattel slavery in Colonial America provided immense wealth and material culture to many European immigrants and their descendants in the Americas, as Portsmouth’s house museums bear witness. This talk, adapted from presenter Angela Matthews' Black Heritage Trail of NH tour, brings into sharp focus an economic system dependent upon international and domestic slave traders for a constant supply of free labor, such as the captive African people and their descendants who, against the odds, created one of this country’s oldest Black communities.