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BY MARIA PAUNESCU '24

Napping? Catching up on missing assignments? Avoiding your crumbling social life? No matter what you’re doing, the library can help fulfill all your wants and needs. For all that they do for us, local libraries simply do not receive the appreciation that they deserve, and I am here to change that. Thus, here are some of the most bewitching libraries in the greater AB area!

Acton Memorial Library - Best Seating
Community Contributions: 10/10
This library promotes community involvement and actively showcases upcoming opportunities for patrons, which range from book clubs for avid readers to workshops for budding artists. The Acton Memorial Library also heavily values social justice and allocates space for human services resources, books about civil rights, and shelves of diverse multicultural media. 

Design/Vibes: 9/10
With its grand staircase and curved red ceilings, there’s no question that this library is stunning. The exterior color scheme remains consistent inside the building, and there’s plenty of uniquely shaped furniture spread throughout its spaces. Across the board, there are different levels of privacy to all of the seating with quite a few hidden nooks.

Sargent Memorial Library - Best Historical and Study Resources
Community Contributions: 10/10
Sargent Memorial Library emphasizes the importance of diverse reading, with “Read Harder Challenge” signs on display throughout the library. This program includes books from 24 different genres and aims to challenge readers to expand their worldviews. The library also provides easily accessible educational resources through their app, YouTube channel, and “Library of Things” program, which lets patrons borrow items like telescopes and bird-watching kits. They also have a room dedicated to the Boxborough and its surrounding area’s history.  

Design/Vibes: 8.5/10
Sargent’s cool, angular exterior is a stark contrast to its warm-toned and soft interior, which employs ambient lighting. This one-floor library utilizes its small space in the most creative ways, packing in intricate styling while preserving the capaciousness of the space with its subdivided slices and high ceilings. However, the shelving is more practical than it is aesthetic, which took away from the overall vibe. 

Cary Memorial Library - Busiest Library
Community Contributions: 10/10
With a whopping 72 upcoming events, this library ensures that everyone has access to a wide range of programs suiting a variety of interests. The library is partnered with the Black History Project of Lexington and is a great resource for those looking to learn about the Civil Rights movement. Cary Memorial Library appears highly valued by its community as it was the busiest library out of all that I’d visited.

Design/Vibes: 9/10
Cary Memorial has a nice selection of furnishings, including coffee-shop-esque counters. The designated reading room, filled with magazines and comfy sofa chairs, is gratifying, especially as an escape from the library’s main lobby commotion. The exterior is also absolutely stunning, with walls made to mimic a stone wall and vines ornamenting the sides.

Concord Free Public Library - Most Aesthetically Pleasing
Community Contributions: 10/10
The Concord Free Public Library covers all of its bases for any patron, no matter their backgrounds and perspectives, offering a range of showcases, scholarships, and community events (including group meditation). The historic core of the library has a shelf exhibiting native Concordians, such as Henry David Thoreau and other transcendentalist authors. The Concord Free Public Library strives to serve as a hub of historic and modern activity for the community. 

Design/Vibes: 9.5/10
If you haven’t seen this library yet, you are missing out on its dark academia vibes. Organized logically and conveniently, each room in this library is “aesthetic” in its own right. From the carved wooden tables to the use of clocks in every room—which adds the dash of practicality needed to ground this fantasy—this library is beautiful. I only docked points because of the inconsistent systems used to label the shelves, particularly on the upper levels. 

The libraries surrounding Acton-Boxborough have so much to offer, yet are so often underappreciated for their true diversity in book selections and available opportunities for the people of these communities. In the end, remember to take some time to visit your local libraries, and see what you can learn and do to help support them.