Staff Articles
2021 Short Story Contest Winners
This July, the Westfield Athenaeum held a Short Story contest open to anyone and everyone. Writers in Westfield were encouraged to submit a short story with a 1,000 words or less. We had children and teens in grades 3-7 submit stories. You can find their stories...
Westfield’s Prolific Painter of Portraits
Many people know that one of Westfield’s claims to fame is the Johnson Organ Company, which built hundreds of pipe organs, many of which are still in use today. The founder of the company was William Allen Johnson (1816–1901) of Westfield. A lesser-known story is...
August is Read-a-Romance Month!
August is Read-a-Romance and Romance Awareness Month, and we want to make you aware of some awesome romance authors! This is only a smattering of authors we will be featuring all this month on our romance display in the library. Come check a book (or more) out!...
Mystery Box with Cultural Literary Fiction
Welcome to our mystery unboxing feature with Westfield librarians, with a new episode released on IGTV every month! In this episode, librarian Mary asked her colleagues for recommendations for adult fiction with a historical or cultural element that was not a...
Our Favorite Beach Reads | Librarians Discuss
On August 3rd, 3 Westfield librarians got together for a Librarians Discuss program on "What are Your Favorite Beach Reads?" We had a fantastic conversation about the genre and our favorite titles along with patrons like you! The entire program is below for your...
Dive Into A Good Book Booklist
With the theme of Summer Reading this year being Tails and Tales, we've prepared some fun booklists for you with a variety of nature themes. All of these books are are ocean-themed or otherwise ready for a read on the beach! Each book on this list has been...
Dragon Tail Recommends: Villainous Tales
Welcome to our third Dragon Tail Recommends list! While I would never recommend a life of villainy, unless there is a lovely pile of gold involved to sleep on, let’s be honest, a good tale requires a good villain-- or should I say one that is good at being...
Wild About Reading Booklist
With the theme of Summer Reading this year being Tails and Tales, we've prepared some fun booklists for you with a variety of nature themes. This one is all about nature and/or wilderness reads! Each book on this list has been suggested - and loved! - by a...
Dragon Tail Recommends: Because Dragon Tales are the Best
Welcome to our second Dragon Tail Recommends list! Not to be biased but let’s face it, tales about magnificent creatures such as yours truly, are the best. This is from a purely unbiased perspective, mind you. Not to brag, but books about these noble creatures have...
Get Your Paws on a Good Book
With the theme of Summer Reading this year being Tails and Tales, we've prepared some fun booklists for you with a variety of nature themes. For this one, we're looking at books that involve pets in some way. Each book on this list has been suggested - and loved! -...
Mystery Box with Unconventional Short Stories
Welcome to our mystery unboxing feature with Westfield librarians, with a new episode released on IGTV every month! In this episode, librarian Kelsey asked her colleagues for recommendations for unconventional, lyrical, and stylistically complex short fiction -...
Books to Celebrate Freedom and Independence
Since we featured a Teen Loft display last week, we wanted to show off one of our current Adult displays this week! We currently have a Summer Reading themed display, along with this featured display: Books to Celebrate Freedom and Independence. While there are...
The Tale of the Black Squirrels
Since our summer reading theme for 2021 is Tails and Tales, for this local history post we’re looking at one of the most popular tales in Westfield: the one about the black squirrels (and their tails). Many publications and websites, including newspaper articles in...
Popular Books from BookTok
Maybe it's finally time to read that popular book you've been seeing all over TikTok! Youth Services Librarian Tina has made an amazing display in our Teen Loft with a long list of titles AND blurbs to help convince you that now is the time to take it home. Check...
Birds of a Feather Booklist
With the theme of Summer Reading this year being Tails and Tales, we've prepared some fun booklists for you with a variety of nature themes. For this first one, we're looking at books that involve birds or have birds on the cover. Each book on this list has been...
Dragon Tail Recommends: Tales about Other Tails
Welcome to our first Dragon Tail Recommends list, my name is Cornelius Firebreath, I will be your reptilian guide. Our first list will be fun stories about other creatures with magnificent tails. If you don’t have a tail, I am so sorry. Really. You don’t know...
Summer Reading and Expanded Hours Begin!
We are so excited to welcome you back to the Westfield Athenaeum without appointments starting June 21st. Our hours will be 10 AM to 7 PM Monday through Thursday, 10 AM to 5 PM on Friday and 9 AM to 1 PM on Saturdays. All three entrances will be open, and...
Get Your Summer Reading Questions Answered!
Our popular Librarians Discuss series on Facebook Live turns to Summer Reading to answer all your questions on June 22nd at 7:30 PM. Gretchen, our Digital Services Librarian, will be talking with the Heads of both Youth and Adult departments about what they are...
New Games in the Children’s Library
The Children's Library has a large selection of board games, card games, puzzles, and toys available for you to check out. Click here to browse our collection. The following games were played and reviewed by a Westfield teen. Codenames Details: For 2-8+ players,...
Mystery Box of Offbeat Mystery and Horror Recommendations
Welcome to our mystery unboxing feature with Westfield librarians, with a new episode released on IGTV every month! In this episode, librarian Kat asked her colleagues for recommendations for offbeat mystery and horror books, either teen or adult. All of these...
