What we’re about
The City of Menlo Park's libraries offer a variety of programs, including art events, author talks, info sessions, craft sessions, music events, and more. To make the most of our programming efforts and this meetup page, we’d love for you to get involved. If you come to a program, say hi and let us know you saw it on meetup. If you have an idea for something you’d like to see at the library, send us a message. The library is a great space for community meetups and we’d love to play a role in making those connections!
See more events at our calendar, and check our hours and holiday closures.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Mystery Readers Group: Ecclesiastical MysteriesLink visible for attendees
From abbeys to mosques to temples, no place of worship is immune to a good mystery.
So say your prayers and dig into some ecclesiastical mysteries with us (and no, we won’t quiz you on how to spell “ecclesiastical”)!
A few leads:
The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco: In the year 1327, Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns to the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, and the empirical insights of Roger Bacon to find the killer.
Blackwater Falls, by Ausma Zehanat Khan: Girls from immigrant communities have been disappearing for months in the Colorado town of Blackwater Falls, but the local sheriff is slow to act. The calls for justice become too loud to ignore when the body of a star student and refugee – the Syrian teenager Razan Elkader—is positioned deliberately in a mosque.
Scorched Grace, by Margot Douaihy: Sister Holiday, a chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun, puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test in this debut crime novel set in scorching New Orleans.
Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, by Harry Kemelman: Rabbi David Small, the new leader of Barnard's Crossing's Jewish community, can't even enjoy his Sabbath without things getting stirred up in a most unorthodox way. It seems a young nanny has been found strangled, less than a hundred yards from the Temple's parking lot – and all the evidence points to Rabbi Small.
In the Bleak Midwinter, by Julia Spencer-Fleming: Clare Fergusson, the first female priest of an Episcopal church in Millers Kill, New York, finds herself immersed in the town’s secrets when a newbown baby is abandoned and a young mother is brutally slain.
--and that’s just a starting point! Join us to exchange book recommendations and discover new favorites with fellow mystery lovers.
Menlo Park’s Mystery Readers Group meets online on the third Tuesday of each month. Rather than reading the same book, we all share our reading of different books surrounding a particular theme.
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 | 06:00 PM - 07:15 PM
Zoom webinarMore free events with Menlo Park Library
Menlo Park Library on social media:
@menloparklibrary on Instagram & Facebook
@menlolibrary on Twitter/X - Teen Media WednesdaysBelle Haven Library, Belle Haven Community Campus, Menlo Park, CA
Teens: we are now watching movies AND playing video games at the library! Join us for Teen Media Wednesdays, where we will either be watching a film or playing video games in the Teen Zone.
All films are rated PG-13 or lower and all video games are rated E10 or lower. Drop in and find out what the movie or game of the week is, and use the suggestion box in the Teen Zone to request future movies and games. Snacks are provided.
https://menlopark.gov/Government/Departments/Library-and-Community-Services/Events/Events-for-adults/202501-05-teen-media-wednesdays
This free event received funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.
More free events with Menlo Park Library:
https://menlopark.gov/programsMenlo Park Library on social media:
@menloparklibrary on Instagram & Facebook
@menlolibrary on Twitter - Documentary - Boss: The Black Experience in BusinessBelle Haven Library, Belle Haven Community Campus, Menlo Park, CA
In honor of Black Business Month, join us for a documentary tracing the lives of African American entrepreneurs over 150 years.
In Boss: The Black Experience in Business, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson takes us on a journey from the end of Reconstruction through the present, tracing the emergence of a stable Black business community alongside the greater struggle for civil rights.
Notable historians and scholars help tell the story, and there are new interviews with many notable business leaders.
This free event received funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.
Wednesday, August 20, 2025 | 05:15 PM - 07:15 PM
Belle Haven Library, 100 Terminal Ave., Menlo Park, CA, 94025More free events with Menlo Park Library
Menlo Park Library on social media:
@menloparklibrary on Instagram & Facebook
@menlolibrary on Twitter/X - 1, 2, 3-- By the Sea! Music with MaryLee SunseriMenlo Park Library, Menlo Park, CA
Join us outside to sing and dance along to fun songs about sea animals with MaryLee!
MaryLee creates shows with the very youngest children in mind. Her audience participation performances are beloved by babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their grownups. MaryLee engages the adults in the audience, asking them to lap-sit with their little ones.
There will be jumping, clapping and singing along!
About MaryLee:
MaryLee Sunseri is a singer/songwriter/performer of traditional and original songs for young children. She has produced and arranged 16 albums of songs, and has been honored with two American Library Notable Children's Recordings, as well as four Parents Choice Foundation Awards.
Her credits include more than 30 years as a solo artist performing in public libraries, parent centers and preschools, festivals, folk clubs, and academic groups throughout California, Massachusetts, Washington and County Cork, Ireland.
In 2001, MaryLee received her certificate of study in Musical Theatre from London Drama School with distinction in singing.
This free event received funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.Thursday, August 21, 2025 | 10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
Event will be held outside, on the library lawn.
Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St., Menlo Park, CA, 94025More free events with Menlo Park Library
Menlo Park Library on social media:
@menloparklibrary on Instagram & Facebook
@menlolibrary on Twitter/X
