There are wonderful public libraries in Greater Boston. Most do not have homeschool-specific programming, but you can find a wealth of academic, recreational and social resources and opportunities to support your homeschooling life. Two of the biggest money savers for homeschoolers are library museum pass programs and interlibrary loan!
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library has 26 locations including the main branch in Copley Square and is its own library network separate from the Minuteman Library Network or CWMARS in Central and Western Mass.
One BPL feature we use the most is the New England Aquarium pass. The BPL pass offers FREE admission to the NEAQ, where most libraries in Greater Boston have the $10/person pass or even the $15.50/person pass! Yikes!!
Click here for a list of BPL passes that offer FREE admission!
On the BPL’s Museum Passes page, click on “What museum passes does the BPL offer?” for a complete list of passes available AND up to date information on some upcoming events at the organizations. Make sure to pay attention to which branch location has the pass you want!
And the good news is that all Mass residents can get a BPL card!!
The BLP events calendar is a marvel. It has very useful filtering options, including an Audience filter, i.e. Adults, Kids, Teens, Seniors, etc. A quick glance shows a wide variety of activities for kids and teens. Check it out!!
Minuteman Library Network
The MLN has 41 libraries in its network. Most of them have museum pass programs. When you can’t find the pass you want in your home library, you can check other MLN libraries, but you have to visit each library’s website. Each MLN library also has its own policies regarding who can checkout the passes. Some will let anyone with an MLN card to use the passes, some restrict passes to city residents.
You should note that there are sometimes fines if you reserve a pass but don’t pick it up. Make sure you can get to the library before reserving! (Something yours truly ran into once!)
Cambridge Public Library
The Kids Floor of the Main Branch of the Cambridge Public Library is wonderful! It’s a great place to hang out with the kids with good lighting, lots of tables to work at, comfortable benches, and scattered love seats. It’s a beautiful spot, they have a friendly, helpful staff, and lots of resources. I don’t love the CPL online calendar. It is often easier to visit one of their 7 locations and pick up the monthly events calendar.
In the past my kids have taken part in homeschooler book clubs, lego time, comic book workshop, puppetry workshops, something called Bookshop.
I’m looking forward to finding out about the teen room as my older begins using it.
Somerville PL
I’ve always been impressed by the kid offerings at the Somerville Public Library. They have an ongoing, drop-in drama program on Mondays, a monthly kids’ book club, occasional programs like comic book drawing, girls who code, read to a dog, writing workshops, a monthly all-ages chess night and more. The SPL events calendar is one of the easiest library calendars to use. Just click the “children” or “teen” option on the top left corner. The SPL has 3 locations in the city.
Broke Boston Homeschooling 