Support Our Library Association, Inc.

Welcome to SOLA, the Friends of Stoughton Public Library!

The Support Our Library Association, Inc. (SOLA), or Friends of Stoughton Public Library, is a non-profit organization that supports the program and service needs of the Stoughton Public Library of Stoughton, Massachusetts. SOLA is the Friends of the Library group for the Stoughton (MA) Public Library. Formed in 2011, SOLA provides funds for new and existing activities, programs and other services for children and adults at the Library.

SOLA Sponsors the Stoughton Public Library's 2026 Summer Reading Program

The Friends of Stoughton Public Library, or Support Our Library Association, Inc. (SOLA), are proud sponsors of the 2026 Summer Reading Program at the Stoughton Public Library. SOLA is pleased to underwrite a range of events for all ages and provide prizes for the winners of the summer reading raffles. Your donations, SOLA memberships, and Community Giving Tree leaf purchases enable your Library's Friends to keep making these wonderful offerings available to our community.

The 2026 Summer Reading Program is here! This summer, Plant a Seed, Read (Planta una Semilla, Lee) with the Stoughton Public Library and SOLA! Children, teens, AND adults are all invited to participate in the 2026 Summer Reading Program, which runs through August 14th.

Children's Summer Reading

Children participating should be entering 6th grade or below. Entering the minutes a child reads and challenges completed into Beanstack, an online reading log, allows participants to earn raffle tickets for prizes. Pre-schoolers may have books read to them. If older siblings read to younger family members, both may count the minutes read. Books read for school can be counted both for school and the public library summer reading program. The library will notify the Stoughton schools of the names and grades of students who participate via Beanstack.

Many programs require registration, as noted in their description. You can register via LibCal, the SPL's online calendar, or by calling the library at 781-344-2711. Registration for all children's programs began on June 1st at 9 am. Note: an adult should be present for the children in attendance at all programs.

All of the programs are at the Stoughton Public Library except the Summer Reading Kickoff, Thursday and Saturday storytimes and the Mobile Quest Nature STEM program, which are held at Halloran Park on Pierce Street (weather permitting); the Arts in the Park programs, which are presented at the South School at 171 Ash Street; and the Storywalk and crafts at the Bradly Lessa Playground at 1258 West Street.

Special Children's Programs

- Kickoff - Flying High Dogs, Henna and Kona Ice at Halloran Park (All ages): Friday, June 26, 10 am - 12 pm

- Storywalk and Nature Crafts at Bradley Lessa Playground (All ages): Thursday, July 9, 2 pm

- Mobile Quest Nature STEM at Halloran Park (7-12 years): Thursday, July 16, 2 pm. Registration required.

- K-Pop Demon Hunters Movie & Craft (7 years & up): Thursday, July 23, 2 pm. Registration required.

- Pop Up Art School Felted Flowers (7-12 years): Thursday, July 30, 2 pm. Registration required.

- Wicked Good Henna Cactus Rock Gardens (7-12 years): Thursday, August 6, 2 pm. Registration required.

- Finale - Science Heroes: Digging It! (All ages): Friday, August 7, 10 am

Arts in the Park

Located at the South School at 171 Ash Street. For all ages. No registration required. Bring something to sit on. In case of rain or extreme heat, these events will be held at the Library instead; check the library's social media for updates.

- Animal World Experience: Monday, July 6, 10 am

- Joe Howard Variety Show: Monday, July 13, 10 am

- Storyteller Rona Levanthal: Monday, July 20, 10 am

- Violet the Clown: Monday, July 27, 10 am

- Wayne Potash in Concert: Monday, August 3, 10 am

Weekly Children's Events

- Reading Buddies (Grades 1-5): Tuesdays, July 7, 14, 21, & 28 and August 4, 6 pm. Registration required. Sign up for each session individually.

- Drop In Chess for Kids (5-11 years): Wednesdays, 5 pm. Volunteer run. Parents must stay with children.

- Stories in Halloran Park (All ages): Thursdays at 10 am and Saturdays at 10 am (Weather permitting. In the case of inclement weather Thursday storytimes will be held at the Library instead while Saturday storytimes will be canceled.)

Teens Summer Reading

Teens participating should be entering 6th grade or above. Teens entering the minutes they read and challenges they complete into Beanstack, an online reading log, can earn raffle tickets for prizes. All reading counts! Read ebooks, audiobooks, graphic novels, manga, comics, etc. - reading is reading! Books read for school can be counted both for school and the public library summer reading program. The library will notify the Stoughton schools of the names and grades of students who participate via Beanstack.

All of the programs are at the Stoughton Public Library except the Summer Reading Kickoff and Bookish Buds (a bring-your-own-book reading club), held at Halloran Park on Pierce Street (weather permitting).

Special Teen Programs

- Kickoff - Flying High Dogs, Henna and Kona Ice at Halloran Park (All ages): Friday, June 26, 10 am - 12 pm

- Teen Arts - Painting Water Lilies (Grades 6-12): Thursday, July 9, 12-1 pm. Registration required.

- Teen Arts - Beaded Plant Craft (Grades 6-12): Monday, July 13, 2-4 pm. Registration required.

- Teens - Gardening & Making Seed Pods (Grades 6-12): Monday, July 20, 2-4 pm. Registration required.

- Teen Arts - Felting a Carnivorous Plant (Grades 6-12): Wednesday, July 22, 1-2:30 pm. Registration required.

- Teens - Make Your Own Beeswax Lip Balm (Grades 6-12): Monday, July 3, 2-3:30 pm. Registration required.

- Teens - Escape Room (Grades 6-12): Monday, August 10, Group 1 2-3 pm & Group 2 3:30-4:30 pm. Registration required. Limit 10 teens per group

Weekly Teen Events

- Bookish Buds at Halloran Park (Grades 6-12): Mondays 2:30-5:30 pm. Rain location: SPL’s Teen Maker Space

- Teen Room Open (Grades 6-12): Tuesdays 1-4 pm Table Top Games. Wednesdays 1-4 pm DIY Arts & Crafts. Thursdays 1-4 pm Video Games.

- Teen Helpers: Reading Buddies (Grades 6-12): Tuesdays, July 7, 14, 21, & 28 and August 4, 6 pm. Earn service hours by reading with a buddy from grades 1-5. Registration required. Sign up with the SPL Children's Librarians.

Adult Summer Reading

All adults (18 years and up) are eligible for summer reading; there are separate summer reading programs for teens and children. Entering the minutes read and challenges completed into Beanstack, an online reading log, earns participants raffle tickets for prizes. The raffle drawing will be held later in August.

All of the programs are at the Stoughton Public Library except the Summer Reading Kickoff, held at Halloran Park on Pierce Street (weather permitting).

Special Adult Programs

- Kickoff - Flying High Dogs, Henna and Kona Ice at Halloran Park (All ages): Friday, June 26, 10 am - 12 pm

- How Does Your Garden Grow? Seed Pods: Thursday, July 9, 6:30-7:30 pm. A beginner-friendly intro to gardening. Registration required as space is limited.

- Let's Talk Mushrooms: Thursday, July 16, 6:30-8 pm. With Mass Audubon-Certified Field Naturalist Jonathan Kranz. Registration required as space is limited.

- Recycled Mini Terrarium Lantern Craft: Friday, July 17, 10-11:30 am. Registration required as space is limited.

- Make Your Own Beeswax Lip Balm: Wednesday, July 22, 10-11 am. Registration required as space is limited.

- Taunton River Watercolor Painting Class: Wednesday, July 29, 2-4 pm. With local artist & environmental educator, Devin McLaughlin. Registration required as space is limited.

- Intro to Nature Photography Class: Thursday, July 30, 6-7:30 pm. Learn introductory photography skills for iPhone to DSLR! Open to photographers of all abilities. Registration required as space is limited.

- Local Artists Panel - Nature As Inspiration: Thursday, August 6, 6-7:30 pm. Registration recommended.

SOLA Sponsors the Stoughton Public Library's Museum and Park Passes

Did you know your library card can save you money on more than reading material and media? Thanks to the Friends of Stoughton Public Library, or the Support Our Library Association, Inc. (SOLA), the Stoughton Public Library offers passes for discounted and even free admission to a variety of local attractions. Now that the winter weather is behind us, why not check out Buttonwood Park Zoo, Franklin Park and Stone Zoos, Roger Williams Zoo or New England Aquarium? Or spend some time exploring over 50 DCR Mass Parks facilities (including popular places like Borderland State Park, Nantasket Beach State Reservation, Nickerson State Park and Purgatory Chasm State Reservation) or one of the Trustees of Reservations facilities (including popular sites like The Old Manse, deCordova Sculpture Park and Fruitlands Museum)? Don't forget the museum options for rainy days, from family favorites (Boston Children's Museum, Easton Children's Museum, Museum of Science and Paul Revere Museum of Discovery and Innovation) to history sites (Plimoth Patuxet Museums, Salem Witch Museum and USS Constitution Museum) and cultural institutions (Christian Science Publishing House, Institute of Contemporary Art, Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). You can also try out the Stoughton YMCA for a whole week! Passes may be reserved in person at the circulation desk, by phone, or online via the Library's digital reservation system. Please review all details regarding pick up and return and what the pass covers; additionally, verify hours and other important visit information with the institution.

Your donations and SOLA memberships allow your Library's Friends to keep offering these valuable services to our community.

SOLA Partners with The Imagination Library of Stoughton

SOLA (Support Our Library Association), the Friends of Stoughton Public Library, are proud partners with Imagination Library of Stoughton. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five, through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community partners in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Republic of Ireland. Inspired by her father's inability to read and write Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995 for the children within her home county. Today, her program spans five countries and gifts millions of free books each month to children around the world. In 30 years the Imagination Library has registered over 3,197,250 children and gifted over 307,982,906 books.

The Imagination Library is proud to announce that largest-ever shared book reading study — analyzing data from more than 86,000 caregivers across five countries — confirms what so many families already know: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library dramatically strengthens early literacy skills.

Children enrolled in the program in the U.S. are

- 11x more likely to be interested in books

- 15x more likely to join in during shared reading

- 9x more likely to initiate shared reading

- Nearly 3x more likely to demonstrate concepts about print, with increases in counting and describing images

By mailing one free, high-quality book each month to children from birth to age five, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library helps build strong reading habits, meaningful family bonding moments, and a lifelong love of books.

Together, we're putting books into children's hands and opportunity into their futures.

Learn more, donate or enroll your child today.

SOLA Membership Drive

To celebrate Stoughton's 300th birthday in 2026, SOLA (Support Our Library Association, Inc.), or the Friends of Stoughton Public Library, has launched its membership drive with a goal of 300 members. Your membership underwrites popular library programs like the Summer Reading Program and Stoughton Reads Together, allows the library to offer a wide variety of discount or free passes to area attractions and enables the outfitting of the library to serve the building and community's needs even better. Click on the Join Us link above to become a member today.

Ways You Can Support Your Local Library and Its Friends Group

Did you know that the Friends of Stoughton Public Library, the Support Our Library Association, Inc. (SOLA), provide financial support for library programming, equipment, furnishings and more? SOLA is a proud sponsor of annual events like Stoughton Reads Together and the Summer Reading Program. SOLA also steps in to provide the library with the funds for other programs and needs like extra display shelving, study and sensory nooks and A/V equipment that allows SMAC to record and broadcast community forums and meetings. Consider supporting your library by

- Donating directly to SOLA. Make a one-time or recurring donation through the Donate link above.

- Joining SOLA. Fill out a membership form by clicking Join Us above.

- Purchasing a leaf on the Community Giving Tree at the library. Learn more through the Donate link above.

- Shopping the used media shelves. Located on the library's middle level, all purchases go to SOLA to support its mission.

- Following SOLA and the Stoughton Public Library on Facebook and Instagram. Like and share posts to your personal page and interested groups.