Brightwood Branch

359 Plainfield Street
Springfield MA 01107

Parking: Free parking is available in the lot shared by the Library and Chestnut Accelerated Middle School. On-street parking is also available. The Children’s area is on the right.

PVTA Bus Route: B4

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413-263-6805

Manager: Diane Houle
Supervisor: Haydee Hodis

The Brightwood Branch will be closed for the following holidays:

The libraries will be closed on the following 2018 / 2019 holidays:
January 1, 2019 (Tuesday)	New Year’s Day
January 21, 2019 (Monday)	Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
February 18, 2019 (Monday)	Presidents’ Day
April 15, 2019 (Monday)	Patriot’s Day (MA holiday)
April 21, 2019 (Sunday)	Easter: Central Library closed
May 27, 2019 (Monday)	Memorial Day
July 4, 2019 (Thursday)	Independence Day
September 2, 2019 (Monday)	Labor Day
October 14, 2019 (Monday)	Columbus Day
November 11, 2019 (Monday)	Veterans Day
November 27, 2019 (Wednesday)	Thanksgiving Eve: All libraries close at 5 pm
November 28, 2019 (Thursday)	Thanksgiving Day
December 24, 2019 (Tuesday)	Christmas Eve
December 25, 2019 (Wednesday)	Christmas Day
December 31, 2019 (Tuesday)	New Year's Eve: All libraries close at 5 pm

Computers: Eight internet computers, two computers with preloaded games. Each session lasts 30 minutes. Children may have two sessions per day. Headphones are not provided. Earbuds are available at the Circulation desk for $1.

 

To promote neighborhood culture and development, the library makes its community room available for educational, social service, and other organizations. The library also hosts community events such as musical performances, puppet shows, readings by authors, and exhibitions by illustrators and other artists. Visit the Meeting Room page for information about booking the Community Room, to review our meeting room rules and policies, and submit a meeting room request.

The beautiful Brightwood Branch Library is located in the heart of the Brightwood section of Springfield. The library is situated in the Chestnut Accelerated Middle School building across the street from the Benjamin Ramos Health Center.

Through its Collections and Services, the Brightwood Branch Library provides for the informational, educational, and leisure needs of the community.

Do you know how the Brightwood area got its name? Josiah Gilbert Holland (born in Belchertown, MA in 1819), doctor, author, poet, and early editor of The Springfield Republican, wrote his second narrative poem titled “Kathrina,” in 1867 while staying at his new home in the north end of Springfield. He called his beautiful home (“painted a glowing Venetian red”) Brightwood, and the name was soon applied to the whole section of the city. Interestingly J.G. Holland married Elizabeth Chapin, a good friend of Amherst poet Emily Dickinson. Mr. Holland died in New York City in 1881 and is buried in the Springfield Cemetery; his bronze profile wrought by Augustus Saint-Gaudens adorns his cemetery monument.