Forest Park Branch – 380 Belmont Avenue – Springfield MA 01108 |
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MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN | |
1-5 | 10-5 | 1-5 | 1-8 | 1-5 | 11-3 | Closed |
Springfield MA 01108
Parking: On-street parking is available on Belmont Avenue and Oakland Street. There are time limits on Belmont.
Book Drop: Located near the side entrance, on the right side of the building as you face the library’s main entrance.
PVTA Bus Route: G2
Manager: Cherokee Lowe
Supervisor: Alexandra Dupuis
The Forest Park Branch will be closed for the following holidays:
The libraries will be closed on the following dates for holidays: | |
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January 1, 2024 (Monday) | New Year’s Day |
January 15 (Monday) | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
February 19 (Monday) | Presidents’ Day |
March 31 (Sunday) | Easter: Central Library closed |
April 15 (Monday) | Patriot’s Day (MA holiday) |
May 27 (Monday) | Memorial Day |
June 19 (Wednesday) | Juneteenth |
July 4 (Thursday) | Independence Day |
September 2 (Monday) | Labor Day |
October 14 (Monday) | Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples’ Day |
November 11 (Monday) | Veterans Day |
November 27 (Wednesday) | Thanksgiving Eve: All libraries close at 5 pm |
November 28 (Thursday) | Thanksgiving Day |
December 24 (Tuesday) | Christmas Eve |
December 25 (Wednesday) | Christmas Day |
January 1, 2025 (Wednesday) | New Year’s Day |
Fax Service: Fax service is available. There is a $1 per job charge for a traditional fax. We cannot receive faxes. There is no charge to scan your document to an email address, USB, tablet or smartphone. To scan to your smartphone you must have a QR code app.
To promote neighborhood culture and development, the library makes its community room available for educational, social service, and other organizations. 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.
Forest Park neighborhood residents outgrew the provisional circulating library that was set up at Park Memorial Baptist Church and residents wanted a full service branch library. In 1908, industrialist Andrew Carnegie provided $50,000 for three branch libraries that included Forest Park Branch Library. Carnegie required that neighborhood citizens subscribe for land to match his donation of money for the building. Over 500 prominent Forest Park citizens subscribed for land and soon Forest Park Branch Library was completed in 1909.
The renovated Forest Park Branch Library children’s area, now the Charlie & Joan Ryan Family Place, was made possible through the generosity of the Barker Foundation and Troy and Pat Murray. Honoring former Springfield Mayor Charles V. Ryan and his wife Joan, the creative new space will provide inspiration and learning opportunities for so many area children, just as the original room did for young Charlie and Troy.
Thanks to our benefactors the changes are astonishing, the room looks phenomenal, and the Charlie & Joan Ryan Family Place is ready to welcome all ages.
For more information about the history of the Forest Park Branch, download our brochure.
Branch News
Western Mass. state legislators discuss their priorities with Springfield library community (WAMC)
State lawmakers and local librarians gathered in Springfield, Massachusetts on Friday to discuss funding, digital equity and more.
Summer Reading Club – Thank you!
Thank you for participating in our 2023 Discover Your Summer Reading Challenge. Check out a list of our winners!
Mayor Sarno Recognizes our Springfield City Libraries During National Library Week
April 24th marks National Library Workers Day. Thank you to all our dedicated Springfield Library workers for your tremendous service.