Add the things you’re thankful for to our Thanksgiving Tree!
The Thanksgiving Tree will be on display in the Friends of the Library nook at the bottom of the main staircase, along with paper leaves in a variety of colors and shapes, sharpies, and paperclip hooks. To take part, just write out something you’re thankful for on a leaf and hang it from one of the branches using a hook! We hope to have a beautiful display that showcases all the good things in our staff and patrons’ lives by the end of the season.
November is both National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo) and National Memoir Writing Month. In honor of these celebrations of creative and nonfiction writing, we’ve filled our displays with books about the writing process, authorship, and storytelling in general, as well as the tales of people both real and fictional who either write themselves or are involved in the publishing industry. Learn about a favorite author or discover a new one when you stop by the Library this month!
Clark Memorial Library and the Bethany Historical Society are working together to create A Historical Walk Through Bethany, an exhibit highlighting the visual history of the town of Bethany through the years. The exhibit will feature photos shared by the community, which will be scanned, enlarged, matted, and arranged by decade in the Library’s Community Room, allowing visitors to “walk through” the everyday lives of Bethany residents.
A few photos have already been collected, and are on display across from the glass display cabinets outside the Community Room! Be sure to stop by and get a glimpse of how life in Bethany has changed over time.
The Library will be hosting Photo Scanning Days on November 23 and December 10to collect images for the final exhibit. For more information about these events, and the exhibit as a whole, see the Library’s Calendar of Events.
An artist reception will be held on November 16th, 3:00 – 4:30 PM for the local artist featured in our Arts@Clark! exhibits for October and November, Roberta Scott. Her work will be shown in the Community Room and the downstairs display cabinets from Tuesday, October 8th, until Friday, December 6th.
Roberta is, in her own words, “a maker of fine art and not so fine art.” She grew up in the Four Corners area of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, on and off the Navajo reservation and military bases. After high school, she went to work for the Forest Service, served 5 years in the Navy working as an aviation mechanic, and worked locally at Sikorsky Aircraft. She received a BFA in Sculpture at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, a college of the University of New Haven, and is currently a technical writer for Sikorsky, a mother, and a “fair weather artist.”
Have you seen our new book displays? To reflect Library Card Sign-Up Month’s Transformers theme, we’re showing off books that prominently feature vehicles of all kinds, from submarines to spaceships – and a few about robots, as well. Stop by to learn about our many modes of transportation, read about characters on road trips and cruises, or get inside the mechanical mind of a machine!
Thank you to everyone who took part in our Adult Summer Reading Raffle! The complete Butterfly Tree, which showcases our adult patrons’ favorite books from their childhoods, will temporarily be on display upstairs in the magazine area. It includes books and series for the full range of young readers, from picture books to full-length novels and everything in between. The full list of submissions is below; whether you’re reminiscing or looking for a new favorite, there’s sure to be something for you!
Adult Summer Reading Submissions: A Little Princess – Frances Hodgson Burnett A Series of Unfortunate Events (Series) – Lemony Snicket A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith A Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula K. Le Guin A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle Anne of Green Gables – L. M. Montgomery Appointment with a Stranger – Jean Thesman “B” is for Betsy – Carolyn Haywood Berenstain Bears (Series) – Stan and Jan Berenstain Black Beauty – Anna Sewell Blueberries for Sal – Robert McCloskey Danny the Champion of the World – Roald Dahl Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet – Jane O’Connor Fantastic Mr. Fox – Roald Dahl From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – E. L. Konigsburg Go, Dog. Go! – P. D. Eastman Gooseberry Park – Cynthia Rylant Harriet the Spy – Louise Fitzhugh Judy Bloom (Author) Julie of the Wolves – Jean Craighead George Knight’s Castle – Edward Eager Little Critter (Series) – Mercer Mayer Little House on the Prairie (Series) – Laura Ingalls Wilder Little Women – Louisa May Alcott Madeline – Ludwig Bemelmans Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel – Virginia Lee Burton Miss Nelson is Missing! – Harry Allard Misty of Chincoteague – Marguerite Henry Nancy Drew (Series) – Carolyn Keene Pinkalicious – Victoria Kann Popcorn – Frank Asch Rosebud – Ed Emberly The Babysitters Club (Series) – Ann M. Martin The Contented Little Pussycat – Frances Ruth Keller The Giving Tree – Shel Silverstein The Hobbit – J. R. R. Tolkien The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe – C. S. Lewis The Little Engine That Could – Watty Piper The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The Little Red Hen – Folk Tale The Little White Horse – Elizabeth Goudge The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett The Secret Language – Ursula Nordstrom The Secret of the Caves (Hardy Boys) – Franklin W. Dixon The Story of Doctor Dolittle – Hugh Lofting The Swiss Family Robinson – Johann David Wyss The Velveteen Rabbit – Margery Williams The Westing Game – Ellen Raskin The Yearling – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Uglies – Scott Westerfield Where the Sidewalk Ends – Shel Silverstein White Fang – Jack London
An artist reception will be held on August 24th, 3:00 – 4:30 PM for the local artist featured in our Arts@Clark! exhibits for August and September, Kim Ahrens. Her work will be shown in the Community Room and the downstairs display cabinets from Saturday, August 3rd, until Thursday, October 3rd.
Kim is a Bethany resident whose favorite subjects include landscapes, chickens and other animals, and flowers, mostly painted in watercolor or acrylic. She paints almost daily in her studio, and hopes her creativity is an inspiration to all who see her work. Stop in during Library hours to take a look!
Clark Memorial Library is proud to host the works of the Bethany “Art Gang”, a group of friends who meet each Thursday at the Town Hall to create and experiment with artistic techniques. The “Art Gang” is sponsored by Bethany Senior Services and led by local artist Mary Lou Narowski; it began as a weekly hour-long watercolor class, but soon branched out into a wide variety of techniques and now normally runs for at least two hours. For more information, contact Robin Glowa, Director of Bethany Senior Services, at 203-393-2100 x1124. The Gang’s art is being displayed upstairs, on the table to the left of the checkout desk and the shelves across from it. Be sure to stop by during Library hours to take a look!
Some of the Gang’s work will also be part of our 5th Annual Public Art Exhibit, which will take place on July 28th, 1:00-5:00 PM. Save the date!
The Arts@Clark! Fifth Annual Public Art Exhibit will take place on Sunday, July 28, from 1:00 – 5:00 PM!
Parking will be available at the Bethany Historical Society (512 Amity Road) and the First Church of Christ Congregational Church (511 Amity Road).
This event is our gift to the community: it is free to all participants – artists, would-be artists, and those who are simply looking to enjoy, renew, and relax on a beautiful summer afternoon. Twenty-six local artists will have their artwork on display on the library grounds – with a wide variety of styles and mediums, ranging from paintings and drawings to needlework and sculpture! There will be live music provided by local musicians, a bake sale sponsored by the Friends of the Library, a display showcasing our newly expanded collection of art books, and even “plein air” art activities for visitors to try out the creative process for themselves!
In celebration of the upcoming Arts@Clark Fifth Annual Outdoor Art Exhibit – which will take place on July 28th, 1:00 to 5:00 PM – our displays for this month will feature books about artists of all kinds, their works, and the process of making art in general. Take the chance to learn about the people who bring so much wonder and color into all of our lives, and make sure to mark the Outdoor Art Exhibit on your calendar so you can meet the artists in our community in person!
