Clark Memorial Library will have a table at the 2025 Bethany Senior Health Fair & Flu Clinic on Wednesday, October 15, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM! Stop by to chat with a Library staff member and renew your library card – or get a new one. We hope to see you there!
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Local artists Liz Orsini & Ann Wiley will have their work on display in the Library’s Community Room and display cabinets throughout October and November.
Liz Orsini’s artistic journey has led her through four decades of diverse life experiences and has included watercolor, pastels, acrylics, and collage study. She is particularly drawn to the interplay of color and contrast. Each piece becomes a meditation on balance – between planning and spontaneity, between the known and the discovered. Her current work focuses on abstract compositions that marry original collage materials with acrylic paint and expressive mark-making.
Ann Wiley‘s creative adventure began with designing homes, both inside and out, like her dad did, and learning about fabrics, patterns, and designs with her mom. Art classes, art teachers, local art shows, museums, and fellow artists have all influenced her; after trying out many mediums, acrylic painting and collage have proven to be both her favorite and most enduring courses of study. The pieces of hers being shared have been created over the course of 15 years.
There will be an artist reception on Saturday, October 25th from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Library’s Community Room. Stop by to meet the artists and see their work!
Clark Memorial Library is partnering with the Library Speakers Consortium to give our community access to a growing catalog of virtual talks featuring bestselling authors, innovators and influencers, and experts in a variety of fields. Multiple new webinars will be added each month. Patrons can visit the Library’s LCS microsite (libraryc.org/bethanylibrary) to register for upcoming live events – all of which will be recorded and remain available to watch on-demand as well! The archive already includes talks with authors like Kate Quinn (The Diamond Eye), Bonnie Garmus (Lessons in Chemistry), Geraldine Brooks (People of the Book), & Frieda McFadden (The Housemaid).
We hope this service will empower the members of our community to continue their journeys of lifelong learning and personal growth! The following LSC webinars will be taking place during October:
“Nuestra América: Stories of 30 Inspiring Latinas/Latinos Who Have Shaped the United States” with Smithsonian educators – Thursday, October 2 at 2:00 PM EDT,
“10 Years of Daring Heists and Lovable Outcasts in YA Fantasy” with Six of Crows author Leigh Bardugo – Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 PM EDT,
“Finding My Way” with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai – Wednesday, October 22 at 7:00 PM EDT,
& “Courtly Intrigue and Whispers as Weapons” with historical fiction author Philippa Gregory – Wednesday, October 29 at 2:00 PM EDT.
Check the Library’s Calendar of Events for more details!
Clark Memorial Library and the Friends of the Library will be at the
2025 Bethany Harvest Festival on Sunday, October 5!
Stop by to grab a tasty treat from the Friends of the Library Bake Sale, enter a FREE raffle to win a seasonal gift basket, and sign up for a library card if you don’t have one already!
The Festival takes place at the Old Bethany Airport (696 Amity Road), and lasts from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM. We hope to see you there!
Clark Memorial Library and Willow Tree Montessori once again invite families with young children (ages 0-3) to join a representative from Willow Tree at the Library for a special Montessori Morning storytime! This is a drop-in event that will start at 10:30 AM on Saturday, October 4.
Willow Tree hopes to share the love of language with rich vocabulary through stories, songs, and poems. For more information about Willow Tree Montessori, visit their website at wtm.earth.
Help Rocky the Rock Snake, the friendly garden snake created during the Library’s Sixth Annual Public Art Exhibit, grow even longer!
We will be offering patrons the chance to paint their own rocks to add to Rocky’s body on Saturday, September 13, from 12:00 – 3:00 PM. This is a drop-in event for all ages. We hope to see you there – and while you’re at the Library, why not take the opportunity to sign up for a library card if you don’t already have one? September is Library Card Sign-Up Month: the perfect time to get a new library card, or renew your old one if it’s expired. It’s a quick and easy way to get access to countless resources!
What better way to spend Labor Day than with family, friends, and thousands of top-notch films? The Library’s film app, Kanopy, is creating a curated collection of films and TV from across genres (and generations) to be the perfect accompaniment to get-togethers all over the United States. This special No Work, All Watch Weekend collection will become available on September 1st – just in time to settle in and enjoy while the long weekend winds down!
Can’t wait until Monday? You can also use your library card to access hundreds of other classic and indie films, TV shows, and documentaries on Kanopy. New media and watchlists are added on a regular basis! Once it launches, you can go directly to the No Work, All Watch Weekend collection here: kanopy.com/category/53883
For a quick walkthrough of how to set up and use a Kanopy account, visit their Getting Started webpage; if you already have an account, just sign in and enjoy!
The webpage for Spellbound, the Library’s Sixth Annual Public Art Exhibit, is finished! A video showcasing the Exhibit is still in the works, but you can visit the page by clicking the image above or this link to read a brief summary and see a collage of some of the great pictures taken during the event, as well as a list of the participants with examples of their work, and even some bonus poetry.
Thank you once again to everyone who made this year’s Public Art Exhibit possible!
Meet Rocky the Rock Snake! Rocky was created by visitors to the Sixth Annual Art Exhibit, and is currently on display in the garden to the left of the Library’s side entrance. Keep an eye on the Library’s Calendar of Events: we will be giving patrons the chance to help Rocky get even longer during September – Library Card Sign-Up Month!
Local artist Carol Vinick will have her works on display in the Library’s Community Room and display cabinets throughout the months of August and September.
Carol uses fabric collage to tell stories. Included in her body of work are stories of the struggle for social justice, her family history, and the wonders of nature. She has exhibited throughout Connecticut, and has had work in juried exhibitions traveling both nationally and internationally. Her work has also been featured in books, museums, galleries, and private collections. She was co-president of Connecticut Women Artists from 2021 to 2023, and is currently co-chair of the Studio Art Quilt Associates Connecticut regional traveling show for 2026.
There will be an artist reception on Saturday, September 6 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Library’s Community Room.