Next time you stop by the Children’s Room, pick up an Autumn Scavenger Hunt & Exploration Kit! They include an Autumn Scavenger Hunt featuring signs of the changing seasons and local wildlife to keep an eye out for, as well as a journal ready to be filled with notes and sketches, and assorted supplies for exploring and celebrating the great outdoors. The kits will only be available while supplies last, so don’t miss your chance to get one of these fun goodie bags as we officially move into autumn!
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.
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.
Ever wonder what a Library book might say to a kid walking by? We’ve studded the Children’s Room and Teens & Tweens area shelves with Shelf Shoutouts – cards that let our books “shout out” from the shelves to get patrons’ attention! If you’re looking for something to read but aren’t sure where to start, Shelf Shoutouts can guide you to books you might have overlooked otherwise. Find a new favorite calling out to you the next time you stop by the Library!
Wednesday Morning Storytimes will be taking a short hiatus during September. There will be no meetings on September 17 & September 24 – the next meeting will instead be on October 1. Toys, activities, and makerspace crafts will still be available in the Children’s Room during this period, so there will still be plenty to entertain our young patrons in the meantime!
Curious about quilting?
Join us for a special four-part workshop with Susan Taddei, one of our recent Arts@Clark! exhibitors. The Library Quilt Bee will be held in the Community Room from 2:00 – 4:00 PM on Saturdays every other week, starting Saturday, September 20th. Check the Library’s Calendar of Events for more information.
No prior experience is necessary – Susan will be teaching about preparing fabric and ironing, rotary cutting, strip piecing, easy triangles, tying layers, and binding edges. The result will be a 9″ x 9″ square sampler. We supply all materials – come free your inner quilter in a relaxed afternoon atmosphere!
Space is limited; call the Library at 203-393-2103 to register! Participants must take part in all four sessions – each will cover different skills and steps in the quilting process.
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!
It’s that time of year! As summer winds down, we’re filling our display shelves with back-to-school reading material for readers of all ages. Young patrons will find plenty of school-prep jitters and classroom chaos to relate to – but there are also stories about students learning magic, superheroics, and other fantastic skills if you’ve had enough of real-life education. We even have scholarly reads for our patrons who are no longer attending school themselves, all linked to teaching or academia in one way or another. Come take a look next time you’re at the Library!
