January is National Hobby Month, a time to celebrate your favorite hobbies and pastimes, and to try out new ones. Our book displays this month showcase all kinds of hobbies, from outdoor activities like swimming or hiking, to artsy projects like painting or knitting, as well as stories about characters having fun following their passions. Take a look – you could pick up a new hobby, or get back into an old one that you haven’t thought about in a while!
It’s that time of year again… Our displays are filled with holiday- and winter-themed books – and this time there are even more to choose from, with three whole shelves in the Children’s Room featuring end-of-year reads. Stop by and grab a book to get you through the longest, chilliest nights of the season!
A Community Asset Since 1937
For 87 years, Clark Memorial Library has grown to meet the needs of the Bethany community. From the commitment of our original founders (like-minded citizens who felt it was important to have a library) to our current all-volunteer board and our dedicated staff, the Library has provided a welcoming environment for reading, socializing and cultural activities. The ongoing support of our patrons and benefactors allows us to continue to grow; as an Association Library, we are a non-profit that depends on the generosity of our community. Your donations are put to work immediately to support ongoing library services, from updating our physical collection and providing access to a range of digital resources to running our Makerspace, seasonal programming, and art displays!
Each year starting in fall, the Bethany Library Association raises funds to support ongoing library services in the Annual Drive. Download an Annual Drive Pledge Card to make a donation via check, or contribute via PayPal, debit, or credit card on our website. Names provided on Pledge Cards will appear in the Library’s gratitude report unless otherwise noted.
Clark Memorial Library is recognized as a non-profit 501(C)(3) and donors may deduct gifts and bequests to the Bethany Library Association as directed by the tax code.
Help us welcome winter by making snowflakes and winter decorations! The Children’s Room will have a crafting area open in the makerspace every day during Library hours from Tuesday, December 3rd through Tuesday, December 31st. Make one decoration for the Library, and one to take home! For all ages.
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!
Have You Tested Your Water Lately?
Even if your water tastes and smells fine, that doesn’t always mean it’s safe to drink…
UConn Extension is providing reduced-cost well testing for residents of Bethany and the surrounding areas. Normally $350 or more, tests will be provided for $200!
Please sign up by November 11th. If you miss the deadline to register, we will have sample kits to distribute at the event. Kits will need to be returned the day of or brought back to the UConn main campus at a later date.
Where: Clark Memorial Library, 538 Amity Road, Bethany, CT 06524
When: November 16th, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Visit s.uconn.edu/bethany-well-testing to register
Contact alec.janis@uconn.edu with questions
What is a cryptid? It’s a mysterious creature that has been claimed (but never proven) to exist, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.
Join Patrick Scalisi and Valerie Ruby-Omen, the author and illustrator of Connecticut Cryptids: A Field Guide to the Weird and Wonderful Creatures of the Nutmeg State, for a presentation on Connecticut’s cryptids – including a special look at our local Bethany cryptid, the Downs Road Monster. The presentation will take place in the Library’s Community Room on Saturday, October 12, starting at 3:00 PM.
For more information about the book and its creators (as well as special bonus stories!) you can visit the Connecticut Cryptids website at www.ctcryptids.com.
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!
As promised, we have collected some of the many photos taken during the 5th Annual Public Art Exhibit into a short video commemorating the event! Thank you again to everyone who helped to make this year’s Public Art Exhibit our biggest success so far. This video will remain available to view on the Library’s YouTube channel as well as the Arts@Clark! page on our website, under Previous Events.
We hope to see you again next year!