Tag Archives: Event

The Friends of the Library are very grateful to the Bethany community for all the support they have provided to their various fundraising events.

On Tuesday, February 13, starting at 7:00 PM, the Friends will be sponsoring a special Paint and Sip event. Local artist Zach Chernak will guide participants through painting a special Valentine’s picture; there will be wine, cheese and crackers as refreshments.

The event is free, but space is limited;
please sign up at the Library, or call 203-393-2103.

With the renovation of the Children’s Room at Clark Memorial Library finally complete, we are proud to announce its dedication as the Nancy J. Disbrow Children’s Room,
in honor of Nancy Disbrow, one of our most dedicated longtime supporters.

The dedication ceremony will take place Saturday, February 3rd at 1:30 PM,
as part of our Take Your Child to the Library Day celebration. Please join us in thanking Nancy for her contributions to the Library’s success!

Nancy is a lifelong Bethany resident and a second generation librarian. Her mother served as Head Librarian for Clark Memorial Library in the 1950s and 60s, and Nancy often rode the bus to the Library after school, rather than to her home. She has fond memories of reading near the upstairs fireplace in the original Library structure.

Nancy worked professionally as a public and school librarian in New Haven, and then joined the faculty of Southern Connecticut State University and spent many years training new librarians. She retired in 2013 as an Associate Professor Emeritus.

Her connections to Clark Memorial Library continued throughout her adult life; she served for many years as a BLA board member, and continues to be an active member and officer of the Friends of the Library. She is a founding member of the 1937 Legacy Society, with a substantial contribution to its endowment. Most recently, she has donated her collection of professional children’s literature books to the Library, and been instrumental in fundraising for the Children’s Room renovation.

Take Your Child to the Library Day Celebration!
February 1st – February 3rd
We want to thank the many donors who made the Children’s Room renovation possible, and invite all of Bethany to enjoy the new space and honor our shared commitment to having a strong public library in Bethany!
The following activities and events will take place during the three day celebration:

Thursday, February 1st – 12:00 – 6:00 PM
Decorate a Cupcake
Cut a Ribbon for the Ribbon Tree
Award Book Basket Raffle
1000 Books Before Kindergarten Sign Up

Friday, February 2nd – 12:00 – 5:00 PM
Decorate a Cupcake
Cut a Ribbon for the Ribbon Tree
Award Book Basket Raffle
1000 Books Before Kindergarten Sign Up

Saturday, February 3rd – 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Decorate a Cupcake
Cut a Ribbon for the Ribbon Tree
Award Book Basket Raffle
1000 Books Before Kindergarten Sign Up
Dedication of the Nancy J. Disbrow Children’s Room – 1:30 PM
Visit from Ali the Balloon Guy – 2:00 – 4:00 PM

Help us welcome winter by making snowmen to decorate the Library!
The Children’s Room will have a snowman crafting area
set up in the Makerspace during library hours from
Wednesday, December 13, to Saturday, January 6.
Make one for the Library and one to take home! All ages welcome.

Each fall, Clark Memorial Library runs a fundraiser to support ongoing library services. The Library is not a municipal department, but it is a town asset, administered by the nonprofit Bethany Library Association. The Library receives a grant from the Town of Bethany that contributes to overall expenses, but a significant amount of our operating expenses are covered by additional grants and fundraising.

Your donations are put to work immediately to support new and 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!

Click on the link below to download a pledge form, which can either be mailed in or dropped off at the Library in person. For additional donation options – including PayPal, which accepts both credit and debit cards – visit our Support Us! page. Any gift, no matter the size, is greatly appreciated.

PLEASE HELP US TO REACH OUR GOAL!

The Library’s featured artist for November, Phoebe Barron, is one of 73 artists whose artworks are showcased in HMVC Gallery New York’s Vibrant Visions Virtual Group Exhibition, a digital art show running from November 1st to November 30th. You can visit the HMVC website to see her piece Maze displayed in a virtual art gallery along with the works of the other artists, or see it in person in the Library’s Community Room as part of her “Lines, Angles, and Reflections in Architecture” display!

Phoebe with another of her pieces, Reflected Tree

Special thanks to local quilting artist Wendy Frieden for donating an original quilt to decorate our new Children’s Room. We will celebrate the addition of the “Kaleidoscope Quilt” with a kaleidoscope themed Arts@Clark! Makerspace activity on Saturday October 7th, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM.

Robin McCahill Drop-In Talk & Art Workshop, September 16th. Drop-In Talk, 12:30-1:30 PM, Library Community Room: Robin McCahill will discuss her work and techniques in fiber arts. All are welcome! Art Workshop, 2:00-4:00 PM, Library Makerspace: Robin will teach participants how to create a simple felted wool rod puppet. For adults and children ages 10+. Space is limited; signups are required.

Local artist Robin McCahill will be hosting two events on September 16th! There will be a drop-in talk from 12:30 to 1:30 in the Community Room downstairs, where Robin’s art is currently on display; Robin will discuss both her work and fiber art techniques in general. This event is open to all and does not require signups.

Then there will be a workshop from 2:00 to 4:00 in the Makerspace area of the Children’s Room, where patrons will learn how to create their own simple felted wool puppet! Workshop participants must be at least 10 years old. Space is also limited and signups are required; you can either call the Library at 203-393-2103 or stop by the main desk to sign up.

Both events are free, and supplies for the workshop are provided. And remember, you don’t have to attend the drop-in talk if you are attending the workshop, or vice-versa!


During the Library’s summer children’s program, our young patrons took part in the All Together Now! House-Building Project – starting with identical paper templates and squares of foamboard, they created over thirty unique houses and yards using craft supplies and their imaginations. At the end of the project, we put all the finished houses together into Clarkville: a model town that reflects the creativity and diversity of our full-sized Bethany community. You can take a brief tour of the completed town using the slideshow above! We will be collecting pictures of all the houses in a book that patrons will be able to flip through when they stop by the Children’s Room as well, and possibly even more exhibitions of the results of this amazing program in the future.

Thank you so much to everyone who took part in both the House-Building Project and the summer children’s program as a whole!