In an exciting new partnership, Hartford Public Library’s Barbour Branch Library, thanks to a partnership with Foodshare, will now become a food distribution center for Northeast neighborhood families in addition to offering regular library services.

Groceries will be distributed outdoors at the branch, located at 261 Barbour Street, the second and fourth Thursdays of the month from 3 to 4 pm while the branch is closed to the public.

The first food distribution will take place on February 11.


Hartford Virtual Town Hall Meeting: Covid-19
Hear directly from local medical experts about the COVID-19 vaccine and from City and hospital officials about access to the vaccine in Hartford.
You can watch the town hall on Facebook Live, HPATV, or by joining the Zoom meeting directly at 11 AM on January 30th.
Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86792834733
Free Access to Over 2,000 Magazines
Hartford Public Library is proud to continue to offer you a wide selection of digital titles for you to access anytime, anywhere through the award-winning Libby app.

And now we are offering a selection of 2,000 magazines for free on the Libby app.

Titles like O, The Oprah Magazine, HGTV Magazine, National Geographic, The New Yorker, HGTV Magazine, The Food Network Magazine, and so many more are now available.

All you need to get started in Libby is your device and your library card number and PIN number, which is the last four digits of your library card number.

Download the Libby app to get started.
Join HPL's children's librarians for Take Your Child To The Library Day, taking place virtually on Saturday, February 6 from 10 am to 3 pm.

It is a day of stories in English, Spanish and Urdu, ending with an animal show with the West Hartford Children's Museum at 2 pm.

Beginner Knitting Class To Take Place February 9
Participants will learn how to knit basic stitches, make a headband or neck scarf. There will also be information available about keeping your heart healthy.
 
Date: Tuesdays, February 9th, 16th, 23rd
Time: 10:00- 11:00 am
Virtual: Zoom 
 
To register, click here
PECES Parenting Workshop Series
Join us with Elina, an expert on the PECES parenting strategies. PECES teaches parents to deal with the typical behavioral problems of their children in a positive manner. Workshops are currently only offered in Spanish. Registration is required, and seats are limited to 12 participants.
 
 
Date: Wednesdays, February 3rd, 10th, 17th
Time: 3:00 PM
Virtual: Via Zoom
 
To register call 860-500-8492 or email grivera@hplct.org
Poetry, Kisses, & Gifts from Your Librarian, Oh My!
Come have a poem recited to you and receive chocolate Hershey kisses from your librarian. You may reciprocate with a poem or song about kindness, compassion, friendship or love, just don’t make your librarian blush.

 The Library on Wheels will be present to give away free new books of Eric Jerome Dickey to commemorate his death, and additional free romance titles and other books of interest. Bags of groceries donated by Foodshare and 25 new children’s winter coats donated by Lawrence International will be given away. 

Date: Thursday, February 11th
Time: 3:00- 4:00 pm
Barbour Branch
Pianist Damian Lewis, percussionist Nelson Bello and trombonist Emmett Goods, friends for two decades, decided to get together for a one night gig back in 2014. Seven years later, that one off performance became the basis for CBG and The Hartford Sound, an ensemble that plays a unique mix of jazz and Latin styles. The exciting result of their collaboration is music that can only be described as uniquely Hartford.
 
Check out the group's performance Sunday, January 31 at 3 pm on Facebook and YouTube.
The accolades poured in for the Andrew Wilcox Sextet, a group of local performers who created their sound and their bond performing together
 
"Sounding incredible! So great to hear some contemporary jazz outright—cutting-edge vibes right out of Hartford!," said one happy viewer on Facebook.
 
Don't miss a moment of the concert praised for its "musical exuberance" and as a "fine-tuned extravaganza."

February Program Calendars
“Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.”

- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie