Downtown Library Temporarily Closed

The Downtown Library at 500 Main St. suffered significant water damage after a pipe burst over the holiday weekend and will remain closed for an extended period of time while cleanup, a damage assessment and repairs are underway.

Fortunately, our library collections, for the most part, were unharmed. But much of the computer equipment and furniture in public areas of the building were impacted.

All programs scheduled at the Downtown Library, including our First Night celebration, are currently postponed until further notice. Our branch libraries are operating according to their regular hours and we are exploring expanding hours at those locations.

We will work to move programming, classes and events to alternate locations across the HPL system or other city-owned facilities. Our annual Kwanzaa program will now be held Thursday afternoon at the Albany Library.

More information will be released as it becomes available on our website (hplct.org) and our social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We thank you for your patience and we look forward to welcoming customers back to the Downtown Library when it is safe to do so.

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

Oona Out of Order

Margarita Montimore

Goodreads Staffers' Top 3 Books of the Year

Good Morning America Book Club Pick

Taking place on New Year's each year, this is an imaginative story about time, life and the power of love.

"Difficult to put down ... reminds us that life is very much in the present, not in the moments that have passed us or the ones yet to come. And that is true no matter our age." — USA Today

“Beautiful and heartbreaking, a novel about the nature of time and how life marches on, that you simply must read.” — PopSugar

Rules of Civility

Amor Towles

#1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway 

A compelling New Year's mystery about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society.

"An irresistible and astonishingly assured debut … [portraying] complex relationships — and a thoroughly modern heroine who fearlessly claims her place in it." — O, the Oprah Magazine

“Wonderful debut novel … Towles [plays] with some of the great themes of love and class, luck and fated encounters that animated Wharton’s novels.” — The Chicago Tribune

Kwanzaa festivities move to Albany Library on Thursday

Two Kwanzaa programs originally scheduled to be held at the Downtown Library will be moved to the library’s location at 1250 Albany Ave.

On Thursday, December 29th, the Albany Library will host the following:

12-1 p.m. Kwanzaa storytelling with master storyteller Andre Keitt

1-5 p.m. A special Kwanzaa presentation by Sankofah Kuumba Cultural Arts Consortium

There will also be activities including African jewelry making, tribal mask making, face painting, henna tattoos, a drum performance, a special dinner and more.

For more information call 860-695-7380

Metro Hartford's Pulse of the Region Podcast features HPL

Get the pulse about a new partnership between Hartford Public Library and Liberty Bank that creates a financial literacy program for immigrants. Joining the conversation are: Glenn Davis, First Vice President, Community Development and CRA Officer, Liberty Bank; and Bridget E. Quinn, President and CEO, Hartford Public Library.

Listen to the conversation HERE.

We're hiring!

Start the new year with a new career!

Join a fantastic group of people making a difference in our community. Check out our many opportunities in a variety of departments HERE.

It's never too late to learn something new

Basic Computer Class

Wednesday, December 28th

11 a.m.

Dwight Library

7 New Park Ave.

Please call 860-695-7460 to register

More info and a list of all available classes HERE

Don't panic — we've got you covered for winter break

Need some ideas for the break? Check out our calendar of children's programming HERE.

Don't forget we have free passes to adventures across the state through our museum pass program. See all our options HERE.

Too cold to head out? Try Creativebug! With your HPL library card you will access to thousands of online craft classes for all ages.

African American Literature Book Club: January

We Are Not Like Them

Christine Pride & Jo Piazza

Good Morning America Book Club Pick

Named a Best Book Pick of 2021 by Harper’s Bazaar and Real Simple

Told from alternating perspectives, this novel follows two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event.

“[An] emotional literary rollercoaster.” — The Washington Post

Join a Zoom Discussion

January 24th

Register HERE

Learn more about our African American Literature Book Club HERE.

Taking care of one another

Free COVID-19 vaccinations at HPL

Thursday, December 29th: 2-5:30 pm

Albany Library

1250 Albany Ave.

We're closed Monday, January 2nd

All Hartford Public Library locations will be closed on Monday, January 2nd in observance of New Year's Day. Best wishes in 2023!

“Stop micromanaging your life and just live it; joy and meaning will follow. Find the happy medium between being daring and responsible. Cultivate that balance. Do your best. Be good to yourself, even when—especially when—life isn’t being good to you.”

― Margarita Montimore, Oona Out of Order