Construction Updates

This week, we’re excited to share a sneak peek of the vibrant new flooring that is being installed at the Downtown Library!

Every step brings us closer to reopening our Main Street doors this fall! Follow along for our weekly updates.

First Lady of the Library

Join us at our book launch

Please join us for a night of celebration as we debut Caroline Hewins: First Lady of the Library, written and illustrated by Hartford Public Library's (HPL) own Marie Jarry (pictured above on the right) and Natalie Curtis (pictured above on the left). The event will feature an introduction by HPL Board Chair David Barrett, a reading by the author and, a Q&A led by Bridget E. Quinn, HPL President & CEO. 

FREE and open to the public

Book signing and light refreshments

Take home a signed copy of the book with a $15 donation!

Thursday, October 10 | 5:30 - 7 p.m.

Downtown Library

Center for Contemporary Culture

500 Main Street, Hartford

Please enter through the Arch Street entrance.

HPL's Book Recommendations

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

Esperanza Rising

Pam Muñoz Ryan

Pura Belpré Award

". . . Readers will be swept up by vivid descriptions of California dust storms or by the police crackdown on a labor strike. Ryan delivers subtle metaphors via Abuelita's pearl's of wisdom, and not until story's end will readers recognize how carefully they have been strung."

—Publishers Weekly

". . . Dramatic riches-to-rags stories about girls forced to trade fancy dolls and dresses for hard work and ill-fitting hand-me-downs after their beloved fathers die."

—The Horn Book Magazine

 Find it HERE in our catalog

My Broken Language

Quiara Alegría Hudes

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

". . . The text often reads like poetry, but it is also playful, the author toying with the barriers of language, and the narrative is propelled by the urgent notion that community matters in a world designed to push the have-nots further into the margins."

—Kirkus Reviews

". . . a can't-miss love letter, in the form of a memoir, about the people and city that shaped her. A beautifully written story of finding one's own sense of self."

—Library Journal

Find it HERE in our catalog

Ticket Giveaway!

Stop by your favorite Library location to score tickets for this weekend's Hartford Athletic game or UConn football game.

The tickets are only for the October 5th games. Show your Hartford Public Library Card or an ID with a Hartford address to grab your tickets.

Limit 2 per person.

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Gather for Conversation

La Tertulia is a partnership between Connecticut Public and Hartford Public Library brining a bilingual conversation series that connects Latinx residents in Hartford. Tune in as community members discuss how they are involved in their local community and what change they want to see in the future.

Free food

Space is limited. Registration is required, please register HERE

Thursday, October 10 | 5:30 - 7:00 pm.

Park Street Library @ the Lyric

603 Park Street, Hartford

Author Talk Series

Discussion with Jeffrey Ogbar, Author & UConn Professor

Join Jeffrey Ogbar as he delves into his latest book, America’s Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy. Released in 2023, it was named on the “Best Books of 2023” list from Publishers Weekly and is a finalist for the 2024 Book Prize from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Wednesday, October 2 | 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Downtown Library

Center for Contemporary Culture

500 Main Street

Storytime in Stars Hollow

Join us as Hartford Prints turns Pratt Street in Hartford into Stars Hollow this Saturday. There will be Gilmore Girls themed vendors, trivia with prizes, crafts, bobbing for apples, food and drink specials. HPL story hour will be at Hartford Prints! 12 - 1 p.m.

Saturday, October 5 | 12 - 4 p.m.

Pratt Street Historic District

Pratt Street, Hartford

A Place Like No Other

HPL offers engaging, educational, and fun programming for all ages.

Check out our full programming calendar HERE 

Check out our Family Programming calendar!

Check out our Adult Programming calendar!

Check out our Youth & Teen Programming calendar!

“Zipping my lips meant swallowing my contradictions and confusions, guarding the flavor for only myself "



―Quiara Alegría Hudes, My Broken Language

Thank you for participating in our polls!

Last Week's Poll: Will we see you at the book launch?

Results:

Yes - 51.9%

No - 48.1%



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