National Library Week
April 9-15
Book of the Week
Biscuit Loves the Library
B y Alyssa Satin Capucilli

In honor of National Library Week, check out this book featuring one of our favorite characters. On "Read to a Pet Day" at the library, Biscuit plays with story-time puppets, visits with friends, and listens to recorded books before a librarian helps him discover his favorite activity of all.

Fun For Kids
Goodwin (teens), Tuesday, April 11, 2-4 pm
Camp Field (teens), Tuesday, April 11, 4-5 pm
Park (teens), Tuesday, April 11, 2:30-3:30 pm
Dwight, Wednesday, April 12, 11-11:45 am
Goodwin, Wednesday, April 12, 2-4 pm
Downtown, Thursday, April 13, 2-3 pm
Albany, Thursday, April 13, 4:30-5:30 pm

Learn to stitch together a library cardholder made of felt. Personalize it with your initials.  All supplies and instruction will be provided.
Biblioboard At HPL
Hartford Public Library is introducing an online service that allows users to 
create a book, self- publish an ebook,  and browse multimedia content, digital exhibits and books from local authors.
Create an account here.  When you log in at the Library, Biblioboard  knows where you are. You can become familiar with the site by browsing it. To create a book go here.  To publish an ebook go here.  To explore go here.
Biblioboard will be live on Monday, April 10 to celebrate National Library Week.

April Is Poetry Month
Poetry Power  

Dwight , Thursday, April 20, 4-5 pm
Ropkins, Thursday, April 20, 3:30-5 pm

Celebrate National Poetry Month all month long at the library. Learn how to create blackout poetry sheets to form unique poems. Or make your own compositions with paper and pen.
 
Would You?
Poetry Group Reading 

ArtWalk
3rd Floor, Downtown
Tuesday, April 11
Refreshments at 5:30 pm
Program at 6 pm

Read. Listen. Share. Write.
Join us for a group poetry reading and open mic event. B.Y.O.P. (Bring Your Own Poem), either your own work or from a poet that you love.
Featuring Zulynette Morales, pictured here, with drumming by Cassie Songstress.
 
Poem In Your Pocket
Take a poetry break from 1 to 5 pm, Tuesdays through Thursdays in the Hartford History Center. Browse our poetry collection.

On Thursdays through April at 1:15 pm we will read a poem aloud over the Library intercom.

On April 27, between 1 and 5 pm, visit our Pop Up Maker Space in the Hartford History Center and make a poem to carry in your pocket.  We suggest one by Hartford community activist Lucy Cooper Summers, author of  99 Patches, her book of poetry published in 1969. The book was revised and reprinted in 1995. In 1997 graduates of Hartford High School received a copy as a memento.

Lucy Cooper Summers Portrait by D. Racine.
Poets On Poetry Series
The Poetry of Carl Sandburg
Presented by Tony Fusco
Saturday, April 29, 10:15 am - 12:15 pm
Hartford History Center
3rd Floor, Downtown
Tony Fusco, president of the Connecticut Poetry Society, will lead a discussion of the work of Carl Sandburg, known for his free verse describing industrial America. Sandburg established his reputation with  Chicago Poems (1916),  C ornhuskers (1918), (a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1919), and  Smoke and Steel (1920).  

STEM WEEK
Science, Technology,
Engineering, Math

Wiggle Bots
Goodwin, Monday & Thursday,
April 10 &13, 2-4 pm 
Design and build your own wiggle bot. This is a true engineering project. Can you make it dance in circles, or draw?

Seed Pods
Downtown, Monday, April 10, 2-3 pm
Stop by to make your own Seed Pod, a neat package of flower seeds and soil that are easy to grow. Learn about the importance of working to save our planet, and some simple ways you can help every day.

Legos in the Library  
Downtown, Tuesday, April 11, 3:30-4:30 pm
Albany, Wednesday, April 12, 4:30-5:30 pm
Dwight, Thursday, April 13, 4-5 pm
We have Legos and a challenge for you.
What will you create? Do you have what
it takes to be a master builder? 

Baby Grand Jazz 
Nicki Mathis:
Afrikan American Jazz
Sunday, April, 9, 3 pm
Center for Contemporary Culture

Nicki Mathis is probably best known in Hartford for The Many Colors of a Woman showcases, which began in 1987. Mathis runs the organization and its concerts to promote women and their contributions to jazz.
Nicki's career in Hartford began when she stepped up to sing with Emery Austin Smith’s band in the old Mad Murphy’s bar downtown. She formed the Afrikan American Jazz Resurgence Band and made her debut album in 1986.
Joining Nicki is Paul Arslanian on piano, Jim Daggs on bass, and Jocelyn Pleasant on drums. 
The 14th Annual Baby Grand Jazz Series is sponsored by The Charles H. Kaman Charitable Foundation.

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 1 pm. 

Program note: There will be no Baby Grand Jazz concert on Sunday, April 16, because of Easter. The remaining concerts are on Sunday, April 23 and April 30.

Information 

Chamber Music
HICO SOUNDBITES
Friday, April 7, 2 pm
The Kitchen at Hartford Public Library
The Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra is presenting an hour-long concert featuring
Sarah Washburn on violin, Nick Citro on viola, and Pablo Issa on cello. The trio will play selections from composers W.A. Mozart, M. Reger, H. Villa-lobos, and E. Dohnanyi.
Backstage at the Ballet
Connecticut Ballet
Wednesday, April 12, 1 pm
Center for Contemporary Culture
Downtown, Main Floor
Brett Raphael, artistic director of Connecticut Ballet, will narrate a 50-minute preview of the company's upcoming 35th anniversary shows.
The program features Les Sylphides with choreography by Mikhail Fokine and music by Frederic Chopin; Strays with choreography by Lila York and music by Aaron Copland; and Steam Heat: The Best of Bob Fosse.
The full programs are April 29 at The Bushnell in Hartford; and May 6 at The Palace in Stamford. 

Hip Hop 
Kids' Hip Hop
Tuesday, April 11, Noon to 1 pm
Children's Room, 3rd Floor
Downtown
Dance instructor Yusef Kardulis will teach basic hip hop techniques and choreography to children ages 6 to 12 years.
Information: 860-695-6330.  
We Love Your Help
The Hartford Public Library needs your support throughout the year. Please consider making a pledge or donation to help us continue to offer a place that cultivates opportunities, empowers and inspires individuals, and fuels a more prosperous future.
We thank the leaders of Aetna, Travelers, and The Hartford, for their generous support.

ArtTalk on ArtWalk 
 
WOOD./WORD.
Rafael Oses and Michael Sweeney
3rd Floor, Downtown
Show Runs through April 30

Michael Sweeney Presents
Art Talk Thursday, April 13, 6 pm

Join us on the ArtWalk for a gallery talk with artist Michael Sweeney of the current exhibition Wood. / Word. Sweeney, a woodworker, will discuss his body of work the books of things we do not know and examine the book as a symbol which prompts consideration of a centuries-old technology that remains an elegant vehicle for exploring one's curiosity.

Rafael Osés ' small word paintings — everyday or esoteric words and phrases, using geometric shapes and simple color symbolism — encourage viewers to consider both the meaning and visual attributes of language.


Exhibition
Carla Ten Eyck: 
see real women:
really see women


Administrative Wall, Third Floor
Downtown Library

Originally commissioned in 2008, Carla Ten Eyck's exhibition, see real women: really see women, is part of the Hartford History Center's permanent collection. In honor of Women's History Month, the Hartford History Center at Hartford Public Library celebrates a Hartford-born photographer and her work that asks and answers the question, "When do you feel you are your most beautiful?"

Left,  Marsha #1

Leap Into Learning Programs
Birth to Five
Whoever You Are
Downtown, Monday, April 10, 11-Noon
“Little one, / whoever you are, / wherever you are, / there are little ones / just like you / all over the world.” 
Join us for an interactive reading of Mem Fox's Whoever You Are. We celebrate all the different kinds of children in our community.

Sensational Sensory Wednesdays
Downtown Children’s Room,
Wednesdays, 11 am - Noon
Interactive play time for children. Each week children will enjoy a new and exciting sensory, hands-on learning activity. 

Spring Celebration
Park, Tuesday, April 11, 10-11 am
Camp Field, Tuesday, April 11,2-3 pm
Enjoy the story of The Big Bunny and the Easter Eggs by Steven Kroll and make your own bunny rabbit ears to celebrate the spring season

Authors Table
Liz Delton, A Rift Between Cities

Saturday, April 8, 1-4 pm
Main Floor, Downtown

A Rift Between Cities is the conclusion to Liz Delton's The Arcera Trilogy, a fantasy for young adult readers.
The Four Cities of Arcera lived in peace for a thousand years, until Gov. Greyling of Skycity discovered a fifth city and decides the only way to unite them is through war. Join Sylvia Thorne and her friends as they fight to return the Four Cities’ independence, a journey that will show them the meaning of courage, loss, and discovery.

Grant Workshop
Writing Winning Proposals
Wednesday, April 12, 10 am- Noon
Youth Program Room
3rd Floor Downtown, 500 Main St.
Kathy Frederick presents a workshop on improving your chances to write a successful grant.Topics include: choosing a grant that is likely to be funded; writing tips; how to follow up after a proposal is submitted; and what lessons to learn from the proposal process.
Register via email: [email protected]
The Library Is A Place For All

Read About Your Legal Protections
Hartford Public Library Serves Everyone

All community members of  every religion and ethnicity, whether citizens or immigrants, are welcome at the Library.
Stay informed and connected.

Classes at Barbour Branch
Study For Your GED

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 9:30-11:30 am
Barbour, 261 Barbour St.

Take classes in writing and math to prepare you for the GED test. Open enrollment.
Register: 860-695-6349 or 860-695-7400.  

Lifelong Learning At Albany
Printmaking Class With  Robert Charles Hudson
Albany, Tuesdays, 10 am-Noon
Through May 9
HPL’s nationally recognized programming for older adults returns with a springtime class at the Albany Branch. 
The classes are progressive. Space is limited; registration is required. Priority given to Hartford residents. All materials provided. 
  Special thanks for  the generous support from  Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
Call 860-695-7381 or email [email protected] to register.

Know The Constitution
Encounters: U.S. Constitution
Saturday, April 29, 2-4 pm
Hartford History Center
3rd Floor, 500 Main St.
The Encounters series is a public discussion program created by the Hartford History Center at Hartford Public Library, UConn's Humanities Institute, and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Discussion leaders engage in topics aimed at strengthening our ability to know ourselves and one another through respectful and challenging dialogue.
Read the U.S. Constitution in advance.
Register: Jasmin Agosto, [email protected] or 860-695-6367
 
Schedule Alert
April Closing Dates
Hartford Public Library will be closed on Friday, April 14 in observance of Good Friday.
The Library is also closed Sunday, April 16, for Easter.
Classes At Mark Twain Branch
Spanish for Beginners
Wednesdays, 6-7:30 pm, Through -May 17
Mark Twain Branch, West Middle School
927 Asylum St.

Hartford Public Library card holders can sign up for a beginner Spanish course, on Wednesday, March 22.
The classes cover basic Spanish grammar in a step-by-step approach. Classroom instruction will transition to an online program called “Transparent Language,” for continued studies.Classes will be taught by a native Spanish speaker. Class size will be limited to 20 registrants.
Information: 860-695-6316 and [email protected]
Citizenship Test Prep Class
Tuesdays and Thursday, 6-7:30 pm,
Through May 31
Mark Twain Branch, West Middle School
927 Asylum St.

Each class will focus on many of the 100 citizenship test civics questions. We encourage the community to join us for these lively interactive activities and discussions. The classes are open for U.S. citizens who want to improve their own knowledge of U.S. Civics or enhance their skills to tutor new arrivals on their paths to citizenship.
Information: 860-695-6316 and [email protected]
Read to Succeed (R2S) Hartford
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays
3:30-7:30 pm
Mark Twain Branch, West Middle School
927 Asylum Ave.

The classes are a combination of one-on-one instruction with a teacher and computer-based reinforcement activities for adults new to reading.
Information: 860-695-6316 and [email protected]


Chief Charles A. Teale:
The Tools of Learning
Open Enrollment

Classes Continue Tuesdays and Thursdays 5 to 6 pm, through April 13

Tutoring By Appointment  Wednesday
Mark Twain Branch, West Middle School
West Middle Community School
927 Asylum Ave.

Join Charles A. Teale, former Chief of the Hartford Fire Dept., to learn strategies on how to learn, understand, and remember information for academic and professional success. Program is for beginning to advanced readers 18 and older. Register: jeagosto@hplct,org or 860-695-6367.

Put On Your Game Face
Ropkins Branch
Tuesdays, 4:45 to 5:45 pm

The popularity of tabletop games is trending. There are thousands of versions, such as Forbidden Desert, where players crash land in a barren space and search for a lost civilization, or Flash Point, where you must rescue people from a burning building.
Bring your friends and your favorite games and set up a match.
Dungeons and Dragons
Albany, Thursdays, 4:30-6 pm
Blue Hills,Thursdays, 3-6 pm
Downtown, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3-6 PM
Set off for the adventure of a lifetime each week.

Writing Workshops At Barbour
Thursdays, 3 to 6 pm
Barbour Branch
Learn the basics of expressing yourself through the written word. .
Our intern, Tinasia, will run the workshops.

Makerspace Mayhem

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4 pm
Downtown Library, 2nd floor

Come to YOUmedia for the twice-weekly Makerspace challenge.

Anime Character Creation

Thursdays, 6-8 pm
Downtown Library, 2nd floor

Animefy yourself and your friends at YOUmedia - or create a new unique character of your own.

3D Sculpting and Design

Thursdays, 6-8 pm
Downtown Library, 2nd Floor 

Learn how to design cool characters and objects to use in animations, video games, graphic design, and more.

Drawing With Kahairi
Mondays and Wednesdays, 1 to 6 pm
Downtown Library, 3rd Floor

Let's talk about anime, pop culture and video games while we draw.
 
business-meeting-convo.jpg
Lawyer At Your Library
First Tuesday of Each Month, 11 am-1 pm
Upcoming: May 2
Downtown Library, The American Place 

Meet privately with an attorney from Greater Hartford Legal Aid concerning questions about rights in the workplace. No appointment necessary. Topics include unlawful discrimination, wages and overtime, and rights fo former offenders. Visitors are seen on a first-come, first-served basis. 

U.S. Citizenship Classes

Class cycles  range from 12-to-14 weeks and repeat. Legal assistance with application completion and submission included.

Passport Services
You can apply for a passport at Hartford Public Library. Hours are Monday though Thursday, 3:30 to 7 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm.  No appointment is needed and photos can be taken on site.

The Passport office is now located on the second floor.

Online Learning

Accessible through the library website in the Online Education & Research Section. All free with your library card. Log in with your card number and create a user name and password.

  • Learn a New Language: Learn or practice more than 100+ languages using the online learning program Transparent Language.
  • LearningExpress Library™: Build your academic skills in reading, writing, math, and science; prepare for standardized tests, college admissions tests, and professional licensing and certification.
  • Universal Class: Select from over 500 courses in a wide variety of subjects through a program called Universal Class. Learn a new hobby, improve your computer skills, or expand your job or career options. 
  • Career Online High School (COHS)Earn your high school diploma online, must be 24 or older.

American Job Center

Monday-Thursday, 10 am-6 pm
Fridays, 10 am-5 pm,
2nd Floor, Downtown

 Looking for a job? Feeling a bit rusty on your interview skills or bewildered by all the new technology a successful job search demands? We can help! CTWorks Capital Workforce Partners and HPL Library have partnered to bring a CTWorks "American Job Center" to the Downtown Library.

The Job Center is in temporary space in the Learning Lab on the 2nd floor to accommodate UConn construction.

Catalog Options
Have you checked out our
mobile-friendly catalog?
Hartford Public Library | 860.695.6300 | hplct.org