News
Orice Jenkins Performs  In Baby Grand Jazz Series 
Sunday, January 22,  3 to 4 pm
Center for Contemporary Culture

Connecticut’s Orice Jenkins has been performing since he was since he was a teen He recently released his first album, Soar.  It includes his interpretations of Stevie Wonder’s Golden Lady, the gospel favorite, Lift Every Voice and Sing, and the jazz standard Body & Soul.
Orice will sing, play piano and guitar with Nathan Davis on trombone and piano, Frank Brocklehurst on bass, and Jocelyn Pleasant on percussion.
The series is held in the Center for Contemporary Culture on the main floor of the Downtown Library. Doors open  at 1 pm; music begins at 3 pm. 

Read more about Baby Grand Jazz.
Library Launches
1000 Books Before Kindergarten

 On Tuesday, Jan.17, the Library started 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten @ HPL,  
Reading to your child is one of the best ways to prepare them for kindergarten. It helps them develop  vocabulary and creates a life-long love of reading.  Pictured is a  display of suggested titles at the Albany Branch.

Park Street Forum
January 24 at Lyceum
224 Lawrence Street
Join us for a forum on the future of the Park Branch Library, hosted by Frog Hollow’s Neighborhood Revitalization Zone.  The funding is in place and planning and design are underway. The new branch will be at 585 Park St., on the site of the old Lyric Theater.  Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and HPL CEO Bridget Quinn-Carey are among the featured speakers.
Parking is available in the lot next to the Lyceum, 227 Lawrence St.. The building is accessible to wheelchairs. 
ArtWalk Presents:
Shadow Castings
Christine Dalenta and Benjamin Parker
Artists' Talk: Wed., Feb. 15, 6 pm

Photographer Christine Dalena, left, and paper sculptor Benjamin Park, talk about their new ArtWalk exhibition at the opening on Jan. 13.
They will give an artists’ talk at the ArtWalk on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 6 pm, when they will talk in more detail about their work, which uses vintage photographic paper and advanced paper folding techniques.
Support HPL
Legacy Gifts To Library

There are many ways to donate to Hartford Public Library. One of the sweetest is a legacy gift.

In the past few weeks, three families have encouraged donations to the Library in the obituaries of their loved ones.

Michelle McFarland has this memory of Iris Rosenberg, 82, who died in December.

“I met Iris Rosenberg 20 years ago while working as a Page at the Mark Twain Branch on Farmington Avenue. Every other week this classy lady, who clearly loved to read would show up with her large canvas bag filled with books she had read. Once she emptied her bag out she would pull out her neatly folded newspaper clipping of the New York Times Best Seller list with her recommendations circled. Our common connection was we loved a good story and the insight authors would provide for our discussions.  The news of her passing was devastating. Iris was my favorite customer. I will miss her smile, big hugs and presence for years to come.”  

Elizabeth Meek Stewart, who worked at Hartford Public Library in the Art and Music Department from 1950 to 1980, died in late December. She was 101.

George “Pete” Kinsella, 89, a former mayor of Hartford, elected in 1965, died in late December in Old Saybrook.  He owned Kinsella Television in Hartford and also had a commercial real estate business. Like his father and grandfather, he served on the Hartford City Council. He later served as Hartford City Treasurer from 1979 to 1989. He asked that donations be made in his memory to the Library's Hartford History  Center. 

Donate to Hartford Public Library

Programs
UConn Writing Center at HPL
First Saturday of Each Month
Upcoming: Feb. 4
Wallace Stevens Room  

Meet with students, graduate students and professors from UConn Hartford, to discuss your writing and receive feedback. Writing of all kinds and at all stages - planning, drafting or revising - is welcome. 

Visitors are met on a first-come, first-served basis for approximately one hour.

Read more
Poets On Poetry:
The Poetry of Wallace Stevens
Saturday, Jan. 28, 10:15 am to 12:15 pm
Hartford History Center
Downtown Library

Wallace Stevens, an insurance executive in Hartford, was called  "the best and most representative American poet of our time,"  by critic Harold Bloom.  
Poet Jim Finnegan, founder of Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens,  is the presenter.
Poets and Poetry holds a monthly book group discussion on the fourth Saturday of each month.
business-meeting-convo.jpg
Lawyer at Your Library
First Tuesday of Each Month, 11 am-1 pm
Upcoming: January 31
Downtown Library, The American Place

Meet privately with an attorney from Greater Hartford Legal Aid concerning questions about rights in the workplace, such as:
  • Unlawful discrimination, including race, sex, physical or mental disability.
  • Violations of laws concerning wages and overtime, family and medical leave, domestic violence leave..
  • Rights of certified or licensed workers (such as Certified Nurse Aides, bus drivers,).
  • Rights of former offenders such as rejection/firing from a job due to one’s criminal record.   
No appointment necessary. Visitors are seen on a first-come, first-served basis.
Youth & Family Services
Your Elastic Brain 
It’s OK to not be perfect! Let’s talk about your ever-changing brain and do some fun projects around the books Ish and The Dot by Peter Reynolds.

Goodwin Branch—Wednesday, February 25th, 4:30-5:30 pm
Dwight Branch—Thursday, February 26th, 4-5 pm  


Leap Into Learning
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.
Book of the Week
TapTap Bang Bang by Emma Garcia 
  Cree craw with the saw, bang bang with the hammer, and twizzle, twist, twirl, and spin with the screwdriver, bolts, and nuts. What fun! It's tool time for children as they delight in colorful chisels, clamps, drills, pliers, and mallets at work. What could they be making? Kids will love finding out and creating sound effects to go with this action-packed board book. Perfect for little builders.
E Resource of the Week
Overdrive
Overdrive isn’t just for adults. It has lots of e-book for kids and teens. From picture books to chapter books, finds what you want and start reading right away. No need to worry about due dates or overdue fines.
Teen Services

Makerspace Mayhem

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

Come to YOUmedia for the twice-weekly Makerspace challenge.

Anime Character Creation

Wednesdays 3-5 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!
Dungeons and Dragons

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:30 to 8 pm
Albany Branch, 1250 Albany Ave.

Set off for the adventure of a lifetime each Take your characters on an imaginary journey.  




Digital Bling
At Park Branch
  Tuesday, January 31, 2 to 3 pm

Use LEDs, cool fabrics, and a little ingenuity to make a luminous bow tie or glowing jewelry.


Adult Learning

U.S. Citizenship Classes

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-8 pm
Fridays 10 am-5 pm  

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.

Last Chance

Hip Hop In Hartford
Hartford History Center
Ends Jan. 20

See the Hartford History Center’s  archival exhibition featuring photographs, newspaper articles, footage, and fliers of Hartford's early Hip Hop community






Ghanaian Artisans Showcase
Cultural Corridor
3rd Floor Downtown Library
Ends  Jan. 27

The artisans of Ghana create hand-carved furnishings and  products for the international market using traditional tools and employing centuries-old craftsmanship, Julius Aboagye, founder of the African Heritage Collection, has forged a partnership with the highly-skilled indigenous Ghanaian artisans, which provides financial support for the artisans’ families and helps to sustain their trade and the environment.

Have you checked out our
mobile-friendly catalog?
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