Update to Library Hours

Closing early on Saturday, December 24 for Christmas Eve

Closed on Sunday, December 25 and Monday, December 26 for Christmas

Closing early on Saturday, December 31 for New Year's Eve

Closed on Sunday, January 1 and Monday, January 2 for New Year's Day

Newspapers

Ledyard Public Library has been experiencing issues with newspaper deliveries for a few months. We apologize for this inconvenience! In light of this, we are examining our subscriptions and public interest in them. Your input is valuable to us as we find solutions. Visit either Bill or Gales Ferry Library to complete a paper survey or click on the link to complete our online survey. Thank you for your help!

Did You Know?

The Bill Library now has two mobile hotspots available for checkout starting Monday, December 5. Just ask at the circulation desk if you’d like to check one out.

Mobile hotspots make it easy to have wifi on the go. They are small and incredibly portable! You can check these out for three weeks at a time. 

Staff Recommendation

Allie’s Pick: NOPE 

NOPE is a new horror/sci-fi film written and directed by Jordan Peele (known for his excellent, critically-acclaimed horror films Get Out and Us). Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya play siblings who run a horse ranch and are still recovering from their father's sudden and mysterious death. Tension builds as it becomes clear something is in the sky over their farm, and it’s stealing their horses. Meanwhile, their neighbor (Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead) hatches a plan to profit from these recent mysterious occurrences.

The entire movie subverts your expectations and leaves you very surprised when you really see what’s going on. I couldn’t get enough of Keke Palmer's masterful performance. She kept this scary movie light and entertaining with her humor and witty banter with her costar. Overall, this is a scary, weird, smart, and at times hilarious movie that is a blast to watch. It keeps you wondering what’s about to happen. This film is now available on DVD at the Bill Library. Come check it out today!

Mayor Fred was a guest reader at Giggles and Wiggles storytime!

We had such a great time when Mayor Fred stopped by to be a guest reader at Giggles and Wiggles Storytime! We used our magic wands as he read Hocus Pocus, It's Fall! Mayor Fred also got his own shower of bubbles at the end of storytime.

Thanks for stopping by and supporting the Library, Mayor Fred!

We have a new train table at Gales Ferry Library!

Thank you to Danielle and her daughters Adelina and Bella for donating a train table for Gales Ferry Library! We're so excited about it and thankful for our wonderful patrons who are always looking out for the library. Stop by to see it in our children's room and play awhile!

Giggles and Wiggles

Wednesdays, December 7, 14

10:30 a.m.

Bill Library

Ages Infant – 3

Great stories, fun finger plays, and lots of dancing. Registration is not required, however space is limited to the first 15 families.

Preschool Storytime

Thursdays, December 1, 8, 15

10:30 a.m.

Gales Ferry Community Room

Ages 3 – 5

A fun and energetic storytime! Learning stations will be offered at the end of each storytime to actively engage, entertain, and build the skills of the children who participate. Registration is not required, however space is limited to the first 15 families.

Let's Create!

Decorate Cookies

Wednesday, December 7

4:00 p.m.

Bill Library

Ages 5 - 12

Join us to decorate cookies! We will provide all the supplies, and you get to eat a sweet treat or take one home. This group meets every other month from October to April. Registration is required

Gingerbread Workshop

Saturday, December 10

10:30 a.m.

Gales Ferry Community Center

All ages welcome

Join us as we gather to create gingerbread masterpieces. We will provide the supplies necessary to decorate, we will deal with the mess, and you get to go home with a marvelous gingerbread creation to enjoy throughout the season! Registration is required.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Debbie S. for donating an mBot robot to the library! I’m sure many kids will appreciate the chance to learn about robotics. Thanks for thinking of us Debbie!

Sweets and Treats: A Cooking Class for Teens

Monday, December 12

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Ledyard Congregational Church

Grades 7 – 12

This is the last of our series in our Teen Cooking Class. Join us to learn from professional chef Alex Rose. She will give you the basics for feeling comfortable in the kitchen, and you’ll get to eat some sweet treats too! Registration is required.

Here are some photos from our last class when we made apple galettes

Giving Tree: Give a Child A Book

Last day to donate is December 7

It's that time of year! We are sponsoring a Holiday Giving Tree for the children and teens of Ledyard and Gales Ferry. Gift tags are hanging on trees at both Bill Library and Gales Ferry Library. You may purchase a book for a child OR the library will choose and buy a book with a $14.00 donation. The books will be given out at the annual toy drive that benefits local families in need.

Please return an UNWRAPPED book and tag by December 7th.

Ledyard Cookbook Club

Tuesday, December 6

(First Tuesday of each month)

12:30 p.m.

Gales Ferry Community Center

The Ledyard Cookbook Club will meet on the first Tuesday in December with something special: we are celebrating the season with our OWN traditional family favorites that make people smile at our gatherings! Write your recipe down with your tips and tricks. Please remember to put your name on it. Take a picture of your completed dish, and find a good picture of one of your celebrations to send. Email the recipe and photos to aholbrook@ledyard.lioninc.org, or you may bring them with you on December 6.



If you would like to join this celebration, call the Gales Ferry Library or email Andrea at aholbrook@ledyard.lioninc.org. Cookbooks are usually handed out the month before or picked up at Gales Ferry Library. No need for one this December!

American Presidents Book Discussion

Postponed until January

Next month, we will be discussing Benjamin Harrison. Our discussions include a historical perspective on American presidents as we learn about their achievements and trials in the Oval Office.

Senior Center Book Club

Wednesday, December 14

10:30 a.m.

Ledyard Senior Center

12 Van Tassel Drive, Gales Ferry

Join the Ledyard Senior Book Discussion at the Ledyard Senior Center as we discuss our book for December, Ida B:...and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan. This book was written for children, but it is a great story for us all as we watch Ida B. Applewood deal with her life being turned all around. Goodreads says: "How can things go from righter than right to a million miles beyond wrong? Can Ida B put together a plan to get things back to just about perfect again?" We are going to find out!

The Ledyard Senior Book Discussion meets at the Ledyard Senior Center on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Due to the holiday, we will meet on December 14 at 10:30 a.m. Books are distributed at the previous month's meeting or can be picked up at Gales Ferry Library. If you have any questions or would like to join us, email Andrea at aholbrook@ledyard.lioninc.org.    

As we begin planning and preparations for the 2023 Seed Library season, I would like to thank the many volunteers, speakers, supporting organizations, SECT Libraries, and groups who helped so much behind the scenes, to make the 2022 season the success that it was! Thanks to our local gardeners, local businesses, and commercial seed companies who supported us by donating seeds. We gave out 3800+ seed packets to 400+ patrons at Bill Library! In addition, we supported 5 community gardens, 2 school gardens, 2 library-based seed libraries, our local food pantry, and even a garden as far away as Mt. Washington in North Conway, NH by sharing our seeds. We loved the photos you sent us of the various stages of your gardening successes.

We offered 8 gardening programs on Zoom, in-person and off-site, with 220+ attendees of all ages. Much appreciation goes to Roberta Levandoski, my advisor-extraordinaire, Alyssa Siegel-Miles at UConn Ext., Diana Hunt of Wheeler Library’s Seed Library, Eastern CT Community Gardens Assoc., and the Ledyard Garden Club for their continued support. Thanks, too, to our Library staff, who helped in a multitude of ways!

If you’d like to get involved, please email me at lnorcia@ledyard.lioninc.org.

Happy Growing!

Laura Norcia

Ledyard Seed Library Program Coordinator

Greetings!

Our recent Books & More event was a great success! Thank you to all who supported the Friends and the library by donating items and for your generous bidding. We could not do this without hard working volunteers. Thank you to Linda DeRose for once again chairing the event. Laura Norcia, Jan Dawson, and Andrea Buka spent many hours putting together the donated baskets, sealing them in plastic, labeling, and tagging them. They looked beautiful! Terry and Steve Reilly, John Desormier, Phil DeRose, Sue Davis, Judith Booth, Jan Erhart, Lu Finegan, Mary Ellen Osborne, Sharon Butler, Jessie Baker, Ellin Grenger, Zondra Thompson, and Lorraine Healy helped by picking up donated items, setting up, putting out signs, cashiering, calling winners, and cleaning up.

Our next meeting is January 12 at Bill Library. The executive meeting starts at 6 p.m., and the general meeting starts at 7 p.m. All are welcome at both meetings.

We are now accepting donated books in good or better condition at Bill Library. Please drop items off during open hours. They can be placed in the entry foyer under the coat rack, in the corner to the right. We also accept DVDs, puzzles and games, textbooks, and audiobooks in good or better condition.

Remember to visit the ongoing book sales at both libraries: the meeting room at Bill Library and the Book Cellar at Gales Ferry Library, each of which is open during normal library hours. All sales go toward support of the library.

Sarah Desormier, President

860 464-9538, Friends@Ledyard.lioninc.org

Key Dates:

Thursday, Jan. 12

Friends of the Ledyard Library Meeting

6 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Bill Library

What we need:

Book sale items in good or better condition

Donations for new book sale signs ($30 each, any amount helps)