Summer Reading in Full Swing

Here we go Hartford!

3,302 (and counting) Hartford readers have registered for our Summer Reading Challenge and pledge to read 190,170 minutes this summer. Wow, Hartford, wow!

Special thanks to Mayor Luke Bronin for hosting lunch with these lucky Summer Reading Challenge winners last week.

It's not too late to join the fun!

Register Today and pledge your minutes and enter to win amazing weekly raffle prizes today!

HPL Weekly Book Recommendations:

Check out what we're reading

For Our YA Friends

Piecing Me Together

Rene Watson

Newbery Honor & Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner

A powerful story about a young woman striving for success in a world that too often seems like it's trying to break her.

"...an unforgettable story about the power of art, community, and friendship." —Kirkus Reviews starred review

 "...will give young women a chance to realize that they are worthwhile just being themselves... all students... would benefit from reading this book." —School Library Connection

We Deserve Monuments

Jas Hammonds

A School Library Journal Best Book of 2022

Family secrets, romance, and a slow-burn mystery collide, exploring how racial violence can ripple down through

"[An] absolutely stunning debut... Written from a place of love and healing, Hammonds' definitive standout will stay with readers." —Booklist, starred review)

"outstanding... will surely leave engrossed readers catching their breath." —Shelf Awareness, starred review

Welcome to the team Via!

"I dream of opening a public library in my country, Timor-Leste, because we don’t have one."

We are so happy to welcome Elviana (Via) Guterres as a summer intern for our Digital Library Lab! Via is from Timor-Leste and a rising sophomore at Trinity College. She studied in Hong Kong and attending Trinity College marks her first time in the United States.

Learn more about Via HERE

And you can learn more about our Digital Learning Lab HERE

Hartford Mayoral Debate 2023

Dabate Por La Alcaldia

Your vote and your voice make a difference.

Wednesday, July 19, 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Park Street Library @ The Lyric - Park Branch Community Room

Hosted by WATT CT Women at the Table CT

Evento esta organizado por WATT CT

Festivals of India @ Bushnell Carousel Pavilion

Layavinyasa School of Dance & Music performance

Friday, July 21, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Bushnell Park Carousel Pavillion

Age 6-12

Register HERE (only 15 seat remaining)

Meet Local Author Alexander Ogbonna

Author Talk & Book Promotion

A lively reading and Q & A with local author Alexander Ogbonna, featuring his newly published children's book, Little Black Cat: A Cat Who's Born Black.

Friday, July 21, 2:00 - 3:00 pm

Camp Field Branch

Light refreshments will be served.

Register HERE (25 seats remaining!)

A Place Like No Other

Providing essential services for our community

HIV and Hepatitis C Testing

Wednesday, July 19, 10:30 - 11:00 am

Park Street Library @ The Lyric

CT Center for Harm Reduction will join us to offer free HIV and Hepatitis C testing for everyone.

ServSafe Food Handler Classes

Monday, July 24, 3:00 - 5:00 pm

Dwight Branch

Register Today for our Free ServSafe certification classes and get certified for Food Handler for your job, organization, or other

Offering engaging, educational, and fun programming seven days a week

We have story time, gardening, jewelry making, painting, drumming, theater and movement within the next few days.

Check out our entire calendar of programs HERE and find what you're looking for at your favorite branch.

Mark Twain House & Museum Presents 

Join HPL CEO & President, Bridget E. Quinn, as she joins in conversation with Laura Sims author of How Can I Help You—a razor-sharp suspense novel about two local librarians whose lives become dangerously intertwined.

Tuesday, July 25, 12:00 pm

Learn more HERE

“I write my resolution in black Sharpie marker on top of a background made out of cut-up scriptures, words from newspaper headlines, and numbers from last year's calendar.

Be bold.

Be brave.

Be beautiful.

Be brilliant.

Be (your) best.”

― Renée Watson, Piecing Me Together