Holiday Closing
Memorial Day Observance
Hartford Public Library will be closed Saturday, May 27, and Monday, May 29, for Memorial Day.
Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America.
Its original observance came after the Civil War and the date was May 30.  In 1971, the date was changed to the last Monday in May.
Summer Learning Kicks Off June 10
Counting Down to Summer Launch
Saturday, June 10, 12:30-3 pm
Downtown Library
Read. Go. Do.  These are the watchwords of summer learning for all ages.
Build a Better World is a city-wide celebration of learning.  Whether you like to read books and magazines, go to parks or museums, do crafts and yoga, the summer learning community has a place for you.  
Join us. We cap the summer with a trip to a Yard Goats Game.
Let's have fun.

Be Smarter About Art

Art Appreciation 101

Lauren Cross
Saturdays, 2-4 pm
June 24 through July 29
Downtown Library

Want to know more about art?  Lauren Cross, of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, will help you see art with a deeper understanding. Each of the six sessions includes a hands-on art-making lessons. All supplies will be provided.
The class includes walking field trips to observe some of  Hartford's artistic treasures.
Adults 55 and older, and Hartford residents are given priority for admission.
This Lifelong Learning class is supported by the Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
Sign up by contacting Sarah Pelletier, 860-695-6320 or [email protected].
Gardening At Barbour
Community Growing Project
Barbour, Tuesdays, Thursday, 3-6 pm
Families at the Barbour Branch turned out May 20 to plant seeds in the Mount Moriah Community Garden run by KNOX.
To prepare, Branch Manager Anwar Ahmad had youngsters read  The Greening Book: Being A Friend To Planet Earth in April, listen to E. Diann Cook talk about nutrition, and learn about the Earth through word games, recycling activities and writing.Students placed seeds in soil, and took pods home.  
Students and families were helped by Senita Brown when planting their gardens. The Barbour Gardening Group will continue reading about plants and tend the garden throughout the growing season.
Muncipal ID Program
Apply at the Library, City Hall
Hartford City ID is a new municipal photo identification card program available to all city residents. Applicants must provide proof of residency.  The cost is $10 for ages 17 and younger, and 65 and older; and $15 for adults 18 to 64.  Apply at Hartford Public Library, 500 Main St., Mondays and Wednesdays, 5 to 7 pm, and Saturdays, 11 am to 4 pm. The City's Office of Town & City Clerk in Room 104 at 550 Main St. is also accepting applications from 2 to 4 pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Strategic Planning
Talk To Us
Albany, 1250 Albany Ave.
Thursday, June 15, 6-7:30 pm
Join Hartford Public Library’s CEO Bridget Quinn-Carey, Board President Greg Davis, and Andrea Comer, Board Member and Chair of Strategic Planning Committee, for a presentation and discussion about the library’s preliminary strategic planning report.  The presentation will introduce four different potential operating scenarios designed to ensure that HPL remains a vibrant and sustainable organization for the future. Your feedback and participation are a critical component of the Board’s strategic planning process.
Please RSVP by calling 860-695-6285 or email  [email protected]

ArtWalk 
Pablo Delano
Hartford Views
Exhibition Runs Through July 1
ArtWalk, Downtown, 3rd Floor
Pablo Delano, a painter-turned-photographer, documents the city of Hartford in flux. His large- format photographs focus on the built environment of this small metropolis. The photographs, spanning eight years, highlight the nuances and contradictions inherent in a city with a layered history, and record what has been lost over time. They are not sociological statements, despite their subject matter; Delano’s love of visual form, design, composition, and color elevate the images to works of art. 

Learn To Play Chess
DIG Chess Lessons

Downtown, YOUmedia, 2nd Floor
Thursdays, May 25, June 15, June 29, 6-8 pm
Albany, Thursdays, June 1,8, 22, 4-6 pm

DIG Chess tutors will help you learn. DIG (Determination, Integrity, Growth) was started in 2013 by Dan Pelletier, as a soccer coaching enterprise. The following year he started teaching his players chess, and last year he decided to teach others. 

World War I
Why Preserve? Digitizing Stories:
CT Latinos in WWI 
¿Por qué preservar? La Digitalización de Historias
que Representan Latinos y Latinas de CT en La Primera Guerra Mundial

Thursday, June 1, 5:30pm
Hartford History Center

Downtown, 3rd Floor
Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera of Bloomfield College, New Jersey, will discuss opportunities for Connecticut-based Latino veterans and their families to bring memorabilia, photographs, and their oral stories to be collected, digitized, and interviews recorded at the Hartford History Center for incorporation into the Connecticut State Library’s digital collection. He will discuss why it is important to preserve this information and offer suggestions of what to bring to the digitization day that will take place at the Hartford History Center Saturday, June 10. This program will be bilingual (English & Spanish).
This program was made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities, in partnership with the Library of America and Connecticut State Library.

More information on WWI and America programs. 


Meet The Author
Author's Table Downtown
Stephanie Queen
Beachcomber Investigations, Book 1
Saturday, June 3, Noon-3

Ex-special ops legend Dane Blaise is desperate to recruit Shana George away from Scotland Yard to partner with him in his new venture, Beachcomber Investigations. But first they need to stop a sniper from killing Acer, Dane's old friend from the unit. 
In spite of their love/hate relationship, can Dane and Shana make their partnership work? Or will their volatility interfere and get Acer or one of them killed?
Stephanie Queen is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and once has a  job as a Keebler Elf. She lives in New Hampshire.

Author's Table at Albany
New Wednesday Series Continues
Join us at Hartford Public Library’s Albany Branch and meet local authors as they showcase their work at The Author’s Table. The series runs on Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-6 pm, and authors will have copies of their work available for purchase.
May 31: Kathy Miranda: Max and Molly. Max is a much-loved happy dog, until one day a new puppy joins his family. 
Children's Book of the Week
Violet Mackerel’s Pocket Protest
By Anna Bradford

 Violet and Rose have shared their best secrets under the big oak tree in Clover Park. And they have found some very good small things there too. So when  Johnson’s Tree Services stomps in and posts a sign that says PUBLIC NOTICE–TREE REMOVAL, they know that they must do something to stop them.
Illustrations by Elanna Allen.
Children's Programs
Hartford Public Library offers programs for children and their families and caregivers from birth to middle school Downtown and in our branches. These include reading readiness, STEM activities, and nutrition information.

Teen Programs
YOUmedia, Branches
The Library offers YOUmedia, a space for visitors ages 13-19, to hang around, mess around, and geek out.  
Teen specific programs are also held in our branches.
Ongoing YOUmedia activities include 3D sculpting and and design, and anime character creation, Thursdays, 6-8 pm; anime character creation; and drawing on Mondays and Wednesday, 1 to 6 pm; and Open Mic Wednesdays, 6 -8 pm.
Or play tabletop games Tuesdays, 4:45-5:45 pm at Ropkins and try poetry workshops, 3 to 6 pm at Barbour.

Thank You For Your Support
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.

Adult Classes 
Immigrant Careeer Pathways 
Runs Through June 30
The American Place, 2nd Floor, Downtown
The Immigrant Career Pathways Program, sponsored by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, serves as a pipeline to jobs in the food service industry for English-language learners in the Hartford area. Eligible students may enroll for free in either one of two classes: the ESL and Food Service Training class or the ServSafe Manager Certification class. All classes are held in the morning. Information: 860-695-6292 or email [email protected]
Study For Your GED

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 9:30-11:30 am
Classes run through July 27
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.  
Classes at Mark Twain Branch
Adult Learning
Wednesdays, 6-7:30 pm
Runs through June 21
Mark Twain Branch, West Middle School
927 Asylum St.

Ongoing classes include: Spanish For Beginners, Wednesdays, 6-7:30 pm through June 21; Citizenship Test Prep Class, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6-7:30 pm; and Read to Succeed, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 2-7:45 pm, and Thursdays, 2-5 pm.
Information: 860-695-6316 and [email protected]
Legal Services
Lawyer At Your Library
First Tuesday of Each Month, 11 am-1 pm
Upcoming: June 6
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 of former offenders. Visitors are seen on a first-come, first-served basis. 
Passport Office
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 located on the second floor in The American Place.

American Job Center

Monday-Thursday, 10 am-6 pm
Fridays, 10 am-5 pm,
Main 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.
Information

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