Wally Lamb, honorary chair of HPL’s signature fundraising event, Beyond Words, taking place December 3, is a New York Times bestseller.

The world of Lamb’s stories are populated by people seeking love, understanding, and a sense of their places in the world. Millions of readers have been taken with Lamb’s stories and we think you will be too.

  • We Are Water
  • I'll Take You There
  • I Know This Much Is True
  • She's Come Undone
  • I'll Fly Away
This week on Baby Grand Jazz, taking place Sunday, November 8:

TAEKO - "An Absolute Mastery of Musical Vocabulary and Timing"


The performance will be streamed LIVE to Hartford Public Library's Facebook and YouTube pages. Tune in Sunday at 3pm.

Beyond Words, Hartford Public Library’s annual signature fundraising event, will be a 30 minutes virtual experience showcasing some of our favorite authors, Library supporters, and many of the important programs offered at the Library.

Critically acclaimed and bestselling writers Wally Lamb (the honorary chair of Beyond Words), Julia Alvarez, Amity Gaige, Christina Baker Kline, and Jean Kwok will highlight the event. 

The virtual event premieres Thursday, December 3, 2020, 7:00 pm on the Library’s YouTube channel. Don't forget to subscribe!
New Journaling Series
HPL is offering a new bi-weekly journaling series on Facebook.

Series Title: "Journaling Journey: Coping Through the Fear of the Unknown" 
When: Fridays November 6, 20, December 4, 18 at 10am

Instructor: Haben Abraham

Session 1: Journaling through the Heaviness
Hartford Public Library is the recipient of $167,000 from the State of Connecticut as part of an initiative to help state libraries weather the COVID-19 crisis.

“We are grateful for the financial support from Governor Lamont and his administration. This will help us continue to create a safe environment for our customers and our staff. We are always looking for ways to extend our mission to serve the people of Hartford. This funding will help us continue on that path,” said Bridget Quinn-Carey, HPL’s president and CEO.

Quinn-Carey said the library will use the resources to purchase PPE, cleaning supplies and equipment to increase capacity for providing outreach and offsite services. HPL will also retrofit space at the Downtown Library to be better able to safely serve people on-site.
The Awakening Book Club Returns
The Awakening Book Club continues in November with Michelle Alexander's book The New Jim Crow. The first session is November 12.

The club is targeted for young adults ages 13 to 25. Click here to sign up: bit.ly/TheAwakeningBookClub

The club hopes to create a safe and open space for young adults to connect around a good book about past and present racial injustices.
Library Closed November 11
The library will be closed Wednesday, November 11 in observance of Veteran's Day. We will reopen on Thursday, November 12.
November Adult and Youth Program Calendars
Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.
-- Thurgood Marshall