Merch

Our new merch is available online or you can view items on display and make a purchase at our Downtown Library.

Come check out what we have in stock and walk away with HPL swag!

Upcoming Highlights

Saturday, September 12

Help create an immersive VR experience inspired by iconic MTV music videos! Explore 3D modeling, animation, stop motion, and more. For teens and adults.

Downtown Library, YOUmedia, Second Floor | 500 Main Street | 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Monday, September 14

Level up your job search by learning how to use simple AI tools to tailor your resume and cover letter to any job. This hands-on workshop will show you how to highlight your most relevant skills and experience to build a strong, noticeable application. Register HERE. The next session will be held on Thursday, September 17.

Dwight Library | 6 New Park Avenue | 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Tuesday, September 15

A celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month with live music featuring Goza Latin Band. The concert is presented with support from the Evelyn A. Preston Memorial Fund, administered by Bank of America Philanthropic Solutions.

Park Street Library @ the Lyric | 603 Park Street | 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 19

We're celebrating the diversity of Hispanic cultures from across the globe. We encourage attendees to bring a flag representing their heritage and showcase the many cultures that make our community so vibrant. All skill levels are welcome for youth ages 8-15. Space is limited. Register HERE.

Park Street Library @ the Lyric | 603 Park Street | 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

For more fun and engaging programs and events, click the buttons below!

Library Card Sign-up Month

This month only, we have something special for you! Visit any HPL location to sign up for a library card or renew your existing card to be entered in a raffle for a chance to win a FREE iPad.

The winner will be selected at the end of the month.

Book Recommendations

The House on Mango Street

Sandra Cinsnero

National Bestseller



"Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage...and seduces with precise, spare prose, creat[ing] unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one."

—The New York Times

Find it HERE in our catalog.

Also available as an eBook.

P FKN R

Vanessa Díaz



"The result is an insightful consideration of the rapper's significance and the many ways art can serve as protest."

—Publishers Weekly

Find it HERE in our catalog as an eAudiobook.

"Marin, under the streetlight, dancing by herself, is singing the same song somewhere. I know. Is waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life."

—Sandra Cinsnero, The House on Mango Street

The Beat Concert

A concert celebrating artists on HPL's music streaming platform, The Beat. The concert will feature three artists: Val Ramos Flamenco Ensemble, Bap Pack, and Fran Drew and the Lucky Strikes. Expect to hear some of the greatest blues, rock, world, rap, and hip-hop of Hartford.

Registration is encouraged.

Thursday, September 10 | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Downtown Library

Garmany Hall, Main Floor

500 Main Street

ArtWalk Opening Reception

Join us in welcoming artists Allen Phillips, Chris Allen Cox, Christopher M. Schroeder, Joe Bun Keo, and Jon Eastman to ArtWalk for their exhibition, art is work / work is art, on Friday, September 18, at the Downtown Library.

Enjoy light refreshments and a cash bar while exploring the group show's multidisciplinary practices.

This ArtWalk show is funded by the Roberts Foundation for the Arts and Suzanne Hopgood in memory of Frank Lord.

Friday, September 18 | 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Downtown Library

ArtWalk, Third Floor

500 Main Street

Book Festival

Join HPL and Hartford’s Literary Integrated Trailblazers for the 8th Annual Hartford Book Festival!

This year's theme, Keeping the Focus LIT, will celebrate literature, poetry, storytelling, and the arts, featuring live performances, open mics, author talks, workshops, panel discussions, family activities, and more!

Registration is encouraged.

Saturday, September 19 | 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Downtown Library

Travelers Center for Arts & Culture, Main Floor

500 Main Street

Film Screening

Over 98% of the living world on Earth is smaller than a bee. Yet humans view the planet as a world centered around themselves. Landscapes are deconstructed to suit human needs, often with little regard for the natural systems that sustain the food web. The Extraordinary Caterpillar, a film by Jeff McKay, follows the scientists and community activists as they take a peek into the dazzling world of nature’s tiniest superheroes. 

Watch the trailer HERE.

Registration is encouraged.

Saturday, September 26 | 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Downtown Library

Travelers Center for Arts & Culture, Main Floor

500 Main Street

Special Notice

HPL's Downtown Library will resume Sunday hours on Sunday, September 13, 2026. Hours of operation are 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Click HERE for hours and locations.

Resources & Services

Voter Registration: 

Your vote matters — Register to vote at any HPL location. For more information, please visit the front desk or click HERE.

Fight Hunger: 

Facing food insecurity? Here's help:

• Text "211Food" to 898211
• Enter your zip code when prompted
• Identify an open food pantry near you
• For more information, click HERE.

Your support makes a difference.