Calendar

The library is closed for Labor Day.

Today's storytime will be in the activity room, due to the weather! - 9/6/22 Join us for an outdoor storytime under the trees on Russell Library's South side lawn! We will read books and share rhymes and songs for kids birth to 6 years old and their families. Participants are welcome to bring chairs and blankets! This fall family storytime will be repeated twice a week: Tuesday at the Library and Friday at the Farmers Market! (Same books, same songs, on two different days so more people can enjoy!) Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the event starts. For kids age 0-6 (Babies - first grade), siblings and families welcome! In the event of inclement weather we will move this program indoors to the Activity Room! Covid Library Event guidelines: to ensure everyone's safety if any member of your household is experiencing Covid symptoms or is quarantining, we ask that you and your family stay home. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

Friends of Russell Library Book Sale Dates September 8-10, 2022 in the main Reading Room at Russell Library! Hours Thursday, September 8th: 9am-8pm Friday, September 9th: 9am-5pm Saturday, September 10th: 9am-5pm

Skill-Up For Manufacturing Skill-Up was designed as a training by manufacturers to fill openings FAST. This is a FREE 5-7 week hybrid classroom and hands-on training that teaches the fundamentals of manufacturing. Earn a cash stipend, apprenticeship hours OSHA-10 and Six Sigma Certifications. Attend to hear more about this great local program. Russell Library presents weekly opportunities to network with other job seekers, as well as receive the advice of professionals. The focus will be on the job market and provide updated industry information during this uncertain time of COVID19. The Job and Career Group hosts virtual workshops and a weekly networking session via WebEX. You will need to download WebEx to attend. Registration is required. Questions? Christy Billings cbillings@russelllibrary.org This group is possible from a City of Middletown Block Grant, Liberty Bank Foundation Grant, and The Family of Thomas J. Regan. Click for more information: Skill-Up dates FALL 2022

Join us in conversation with bestselling author and expert in child development, Dr. Michele Borba, as she discusses her book, Thrivers: Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Thrive. Data shows that today’s youth are the loneliest, most stressed, and risk-averse on record. Though well-educated, they are failing to launch in real life. So how can we teach them to be mentally strong and more successful? Dr. Michele Borba empowers educators and parents to help kids thrive in today’s fast-paced, digital-driven, often uncertain world. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

Our September title is The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina. Copies available at the Borrowing Desk. Join us IN PERSON at Stubborn Beauty Brewing at 180 Johnson St, Middletown, CT. Questions? E-mail Christy Billings at cbillings@russelllibrary.org Sponsored by the Friends of Russell Library. Place a hold for curbside pick-up or E-copies are available at www.russelllibrary.org. No purchase is required. More on author: Laura Imai Messina was born in Rome and graduated in Literature from La Sapienza University. She moved to Tokyo at the age of twenty-three to perfect the language and has been permanently living in Japan ever since. She obtained a first level doctorate in Comparative Cultures at the International Christian University with a thesis on the Japanese writer Ogawa Yōko and at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies a PhD with a comparative thesis on the subject of materiality in Japanese and European literature.

Friends of Russell Library Book Sale Dates September 8-10, 2022 in the main Reading Room at Russell Library! Hours Thursday, September 8th: 9am-8pm Friday, September 9th: 9am-5pm Saturday, September 10th: 9am-5pm

Join us for an outdoor storytime under the trees on Russell Library's South side lawn! We will read books and share rhymes and songs for kids birth to 6 years old and their families. Participants are welcome to bring chairs and blankets! This fall family storytime will be repeated twice a week: Tuesday at the Library and Friday at the Farmers Market! (Same books, same songs, on two different days so more people can enjoy!) Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the event starts. For kids age 0-6 (Babies - first grade), siblings and families welcome! In the event of inclement weather we will move this program indoors to the Activity Room! Covid Library Event guidelines: to ensure everyone's safety if any member of your household is experiencing Covid symptoms or is quarantining, we ask that you and your family stay home. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

American Job Center Table Darlena Young, from the American Job Center (AJC) Ambassador in the South-Central Region of CT with Singquel Short, Communication Specialist will be available to speak with patrons, 9/13/2022 12:30pm-2:30pm and on 9/26/2022 12pm-2pm. From Darlena: "It’s our mission to serve our communities by helping people live their best lives and would love to come and share information about our job opportunities, programs, and training services available at the American Job Centers. Please feel free to visit our website to learn more at www.workforcealliance.biz. I am available to answer any questions that you may have." dyoung@workforcealliance.biz, (203) 624-1493 ext. 243 (office) Questions? Christy Billings cbillings@russelllibrary.org

Medicare is health insurance for people 65 or older. You’re first eligible to sign up for Medicare 3 months before you turn 65. You may be eligible to get Medicare earlier if you have a disability. There are different kinds of plans available, and sometimes it is hard to make sense out of which one is right for you. Join us with presenter William Coleman, Medicare Specialist with American Senior Benefits. Mr. Coleman will explain the ins and outs of what to consider while evaluating benefits and selecting Medicare plans. William Coleman; Portland resident and Medicare Specialist with American Senior Benefits based in Farmington. Questions? Christy Billings cbillings@russelllibrary.org

Join us for an outdoor storytime under the trees on Russell Library's South side lawn! We will read books and share rhymes and songs for kids birth to 6 years old and their families. Participants are welcome to bring chairs and blankets! This fall family storytime will be repeated twice a week: Tuesday at the Library and Friday at the Farmers Market! (Same books, same songs, on two different days so more people can enjoy!) Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the event starts. For kids age 0-6 (Babies - first grade), siblings and families welcome! In the event of inclement weather we will move this program indoors to the Activity Room! Covid Library Event guidelines: to ensure everyone's safety if any member of your household is experiencing Covid symptoms or is quarantining, we ask that you and your family stay home. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

Join us for a conversation with prolific British-American writer, journalist, and consummate adventurer Simon Winchester. This author talk will cover many aspects of his work across myriad fields of history, technology, and geology as well as the author's personal expeditions, including his path to becoming the acclaimed best selling author he is today. A master storyteller, Winchester’s narrative is like a journey through time. His keen intellect and ability to precisely and expertly weave everyday life into historical examination leaves his readers feeling awestruck at the world surrounding them. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

Home Composting: Backyard Basics and Composting with Worms! Join Middletown’s Recycling Coordinator, Kim O’Rourke, and two UConn Master Composters, Sarah Hsieh and Hetti Motoc, for a lively discussion about composting at home. Presentations will discuss the importance and value of composting food scraps, and cover the basic aspects of the composting process, compost structures, selection and uses for finished compost as well as the importance of trash management for the health of the planet. Hetti will bring her worm friends and talk about how easy it is to compost with worms at home. Bring all your trash related and composting questions! Free kitchen scrap collection containers will be available for participants. Sarah Hsieh is a UConn Master Gardener, and a Master Composter intern. She gardens at home and in community gardens, and her family thinks she has too many compost bins. Hetti Motoc is also a Uconn Master Gardener, and a Master Composter. She is active with the Middletown Pollinator Pathways and enjoys spreading the joy of worm composting.

https://middletownct.gov/129/Agendas-Minutes

Have you read a book that has been banned or challenged? Come chat about it with peers and librarians at our Banned Book Discussion. Bring a banned book that you have read for group discussion. Haven't read one yet? Stop in at the library beforehand and get a recommendation...or just come and listen to our conversation! This event is open to all ages, but recommended specifically for young adults. Registration is required (and will close 24 hours before the event begins). This event will take place at the gaming tables in the teen area on the left side of the library, accessible through the lobby. Covid Library Event guidelines: to ensure everyone's safety we request that if any member of your household is experiencing Covid symptoms or is quarantining, we ask that you and your family stay home.

Join us for an evening with Pulitzer Prize finalist and PEN/Faulkner Award winner Hernan Diaz, author of In the Distance and Trust. Diaz holds a Ph.D. from NYU and edits, the Spanish-language journal Revista Hispánica Moderna, at Columbia University. Diaz’s new book, Trust, is set during the roar of the 1920s around the Wall Street tycoon Benjamin Rask and his wife, Helen. Together, they have risen to the top of the world of seemingly endless wealth–all as a decade of excess and speculation draws to an end. But at what cost have they acquired their immense fortune? CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.