Join us for a morning of songs, stories and movement in our Virtual storytime for Birth-5 year olds! Our fabulous youth librarians will share favorite stories, some new and some classics! So get your cameras rolling and join in the fun! This virtual program is for children ages birth-6. Registration is required (and will close an hour before the event begins). New craft kits will come out on the first and third Friday of each month! Pick one up anytime the library is open (while supplies last). Monday-Thursday: 9am-8pm Friday & Saturday: 9am-5pm To set up a curbside appointment for a craft kit you can: call us at 860-347-2528 email us at kidsdept@russelllibrary.org Supplies for this virtual program were provided by the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

Join Russell Library and our friends from the Rockfall Foundation to celebrate the installation of our Storywalk! Let’s wander along the StoryWalk path together and enjoy a storytime reading of From Tadpole to Frog by Shannon Zemlicka and hopefully get to see some real live tadpoles! We encourage attendees to bring a blanket to sit on since we will set up in the grass by the pavillion at Crystal Lake in McCutcheon Park. For young people birth - 6 years old. Siblings and families welcome! Registration is encouraged (and will close 24 hours before the event begins). 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. Directions: Here is a link to the location of Crystal Lake Park in google maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Crystal Lake Park, Middletown, CT 06457/@41.5145974,-72.6395091,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xe18adeb53786e13e!8m2!3d41.5145974!4d-72.6395091 From Randolph Road (Route 155), turn south onto Millbrook Road. Follow Millbrook Road for 1.5 miles and take a right onto Livingston Road. After 0.2 miles, take the first right off Livingston Road into McCutcheon Park! https://www.middletownct.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2583/Middletown-Trail-Guide-PDF (Pg 31-33) Funding for this program was supplied by the Rockfall Foundation! To find out more about the work that the Rockfall Foundation does promoting and supporting environmental education and conservation in the Lower Connecticut River Valley check out their website: https://www.rockfallfoundation.org/ The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.

Join us for a morning of songs, stories and movement in our Virtual storytime for Birth-5 year olds! Our fabulous youth librarians will share favorite stories, some new and some classics! So get your cameras rolling and join in the fun! This virtual program is for children ages birth-6. Registration is required (and will close an hour before the event begins). New craft kits will come out on the first and third Friday of each month! Pick one up anytime the library is open (while supplies last). Monday-Thursday: 9am-8pm Friday & Saturday: 9am-5pm Sunday: 1-5pm To set up a curbside appointment for a craft kit you can: call us at 860-347-2528 email us at kidsdept@russelllibrary.org Supplies for this virtual program were provided by the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

Books and Brews RETURNS Our MAY title is Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Join us IN PERSON at Stubborn Beauty Brewing at 180 Johnson St, Middletown, CT. Pachinko is the second novel by Harlem-based author and journalist Min Jin Lee. Published in 2017, Pachinko is an epic historical fiction novel following a Korean family that immigrates to Japan. The character-driven story features an ensemble of characters who encounter racism and racial profiling, stereotyping. Pachinko was a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. Join us in celbrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month with this book. 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.

Join Russell Library and the Middletown High School's GSA for a book discussion of the graphic novel "Snapdragon" by Kat Leyh over delicious pizza from our friends at Mondos. For kids age 10 (4th grade and up)! Please register below, registrations will close 24 hours before the event starts. If you have any questions, please contact us at kidsdept@russelllibrary.org and please call or email us to let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies. 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. Our GSA has written notes in a limited number of copies of the books that you can keep! If you would like one of these free copies: call us at 860-347-2528 email us at kidsdept@russelllibrary.org Or pick one up anytime the library is open (while supplies last). Monday-Thursday: 9am-8pm Friday & Saturday: 9am-5pm Books for this program were provided by our wonderful friends at Connecticut Humanities. Dinner will be provided by MONDO here in Middletown! This book is an All CT Reads 2022 selection: https://sites.google.com/view/allctreads/home

Join us for a morning of songs, stories and movement in our Virtual storytime for Birth-5 year olds! Our fabulous youth librarians will share favorite stories, some new and some classics! So get your cameras rolling and join in the fun! This virtual program is for children ages birth-6. Registration is required (and will close an hour before the event begins). New craft kits will come out on the first and third Friday of each month! Pick one up anytime the library is open (while supplies last). Monday-Thursday: 9am-8pm Friday & Saturday: 9am-5pm To set up a curbside appointment for a craft kit you can: call us at 860-347-2528 email us at kidsdept@russelllibrary.org Supplies for this virtual program were provided by the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

It has been 8 years since we lost treasured American poet and author Dr. Maya Angelou. Listen as we hear from local talk show host Mike Howard as he opens up about his interview with the beloved icon just one week before her passing. Registration is required for the zoom link. For any questions please contact: Ayanna McKennon amckennon@russelllibrary.org

Job Search Bootcamp with Jan Melnik Thursday, May 12, 2022 ... 10 a.m. – 12 noon Workshop 3: The Game Plan: Insiders' Tips for Effective Job Search & Interviewing Job Search Boot Camp 9.0 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. ********************************************************************************************************************************* Job Search Boot Camp 9.0 More info! Thursday, May 5, 2022 ... 10 a.m. – 12 noon Workshop 1: The Tools: Targeted Resume, Cover Letter & LinkedIn Profile What fundamental tools do job seekers need today to conduct effective searches? What are the new rules for modern resumes? How do you address COVID impacts? What can you do to make your CAR success stories sizzle? How does this strategy that highlights achievements build a resume and fuel a successful job search? Why is a focused cover letter essential? Yes, you still must have a cover letter, you’ll learn why! Why is LinkedIn your #1 networking tool in job search and what can you do to differentiate yourself as a candidate? And now that LinkedIn has turned everything upside down, how can you still optimize your presence there? In the first of a three-part Job Search Boot Camp 9.0 series, career and job-search expert Jan Melnik (M.A., MRW, CCM, CPRW; www.janmelnik.com) returns to Russell Library (virtually!) to share the best strategies and insider secrets that will help job seekers improve their efforts writing strategic resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. Thursday, May 12, 2022 ... 10 a.m. – 12 noon Workshop 2: Networking & Social Media: Leveraging LinkedIn Why is social media today's top tool for networking in job search? What are the best strategies for using the constantly changing (and, sometimes, frustrating) LinkedIn? What about Instagram? And how can Facebook be valuable? What are some of the social media pitfalls to avoid? In part two of the Job Search Boot Camp 9.0 series, career and job-search expert Jan Melnik (M.A., MRW, CCM, CPRW; www.janmelnik.com) will demonstrate how to optimize your use of social media and show why every job seeker can improve their success by properly using social media's power in job-search networking efforts. There’s even an “easy” button! Thursday, May 19, 2022 ... 10 a.m. – 12 noon Workshop 3: The Game Plan: Insiders' Tips for Effective Job Search & Interviewing What's the best way to find a job today and avoid the 'black hole' of endlessly submitting resumes that never receive a response? What are the secrets to interviewing effectively? What are the top must-dos following every interview (including one killer, standout strategy)? In the final workshop of the Job Search Boot Camp 9.0 series, career and job-search expert Jan Melnik (M.A., MRW, CCM, CPRW; www.janmelnik.com) will present actionable strategies for executing your job-search plan in a way designed to achieve success as quickly as possible. From tapping technology in the most efficient way to sharing tips for removing anxiety in the interview process, participants will be able to develop their own effective job-search plans. At the same time, Jan will share effective techniques for addressing common concerns (ageism, COVID, long unemployment or underemployment gap, lack of degree, etc.) and proven methods for managing issues (dealing with inertia, lack of success, stigma) that accompany job searches, particularly in prolonged cases. The author of seven career/business books, Jan Melnik founded Absolute Advantage, in 1983 and has been writing resumes ever since. She has been featured in numerous publications, is a career expert on NBC, and speaks frequently at universities, conferences, companies, and libraries nationwide. She is a board member with Career Thought Leaders and the CMO coach working with sales and marketing clients through C-Suite Career Catalysts. A professor of business and English at both the University of South Florida and Bay Path University, she holds two undergraduate degrees in business and a master’s degree from Wesleyan University. She helps clients coast-to-coast with career strategies, resumes, and coaching services (www.janmelnik.com). Her slogan is “Be inspired. It’s your career. It’s your life.” She recently released her first works of fiction on Amazon: “Telling Tales: On Merlin’s Island” and, for children, "Adventures in The Wooded Glen." Her newest book, “Modernize Your Executive Job Search” (with strategies applicable at all levels), will be available in Q32020 (Emerald Publishing and on Amazon). 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.