Calendar

Come build with us in the Activity Room! Each Monday there will be different building toys available such as Legos, Lincoln Logs, Hotwheels tracks, and more. Follow our blueprints or simply build from your imagination. We supply the materials, you supply the creativity! This is a program for ages 4 and up. Registration is required (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. This program is made possible though the generosity of the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: https://russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

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 summer 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 Russell Library and our friends from Eleanor Buck Wolf Nature Center for a session where we will meet live animals such as an African spur-thighed tortoise and corn snakes! This session will take place in the Russell Library Activity Room. This is a family program for all ages. Registration is required (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. This program is made possible though the generosity of the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: https://russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

Job Search Questions Join Dr. Marcia LaReau and Christy Billings for the questions being asked by today's job seekers... and bring YOUR questions as well! Learn current and up to date info for your job search. 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? Bob Carlson rcarlson@russelllibrary.org or 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.

Welcome back babies! Looking for something to do with your infant or toddler? Come join us for Baby Rhyme Time, a program for babies one year and under and their caregivers. We'll sing songs, learn rhymes, finger plays and more in this fun, interactive program. For babies birth-12 months and their caregivers. Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the event starts. 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. 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 an evening with New York Times Bestselling author Liz Moore as she discusses her international bestseller, Long Bright River, and her other works. Drawing on deeply personal volunteer work, Liz Moore spins a story that is both graphically honest and dignified. Long Bright River puts a very human face on the effect that addiction can have on generations of families and communities. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

Books and Brews RETURNS Our Aug title is Dutch House by Ann Patchett At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures. Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested. (from Goodreads) Join us IN PERSON at Stubborn Beauty Brewing at 180 Johnson St, Middletown, CT. Join us! 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: Patchett was born in Los Angeles, California. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee when she was six, where she continues to live. Patchett said she loves her home in Nashville with her doctor husband and dog. If asked if she could go any place, that place would always be home. "Home is ...the stable window that opens out into the imagination." In 2010, when she found that her hometown of Nashville no longer had a good book store, she co-founded Parnassus Books with Karen Hayes; the store opened in November 2011. In 2012, Patchett was on the Time 100 list of most influential people in the world by TIME magazine.

Join us for an outdoor storytime at the Middletown Farmers Market at the Union Green! 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 summer 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 inside the Russell Library! 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. Here is a link to the Union Green in google maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Union Green, Middletown, CT 06457/@41.5566,-72.650525,17z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x89e64a42f2ad6e95:0x194bac9351c9b822!2sUnion Green, Middletown, CT 06457!3b1!8m2!3d41.5566658!4d-72.6478241!3m4!1s0x89e64a42f2ad6e95:0x194bac9351c9b822!8m2!3d41.5566658!4d-72.6478241 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/

Come build with us in the Activity Room! Each Monday there will be different building toys available such as Legos, Lincoln Logs, Hotwheels tracks, and more. Follow our blueprints or simply build from your imagination. We supply the materials, you supply the creativity! This is a program for ages 4 and up. Registration is required (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. This program is made possible though the generosity of the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: https://russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

Join us for an outdoor storytime at the Middletown Farmers Market at the Union Green! 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 summer 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 inside the Russell Library! 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. Here is a link to the Union Green in google maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Union Green, Middletown, CT 06457/@41.5566,-72.650525,17z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x89e64a42f2ad6e95:0x194bac9351c9b822!2sUnion Green, Middletown, CT 06457!3b1!8m2!3d41.5566658!4d-72.6478241!3m4!1s0x89e64a42f2ad6e95:0x194bac9351c9b822!8m2!3d41.5566658!4d-72.6478241 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/

Michele Harper is a female African American emergency room physician in an overwhelmingly male and white profession. As Harper learned to become an effective ER physician, bringing insight and empathy to every patient encounter, she understood that each of us is broken—physically and emotionally. How we recognize those breaks, how we try to mend them, and where we go from there are all crucial parts of the healing process. This author talk with Michele Harper will cover many of the lessons she’s learned on her inspiring personal journey and the success of her New York Times bestselling memoir, The Beauty in Breaking. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

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 summer 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/

Mystery! is a Russell Library-run book club for mystery lovers. The book group discusses a new mystery novel every month. The group meets on Thursdays at 3pm, the last Thursday of the month (or, if Russell is closed at that time, the latest Thursday in the month that we’re open). Starting July 29th, 2021, our meetings will switch back to in person at Russell Library in Meeting Room 2. Books are available at the Circulation desk. No registration required. Questions? Contact Amy Slowik. Click Here to See the List of Upcoming Mystery! Books.

Join us for an outdoor storytime at the Middletown Farmers Market at the Union Green! 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 summer 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 inside the Russell Library! 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. Here is a link to the Union Green in google maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Union Green, Middletown, CT 06457/@41.5566,-72.650525,17z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x89e64a42f2ad6e95:0x194bac9351c9b822!2sUnion Green, Middletown, CT 06457!3b1!8m2!3d41.5566658!4d-72.6478241!3m4!1s0x89e64a42f2ad6e95:0x194bac9351c9b822!8m2!3d41.5566658!4d-72.6478241 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/

Photo credit: Judy Schiller (L) and Shervin Lainez (R) Resonant Motion, Inc. returns to in-person presentations for its Jazz Up Close series for the first of two 2022 events, continuing the theme of “Layers of Collaboration.” For this event, saxophonist Claire Daly and pianist Steve Hudson will present and discuss their original compositions accompanied by bassist Henry Lugo and pianist, host, and series curator Noah Baerman. Claire Daly is a baritone saxophonist, flutist, and recording artist who has been recognized as the winner of polls through JazzTimes, Downbeat, the Jazz Journalists Association, and other publications and organizations. Her numerous albums as a bandleader include tributes to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Thelonious Monk, and the music of Motown as well as highlighting her own music. Steve Hudson is a pianist and composer with a background in English literature. His eclectic musical activities range from work as a jazz bandleader and sideman, a singer-songwriter project called Trace the Sun, and work in film scoring. The two artists have collaborated in various formats, including the co-composed body of work the Mary Joyce Project, from which several compositions will be performed at this event. Support for this event has been provided by Resonant Motion’s donors, the Friends of the Russell Library, the Middletown Commission on the Arts, and CT Humanities (CTH), with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature. Registration Required. Limited Capacity.

Come build with us in the Activity Room! Each Monday there will be different building toys available such as Legos, Lincoln Logs, Hotwheels tracks, and more. Follow our blueprints or simply build from your imagination. We supply the materials, you supply the creativity! This is a program for ages 4 and up. Registration is required (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. This program is made possible though the generosity of the Friends of the Russell Library! Find out more about how you can support them here: https://russelllibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

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 summer 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/

What is Narcan? NARCAN® nasal spray is a potentially lifesaving medication designed to help reverse the effects of an opioid overdose in minutes. What You'll Learn You'll learn about rescue breathing, what Narcan is, how to administer it, Good Samaritan laws, and local prevention resources. Register Today! The first 15 registrants will receive a free Narcan kit! All Middletown residents are welcome. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.