Our Events

Reading Group

Fully Registered: Let's Read Shakespeare for Fun

Sunday, January 7, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, February 4, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, March 3, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, April 7, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, May 5, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, June 2, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm | Whitridge Room | for members and their guests | free of charge | registration required
We gather monthly to read aloud a play by William Shakespeare.
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Reading Group

Springtime with Henry James: One Novel, One Novella, and Seven Tales, taught by Jane Mallison

Wednesday, April 17, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, May 8, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, May 29, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, June 26, 2024 - 11:00am | Whitridge Room | for members only | $100 for the four sessions/$25 per session | registration required
“We work in the dark – we do what we can – we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.” Henry James put these highly quotable lines into the mouth of the main character of “The Middle Years.” In this four-session seminar, we’ll read that tale and three others that James wrote about authors.
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The Writing Life

Prompt! In Person with Carol Weston

Thursday, January 4, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, February 1, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, March 14, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, April 4, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, May 9, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, June 6, 2024 - 11:00am | Whitridge Room | for members only | free of charge | registration required
Join your fellow member writers for a fun and stimulating hour+ of prompts, writing, and sharing.
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Special Event

Livestream: Panel: We Refuse to Be Silent: Women’s Voices on Justice for Black Men

Thursday, May 9, 2024 - 6:00pm | Livestream | open to the public | free of charge | registration required
In this powerful and needed collection, editor Angela P. Dodson brings together the voices of more than thirty-five accomplished women writers on the topic of violence and injustice against Black men. In this unique event, she converses with Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Audrey Edwards, and Prof. Gloria J. Browne-Marshall.
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Special Event

Members' Room: Panel: We Refuse to Be Silent: Women’s Voices on Justice for Black Men

Thursday, May 9, 2024 - 6:00pm | Members' Room | open to the public | free of charge | registration required
In this powerful and needed collection, editor Angela P. Dodson brings together the voices of more than thirty-five accomplished women writers on the topic of violence and injustice against Black men. In this unique event, she converses with Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Audrey Edwards, and Prof. Gloria J. Browne-Marshall.
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Lecture

Livestream: Caroline Alexander, Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 6:00pm | Livestream | open to the public | $10 per person | registration required
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Endurance and The War That Killed Achilles, a breathtaking account of combat and survival in one of the most brutally challenging and rarely examined campaigns of World War II.
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Lecture

Members' Room: Caroline Alexander, Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 6:00pm | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration required
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Endurance and The War That Killed Achilles, a breathtaking account of combat and survival in one of the most brutally challenging and rarely examined campaigns of World War II.
Read More >

Reading Group

Seminar: “What A Lark! What a Plunge!” Mrs. Dalloway at 100, with Nicholas Birns

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, June 12, 2024 - 11:00am | Whitridge Room | for members and their guests | $50 for the two sessions | registration required
2025 will see the hundredth anniversary of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. Reading Merve Emre’s recent annotated edition, published by W. W. Norton, we will explore such themes as the aftermath of war; life in the modern city; depression and its treatment; and the possible lingering effects of the 1918 pandemic, all juxtaposed with perhaps the most memorable party in modern literature.
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Performance

Members' Room: Kate Feiffer, Morning Pages and Its Play-Within-a-Novel, with dramatic readers

Thursday, May 16, 2024 - 6:00pm | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration required
When her professional and family life collide, a playwright starts journaling every morning to push through her writer’s block in this laugh-out-loud and fresh take on family, friendship, and the chaos of midlife. This one-of-a-kind event features actors presenting scenes from the play within the novel, with commentary from the novelist, Kate Feiffer.
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Performance

Livestream: Kate Feiffer, Morning Pages and Its Play-Within-a-Novel, with dramatic readers

Thursday, May 16, 2024 - 6:00pm | Livestream | open to the public | $10 per person | registration required
When her professional and family life collide, a playwright starts journaling every morning to push through her writer’s block in this laugh-out-loud and fresh take on family, friendship, and the chaos of midlife. This one-of-a-kind event features actors presenting scenes from the play within the novel, with commentary from the novelist, Kate Feiffer.
Read More >

Special Event

Closing: Memorial Day 2024

Saturday, May 25, 2024 - 9:00am Sunday, May 26, 2024 - 9:00am Monday, May 27, 2024 - 9:00am | holiday closing

The Library is closed all day Saturday, May 25, Sunday, May 26, and Monday, May 27, for Memorial Day weekend. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

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Special Event

Closing: Memorial Day 2024

Saturday, May 25, 2024 - 9:00am Sunday, May 26, 2024 - 9:00am Monday, May 27, 2024 - 9:00am | holiday closing

The Library is closed all day Saturday, May 25, Sunday, May 26, and Monday, May 27, for Memorial Day weekend. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

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Special Event

Closing: Memorial Day 2024

Saturday, May 25, 2024 - 9:00am Sunday, May 26, 2024 - 9:00am Monday, May 27, 2024 - 9:00am | holiday closing

The Library is closed all day Saturday, May 25, Sunday, May 26, and Monday, May 27, for Memorial Day weekend. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

Read More >

Reading Group

Springtime with Henry James: One Novel, One Novella, and Seven Tales, taught by Jane Mallison

Wednesday, April 17, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, May 8, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, May 29, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, June 26, 2024 - 11:00am | Whitridge Room | for members only | $100 for the four sessions/$25 per session | registration required
“We work in the dark – we do what we can – we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.” Henry James put these highly quotable lines into the mouth of the main character of “The Middle Years.” In this four-session seminar, we’ll read that tale and three others that James wrote about authors.
Read More >

Reading Group

Fully Registered: Let's Read Shakespeare for Fun

Sunday, January 7, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, February 4, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, March 3, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, April 7, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, May 5, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday, June 2, 2024 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm | Whitridge Room | for members and their guests | free of charge | registration required
We gather monthly to read aloud a play by William Shakespeare.
Read More >

The Writing Life

Prompt! In Person with Carol Weston

Thursday, January 4, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, February 1, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, March 14, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, April 4, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, May 9, 2024 - 11:00am Thursday, June 6, 2024 - 11:00am | Whitridge Room | for members only | free of charge | registration required
Join your fellow member writers for a fun and stimulating hour+ of prompts, writing, and sharing.
Read More >

Reading Group

Seminar: “What A Lark! What a Plunge!” Mrs. Dalloway at 100, with Nicholas Birns

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, June 12, 2024 - 11:00am | Whitridge Room | for members and their guests | $50 for the two sessions | registration required
2025 will see the hundredth anniversary of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. Reading Merve Emre’s recent annotated edition, published by W. W. Norton, we will explore such themes as the aftermath of war; life in the modern city; depression and its treatment; and the possible lingering effects of the 1918 pandemic, all juxtaposed with perhaps the most memorable party in modern literature.
Read More >

Special Event

Closing: Juneteenth 2024

Wednesday, June 19, 2024 - 9:00am | holiday closing

The Library is closed all day Wednesday, June 19, for Juneteenth. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

Read More >

Reading Group

Springtime with Henry James: One Novel, One Novella, and Seven Tales, taught by Jane Mallison

Wednesday, April 17, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, May 8, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, May 29, 2024 - 11:00am Wednesday, June 26, 2024 - 11:00am | Whitridge Room | for members only | $100 for the four sessions/$25 per session | registration required
“We work in the dark – we do what we can – we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.” Henry James put these highly quotable lines into the mouth of the main character of “The Middle Years.” In this four-session seminar, we’ll read that tale and three others that James wrote about authors.
Read More >

Special Event

Closing: Independence Day 2024

Thursday, July 4, 2024 - 9:00am | holiday closing

The Library is closed all day Thursday, July 4, for Independence Day. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

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Special Event

Closing: Labor Day 2024

Saturday, August 31, 2024 - 9:00am Sunday, September 1, 2024 - 9:00am Monday, September 2, 2024 - 9:00am | holiday closing

The Library is closed all day Saturday, August 31, Sunday, September 1, and Monday, September 2, for Labor Day weekend. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

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Special Event

Closing: Labor Day 2024

Saturday, August 31, 2024 - 9:00am Sunday, September 1, 2024 - 9:00am Monday, September 2, 2024 - 9:00am | holiday closing

The Library is closed all day Saturday, August 31, Sunday, September 1, and Monday, September 2, for Labor Day weekend. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

Read More >

Special Event

Closing: Labor Day 2024

Saturday, August 31, 2024 - 9:00am Sunday, September 1, 2024 - 9:00am Monday, September 2, 2024 - 9:00am | holiday closing

The Library is closed all day Saturday, August 31, Sunday, September 1, and Monday, September 2, for Labor Day weekend. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

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Special Event

Closing: Italian American Heritage Day/Indigenous Peoples Day 2024

Monday, October 14, 2024 - 9:00am | holiday closing

The Library is closed all day Monday, October 14, for Italian American Heritage Day/Indigenous Peoples Day. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

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Special Event

Closing: Christmas 2024

Tuesday, December 24, 2024 - 5:00pm Wednesday, December 25, 2024 - 5:00pm Thursday, December 26, 2024 - 5:00pm | holiday closing

This Christmas, the Library closes at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, December 24 and is closed Wednesday, December 25 and Thursday, December 26. Otherwise we observe normal hours.

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Today's Events

Exhibitions

The Library showcases our historic collections and the literary culture of the city with themed public exhibitions on the second floor. Exhibitions are offered for six to twelve months, and both members and nonmembers are welcome to drop by any time the Library is open.

Current Exhibition: