Library News – January 27, 2022
Don’t miss the Winter Reading Challenge!
The Winter Reading Challenge: Read for a Better World (All Ages) is available for pre-registration now on the Vermont libraries Beanstack page. The challenge starts Jan. 1 and ends Jan. 31. This challenge is available for free to all Vermonters and could be a simple way for public libraries to engage readers this January!
Readers of all ages are encouraged to read for at least 20 minutes a day and log their minutes using the Beanstack website or the mobile app. Participants can read books of their choosing, log minutes, participate in simple activities, and earn digital badges. Participants are encouraged to explore diversity, empathy and action through literature by choosing books and stories from an array of diverse authors and topics.
Need help setting up a Beanstack account? Please contact the library.
Operations update
In the ongoing interest of community health and well-being, the Charlotte Library Board of Trustees would like to remind all visitors to the library of our current COVID protocol. The Library will continue to follow CDC guidelines. The latest information can be found on the CDC website.
We ask that all visitors to the library join the staff in the following safe practices:
- Wearing a mask when indoors at the library regardless of vaccination status
- Maintaining a safe distance from other people
- Refraining from visiting the library if you have any COVID symptoms.
We still maintain our Porch Pick-Up service, so feel free to request any materials to be set out if you prefer not to enter the library. You may request materials online through the library website, by phone 802-425-3864, or via email. Thank you for helping to keep our library community safe and healthy.
Happening at the library
Book Chat is back! Fridays at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom.
Join Margaret on Friday mornings to discuss new books, old books and books we might have missed. Each week, Margaret selects a theme and highlights related titles from the library collection. Register for Book Chat in advance.
Exploring Color with Jonathan Silverman
Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 10 a.m.
This 1.5-hour visual art workshop will be an investigation of color. Simple prompts using such medium as watercolor, pastels, and colored markers and pencils will replenish the artist within for those familiar or unfamiliar in making art. Nature, music, and how various artists have used color will initiate our own discovery of color harmonies, juxtapositions and movement. A supportive and joyful environment will emphasize process and surprises.
Fee: $5 donation to cover materials. Co-sponsored with the Charlotte Senior Center. Please call the Charlotte Senior Center to register: 802-425-6345.
Library Book Discussion: The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m.
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally—and willing to fight to the end.
In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people “the art of being fearless.” It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it’s also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill’s prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and, of course 10 Downing Street in London. Copies available at the Library. Register for the discussion in advance.
Media Literacy: Take 2
Thursday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m.
We’re reviving our conversation from last fall. There continue to be more opportunities for disinformation, declining trust in established news organizations, and increasing popularity of conspiracy theorists. Join us for a conversation on media literacy with Adam Davidson, Chea Waters-Evans and Jesse Wegman. Adam co-founded Planet Money and has been a staff reporter for the New York Time sand the New Yorker. Chea has been reporting in and about Charlotte for over a decade, first with The Citizen and The Shelburne News, then The Charlotte News, and now at The Charlotte Bridge. Jesse is an editorial board member of the New York Times. Register in advance.
Candidates Night
Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m.
The Charlotte Grange, Charlotte Library and The Charlotte News are co-hosting the annual Candidates Night. Please join us for conversation with the candidates on the Charlotte Town Meeting ballot. Each candidate will have a few minutes to present an opening statement, then the floor will be open for questions and discussion. Join the meeting.
Mystery Book Group: The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
Monday, Feb. 21, at 10 a.m.
NOTE: This will take place even though the library is closed for President’s Day.
The third novel in Trollope’s Palliser series, The Eustace Diamonds bears all the hallmarks of his later works, blending dark cynicism with humor and a keen perception of human nature. Following the death of her husband, Sir Florian, beautiful Lizzie Eustace mysteriously comes into possession of a hugely expensive diamond necklace. She maintains it was a gift from her husband, but the Eustace lawyers insist she give it up, and while her cousin Frank takes her side, her new lover, Lord Fawn, declares that he will only marry her if the necklace is surrendered. As gossip and scandal intensify, Lizzie’s truthfulness is thrown into doubt, and, in her desire to keep the jewels, she is driven to increasingly desperate acts.
Copies available at the library. Join the Zoom meeting.
Men’s Book Group: The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers
Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m.
The Monk of Mokha is the exhilarating true story of a young Yemeni American man, raised in San Francisco, who dreams of resurrecting the ancient art of Yemeni coffee but finds himself trapped in Sana’a by civil war.
Mokhtar Alkhanshali is 24 and working as a doorman when he discovers the astonishing history of coffee and Yemen’s central place in it. He leaves San Francisco and travels deep into his ancestral homeland to tour terraced farms high in the country’s rugged mountains and meet beleaguered but determined farmers. But when war engulfs the country and Saudi bombs rain down, Mokhtar has to find a way out of Yemen without sacrificing his dreams or abandoning his people. Books are available at the library.
For the latest information about programs, books and activity kits, sign up for our monthly newsletter.
Monthly Library Board Meeting: Thursday, February 10 at 6 p.m.
Library Contact Information
Margaret Woodruff, Director
Cheryl Sloan, Youth Services Librarian
Susanna Kahn, Tech Librarian
Phone: 802-425-3864
Email
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