Library focusing on conservation during May

Libraries have a responsibility to preserve, to conserve for their communities. From antiques to textiles to natural habitats to landscape design, this month we feature several programs with a specific focus on conservation. See below for details about these events and more.

Children’s programs

Young children’s story time
Tuesdays, 10 a.m.
No registration required.

Kindergarten/first grade after-school story time
Tuesdays, 3 p.m.
Please contact youth services librarian Cheryl Sloan for information about this session.

Preschool free play
Wednesdays, 10 a.m.
Exploring the sensory table, sorting, playing with blocks, play dough — these are a few of the open-ended projects planned for Wednesday morning play-based learning at the Charlotte Library. Ages 2-4. No registration required.

Star Wars Day
Thursday, May 4
On May the Fourth … in a library not so far away … a great adventure will take place. Drop in and celebrate Star Wars Day. Enjoy a display of Star Wars-themed trivia games, crafts and books to check out. Intergalactic fun for the whole family.

Programs for adults

Book Chat
Wednesdays, 3 p.m.
Meet each week to discuss new books, old books and books we might have missed. Each week, Woodruff selects a theme and highlights related titles from the library collection. No registration necessary.

Crochet & Knit Night
Wednesdays, 5:30-7 p.m.
Claudia Marshall is your host for a casual weekly session of crocheting and chatting, knitting and catching up. Bring your project or start a new one with yarn and needles available at the library, along with plenty of books to instruct and inspire. For teens and adults.

Library Board of Trustees meeting
Thursday, May 4, 6 p.m.
Agenda available at the library website. Zoom link.

Naturally Curious: A Green-Up Day event
Saturday, May 6, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
A visual journey through the 12 months of the year, as seen through a naturalist’s eyes. Mary Holland guides us through a selection of each month’s most memorable events with objects as well as images and information about amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, insects, spiders, plants and fungi of New England. A family program for kids age 8 and up with parent or caregiver. Register.

Conservation clinic
Tuesday, May 9, 7-8 p.m.
Rick Kerschner, former director of preservation and conservation at the Shelburne Museum, holds a conservation clinic at the Charlotte Library. Discover if your family treasures require conservation. Bring a reasonable-sized antique such as a small painting, work of art on paper, textile such as a quilt or coverlet, or a decorative artifact made of ceramic, glass, leather, metal, rubber, plastic, wood, etcetera, for review. Please note that Kerschner is a conservator, not an appraiser, and cannot estimate the value; however, a list of appraisers will be available. Reserve a spot.

Sustainable Textiles:
Clothing is Agricultural
Wednesday, May 10, noon
Natural fiber is the seamless technology of a closed-loop future and circular time. In this third and final webinar of the series, fiber artist and farmer Laura Sullivan will share the journey of growing hemp for fiber on the University of Vermont extension research farm. Register.

Better Together Book Club:
‘This Is How It Always Is’
Wednesday, May 10, 7 p.m.
Join this group that reads and discusses books related to parenthood. “This Is How It Always Is” by Laurie Frankel is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales and family. And it’s about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan. Families with secrets don’t get to keep them forever. Books are available at the circulation desk. Registration appreciated, email.

Mystery book group:
‘Fortune Favors the Dead’
Monday, May 15, 10 a.m.
“‘Fortune Favors the Dead’ has razor-sharp style, tons of flair, a snappy sense of humor, and all the most satisfying elements of a really good noir novel, plus plenty of original twists of its own,” Tana French. Join us to discuss the 1940s-era mystery featuring a former circus performer turned hard-boiled private detective. Copies available at the library circulation desk.

Short story selections
Wednesday, May 17, 1 p.m.
Join library director Margaret Woodruff to share and discuss short stories old and new. The reading list will include a variety of authors, and one or two stories will be featured each session. Copies of the stories are available at the library circulation desk or via email. Join on Zoom.

Men’s book group: “Horizon”
Wednesday, May 17, 7:30 p.m.
“Horizon” by Barry Lopez moves indelibly, immersively, through the author’s travels to six regions of the world: from Western Oregon to the High Arctic; from the Galapagos to the Kenyan desert; from Botany Bay in Australia to the ice shelves of Antarctica. Here’s the zoom link.

Creating an Edible Landscape with Dani Baker
Thursday, May 18, 7 p.m.
If you want to create an edible hedge, an edible bed, a foundation planting or a forest garden, you will discover there are a variety of native food plants to choose from to fill your space. This illustrated talk will describe the growth habit, preferred habitat, care required, food value, other users, aesthetic appeal and propagation techniques for over 25 native perennial plants you can include in your edible landscape. Join us online or in person for this timely presentation from Dani Baker, whose work promotes acting as good stewards of the land and water resources entrusted to us on her farm in upstate New York and through presentations like this. Register for Zoom and for in-person attendance.

Library contact information:
Margaret Woodruff, director
Cheryl Sloan, youth services librarian
Susanna Kahn, tech librarian
Phone: 802-425-3864
Email

For the latest information about programs, books and activity kits, sign up for our monthly newsletter.