Celebrate Love Your Library month at Charlotte Library

Share the love with DIY Valentines. Share your opinions and ideas in our new library suggestion box.

Town meeting and town government are hot topics this month. Don’t miss the Candidates Night event at the Charlotte Senior Center on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Town meeting takes place on Saturday, March 1, for all voting on budget items related to the town.

Programs for kids

Preschool story time
Tuesdays, 10 a.m.
Come to the Charlotte Library for preschool stories, crafts and activities. No registration required. Age 2 and over.

After-school book club
Tuesdays, 3 p.m.
Do you enjoy reading and talking about books? Ride the bus to the Charlotte Library and enjoy an afternoon of book sharing and crafts every Tuesday after school. Grades 1-3, registration required. Contact Cheryl.

Preschool free play
Wednesdays, 10 a.m.
Play in the preschool years enables children to explore and make sense of the world around them, as well as to use and develop their imagination. Explore the sensory table, sorting, playing with blocks, playdoh — these are a few of the open-ended projects planned for Wednesday morning play-based learning at the Charlotte Library.

Babytime
Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.
You’re invited to an unstructured hour for parents, caregivers and babies to play, explore books and chat in the young children’s area. Ages birth to 18 months.

Let’s Lego
Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Drop in for Lego free play. We’ll have loads of Lego bricks out, along with some books and prompts for inspiration. For all ages. Please note: Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.

Programs for adults

Stillwater meditation
Saturdays, 9 a.m.
Poetry and meditation are offered freely and in person to the Charlotte community. Come for quiet reflection, contemplation and gentle meditation instruction. Respect for all beings and faiths is a foundational quality of our time together. Beginning and experienced meditators are welcome.

Valentines DIY
Friday, Feb. 7, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Drop in to create some Valentines with Gelli print and other craft techniques. For all ages. Children 10 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Craft your closet
Tuesdays, Feb. 11 & 18, 5:30 p.m.
Snag in a favorite sweater? Tear in your best trousers? Chrissy Bedard brings her sewing savvy to the library for a three-part series on clothes mending. She’ll share the basic clothes mending essentials and provide hands-on guidance for you to mend and make new. Email Margaret to let us know you’re coming.

Candidates Night at senior center
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 6:30 p.m.
Ask questions and share concerns with the candidates on this year’s ballot. Learn more about each candidate, their priorities, reasons for running and points of views. Questions for the candidates can be emailed or posed during the event. Zoom.

How to make the most of the grid
Thursday, Feb. 13, 5:30 p.m.
What are the various areas in the home to electrify? What are the costs, savings and incentives associated with each place in your home? Join Alex Levin from the Vermont Energy Education Program and members of the Charlotte Energy Committee to talk about home electrification. You’ll go home with ideas and insight to get started.

Better Together Book Club
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m.
Join this group to discuss books related to parenthood. “Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books” by Kirsten Miller tells the story of when Lula Dean, trying to rid public libraries of “pornographic” books, starts her own lending library in front of her home, and the daughter of Lula’s arch nemesis sneaks in nightly, secretly filling it with banned books wrapped in “wholesome” dust jackets, changing the lives of those who borrow them in unexpected ways.

Short story selections
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 1 p.m.
Join library director Margaret Woodruff to share and discuss short stories old and new. Our group meets on the third Wednesday of each month. Story selections are sent out by email the Friday before the meeting date. Please email Margaret if you’d like to join the group.

Houseplant Healthcare 101
Thursday, Feb. 20, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Join us to learn from master gardener Judy Mirro. She’ll share the tips and tricks for keeping your houseplants happy and hearty during these cold months.

Tea and movie
Friday, Feb. 21, 2 p.m.
Join us for the showing of a movie based on a Jane Austen novel of the same name. Enjoy tea, homemade cookies and the good company of Jane Austen’s characters and fans.

Sunday afternoon music jam
Sunday, Feb. 23, 1-3 p.m.
A “jam” is sharing a tune or song of your choice going around in a circle of people. Participants may join in but no pressure to perform. Sit in or sit out. Share or pass. Any age or ability. Guitar, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, bass, keyboard, harmonica, hand drums … anything goes. Questions: Sallie Mack 802-425-6212 or email.

Mystery book group
Monday, Feb. 24, 10 a.m.
Once again, the game’s afoot in “The House of Silk.” It’s London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap, a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place. Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld. Copies available at the circulation desk.

Book discussion
Wednesdays, Feb. 26-March 26, 7 p.m.
Conservation Commission and Sustainable Charlotte are hosting a discussion of “How to be Animal” by Melanie Challenger. Blending nature writing, history and moral philosophy, the book is both a fascinating reappraisal of what it means to be human and a robust defense of all that is rewarding about being an animal. Also on Zoom register. Copies available at the library circulation desk.

Men’s book group
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.
“All the Beauty in the World” is a fascinating, revelatory portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures by a former New Yorker staffer who spent a decade as a museum guard. Copies available at the circulation desk. The men’s book discussion group meets monthly. Join at the library or on Zoom.

Recurring programs

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

Crochet & knit night
Wednesdays, 5-6:30 p.m.
Join in 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 contact information:
Margaret Woodruff, director
Cheryl Sloan, youth services librarian
Susanna Kahn, tech librarian
Phone: 802-425-3864
Email

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The Charlotte Library Board of Trustees meets the first Thursday of each month at 6 p.m., except the month of August or otherwise rescheduled following the Opening Meeting Law. The next scheduled board meeting is Thursday, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m. Contact the library or visit the library website for more information.