Even with snow on ground, library prepares for spring

The library is getting ready for spring with these events:

• Join the Seed Library Social.
• Enter the favorite tree art contest.
• Learn how you can promote and protect pollinators in your own garden.

Programs for kids

Ramadan craft
Ramadan depends on the lunar cycle and starts with the sighting of the young moon and ends with a new moon. It takes place in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar when the first sliver of the crescent moon appears. Ramadan will come to an end with Eid Al-Fitr, called ‘the Festival of Breaking the Fast’. The Islamic calendar is lunar, not solar, so Ramadan begins on a different date each year. In 2025, Ramadan is Feb. 28- March 29. Ramadan is a quiet, reflective time of worship, prayer, helping others and spending time with loved ones, embracing acts of kindness. Stop in to make a Ramadan craft.

My Favorite Tree art contest
Kindergartners-eight graders are encouraged to celebrate Charlotte’s Earth Month. Information and entry forms are available on the library website and at the circulation desk. Presented in partnership with the Charlotte Grange.

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.

‘How to Be Animal’
Wednesdays, Feb. 26-March 26, 7 p.m.
A book discussion of “How to be Animal” by Melanie Challenger on Zoom will be sponsored by the Charlotte Library, the Conservation Commission and Sustainable Charlotte. 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 rich and rewarding about being an animal. Register. Copies available at the library circulation desk.

Seed social
Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m.-noon
Kick off the gardening season by coming to the library for a Seed Social. Pick up sample packets for seeds featured in the Seed Library’s 2025 Seed Catalog (charlotteseedlibrary.org). Chat with fellow gardeners and master gardeners, who will be on hand to answer questions. There will be light refreshments and seed giveaways to enjoy. After March 8, the Seed Library will be open self-serve during library hours. Watch for gardening support programs throughout the year. Questions? Email coordinators Karen Tuininga and Linda Hamilton.

Tech Help at senior center
Wednesday, March 12, 10 a.m.-Noon
Have a new device or questions about your old one? Want to learn how to use your library card to read or listen to books on a device? Sign up for a one-on-one session with Susanna Kahn, the Charlotte Library’s technology librarian for some tech support. She will troubleshoot with you and provide suggestions for next steps. Make sure to bring your device and any necessary login information. 20-minute appointments: 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Registeration required, please call the senior center at 802-425-6345.

‘From Earth to Earth’ at senior center
Thursday, March 13, 1 p.m.
The short documentary, “From Earth to Earth, The Lost Art of Dying in America,” will be shown This 20-minute documentary showcases the beauty and significance of natural burial. It explores the legalization of natural burial in Vermont and the opening and first burial at its first natural burial ground, Vermont Forest Cemetery, alongside one woman’s journey to find her “forever home” at Greensprings Natural Burial Preserve, the third oldest natural burial ground in the United States. Afterward there will be a question and answer session. Register by calling 802-425-6345.

Short story selections
Wednesday, March 19, 1 p.m.
Join library director Margaret Woodruff to share and discuss short stories old and new on the third Wednesday of each month on Zoom. Story selections are sent out by email the Friday before the meeting date. Email [email protected] to join the group.

Better Together Book Club
Wednesday, March 19, 7 p.m.
In March, the group is reading “The Guncle” by Steve Rowley. Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for week-long visits or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. So, when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself taking on the role of primary guardian. Quickly realizing that parenting, even if temporary, isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a sense of responsibility and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human. Copies available at the circulation desk.

Men’s Book Group
Wednesday, March 19, 7:30 p.m.
The group is reading “Agony Hill” by Susan Stewart Taylor. Join us in person or on Zoom. In the hot summer of 1965, Bostonian Franklin Warren arrives in Bethany, Vermont, to take a position as a detective with the state police. Warren’s new home is on the verge of monumental change; the interstates under construction will bring new people, new opportunities and new problems to Vermont, and the Cold War and protests against the war in Vietnam have finally reached the dirt roads and rolling pastures of Bethany. Warren has barely unpacked when he’s called up to a remote farm on Agony Hill. Former New Yorker and back-to-the-lander Hugh Weber seems to have set fire to his barn and himself, with the door barred from the inside, but things aren’t adding up. The people of Bethany, from Weber’s enigmatic wife to Warren’s neighbor, widow and amateur detective Alice Bellows, clearly have secrets they’d like to keep, but Warren can’t tell if the truth about Weber’s death is one of them. Copies available at the circulation desk.

How to make the most of the grid
Thursday, March 20, 5:30 p.m.
How do insulation and air sealing help save energy and money while keeping our homes warmer? This workshop on home electrification will educate participants on examples of heat transfer in the home. This workshop also connects participants with ongoing weatherization initiatives in Vermont.

Thursday book group
Thursday, February 20, 7:30 p.m.
The Thursday book group will discuss “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk.” In 1955, Emma “Grandma” Gatewood told her children that she was “going for a hike in the woods.” Little did they know that this hike would be the entire 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail, the longest hiking-only footpath in the world. Though hiking the entire Appalachian Trail is already an impressive feat, Gatewood’s trip was even more remarkable because she was 67 years old, a mother of 11, a grandmother of 23 and a survivor of more than 30 years of domestic abuse. When she summited Katahdin on Sept. 25, 1955, she became the first woman ever to complete the entire trail alone in one season. Copies available at the circulation desk; ebook and audiobook available on Hoopla.

Tea and Jane Austen movie
Friday, March 21, 2 p.m.
You are cordially invited to Afternoon Tea & a Movie with Jane Austen. Join us to watch a favorite Jane Austen film and enjoy afternoon refreshments.

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., unless rescheduled following the Opening Meeting Law. The next scheduled board meeting is this Thursday, March 6, at 6 p.m.