Join the post-pandemic library re-opening celebration

Due to pandemic concerns, our library re-opening dedication was put on hold. Two and a half years after we opened our new library space, we can finally celebrate. Please join us Saturday, Oct. 8, from 2-4 p.m. for library tours and seasonal refreshments. All ages welcome.

We are also delighted to join in Charlotte Halloween festivities yet again. Stop by the library porch to admire the pumpkin display on the town green and to pick up a treat or two on Monday, Oct. 31, from 5-7 p.m.

Book chat on the porch
Wednesdays, 3 p.m.
Meet on the library porch 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. Please check library calendar for dates.

Short story selections
First and third Thursdays, 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. We meet the first and third Thursdays of each month. Co-sponsored by the Charlotte Senior Center.

Book chat
Fridays, 9:30 a.m. Check library calendar for dates.
Meet on Zoom to discuss new books, old books and books we might have missed. Friday is a recap of the Wednesday porch session. Register in advance.

Children and family programs

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.

Kindergarten-first grade story time
Tuesdays, 3 p.m.
Please call the Charlotte Library to register for this event.

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 and creativity. Exploring the sensory table, sorting, playing with blocks and play dough are a few of the open-ended projects planned for Monday morning play-based learning on the Charlotte Library porch. Ages 3 and 4.

Adult Programs

Stillwater Meditation
Saturdays, Oct. 1-Nov. 19, 9 a.m.
Gather together for eight weeks this fall as the light changes to explore poetry and meditation as sacred community. Respect for all beings and faiths is a foundational quality of this time together. Beginning and experienced meditators are welcome. Come to one, many, or all meetings. Free.

Repair Cafe at the Charlotte Congregational Church
Saturday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Get your broken stuff ready. Sustainable Charlotte, the Charlotte Library and the Grange will be hosting the next Repair Cafe at the Charlotte Congregational Church Vestry. Register.

Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1 p.m.
Back by popular demand. You will not want to miss this presentation if you or someone you love is experiencing vision loss. Join Dan Norris, director of adult services at the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, for this hour-long interactive presentation. Dan will share the variety of large-print, digital and audio resources that are available to help you to access print and how you can access these resources through smart devices like an iPad or smartphone. Less high-tech solutions include large-print books and audiobooks that can be obtained through a branch of the state library system by way of your local library. This nonprofit organization that can also help you to get magnifiers or teach you how to use smart devices to access print.

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m.
Film showing and director discussion: “Migration”
Experience the arduous journey Dukha reindeer herders embark on each year traveling through Mongolia’s pristine wilderness to reach their summer encampment. Join director Sas Carey for a conversation about her filmmaking after the showing. “To the Dukhas of Mongolia, reindeer are the core of their existence. They are ridden, packed with goods, milked and, when needed, honored and sacrificed for food,” said Ruah Swennerfelt of Sustainable Charlotte, which is co-sponsor of this event. Registration is required and here it is.

One-on-one tech help sessions
Thursdays, Oct. 13, 20, 1-2:30 p.m.
Email enigma? Kindle conundrum? Computer question? App apprehension? Or maybe you want to learn how to use your library card to read or listen to books on a device. Sign up for a 40-minute one-on-one session with Susanna, Charlotte Library’s technology librarian, to get some tech support. Make sure to bring your device and any necessary login information. Registration required, please call 802-425-6345.

Walk and talk book discussion: “A Field Guide to Getting Lost”
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2-4 p.m.
Join the librarians from Carpenter-Carse Library, Charlotte Library and Pierson Library for a recurring outdoor perambulation and discussion of books on the subject of our big, beautiful world. This group aims to pair a local hike with a book discussion fairly regularly, starting with Rebecca Solnit’s book “A Field Guide to Getting Lost.” Meet in the parking lot at Shelburne Farms as a loose group, walk to the farm barn and gather to discuss. Copies available at the library circulation desk.

Braver Angels Depolarizing Within workshop
Sunday, Oct. 16, 2:30-5:30 p.m.
Do you find that communication breaks down over political disagreements with friends, family or neighbors? Do you wonder if it’s even fruitful to engage in potentially divisive subjects anymore? Increasingly, we are siloed within communities that overwhelmingly share our own perspectives and lose the dynamism that diverse perspectives offer, a reality that drives today’s polarization. Braver Angels is committed to helping people to address these tendencies and to cultivate skills that foster constructive engagement across our differences. You are invited to participate in a three-hour, in-person, skills-training workshop called “Depolarizing Within.” Register.

Mystery book group: “An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good”
Monday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m.
Maud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends and … no qualms about a little murder. Join us in person to discuss “this funny, irreverent story collection by Helene Tursten, author of the Irene Huss investigations.” Copies available at the library circulation desk.

Men’s book group: “An Immense World”
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m.
The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every animal is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of an immense world. This book by Ed Young welcomes us into a previously unfathomable dimension — the world as it is truly perceived by other animals. Join the discussion via Zoom.

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

(The Charlotte Library Board of Trustees meets the first Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. For information about agenda and Zoom access, please contact the library director.)