Library Holiday Closing, Book Clubs & Youth Workshops
Holiday Closing
The Library will be closed on Monday, January 19 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The Library will reopen on Tuesday, January 20 at 10 a.m.
American Mah Jongg for Beginners
Fridays at 10:30 a.m.
American Mah Jongg club for players of all skill levels. These sessions are intended for players who are familiar with American Mah Jongg as instruction is not provided.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own American Mah Jongg set and official Mah Jongg card. The Library also has a limited number of Mah Jongg sets and cards to use during open play.
Games are non-betting as gambling is not allowed in the library. Registration is required. Click here to register.
If you are interested in learning to play American Mah Jongg please check our calendar for future classes in winter 2026.
Midterms Study Break & Therapy Dog
Thursday, January 15, 4 p.m.
For high school students in grades 9-12.
Prepare for midterms with study spaces, free snacks, and fun brain break activities!Relax and de-stress with Elvis the Therapy Dog from 5-6 p.m. — no registration required, just show up and unwind!
High School Volunteer Club
Saturday, January 17, 10 a.m.
For high school students entering grades 9-12.
Earn community service hours at our high school volunteer club. Volunteers can work on special projects or train to become a volunteer shelf reader.Registration is recommended but drop-ins are welcome if space permits.
Stuffy Slumber Party
Thursday, January 22, 6 p.m.
Stuffed animals wanted! We are hosting a slumber party for stuffies! Kids, come with one stuffed animal for a quick story time and craft. Then, say goodbye to your stuffy so it can go on nighttime adventures in the Children's Department (pick up your friend the Friday after, 1/23/26)!
ABC Book Club
Saturday, January 24, 10:30 a.m.
Are you trying to read more in the new year and need recommendations? Or do you already love talking about books? This is the book club for you! Our goal is to read something for every letter of the alphabet. The letter can match the author’s first or last name or the book's title. We will meet every couple of months to share our progress, talk books, and eat! Join us to launch this exciting, new club!
Open to students in Grades 3-6.
Workshop: Propagating Native Plants from Seed
Monday, January 26, 6:30 p.m.
Naturalist and Master Gardener Jim Sirch will discuss the germination requirements for different species of plants native to our ecoregion and how to grow them from seed.
Under Jim's guidance, you will create a milk jug planter and sow it with a selection of native seeds to stratify over the winter and germinate in the spring. Seeds, planting mix, and other necessary materials will be provided.
Jim Sirch is a trained Naturalist and President of the Connecticut Horticultural Society. He recently retired from the Yale Peabody Museum. Jim is a UConn Master Gardener and board member of his local land trust.
This program has reached capacity. Click here to be added to the Waitlist.
High School Volunteer Club
Thursday, January 29, 6 p.m.
For high school students entering grades 9-12.
Earn community service hours at our high school volunteer club. Volunteers can work on special projects or train to become a volunteer shelf reader.Registration is recommended but drop-ins are welcome if space permits.
Preschool Playtime
Saturday, January 31, 10:30 a.m.
Come play at our homemade obstacle course designed just for preschoolers! We'll build with blocks, go through tunnels, and jump in and out of hula hoops while going around and around.
Teen Book Bedazzling
Saturday, January 31, 2 p.m.
Come try out the newest BookTok trend and make your favorite book sparkle!Bring your own hardcover or paperback book and use gem diamond art techniques to bedazzle your book cover.All bedazzling materials will be provided.
This program is for students in grades 7 to 12.
Tween STEAM Club: Valentine's Day
Tuesday, February 3, 4 p.m.
Come and join us for STEAM themed fun! Engineering challenges, building projects, technology and more activities based on our theme of the month.
This program is open to students in grades 4-6. Registration is required.
Adult Book Box
Pick-up begins Tuesday, January 20
Free book box service for adults.
Each month that you register you will pick up a box containing two hand-selected books for you to borrow as well as some other surprises for you to keep.
Teen Book Box
Pick-up begins Tuesday, January 20
Free book box service for teens.
Each month that you register you will pick up a box containing two hand-selected books for you to borrow as well as some other surprises for you to keep.
Mystery Book Discussion: The Husbands
Thursday, January 15, 2 p.m
Join Mystery Discussion leader Donna DiMassa for a discussion of The Husbands by Chandler Baker.
Women—especially wives and mothers—will love Chandler Baker’s insightful, deliciously funny, and cunning novel that puts a truly modern twist on The Stepford Wives. Nora Spangler loves her husband, Hayden. He’s sweet and handsome, but not helpful. Nora is pregnant with their second child, trying to make partner at her law firm, house hunting—basically, taking care of everything. Then Nora visits an idyllic community where the homes are beautiful, the women are top line professionals, and their husbands? Unicorns who do laundry, make dinner, work full time, take care of the kids, and praise their wives all the time. This is where Nora wants to be. But is it as perfect as it seems?
Copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk. Registration is required.
Ban This Book Club: Breathless
Monday, February 2, 7 p.m.
Breathless was the second most banned book of the 2024-2025 school year with 20 bans.
In this coming-of-age love story, Claudine Henry is coping with her parents’ divorce and getting ready for college when she meets a local trail guide with a mysterious past.
Join Librarian Rebecca Harlow as we discuss this as a work of literature as well as an object of censorship.
Registration is required. Copies of the book will soon be available at the Library.
Wednesday Book Group: The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
Wednesday, February 18, 1 p.m.
IIn The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, we accompany teenaged Hattie Shepherd on her journey from Georgia to Philadelphia. One of five million African Americans to flee Jim Crow law in the American South in search of economic opportunity in northern cities, Hattie marries and gives birth to 11 children around whom the book’s chapters are woven. The story moves back and forth in time to encompass most of the 20th century while highlighting the important events in the lives of Hattie’s children, who struggle with the lasting effects of Jim Crow and poverty despite the promise of a better life in the north.
This discussion is led by Librarian Ellen Miller.
Registration is required. Copies of the book will be available in January.
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Events are free and open to the public, except as noted. Registration is required for all events.
To register for events, go to https://casememorial.librarycalendar.com/event/
Phone: 203-891-2170
