The Library Vault

Voices from behind the scenes at Russell Library.

Wine & Words: Transcending Distractions

Table for Two by Amor Towles Imagine sitting across the table, having a conversation with a close friend. It is just the two of you, facing each other. It is the most fundamental level of human interaction that we possess. There are no cell phones. No screens blaring the bright lights of a latest football…

sbarillari

January 13, 2025

Book Reviews, Recommendations, Trending, Wine & Words

AmorTowles, Casablanca, DirtyMartini, Distractions, Martini, PhiladelphiaStory, RulesOfCivility, TableForTwo
Here Are 25 Books Publishing in 2025 To Add To Your TBR

By: Briana Gagnon It’s January 2025! How??? I’m still processing 2024 … yet here we are! 2025 looks super promising when it comes to new book releases, with many to rival those we loved so much in 2024. I have started to plan my 2025 TBR (to be read) with the hope that I’ll read…

brianarusselllibrary

January 6, 2025

Book Reviews

2025Books, AbbeyJimenez, AirBorne, AtmosphereALoveStory, BillGates, BlackInBlues, bookish, books, BradMeltzer, CarlZimmer, CharmaineWilkerson, ChimamandaNgoziAdichie, ChristBohjalian, CraigThompson, DeathOfTheAuthor, DreamCount, EmilyHenry, EverythingIsTuberculosis, FreidaMcFadden, GeraldineBrooks, GinsengRoots, GoodDirt, GradyHendrix, GreatBigBeautifulLife, HopeTheAutobiography, ImaniPerry, IsabelAllende, JohnGreen, JohnMensch, JohnScalzi, Librarians, MarkTwain, MemorialDays, MichaelLuo, MyNameIsEmiliaDelValle, new books, NnediOkorafor, NonFiction, OnyxStorm, PopeFrancis, PopularAuthors, RebeccaYarros, RonChernow, SamanthaSotoYambao, SayYou’llRememberMe, SourceCode, StephenGrahamJones, StrangersInTheLand, SunriseOfTheReaping, SuzanneCollins, TaylorJenkinsReid, TBR, TheBuffaloHunterHunter, TheCrash, TheJackalsMistress, TheJFKConspiracy, WaterMoon, WhenTheMoonHitsYourEye, WitchcraftForWaywardGirls
What the heck is “Meescan”, and why should I start using it?

You may have seen signs throughout the library or on our website, advertising this service called “Meescan”. But, what on earth is it? And why should you care? Meescan is a mobile app you can use to check out your books at the library, and you should use it because it is fun, convenient, and…

Jack B.

December 30, 2024

Inside Stories, Library Services, Technology

Android, Audiobooks, Flipster, Hoopla, IPhone, Libby, LibraryCard, Mango, MangoLanguages, MeeScan, RussellLibrary, SelfCheckout, Technology, ThePalaceApp, ThePalaceProject
Have Yourself a Mysterious Christmas

Ah, there is nothing like a little mystery, murder, and mayhem to get you in the Christmas spirit. If you don’t know what I mean, you must never have read The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries: The Most Complete Collection of Yuletide Whodunits Ever Assembled. This short story collection, alternately heartwarming (a few Scrooge-type characters…

Mary

December 23, 2024

Book Reviews, Recommendations

AChristmasCarol, MysteriousBookshop, MysteriousChristmas, SirArthurConanDoyle, TheBigBookOfChristmasMysteries
‘Twas the Night Before Lobby Refreshment

by Lil’ Deb ‘Twas the night before Lobby refreshmentwhen all through Russell Librarynot a creature was stirring, not even on the balcony.The bats all hung from the attic eaves with care,in hope that more ghost hunters soon would be there. The Tonies were nestled all snug in their bedswith visions of children dancing in their…

Amy S.

December 16, 2024

History of Russell Library, Inside Stories, Kids and Teens, Library Services, Middletown, CT, Secrets of Russell Library

AVisitFromSt.Nicholas, Bats, Bronte, Byron, ClementClarkeMoore, Courtyard, Dickens, Dickinson, DirectorLaura, EasternConnecticutParanormalSociety, ECPS, Gaskell, GhostHunters, ghosts, HubbardRoom, Ivy, LauraPhilbrook, LilDeb, Lobby, LobbyRefreshment, ScavengerHunt, SecretsOfRussellLibrary, Shelley, SkidSteer, Tonies, TwasTheNightBeforeChristmas, Unshelved, VictoriaHatchRoom, Victorian, Wollstonecraft, Wordsworth

Wine & Words: Transcending Distractions

Here Are 25 Books Publishing in 2025 To Add To Your TBR

What the heck is “Meescan”, and why should I start using it?

Have Yourself a Mysterious Christmas

‘Twas the Night Before Lobby Refreshment