The Library Vault

Voices from behind the scenes at Russell Library.

A Haunting Experience

Secrets of Russell Library is over for another year. On three Fridays in October, staff led after-hours tours in the dark, telling visitors about the history of our old building and adding a few ghost stories. And with each tour I led, I secretly yearned to see some sign of the paranormal activity that staff…

Mary

December 4, 2023

Inside Stories, Secrets of Russell Library

EasternConnecticutParanormalSociety, ECPS, ghosts, Paranormal, SecretsAfterDark, SecretsOfRussellLibrary, SpiritsOfRussellLibrary
Have you heard about the new Activity Room?

Have you visited our Activity Room lately? Even if you don’t spend much time with children, you may have been in this room for our Secrets of Russell Library tours in 2022 or 2023. Many Middletown patrons remember this room before the 1983 Lobby addition, when it was a freestanding children’s library. Some patrons even…

Amy S.

November 27, 2023

Inside Stories, Kids and Teens, Middletown, CT

ActivityRoom, AmericanRecoveryPlan, ARPA, DinosaurBones, GiantBlueBlocks, GiantLincolnLogs, GiantSnake, GiantTunnel, SydneyTheSnake, VirginiaHatchRoom
Whiskey & Words: The Lion is Dead

“Wine & Words” has changed for this month. My apologies, to pair a wine with this specific biography would not do it justice. So, for this month it will be “Whiskey & Words.” Still a nice alliteration. A sensible play on words will journey us through the turn of the century. ‘What century?’ you ask.…

sbarillari

November 20, 2023

Book Reviews, Recommendations, Wine & Words

Bourbon, HWBrands, TeddyRoosevelt, TRTheLastRomantic, Whiskey
Picture This! Why Everyone Should Read Picture Books

I have been waiting all year for November because it is National Picture Book Month. While I love all levels of children’s books (see my previous posts about the Enola Holmes mysteries and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles), I always get the most excited about picture books. Yep. Picture books. Big books with few words. Meant…

Mary

November 13, 2023

Book Reviews, Kids and Teens, Recommendations

IdaAlways, LostAndFound, NationalPictureBookMonth, PictureBooks, PictureBooksAboutLibraries, ThankYouMrFalker, TheLibrary, WabiSabi, ZenShorts
Storytelling at Russell Library

Winter is the season of storytelling. In some cultures, November 1st marked the start of the New Year: the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. True to form, this year in Middletown the first frost came between the dusk of November 1st and the dawn of November 2nd. Now the remaining crops…

Amy S.

November 6, 2023

Inside Stories, Kids and Teens, Library Services

AChristmasCarol, CharlesDickens, ConnecticutStoryTellingCenter, JaneAusten, PrideAndPrejudice, ReverendCollins, storytelling, Tellebrations, WatershipDown

A Haunting Experience

Have you heard about the new Activity Room?

Whiskey & Words: The Lion is Dead

Picture This! Why Everyone Should Read Picture Books

Storytelling at Russell Library