Category: Libraries

• Fowl Preview 2026

  by Amy S. You’ve been asking. We heard you. Chicks are returning in February 2026. Why so early? Because nothing helps beat the late-winter blues like little balls of adorable fluffiness. Once again, the Youth & Family Learning department is partnering with our local Hatch the Chicken affiliate, Farmer Joe’s Gardens of Wallingford, Connecticut, to…

  Amy S.

  February 2, 2026

  Events, Kids and Teens, Libraries

  BabyBunnies, Chicks, Cute&Cuddlies, DateWithADuck, DuckEggs, EggCandling, FarmerJoesGardens, HangWithTheChicks, HatchingChicks, HatchTheChicken, TakeYourChildToTheLibraryDay, TrevorTheDuck, XensCritters

• Thanks for Your Memories

  By Ramona B. For most of the past thirty-five years, I’ve worked in public libraries. It all started at age 14, when I got a special work permit so I could become a Page, i.e. book-shelver, in my hometown library in coastal Maine. I had spent untold hours at the library as a child, first…

  Amy S.

  December 29, 2025

  Inside Stories, Libraries, Library Services, Middletown, CT

  150Years, HubbardRoom, MiddletownCT, ReferenceDesk, RussellLibrary, Sesuicentennial, SouthFarms

• Giving Thanks and Showing Support

  Is it just me, or does this holiday season feel a little… different than usual? I’ve sensed it not only in myself, but in the people around me. Less interest in material objects. More inclination to hold loved ones close. A slowing down, a meaningful realignment with what truly matters. It sounds like a heart…

  brandiedoyle

  December 1, 2025

  A Christmas Carol, Giveaways, Libraries, Library Services, Middletown, CT

  art, books, Donations, GiveBacks, GivingTuesday, Heart, IHeartRussellLibrary, Libraries, library, Merchandise, news

• Theater in the Round at Russell Library

  A few weeks ago, I walked into Russell Library’s Reading Room at 7am on a Friday morning. My mission, with the help of two members of our facilities department and a member of the East Haddam Stage Company’s production team, was to set up 80 chairs in various configurations and then put them all away…

  Mary

  October 27, 2025

  A Christmas Carol, Events, Inside Stories, Libraries, Middletown, CT, Secrets of Russell Library

  AChristmasCarol, CharlesDickens, EbenezerScrooge, JacobMarley, LibraryFundraiser, TheSpace, YeOldeCostumeShoppe

• Reading Room by Day, Theater by Night

  Many folks are wondering why we chose to stage A Christmas Carol in the Reading Room of Russell Library. Besides the fact that the room has its own ghosts, I mean. If you have never seen our Reading Room, let me give you a brief history and description. Frances Russell established Russell Library in memory…

  Mary

  September 29, 2025

  A Christmas Carol, Book Reviews, Events, Inside Stories, Libraries, Library Services, Recommendations, Secrets of Russell Library

  AChristmasCarol, CharlesDickens, ChurchOfTheHolyTrinity, EasternConnecticutParanormalSociety, ECPS, EpiscopalChurch, FilmAdaptations, FrancesRussell, ghosts, LibraryFundraiser, MuppetChristmasCarol, PurchaseTickets, ReadingRoom, SamRussell