Category: Middletown, CT

• Get Ready for the Tournament of Books 2026!

  Everything you need to know for this year’s book smackdown. March is on the horizon, and at Russell Library that can only mean one thing — the Tournament of Books has returned! Make a bracket, vote for your favorite books, and help decide the 2026 Tournament of Books Champion! Last year, from a crowded field…

  Jack B.

  February 16, 2026

  Recommendations, Middletown, CT, Events, Contests, Libraries

  book recommendations, Bracket, Contest, MarchMadness, MarchTournament, TournamentOfBooks, Vote

• 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

• Ebenezer Scrooge at Russell Library

  Marley was dead: to begin with. from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens You have to give Charles Dickens credit. He knew how to craft a creepy opening to a story. He then goes on to tell the reader, “This must be distinctly understood. or nothing wonderful can come of the story…” That famous line…

  Mary

  August 18, 2025

  Events, History of Russell Library, Inside Stories, Libraries, Middletown, CT, Secrets of Russell Library

  AChristmasCarol, CharlesDickens, EasternConnecticutParanormalSociety, EastHaddamStageCompany, EbenezerScrooge, ECPS, FrancesRussell, Fundraiser, ghosts, JacobMarley, KandieCarle, MiddletownCT, OldEpiscopalChurch, ReadingRoom, SecretsOfRussellLibrary, Tickets