Special Notice:

All Hartford Public Library (HPL) locations will be closed for Labor Day on Monday, September 2nd. We will reopen for our regularly hours on Tuesday, September 3rd.

HPL's Book Recommendations

2024 New Release Adult Books

Animals I Want To See

Tom Seeman

"...Tender, wise, gracefully written, this memoir tells one boy’s life, but it does so much more: it revitalizes a sense of American optimism.… I couldn’t put it down.”

—Thomas Christopher Greene, bestselling author of The Headmaster’s Wife

"A terrific and moving memoir about dreaming big and making great things happen." 

—President Bill Clinton

Find it HERE in our catalog

Familiaris

Davis Wroblewski

Oprah's Book Club

"...beautiful passages on the bonds between humans and animals and plenty of folksy charm. Fans of the first book will be satisfied."

—Publishers Weekly 

"By taking us back to the origins of the Sawtelle family, Wroblewski has set a storytelling bonfire as enthralling in its pages as it is illuminating of our fragile and complicated humanity. Familiaris is as expansive and enlightening a saga as has ever been written.” 

—Tom Hanks

Find it HERE in our catalog

Farewell to our summer interns

Pictured from the left:

Front row - Luis Rodriguez, Melina Liz, Anayaliz Rivera, Eion DeClaybrook

Second row - Mya Mitchell, Abigail Ortega, Gwen Cannon, Human Resources Director at HPL, Chris Ford

Third row - Marcus Jenkins, Roze' Rodriguez, Keria Treleven, Nyarah Kelly

Fourth row - Oliver Scholes, Employee Engagement Manager at HPL, Jemera Welcome, Miles Powell

Top row - Julius Ashley, Jaheed Wiley.

The summer flies by!

A special thank you to our interns, who served across the HPL system for 8 weeks as a part of the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program. The interns worked in Public Services, YOUmedia, The American Place, Outreach, and the Digital Library Lab.

We can't wait to see how far they will go in their future endeavors! Thank you to the Capital Workforce Partners for making the program possible.

A Multicultural Celebration of Literature

6th Annual Book Festival

Books & panels & workshops, oh my!

HPL is partnering with Hartford’s Literary Integrated Trailblazers to co-host the sixth Annual Hartford Book Festival.

This FREE annual event offers literary activities for the Greater Hartford community. This year's festival theme is “Penning & Reading More in 2024.” The Hartford Book Festival's mission is to build a community using literary art, serving all people of the Greater Hartford area. Attendees can experience booksellers, unique vendors, literary panels, free workshops, family fun activities, literary networking, live stage performances, raffles, and book giveaways.

Saturday, September 21 | 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Downtown Library

Center for Contemporary Culture

500 Main Street

Please enter through the Arch Street entrance.

Patio Service Is Still Going Strong

Now through October, join us!

Visit us on the Patio! We offer services with you in mind, like free books, library cards, events, voter registration and more.

Wednesdays & Fridays

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Through October

On the Patio

Downtown Library

500 Main Street

(Weather Permitting!)

A Place Like No Other

HPL offers engaging, educational, and fun programming for all ages.

Check out our full programming calendar HERE 

Check out our Family Programming calendar!

Check out our Adult Programming calendar!

Check out our Youth & Teen Programming calendar!

“It doesn’t matter who’s coming. What matters is who stays when the people who’ve come along decide to leave.”



―Davis Wroblewski, Familiaris

Thank you for participating in our polls!

Last Week's Poll: Will we see you on Sundays?

Results:

Yes - 80%

No - 20%

We can't wait to see you!

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