Events and Programs
Tea Time Book Chat
Friday, March 15 th – 3:00pm
What have you been reading this winter? Join us for a cup of tea and share your favorite books. Please email [email protected] to register.
The Great American Eclipse 2024
Saturday, March 23rd
10:00am
Please join Jeffrey Dunn, President of the Shoreline Astronomical Society, to learn about the upcoming Solar Eclipse on Monday, April 8th. Connecticut will be able to view a partial eclipse. He’ll discuss the why, where, when, and how to observe and enjoy this rare event safely! All attendees will receive a FREE pair of solar glasses! Weather permitting, he will lead some solar observing at Garrison Park after the event.
Intro to Irish Gaelic
Monday, March 25th
6:00 – 7:00pm
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, Chaplin resident and UConn history professor Brendan Kane will lead an Irish language workshop. Learn a few words of Irish to speak with friends and family! No language experience required.
Brendan Kane received a B.A. in history from the University of Rochester, an M.Phil in Irish Studies from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and a PhD from Princeton. Prior to coming to the University of Connecticut in 2005, he spent a year as the NEH/Keough Fellow at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough Institute of Irish Studies. Currently he serves as Vice-President/President-elect of the Celtic Studies Association of North America, elected Council Member of the North American Conference on British Studies, and co-director of the digital humanities project Léamh.org.
Preschool Storytime
Wednesdays
10:30am
Preschoolers can come hear a story, make a craft, and play. This event is held in the library’s meeting room. Although this program is aimed at preschoolers, all ages are welcome!
Friends Group Meeting
Third Wednesday of the month- 2:00 pm
We have a Friends group! If you are interested in helping the library, please attend a meeting. Please note there will be no meeting in September.
Chaplin Ukulele Band
Wednesdays – 4:30pm
Join the Chaplin Ukulele Band. No experience required. No ukulele? We have one available for checkout! Stop in and join the fun.
PROGRAM RECORDINGS
Bicentennial Talk:
The History of Chaplin Place Names
Watch the recording of Warren Church’s talk!
Join Chaplin resident and local historian Warren Church to learn about place names in Chaplin. Why is it called Bear Hill Rd? Who was Diana of Diana’s Pool?
Bicentennial Talk:
Ruth Snow Bowen, Chaplin Quilt Maker
Watch the Recording of Catherine Smith’s talk!
Chaplin resident and artist Catherine Whall Smith shared the history of former Chaplin resident and artist Ruth Snow Bowen, who lived on Chaplin Street and sold many of her wonderful quilts throughout Connecticut. Each month the library is displaying small fiber art pieces of homes on Chaplin Street paired with a quilt from Catherine’s collection.
National Poetry Month: An Evening with Connecticut’s New Poet Laureates
Recording includes Adelaide Northrop
Listen to Connecticut’s newest poet laureates, including Chaplin Poet Laureate Adelaide Northrop.
Bicentennial Talk: History of the William Ross Library
Recording of Leslie Ricklin and Ingrid Wood’s talk
Chaplin resident Leslie Ricklin and Columbia Town Historian Ingrid Wood discussed the history of the William Ross Library.
Bicentennial Talk: Benjamin Chaplin’s Will
Recording of Gavin Horning-Kane and Brendan Kane’s talk
The 2nd Chaplin Bicentennial talk was a discussion of Benjamin Chaplin’s will. Chaplin residents Gavin Horning-Kane and UConn History Professor Brendan Kane explored the contents of our town benefactor’s will. Since it was written in 1790, the handwriting can be difficult to read. View the will for yourself, try your hand at transcribing a portion of it, and discover a bit about our town’s history.
Virtual Bicentennial Talk – Trouble in the Land of Steady Habits:
The Constitution of 1818
Recording of Walter Woodward’s Talk is available!
In celebration of Chaplin’s bicentennial, Connecticut State Historian Walter Woodward discussed what was happening in our state when Chaplin was taking steps to become a town. Connecticut in 1818 was in many ways eerily similar to Connecticut today: A troubled state, seeking a new direction. This lecture highlights the perfect storm of crises — environmental, economic, demographic, religious, and political — which converged in the middle of the eighteen-teens (1810s) to force the state to rethink the ways it had been conducting its affairs for the previous two centuries.