Jigsaw Puzzle Contest
Saturday, April 11
10:30am – 12:30 pm
Calling all puzzle enthusiasts! Test your skills by participating in a jigsaw puzzle contest. Each team will have the same 500-piece puzzle. First team done, wins! Register as a team or register as an individual and join a team at chaplinpubliclibrary@gmail.com. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Chaplin Public Library.
Create Your Own 56-Piece Puzzle
Wednesday, April 15
10:30 – 11:30am
Join the librarian to create your own 56-piece puzzle with markers, paint, or colored pencils. All materials will be supplied and all ages welcome!
Book Discussion: River is Waiting
Wednesday, April 15
6:00 pm
Please join us to discuss the book River is Waiting, written by the 2026 Quiet Corner Reads author Wally Lamb. Light refreshments will be served. Tickets for the QC Reads Author Talk with Wally Lamb on May 5th at the Mansion at Bald Hill are available at participating libraries. The Chaplin library is SOLD OUT.
Welcome Spring Wood Art
Friday, April 17
2:00 – 3:30pm
Welcome spring by decorating a wood slice to hang in your home or to give as a gift. All materials will be supplied and all ages welcome!
Saturday, April 18
Cat Café with Paws Cat Shelter
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Visit with cats from Paws Cat Shelter of Putnam while enjoying a snack. Please bring along a donation of cat food. Monetary donations and gift cards are also welcome. Donations may also be dropped off before the event. Fostering and adopting information will be available.
Tea Time Book Chat
Friday, April 24
3-4:30pm
What have you been reading during this spring? Join us to drink tea and share your favorite books this month. Please email librarydirector@chaplinct.org to register.
Open Mic Poetry
Friday, April 24
6:00-7:30pm
April is Poetry month! Join us for a lovely evening of poetry, including readings by Chaplin Poet Laureate Victoria Northrop. Come to listen or share your own poetry. All are welcome. No registration required. Light refreshments will be available.
Cookbook Club: Middle Eastern Foods
Wednesday, April 29
6-7:30pm
This month we will be making Middle Eastern Foods. Registration is required. If you’re interested in joining, please speak with a librarian.
Preschool Storytime
Wednesdays
10:30 – 11:30 am
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!
Chaplin Ukulele Band
Wednesdays – 4:30 pm
Join the Chaplin Ukulele Band. No experience required. No ukulele? We have one available for checkout! Stop in and join the fun.
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.
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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.