COMING EVENTS AT RUSSELL LIBRARY - November 2016

RUSSELL LIBRARY

November, 2016

 

Russell Library 123 Broad St., Middletown, CT

 

Russell Library Hours for November 2016

Russell Library, 123 Broad St. in Middletown has new hours: Mondays 10am – 6pm; Tuesdays 10am – 8pm; Wednesdays 1pm – 8pm; Thursdays 10am – 8pm; Fridays 10am – 6pm; Saturdays 10am - 2pm, Sundays from 1pm – 4pm. The library will be closed Friday, November 11^th for Veterans’ Day, and Thursday and Friday November 24^th and 25^th for the Thanksgiving Day Holiday.

All library programs are free of charge.

EXHIBITS

The Art Guild of Middletown (with Russell Writers)

Throughout November. Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Members of the Art Guild of Middletown and Russell Library's Writers, Readers and Veterans Groups are collaborating to create a special exhibit at the library. Writers in the library’s groups will display prose, poetry and quotes inspired by the artwork of members of the Guild in a combined exhibit November 6-29.  The opening reception on November 6 from 2-4 p.m. in the Library's Hubbard Room will celebrate the expressive achievements of the artists and writers, and the work will be available for viewing--and reading--during the Library's regular opening hours.

Wesleyan Potters Exhibit

November 2 – November 30, 2016. The Lobby Case, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Members of the non-profit cooperative guild, located in Middletown and founded in 1948 to promote the learning and development of skills in crafts, will show pottery, weaving, jewelry and baskets in preparation for their annual Holiday Exhibit and Sale.

ONGOING PROGRAMS

The Russell Writers Online Forum.  Participate any day, any time, from the comfort of your own computer. Register and log in for this online writing group where you can post your work for critique, provide feedback for your fellow Russell Writers, exchange ideas and tips, and participate in the monthly writing prompts. Go to: http://russellwriters.freeforums.net. Beginning and experienced writers welcomed! For more information, contact Michele Rousseau at shellywriter@sbcglobal.net

PROGRAMS

Twos are Terrific Registration

Tuesday, November 1st, 10:00a.m. Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. People are welcomed to register for Twos are Terrific in person or by phone: (860) 344-8479. Registration continues until all slots are filled. Twos are Terrific is a program for two year olds and their caregivers that includes stories, songs, play, crafts and music. The sessions are scheduled on the following Tuesdays: November 8, 15, 22, 29, and December 6 and 13 from 10:30 to 11:15am.

Smoking Cessation Workshops with Middlesex Hospital

Tuesdays, November 1 and 8, 10:00am to 12:00 noon. Meeting Room 3 and The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. On November 1^st the workshop will meet in the Hubbard Room. Through these workshops you will learn: how to deal with triggers and cravings; how to manage withdrawal symptoms; healthy lifestyle ideas; what you should know about e-cigarettes; about the dangers of first and second-hand smoke. Earn incentives for attending and additional incentive for quitting!

Limited seating is available; Registration is recommended. Call 860-358-5420.

Baby Rhyme Time

Wednesdays, November 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30^th, 1:30pm. Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.  Looking for something to do with your infant or toddler?  Come join us for Baby Rhyme Time, a program for babies one year old and under and their grown-up.  We’ll sing songs and learn rhymes, finger plays and more in this fun, interactive program.

Ages: Birth-12 months.

Drop-in, no registration.

Baby Rhyme Time

Thursdays, November 3, 10, and 17^th at 10:30am. Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.  Looking for something to do with your infant or toddler?  Come join us for Baby Rhyme Time, a program for babies one year old and under and their grown-up.  We’ll sing songs and learn rhymes, finger plays and more in this fun, interactive program.

Ages: Birth-12 months.

Drop-in, no registration.

Preschool Power

Thursdays, November 3, 10 and 17^th at 1:30pm. Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. This energetic program for the preschool ages starts with sharing some of the best new books and some classic old favorites!  We'll provide an open-ended art project, playtime and some music and movement!  

Drop-in, no registration required.  Siblings are welcome.

We Were There: Writing Your Military Experiences

Thursdays November 3, 10, and 17^th at 6:30pm. Meeting Room 2, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Author Elisabeth Petry will continue to lead The Veterans' Writing Group. This series, in its third year, invites Veterans to share their stories and photos in their own voices. All Veterans, either active or retired, are encouraged to come and share their experiences for their own benefit or to share with family and friends. We encourage new members to visit us this summer to see what we are all about! Currently, we have servicemen from combat, and non-combat situations from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraqi Freedom. We hope to hear from other Iraq War Vets, and those who have served in Afghanistan. 

Old Saybrook native Elisabeth Petry is a writer and former journalist and lawyer. Her first book, a collection of letters that she edited, was Can Anything Beat White?: A Black Family's Letters. Her second is At Home Inside: A Daughter’s Tribute to Ann Petry. She lives in Middletown with her husband, Lawrence Riley, who is a dog trainer and Commander of the American Legion Milardo-Wilcox Post 75, Middletown CT.
The workshop facilitator is Christy Billings. She can be reached at (860) 347-2528 or cbilling@russell.lioninc.org.
This program is being sponsored by The Friends of the Russell Library.

Art Party!

Friday, November 4, 4:00pm. Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Come and celebrate your artistic side by creating something beautiful.  Art Party! will be celebrated each month with a new creative project.  Bring your imagination and a willingness to get messy! 

Grades: K – 3.  Drop-in, no registration required.

Revolutionary War Genealogy

Saturday, November 5, 10:30am. Meeting Room 3, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Are you interested in tracing your ancestor’s Revolutionary War service?  The records of the Daughters of the American Revolution can offer useful hints.  Join us for a presentation by Wadsworth Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution on how to access and use the online resources of the DAR to build your family tree. Bring your own laptop or the library will provide one. Bryna O’Sullivan, a member of Wadsworth Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution and a Middletown based professional genealogy researcher and teacher, will present the lecture on using the records of the DAR.

Pre-registration is suggested.  To reserve a seat, please call (860) 347-2520.

Free Concert: Exotic Romanticism with the FaReLa Duo

Saturday, November 5, 1:30pm. The Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Cellist Tanya Anisimova and pianist Pi-Hsun Shih have been drawing rave reviews ever since their debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in 2012. This concert will include pieces by Manuel de Falla and Cesar Franck, as well as original compositions by Anisimova.  

The two met while studying in Boston many years ago. After pursuing separate careers, they were able to reconnect in 2011. Both are versatile chamber musicians and teachers with a wealth of expertise.

Described as a pianist of 'searing precision' by the Hartford Courant, Taiwanese-American Pi-Hsun Shih has been a featured soloist with the Sao Paulo State Symphony, The Hartt Symphony, and the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with ensembles such as Empire Brass and the Emerson String Quartet.

Tanya Anisimova is an internationally renowned Russian cellist and composer. In addition to composing, performing and touring, she has taught master-classes at Moscow Conservatory, Hartt School of Music, Loyola University, and Virginia Commonwealth University among others. Celebrated cellist Janos Starker has hailed Anisimova as, 'an Everest climber,” and a 'high class cellist with a strong and inventive musical mind.” 

This concert has been funded by The Friends' of the Russell Library.

The Art Guild of Middletown Opening Reception

Sunday, November 6, 2:00pm – 4:00pm. The Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. The entire community is invited to celebrate the expressive achievements of the artists and writers involved in the special exhibit that runs throughout the month of November.

Drop-in, no registration.

Russell Readers

Tuesday, November 8, 6:30pm-7:50pm. Meeting Room 2 at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. We will discuss “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie from the collection 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories.  Discussions are based on the Great Books Foundation method in which readers talk in open gatherings, under a leader, about the great issues that have shaped civilization as reflected in the readings.  The group meets the second Tuesday of each month from 6:30 – 7:50 pm in Meeting Room 2 at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.   For more information about participating in the group or acquiring the text, contact Chantal Foster at (860)573-2946 or email Chantal.foster@comcast.net.  The discussions are sponsored by The Friends of the Russell Library.

Twos Rock!

Tuesday, November 8^th, 2016, 10:30am. Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street Middletown. Wear comfy clothes and be ready to move and groove! We will be combining music, dance and a story together in this energetic program for two year olds and their caregivers. 

The program is for two year olds and their caregivers; siblings are welcome!  Drop-in, no registration required.

Otakus - Anime / Manga Club

Tuesday, November 8, 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Teen Area, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street Middletown. Do you enjoy anime, manga, cosplay, or gaming? Then Otakus is for you! Otakus is Russell Library’s teen group for fans of Anime, Manga and all things Japanese. Meeting twice a month, we view anime shorts, discuss our favorite manga series and explore the culture that has produced such art forms. Food, music, costumes, arts and other expressions of Japan are all parts of Otakus. For ages 11 & up. Drop-in, no registration required.

Middlesex County Historical Society - 'A Vanished Port' Speaker Series

Wednesday, November 9, 7:00pm. The Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Wesleyan professor and monetary scholar Richard Grossman will talk about the wealth of colonial Middletown and its richest citizens. Were the ‘Middletown barons’ rich by our standards?

The Eighth Annual Middletown International Common Ground Film Festival

Thursday November 10, 7:00pm. The Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. The last film of the festival, The Fool, (Russia, 2014, directed by Yury Bykov) is a dramatic tale worthy of Dostoyevsky. It tells the story of one man’s fight against a corrupt political system. A young plumber’s assistant eking out a living in modern day Russia finds himself drawn into a world of dark secrets and cancerous corruption. Free parking is available. Phone 860-347-2528, ext. 135 or 171.

This program is made possible by the generosity of the Middletown Commission on the Arts, CT Humanities, The Friends of the Russell Library and individual donors.

Teen Writing Boot Camp

Thursdays, November 10 and 17 from 6 to 7:30 pm. Meeting Room 3, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Local author Shari Arnold, author of Neverland and Kate Triumph, will help you hone your writing skills in this two part writing workshop.

For students entering grades 7 to 12. Registration is required, in person or by phone, 860-347-2520.

Daughters of the American Revolution – Information Workshop

Saturday, November 12, 10:30am. The Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Interested in becoming a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution?  Join us for a help session with a member of Wadsworth Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution.  You will have an opportunity to work one on one with a member to locate a patriot ancestor or check an application for completeness. 

Pre-registration is suggested. To reserve a seat, please call (860) 347-2520.

Tellabration! With Storyteller and Master Puppeteer Marilyn O’Connor Miller

Sunday, November 13th, 2:00pm. The Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Storyteller and Master Puppeteer Marilyn O'Connor Miller will be the featured performer for this Tellabration! event. Marilyn O’Connor Miller is a seasoned performer, with television and stage credits to her name. For the last twenty years, she has performed in Connecticut’s theaters, schools and libraries with her expansive selection of stories and puppets. One of her signature puppets, ‘Piccolo’, is an Italian baby boy deeply seated in Marilyn’s ethnicity. Since her maternal Italian grandmother came to America at the turn of the century and refused to speak any English the entire time she lived in Hartford, so ‘Piccolo’ does the same. Now a grandmother herself, Marilyn has the stage presence of a true Italian matriarch. In this program, Marilyn will blend folk tales such as the Italian 'Il Lupo” and the Japanese 'The Tongue Cut Sparrow” with puppets and masks in a performance that will delight and thrill young and old alike. Tellabration! is produced by The Connecticut Storytelling Center each November by partnering with other individuals and organizations to bring storytelling to sites all over the State of Connecticut for adult, as well as family audiences.

School-aged children are welcome to come with their families.

This program has been funded by The Friends of the Russell Library.

Wonderful Ones

Mondays, November 14, 21, 28 and December 5, 12, 19, 10:30am, Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.  Wonderful Ones is a drop-in program for one - year olds and their caregivers. We will have open play, open craft time, story and music “circle time” at the end.  It’s the perfect way to start your week.  Drop-in, no registration required; siblings welcome!

Little Bits and Makey Makey

Monday, November 14 from 4:30 to 5:30, in the Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Members of the Teen Advisory Council will be in the Activity Room to help you learn about electricity and connectivity by using Little Bits and Makey Makey kits. Come for an hour of hands-on problem solving, creativity, and fun. Use the Makey Makey to turn yourself, a friend, or a banana into a keyboard and play video games!

For students entering grades 2 to 5.

Registration is required, in person or by phone, 860-347-2520.

Fall Noontime Movie Series

Race to the Rescue: Classic Hollywood Adventures

Tuesday, November 15, at noon. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Join us for a look at the roots of cinematic action and adventure with this series about swashbuckling heroes and tales of derring-do. Stories of danger, courage, and physical action have been a staple of Hollywood from the very start. By rendering drama in purely visual terms, the genre helped filmmakers master the medium and brought popular audiences to the theater.  Featuring the films of Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn, and the Saturday matinee heroes of the great movie serials, we will discuss the enduring appeals of adventure movies and how they’ve changed over the years.

Saturday Matinee Serials (1930s-40s): Presented will be a selection of weekly chapters from the action and adventure serials of the 1930s and 40s. Each episode offers fifteen to twenty minutes of non-stop daring and ends in an inescapable cliffhanger. Come see Dick Tracy, Batman, Perils of Nyoka, Daredevils of the Red Circle and other movies that thrilled a generation of young filmgoers.

Scott Higgins is professor of Film Studies and chair of the College of Film and the Moving Image at Wesleyan University. His latest book, Matinee Melodrama, is about action serials of the 1930s and 1940s.

The series is funded by The Friends of the Russell Library.

Cultural Connections Women’s Group

Wednesday, November 16, 5:30pm – 6:30pm. Meeting Room 3 at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Women of all nationalities are invited to come and meet other immigrant women in order to help one another adapt to American culture. Get help with local resources and network. Share stories, tips and make new friends.
Children are welcome. Fluency in English is not necessary.
Drop-in, no registration.

Great Reads Book Discussion with Hedda Kopf

Wednesday, November 16, 6:30pm – 8:00pm. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Six stories from the collection, Binocular Vision: New and Selected Stories by Edith Pearlman will be discussed:  “Hanging Fire,” “The Little Wife,” “Relic and Type,” “Girl in Blue with Brown Bag,” “Jan Term,” “Aunt Telephone,” “Self-Reliance.”

 “Pearlman writes about the predicaments — odd, wry, funny and painful — of being human. Her characters are sophisticated, highly literate, relatively affluent and often musical. They travel, they read, they go to museums and concerts: they take pleasure in what the world offers. They’re also principled, and moral responsibility plays an important part in their lives. Pearlman’s prose is smooth and poetic, and her world seems safe and engaging. So it’s arresting when, suddenly, almost imperceptibly, she slips emotion into the narrative, coloring it unexpectedly with deep or delicate hues.” (Roxana Robinson, NY Times Book Review, Jan 14, 2011).

Hedda Kopf lectured on Women’s Studies and Literature at Quinnipiac University for many years. She now teaches at the Institute for Learning in Retirement and is the author of Understanding Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl. Ms. Kopf has created and facilitated book discussions for the Connecticut Humanities Council and the Southern CT Library Council and has led book discussions at Russell Library since 1985. Drop-in, no registration required.

The discussions are sponsored by The Friends of the Russell Library.

Reader’s Theater

Thursday, November 17, 7:00 pm. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Reader’s Theater is live drama enacted by local professional actors, directed by Richard B. Kamins and Anne Cassady. The Sunset Limited by Cormac McCarthy will be presented. This is a dramatic dialogue between a white professor and a black ex-convict who deliver opposing views of life and human nature; competing voices of empirical reasoning and world-wearying experience;  and, on the other hand, hope and the transcendent spirit.

This presentation is funded by The Friends of the Russell Library.

Friends of the Russell Library Holiday Book Sale!

Friday, November 18, 10am – 6pm, Saturday November 19, 10:00am to 2:00pm and Sunday, November 20^th, 1:00pm to 4:00pm., Children’s Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Find books for family and friends at this sale. The Friends’ Book Sale features all sorts of books, CDs, DVDs for adults as well as for children! Helping the library with funding for a wide variety of programs, The Friends’ Book Sales are one of the best places to find bargains and feel good about the money you spend. There are books for every kind of interest! Come support your library!

Poet’s Corner

Friday, November 18, 1:00pm – 2:00pm. Information Area, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.  Middletown's Poet Laureate Susan Allison will be available to talk poetry to patrons in the information area on the second floor. Look for the sign saying 'Poet's Corner'.

Yoga In The Hubbard Room!

Saturday, November 19th, 11:00am to 12:00pm. The Hubbard Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. No prior experience necessary, and no mats will be used. Our instructor for our class will be Jeff Hush, founder of Food and Movement Therapy and a local instructor of Family Yoga, Tai Chi and Chair Yoga. Come experience what Yoga flow can do to assist you in feeling calmer and also more energetic. Learn how it helps in having a stronger immune system and better sleep patterns.

Origami

Tuesday, November 22, 6:30-7:30pm, Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Are you an expert or do you want to learn simple origami? Join us to explore the Japanese art of paper folding – Origami.  Let your fingers guide your imagination. Ages: 7 and up. Drop-in, no registration required.

Reading Buddies

Monday, November 28 from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. Activity Room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Do you love reading? Or are you a struggling reader? Members of the Teen Advisory Council will help you learn to love reading or continue love reading by being YOUR reading Buddy! Bring your own favorite books or come find one in the library. Your reading buddy will give you a book which you can read at home!

For students ages 6 to 8. Registration is required, in person or by phone, 860-347-2520.

Classic Mystery Novel Group: The Moonstone

Tuesday, November 29, 12:00noon – 1:00pm. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Bring your lunch and join us for a discussion of one of the founding mystery-detective novels, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. When a young English woman inherits a large, ill-gotten diamond sacred to the Hindu moon god, the diamond soon disappears. The accused seeks to clear his name amid a series of sinister and deadly events.

Drop-in, no registration.

Make a Holiday Card – for Adults

Wednesday, November 30, 2:00pm. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Do you value hand-made items? Would you like to make a one-of-a-kind card for a special person this holiday season? The library will provide a selection of materials, with some directions for making pop-up cards and other specialty cards. If you have your own pens or paints, bring them along!

Drop-in, no registration required.

COMPUTER CLASSES

One-on-one computer lessons

By appointment. Information desk, Russell Library, 123 Broad St., Middletown. The topics for these personalized one-hour classes will be diverse and patron-driven including:

·         Overviews and special topics for Microsoft Office, Publisher and other applications

·         Database help for student’s homework, grant-seeking, genealogy, self-improvement, investment and small business development

·         Social Media, Email and ways to control your inbox 

·         Introduction to Digital Photography and/or photo editing

·         Patrons may bring laptops and other portable devices or use our computers for an introduction to the operating system, downloading music, magazines or books and streaming video. 

Please contact the Information Department for more details or to set up an appointment.  860-347-2520.

Basic Excel for Office 2013 - Part 1

Tuesday, November 22, 2:00 - 3:30 pm. Meeting Room 3 at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. This class is for first-time users of Excel. This 2-hour training session covers all the basics including: review of menus and ribbons, file management, page set up, data input and navigating spreadsheets. Those attending this class should be comfortable putting information into a computer using the keyboard, navigating and selecting on the screen with a mouse, as well as using Microsoft Windows and navigating from window to window. We highly recommend that you take Introduction to Computers first. After completion of this class students will have a good understanding of the basics to continue to the next class- Basic Excel 2013 Part 2.  

Basic Excel for Office 2013 - Part 2

Tuesday, November 29, 2:00 - 3:30 pm. Meeting Room 3 at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Before taking this class, you should have a general understanding of Microsoft Windows and Excel spreadsheet and tools, as well as comfort navigating cells and entering numeric and alphabetic information. We highly recommend that you take Basics Excel 2013 Part 1 first. This class will take the unformatted Excel file created in Excel 1 (you will be supplied this file) and add formatting including: using rules and cell boarders, shading, changing fonts, and using basic formulas. Also explored are simple sorting and filtering of names and numbers and other worksheet operations. Also covered are formatting data with styles along with a quick review of menus, ribbons, save and print functions.

JOB & CAREER PROGRAMS

“Social Media and Your Job Search – The Things You Just Can’t Ignore” – with Linda Van Valkenburgh

Tuesday, November 1, 2016, 6:00 – 8:00 pm, Hubbard room, Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown.  Join Russell Library and certified executive career management coach Linda Van Valkenburgh, MS, CCMC, CJSS, CSMCS, CELDC, to improve your Social Media skills to position yourself for career search or to elevate your credentials and industry reputation. Linda will demonstrate how to use Twitter, Facebook and some new LinkedIn tools to execute an integrated strategy for supporting your career campaign and market yourself through robust social media platforms.

  Specifically you will learn:

1.      How to maximize and control your Social Media profiles

2.      Site navigation and trending features and why they are vital

3.      How to be viewed as a “go-to” subject matter expert through discussion groups,

Adult, Registration is requested but not required.

Sponsored by The Russell Library Job and Career Group.

Job Group

Thursdays October 6, 13, 20 and 27 at 10:00am – noon. The Hubbard Room at Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown. Each Thursday a different topic related to careers is discussed. Presenters range from local business people to nationally renowned authors and career counselors. A one-hour networking session follows the presentation.

Practice Job Interviews

Improve your interviewing skills and get the job you want. Bob Carlson will assist you by conducting and evaluating your practice interview. Videotaping the session is optional and confidential. 1-hour sessions are available. Register by calling 860-347-2520.

Resume Review

Russell Library offers confidential resume review and critiquing two Saturdays each month from 9:30am – 1:30pm with Tracy Nixon Moore, business professional and consultant. 1-hour appointments are available. Remember to bring your resume. Register by calling 860-347-2520.

Career Coaching

James Kubat, an associate director of the Wesleyan Career Center, gives private, confidential career coaching through 1-hour appointments Wednesday evenings from 6 – 8 p.m. Remember to bring your resume. Register by calling 860-347-2520.