Zoom Around the World Book Club

Join our new online book club, sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association This club will meet via Zoom on the fourth Monday of each month to read and discuss books by international authors. To join, email [email protected]

Playtime Wednesday

Parents and caretakers are invited to enjoy the children’s room Wednesday mornings for a weekly playtime! Read stories, play with toys, make a craft, and spend time with other local families.

Digital Navigator Office Hours

If you can’t connect to the internet easily, it can be hard to find a job, housing, pay your bills, schedule appointments, and more. Library staff member, Kate, a certified Digital Navigator of the Hudson Valley, holds open office hours for general tech help and digita......More

If you can’t connect to the internet easily, it can be hard to find a job, housing, pay your bills, schedule appointments, and more. Library staff member, Kate, a certified Digital Navigator of the Hudson Valley, holds open office hours for general tech help and digital guidance every week at the library. Walk-ins welcome, appointments appreciated. Email [email protected] or call the Library at 518-325-4101 to reserve a time with Kate.

Lego Club

Build, create, and explore with LEGOs! Open to kids in Kindergarten through 5th grade, Bricks provided—just bring your imagination!

Reading and Discussion Program: Sustainability

What does it mean to be sustainable, to live a sustainable life, and to create sustainable communities? We hear the words “green” and “sustainable” wherever we turn, but what does it mean in practice? While there has been renewed attention to sustainability in recent ye......More

What does it mean to be sustainable, to live a sustainable life, and to create sustainable communities? We hear the words “green” and “sustainable” wherever we turn, but what does it mean in practice? While there has been renewed attention to sustainability in recent years, as climate change becomes a more imminent threat to our communities, the idea is not new. This reading and discussion series will explore how different authors and communities have understood the meaning of ecological sustainability and how they have tried to put it into practice in the world. Rather than books of doom and gloom, the books selected provide readers with hope, with examples of how individuals can make a difference. We will read 6 books over the course of 6 months in the spring and summer—meeting the 4th Wednesday evening of each month, March through August. Julia Alvarez, A Cafecito Story (2001) An eco-fable by best-selling author Julia Alvarez, A Cafecito Story is based on Alvarez’s experiences trying to reclaim a small coffee farm in her native Dominican Republic. A Cafecito Story shows how the return to the traditional methods of shade-grown coffee can rehabilitate and rejuvenate the landscape and human culture, while at the same time preserving vital winter habitat for threatened songbirds. Jean Giono, The Man Who Planted Trees (1953) An allegorical tale about what one person can do to restore the earth, The Man Who Planted Trees is the story of a man who planted one hundred acorns a day in a desolate section of Provence in the south of France, resulting in a total transformation of the landscape from one devoid of life, with miserable inhabitants, to one filled with the beauty and life. Alan Weisman, Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World (1998) The story of Gaviotas is one of the most hopeful environmental stories ever told. It is the story of Colombian development worker named Paolo Lugari who set out in the 1960s to create a village that could sustain itself agriculturally, economically, and artistically in the nearly uninhabited, infertile llano. He reasoned that if a community could survive in the Colombian llanos, it would be possible to live anywhere. Nearly four decades later, his experiment had become one of the world’s most celebrated examples of sustainable living. Ben Hewitt, The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food (2009) Hewitt tells the story of Hardwick, Vermont, a small, hardscrabble farming community that jump-started its economy and redefined its self-image through a local, self-sustaining food system unlike anything else in America. Despite economic downturns, a stunning number of food-based businesses have grown in the region. The Town That Food Saved tells the stories of the optimistic upstarts creating a new agricultural model as well as the long-established farmers wary of the rapid change in the region. Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (2007) When published in 2007, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by best-selling novelist Barbara Kingsolver, was embraced by readers worldwide and quickly earned its place as a credo for the locavore movement. The book chronicles Kingsolver’s family's struggles and triumphs as they rooted themselves to their Appalachian farm and adopted a locally produced diet as they vowed that, for one year, they’d only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Wendell Berry, Another Turn of the Crank: Essays (1995) This popular collection features six essays on sustainability and stewardship from one of America's most important cultural critics. Provocative, intimate, and thoughtful, Another Turn of the Crank reaches to the heart of Wendell Berry's concern for our nation, its communities, and their future. From modern health care to the practice of forestry, from local focus to national resolve, Berry argues, there can never be a separation between global ecosystems and human communities—the two are intricately connected, and the health and survival of one depends upon the other. Registration is limited to 15, and it is the intention that participants will complete the series together, attending all 6 sessions. Books will be provided, some will be available as ebooks or audiobooks. To register, email [email protected].

Qigong and Tai Chi at the Library

Qigong and Tai Chi are approaches to movement that have been practiced for hundreds of years and are particularly helpful for dealing with stress, limited ability to move, those wishing to developing better balance and flexibility and can be practiced by nearly everyone......More

Qigong and Tai Chi are approaches to movement that have been practiced for hundreds of years and are particularly helpful for dealing with stress, limited ability to move, those wishing to developing better balance and flexibility and can be practiced by nearly everyone young and old. Although Tai Chi is generally practiced standing, Qigong can be modified to allow participants to be seated.This weekly drop-in class, open to all, will be taught by David Haines, who has been a practitioner of Qigong, Tai Chi, and mindful movement for 50 years, a teacher for 40 years, and a certified Trager Movement practitioner for 35 years. Since moving into the area in 2006 he has taught at Omega Institute, Simon's Rock college, Columbia-Greene Community College, as well as various libraries, senior centers, and school district community education classes. Classes will be in the Roe Jan Library Community Room or outdoors, weather permitting. Wear comfortable clothes.This project has been supported by a grant from the Fund for Columbia County of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.

Tea Time at the Library

Who couldn't use a little tea and conversation? Join us for discussion, crafts, guest speakers, and local brews from Harney and Sons Tea.

Hogwarts Study Hall

Step into a world of magic and focus at Hogwarts Study Hall, a weekly study night designed just for teens! Every Thursday evening, teens ages 12+ are invited to the Library’s teen section to hit the books in an enchanting atmosphere. Listen to the magical sounds of Hog......More

Step into a world of magic and focus at Hogwarts Study Hall, a weekly study night designed just for teens! Every Thursday evening, teens ages 12+ are invited to the Library’s teen section to hit the books in an enchanting atmosphere. Listen to the magical sounds of Hogwarts, enjoy free snacks, and study alongside fellow Grade A WIZARDS. Whether you're working on a tough essay, prepping for a big test, or just catching up on reading, the Library is here to help! Homework assistance, snacks, and a spellbinding study soundtrack provided. No registration required—just bring your schoolwork and your wizarding spirit!

Saturday Storytime

Join us for our brand-new Saturday Storytime starting on January 18th at 10:30 AM! Led by our new Children’s Library Associate, Xondra, this is the perfect opportunity to meet other parents, enjoy engaging stories, and spend a cozy morning in the children’s section. Sto......More

Join us for our brand-new Saturday Storytime starting on January 18th at 10:30 AM! Led by our new Children’s Library Associate, Xondra, this is the perfect opportunity to meet other parents, enjoy engaging stories, and spend a cozy morning in the children’s section. Stop by to say hello and help us welcome Xondra to the library! All ages are welcome.

Concert: Steve Hassmer sings Broadway

Broadway comes to the Roe Jan Library! Since graduating from James Madison University with a degreein Music Education, baritone Steve Hassmer has performed all over the world oncruise ships (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise lines, Ray KennedyProductions) and acros......More

Broadway comes to the Roe Jan Library! Since graduating from James Madison University with a degreein Music Education, baritone Steve Hassmer has performed all over the world oncruise ships (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise lines, Ray KennedyProductions) and across the country (48 state . . . only two to go!). Followingan eight year hiatus in which his wife graduated dental school and he became adad, he returned to performing. Recently, he has been a regular at theMac-Haydn Theatre in Columbia County, New York, and with the Berkshire OperaFestival. Recent credits: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Andre), SweeneyTodd (Judge Turpin), South Pacific (Emile de Becque)and My Fair Lady (Col. Pickering) at the Mac-HaydnTheatre, Some People Hear Thunder – World Premier (NicholasKarras, Reverend Nokhoudian) at CapRep, Madama Butterfly and Rigoletto withBerkshire Opera Festival. National Tour: My Fair Lady. Other: CarminaBurana (Featured Soloist) Princeton University. This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of The Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by CREATE Council on the Arts.

Concert: David Shenton & Erin Shields

Join us for an afternoon of music from the Great American Songbook.As performers, husband and wife duo David Shenton and Erin Shields have, under their belt, a combined total of well over 3,000 performances and counting (with various ensembles, orchestras, and as headli......More

Join us for an afternoon of music from the Great American Songbook.As performers, husband and wife duo David Shenton and Erin Shields have, under their belt, a combined total of well over 3,000 performances and counting (with various ensembles, orchestras, and as headliners/soloists). David Shenton is an English pianist, violinist, composer, and arranger based in New York City. As pianist/music director David has worked with many renowned members of the music profession in many genres. David enjoyed a 7 year long close working collaborative relationship with lyricist Martin Charnin (creator and lyricist of, among many others, Annie). David teaches extensively and, as a coach, accompanist and teaching professor, has been on the faculties of NYU, The New School, The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, St. Thomas Choir School and Grace Church School. He is also a composer in residence in the advanced class of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Born in Rotherham (South Yorkshire), England, David studied violin and piano at The Royal College of Music, London from where he graduated with the highest honors.A graduate of the prestigious Indiana University School of Music, Erin Shields also studied voice in Vienna, Austria. Erin embarked on her professional career as a singer at age 17 when she sang the National Anthem for The Chicago Bulls. Since then, her vocal versatility has allowed her to perform a number of different genres all over the country. Erin has performed leading roles for many reputable music festivals, opera companies and orchestras.

Development Committee meeting

Storycrafters