Who Were the Revolutionary War Veterans of Hillsdale?

On Sunday, August 17, at 2 p.m., Jeanne Kiefer will discuss the 71 residents of Hillsdale who served in the Continental Army and the local militias from 1775-1783. How many of the veterans were born in Hillsdale? Did anyone die in the war? Who was with Washington at Val......More

On Sunday, August 17, at 2 p.m., Jeanne Kiefer will discuss the 71 residents of Hillsdale who served in the Continental Army and the local militias from 1775-1783. How many of the veterans were born in Hillsdale? Did anyone die in the war? Who was with Washington at Valley Forge? Was there a Green Mountain Boy in the bunch? Which veteran lived to 101? Who held the flag for the Marquis de Lafayette? These questions and many more will be answered in the program. Jeanne Kiefer is a Hillsdale resident who spent the past year researching the lives of these veterans, in conjunction with the upcoming 250 the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This presentation is suitable for ages 12 and up. A presentation for younger children on the Hillsdale veterans is planned for 2026.This program is cosponsored with the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society.

Poetry Group Meeting

This group meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month to read and discuss the work of a selected poet. Contact Maureen Rodgers at [email protected] for information.

Bridge group meeting

Board of Trustees Meeting

CLC Nature Quest at Siegel-Kline Kill

Calling nature enthusiasts of all ages for a Nature Quest! Join CLC and the Roe Jan Library for a Nature Quest hike at Siegel-Kline Kill. ......More

Calling nature enthusiasts of all ages for a Nature Quest! Join CLC and the Roe Jan Library for a Nature Quest hike at Siegel-Kline Kill. During this program, we will walk along the Nature Quest trail in search of six hidden animal stamps. We may even encounter Nature Quest mascot, Earl the Squirrel! What to expect: We will walk one mile along the Bluebird trail, stopping frequently to collect Nature Quest stamps. Trails are partially forested and mowed grass paths along an open meadow. More trail information can be found here. What to bring: Please bring water and wear weather-appropriate clothing and footwear. What not to bring: Please, no dogs.

Siegel-Kline Kill, 1452 Co Rd 21, Ghent, NY 12075, USA

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.

Medicare 101

If you are approaching age 65 and are starting to think about applying for Medicare, this two-hour seminar is specifically designed to help you get started.  Experienced Columbia CountyOffice for the Aging staff with expertise in the often complex world of health insura......More

If you are approaching age 65 and are starting to think about applying for Medicare, this two-hour seminar is specifically designed to help you get started.  Experienced Columbia CountyOffice for the Aging staff with expertise in the often complex world of health insurance willdiscuss what you need to know in order to make sound decisions. This session will addressquestions like:        What is the difference between Part A and Part B?        When can I apply?        What are the penalties if I don’t apply?        Do I want traditional Medicare or a Medicare Advantage Plan?        Do I want a Medigap Plan to supplement traditional Medicare?        How do I get prescription drug coverage?        What if I have coverage from my previous employer as part of a retirement plan? If you are like most people - a little confused about questions like these – your attendance will betime well spent. The seminar will close with a question and answer session to make sure the mostimportant points have been covered.

Lego Club

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

Read On Fiction Book Club

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.

Book Marks! Non-Fiction Book Club

Join our nonfiction book club, Book Mark, led by Circulation Librarian Robin Gottlieb. Meets the 3rd Thursday of every month. 

Author Talk: Poets Charles Bernstein and Eve Grubin

Join poets Charles Bernstein and Eve Grubin for an evening of poetry. These poets are from different generations and represent distinct approaches to poetry, but they also have much in common: both were born and raised in Manhattan, and both have devoted their lives to ......More

Join poets Charles Bernstein and Eve Grubin for an evening of poetry. These poets are from different generations and represent distinct approaches to poetry, but they also have much in common: both were born and raised in Manhattan, and both have devoted their lives to writing and serving poetry. Charles Bernstein is an emeritus professor at SUNY-Buffalo, where he cofounded the Poetics Program, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he cofounded PennSound. He is actively involved with poets around the world, most recently traveling to China and India. Eve was the programs director at the Poetry Society of America and ran poetry events in the US for many years and now teaches and writes about poetry and mentors emerging poets in both the UK and the US. Both poets will read from new work. Eve will read poems from her new collection, Boat of Letters, which explores the miracles and urgencies of family life along with spiritual questions rooted in Jewish tradition. In his recent poems, Charles explores, with an often-comic twist, politics, poetics, and Jewish identity. He will read from his most recent book, The Kinds of Poetry I Want: Essays & Comedies, as well as other work.

Literacy Voyage: “Fancy Nancy: Bubbles, Bubbles, and More Bubbles!” + Unpoppable Bubble Experiment

Book: Fancy Nancy: Bubbles, Bubbles, and More Bubbles by Jane O’Connor Literacy Focus: Descriptive language and sensory words STEAM Activity: Unpoppable Bubbles – Students will create a special sugar and soap solution to blow and observe long-lasting bubbles wh......More

Book: Fancy Nancy: Bubbles, Bubbles, and More Bubbles by Jane O’Connor Literacy Focus: Descriptive language and sensory words STEAM Activity: Unpoppable Bubbles – Students will create a special sugar and soap solution to blow and observe long-lasting bubbles while practicing using adjectives and sensory words to describe what they see and feel.

Farm Market Kids

Join Xondra at the Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market every Saturday, from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, from 10 to 12, for stories and crafts. All ages are welcome.

Lego Building Challenge

The Roe Jan Library is participating in NYSERDA's Experience Clean Heat program's Lego building challenge. We ask attendees--young and old alike--to join us for a fun building afternoon to either  build  a replica of our building/space or build something energy related ......More

The Roe Jan Library is participating in NYSERDA's Experience Clean Heat program's Lego building challenge. We ask attendees--young and old alike--to join us for a fun building afternoon to either  build  a replica of our building/space or build something energy related such as a heat pump, a wind turbine, or electric school bus. We’ll be providing the blocks for use at the event. All attendees will be entered to win a $25 gift card that day. Those who build something will be entered to win an additional $50 gift card that day. As an additional grand prize, those who build something can choose to enter NYSERDA's statewide photo competition for a $200 grand prize Visa gift card. The competition will be publicly voted on through social media. Come join other builder for some Lego fun!

Author Talk: Kathi Casey, Age With Grace And Strength

In Age with Grace and Strength, Holistic Health Coach Kathi Casey provides easy-to-follow tools, including practical meal planning techniques like using recipes to make your grocery list which reduces food waste while ensuring that you eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Lea......More

In Age with Grace and Strength, Holistic Health Coach Kathi Casey provides easy-to-follow tools, including practical meal planning techniques like using recipes to make your grocery list which reduces food waste while ensuring that you eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Learn how to boost muscle building with targeted exercises, improve sleep quality, enhance balance, and nurture emotional wellness in today’s high-stress world. This book emphasizes specific muscle groups crucial for healthy aging and features the exercises that get those muscles stronger with modifications, if needed, ensuring everyone can benefit—regardless of fitness level. Age with Grace and Strength is more than a book; it’s a roadmap to healthy aging, offering simple, actionable steps to reduce chronic illness risks, alleviate joint pain, lower stress, and embrace the joys of aging.  Holistic Health Coach Kathi Casey is known as “The Healthy Boomer Body Expert.” She is a sought-after health coach, teacher, and author of STOP Back Pain: Kiss Your Back, Neck and Sciatic Nerve Pain Goodbye! Kathi has shared her unique programs on TV, radio, guest articles, and podcasts as well as workshops all over the East Coast. She has worked with people over 50 for more than two decades. What she has learned and experienced during the last twenty years is shared within the pages of her newest book Age with Grace and Strength.

Bridge group meeting

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].