Events

High School Diploma Information Sessions

Thursday, September 30

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

The James Blackstone Memorial Library is pleased to offer information sessions on alternative paths to earning a high school diploma, sponsored by Shoreline Adult Education (formerly ERACE). This regional program serves the Connecticut towns of Branford, Clinton, Guilford and North Branford and welcomes all adult students who want to earn a high school diploma.

These information sessions discuss the three free options offered by Shoreline Adult Education. The programs are flexible to fit your schedule and aim to accommodate all students, no matter of how long it has been since they were last in a classroom. All participation is confidential.

Registration is required to receive a link to this ONLINE event.

High School Diploma Information Sessions

Thursday, September 30

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Registration is required to receive a link to this ONLINE event.

Helping Families Settle – Community Discussion

Thursday, September 30

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

We are living in unprecedented times with more than 20% of the world’s population displaced.

All are welcome to join this community discussion about the humanitarian crisis and learn how to help and welcome refugees into our community. We will be joined by Chris George, the Executive Director of IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services) and Alia Seraj, an Afghan-American and daughter of an Afghan prince who was forced into exile as a refugee decades ago.

Helping Families Settle is an independent group of Branford residents working with IRIS in New Haven to welcome a refugee family this fall. Right now, we know very little about our family — they may be coming from Syria, Iraq, the Congo, or Afghanistan.

To learn more about IRIS and our local co-sponsorship, please visit the IRIS website:

https://irisct.org/communitycosponsorship/

We live in an amazing community. We need Branford citizens to get involved and help us settle our family and help them flourish.

Please join us to find out how you can help!

Virtual Game Night

Friday, October 1

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Join us for a night of silly online games with some fun, laid-back people, without having to leave the house! Get all the info you need and RSVP here on our Meetup page. Adults of all experience levels are welcome.

Drop-in Tech Session

Thursday, October 7

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Confused about your new iPhone or iPad? Need help formatting a Word document? Drop in to the library between 2 & 4 PM to get a tech question answered. First come, first served. Sessions will be limited to 15 minutes per person.

Awakening to Change: A Social Justice Book Club

Thursday, October 7

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

We are often asked to be the change we want to see in the world, but we can’t change what we can’t see.

As part of our Awakening to Change series, the Blackstone Library is offering a social justice book club. Each month we’ll read a book selected to help us develop a shared understanding of the complex issues surrounding racism. Over the course of several in-depth discussions, we aim to begin understanding the world in a new way.

The series continues in October with a special screening of the documentary 13th directed by Ava DuVernay. In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.

The discussion will take place on three Thursdays in October at 7:00 both via Zoom and in person. Please be sure to register for all three sessions individually.

The film will be broken up into 3 parts to allow for more in depth and essential conversations. Meetings will be held on 10/7, 10/14, and 10/21.

Registration is required to receive the link to the online event.

An Afternoon with Edgar Allan Poe

Saturday, October 9

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

The master of the macabre and father of the modern horror story shares his poetry and prose live and in-person. Learn about Poe’s life, his work, his mysterious death, and his enduring influence on our culture in this afternoon of thrills and chills with actor Campbell Harmon.

Seating is limited. Registration is required to attend this IN PERSON event.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Blackstone Library

Awakening to Change: Author Talk with Hilma Wolitzer

Tuesday, October 12

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

We’re keeping our Awakening to Change Series going with a virtual visit from notable author Hilma Wolitzer.

Lonnie Reed and Roberta Gill-Brooks will facilitate an illuminating discussion with author Hilma Wolitzer as we explore another layer in Awakening to Change — gender.

Wolitzer’s story collection Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket gathers pieces written in the 1960s and 70s which explore the lives of women during one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of the fight for gender equality. The collection also includes a new story written during the pandemic which brings these themes full circle into the present day. Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket has been featured in Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly.

Copies are available at the library, and through People Get Ready books in New Haven. People Get Ready books will donate 15% of the purchase price to the library with the code AWAKENING.

Registration is required to receive a link to this ONLINE event.

High School Diploma Information Sessions

Thursday, October 14

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Registration is required to receive a link to this ONLINE event.

High School Diploma Information Sessions

Thursday, October 14

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Registration is required to receive a link to this ONLINE event.

Awakening to Change: A Social Justice Book Club

Thursday, October 14

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

We are often asked to be the change we want to see in the world, but we can’t change what we can’t see.

The discussion will take place on three Thursdays in October at 7:00 both via Zoom and in person. Please be sure to register for all three sessions individually.

The film will be broken up into 3 parts to allow for more in depth and essential conversations. Meetings will be held on 10/7, 10/14, and 10/21.

Registration is required to receive the link to the online event.

Awakening to Change: A Social Justice Book Club

Thursday, October 21

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

We are often asked to be the change we want to see in the world, but we can’t change what we can’t see.

The discussion will take place on three Thursdays in October at 7:00 both via Zoom and in person. Please be sure to register for all three sessions individually.

The film will be broken up into 3 parts to allow for more in depth and essential conversations. Meetings will be held on 10/7, 10/14, and 10/21.

Registration is required to receive the link to the online event.

Branford Forum: Energy Systems and Climate Change

Sunday, October 24

2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

The Branford Forum is a community organization that brings nationally renowned figures to the Shoreline.

Registration is not required to attend this IN PERSON event.

Best Seller Book Club

Saturday, October 30

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Have you ever thought about joining a book club? It’s a fun way to get connected, make new friends, and read more books! In the Best Seller Book Club, we’ll be reading and discussing newly released, highly rated books from a wide variety of genres. This month we’re reading The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

Registration is required to receive a link to this ONLINE event.

The Blackstone Library has a limited number of copies available for book club participants. If you are interested in obtaining a library copy, please call us at (203) 488-1441 ext. 318 or email programs@blackstonelibrary.org. Copies are first come, first served.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Blackstone Library

Living Life to the Fullest: Tips and Tricks to Make Life the Best it Can Be Regardless of Your Age

Monday, November 1

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

You have one life to live. Take a step out of your comfort zone and live it to the fullest. Nancy Butler helps you to find a new way of thinking and a new way of approaching your senior years.

Get tips and advice to retain independence, make great memories, and have a great quality of life for the rest of your life. Even in the face of illness and disability, the more of these tips you put into place, the greater the likelihood you will remain active, happy and independent throughout your retirement.

Registration is required to receive a link to this ONLINE event.

Drop-in Tech Session

Thursday, November 4

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Awakening to Change: A Social Justice Book Club

Thursday, November 4

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

We are often asked to be the change we want to see in the world, but we can’t change what we can’t see.

Copies of the book will be available at the library for you to borrow. You can email programs@blackstonelibrary.org or call (203) 488-1441 ext. 318 to do so.

If you would like to purchase a personal copy for your own social justice library, People Get Ready Books in New Haven will donate 15% of every purchase to the Blackstone Library. Simply visit their website to order, use promo code AWAKENING, and you’ll be supporting both the library and a women and black owned local business. Books can be picked up at the store at 119 Whalley Ave, New Haven CT 203.954.6678

Registration is required to receive the link to the program. Click Here to register.

Writer’s Law School: Protecting Your Artistic Rights

Saturday, November 6

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Learn to navigate the challenging realm of copyright law from professional lawyer and published author Jodé Millman. For writers, it’s difficult to obtain information about protecting your rights in your creative projects. And if you do, it’s difficult to decipher the “legalese.”

In this workshop designed for writers, we’ll cover the basics of copyrights, trademarks, and key provisions of publishing contracts so that you’ll understand the fine print without having a law degree.

In this session, you’ll learn:

• The differences between Copyright, Trademarks, Patents and Service Marks

• The Copyright Registration Process and the CASE law

• What is the Public Domain?

• What is the Fair Use Doctrine?

• Which Business Entity is best for my writing career?

• What are the Right of Privacy, Libel and Slander?

• The Anatomy of a Publishing Deal-Contract Basics

• Resources to help you protect your rights

Registration is required to receive a link to this ONLINE event

Witness Stones Project: Presented by the Branford Historical Society

Wednesday, November 10

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

The mission of the Witness Stones Project is to restore the history and honor the humanity and contributions of enslaved individuals who helped build our communities through research, education, and civic engagement. The project started in 2017 when Doug Nygren, after hearing Dennis Culliton speak about the enslaved in Guilford, CT, shared with him the memorialization of Jews in Berlin and Central Europe through the Stolpersteine Project. There, the “Stumbling Stones” are installed in front of places where the Jews lived freely before they were kidnapped and murdered during the Holocaust. With that inspiration, Dennis created the Witness Stones Project he now leads as the Executive Director.

In less than four years, 15 schools, and over 4,000 students have engaged in the Witness Stones curriculum, learning about the history of slavery in the North. They use the Five Themes of Slavery as a lens to analyze and extract biographical information about the African and African Americans who were so much a part of colonial Connecticut. From Hester Meade in Greenwich, to Tamar Loomis in Suffield, to James Mars in Norfolk, to Pink in New Haven, and to Moses in Guilford, our students are adding back the colors to the fabric of our history.

Registration is required to attend this IN PERSON event.

Awakening to Change: A Social Justice Book Club

Thursday, November 18

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

We are often asked to be the change we want to see in the world, but we can’t change what we can’t see.

Copies of the book will be available at the library for you to borrow. You can email programs@blackstonelibrary.org or call (203) 488-1441 ext. 318 to do so.

Registration is required to receive the link to the program. Click Here to register.