Howard County Library System’s author events are a key component of the HCLS curriculum. Notable, best-selling, and local authors provide customers with enlightening experiences throughout the year. Bringing the community together to celebrate the literary arts is a hallmark of HCLS customer service. Join us for these opportunities to meet one of your favorite authors or discover someone new!
There are 15 upcoming classes.
Percy Jackson Hero Trivia!
Date: 12/07/23Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Branch: Elkridge Branch
Age group: Ages 11-13 (Middle School), Ages 14 - 18 (High School)
Program type: Fun & Games!
Description:
Calling all demigods! Celebrate the new Percy Jackson Disney show with a trivia party with snacks!
Book Swap
Date: 12/08/23Time: 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Branch: Elkridge Branch
Age group: Ages 0 - 5 (Infant/Toddler/ Preschool/Kindergarten), Ages 6 - 11 (Grades 1-6), Ages 11-13 (Middle School), Ages 14 - 18 (High School), Ages 19+ (Adults), All Ages / Families
Program type: Fun & Games!
Description:
Bring a book, take a book- or two or three! Bring your books in good condition to the Elkridge Branch to swap for a new-to-you adventure in reading. All books in good condition leftover at the end of the event will be used in future book bingo or book swap events, or sent to Better World Books as donations. No more than one bag or box donated per family during the event, please. All ages welcome!
Book Swap
Date: 12/09/23Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm
Branch: Elkridge Branch
Age group: Ages 0 - 5 (Infant/Toddler/ Preschool/Kindergarten), Ages 6 - 11 (Grades 1-6), Ages 11-13 (Middle School), Ages 14 - 18 (High School), Ages 19+ (Adults), All Ages / Families
Program type: Fun & Games!
Description:
Bring a book, take a book- or two or three! Bring your books in good condition to the Elkridge Branch to swap for a new-to-you adventure in reading. All books in good condition leftover at the end of the event will be used in future book bingo or book swap events, or sent to Better World Books as donations. No more than one bag or box donated per family during the event, please. All ages welcome!
Museum@TheLibrary: The Walters: Across Asia – Face of the Divine
Date: 12/13/23Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Branch: Online Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Race, Equity & Inclusion
Description:
The Walters Art Museum presents a landmark installation of its Asian and Islamic collections, offering new ways to examine and experience both Asian and Islamic art.
The Walters collection of Asian art comprises about 9,000 objects and encompasses works spanning 5,000 years of artistic traditions from diverse cultures and regions, most notably Japan, Korea, China, India, Nepal, Tibet, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. The collection of Islamic art, comprising some 1,200 objects, is one of the richest in the United States with particular strengths in Persian, Turkish, and Mediterranean cultures, as well as Islamic South Asia.
We bring this collection to you through a set of two classes.
Docent Leslie Bethell has been with The Walters since 2015. She has an AB from Mount Holyoke College in French Literature and Medieval Studies (1991) and an MA from St. John’s College in Annapolis (1997). She is a RPCV (Mongolia 2003-2005), She has worked on health projects in Sierra Leone (2005), and in Malawi as the Education Coordinator in a refugee camp (2006-2008). Stateside, She has taught middle and high school French and Social Studies at Loyola Blakefield (1997-2001), managed programs at the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs (2009-2012), and managed the after school education program at the Village Learning Place (2012-2013).
Image:
Credit line: “Unidentified artist, Seated Buddha, Myanmar/Burma, 18th–19th century, wood, dry lacquer, gilding, and glass inlay. Gift from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's Southeast Asian Art Collection, 2002, acc. no. 25.232”
Nov 15
Across Asia – Hand of the Artist
Across Asia features stunning objects that highlight the skill of artists and artisans spanning centuries and vast geographies. Examine the metal work, enameling techniques, wooden joinery, or intricate jeweling displayed in this exhibit as you learn more about the stories of the people and cultures that created them.
Dec 13
Across Asia – Face of the Divine
Objects of devotion, especially those featuring deities, holy individuals, and sacred spaces, have touched the heights of human artistic achievement. Explore the ways that different cultures and spiritual traditions across Asia have given form and shape to beings beyond earthly experience.
SCROLL DOWN TO REGISTER.
Please register with an email address to receive an immediate registration confirmation with a link to join the class/event. This email will also contain the dial-in information if you wish to participate by telephone.
What's On Your Shelf? Fiction and Nonfiction Book Chat
Date: 12/14/23Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Branch: Miller Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Community & Culture
Description:
Share fiction and/or nonfiction titles that are on your bookshelf and we will share titles from our shelves. These can be recent reads, longtime favorites, classics from childhood - your choice! If you don't have a title to share, find inspiration in what others recommend and start building your reading list.
Readers also have the opportunity to ask for recommendations or to ask our instructors questions about books, reading, and the library. Previous discussion topics have included book donations, Little Free Libraries, and Goodreads (the world's largest website for readers and book recommendations).
Windows & Mirrors Teen Book Club at Miller
Date: 12/16/23Time: 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Branch: Miller Branch
Age group: Ages 14 - 18 (High School)
Program type: Race, Equity & Inclusion
Description:
Ages 14-17 | Registration preferred | Pizza included! | Pick up the book from Miller Branch's customer service desk* | Reading the book is encouraged, but not required.
Windows allow us to experience other cultures, and mirrors reflect parts of our own. Read and discuss books from diverse viewpoints over pizza, in HCLS' Windows & Mirrors Book Club for Teens, inspired by author Nic Stone.
December book: Black Enough edited by Ibi Zoboi, read the whole book or a few stories from the collection. Prefer to listen? Try an audiobook for free with Libby.
*Books for this book club have been set aside for students who would like to attend the book club. Ask for one at Miller's customer service desk.
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Book description: "Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America. Black is...sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson. Black is…three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds. Black is…Nic Stone’s high-class beauty dating a boy her momma would never approve of. Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland. Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more-- because there are countless ways to be Black enough."
Read more about the book here.
See other Windows & Mirrors Book Club events here.
FAM
Good Grief! A Peanuts Gang Trivia Challenge! ONLINE
Date: 12/21/23Time: 7:00pm - 6:00pm
Branch: Online Branch
Age group: Ages 11-13 (Middle School), Ages 14 - 18 (High School), Ages 19+ (Adults), All Ages / Families
Program type: Fun & Games!
Description:
Test your trivia knowledge of the beloved comic strip Peanuts featuring Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the gang in this fun Kahoot!
Register with an email address to receive the game link to play on your device. Game can be played anytime through December 31.
In Other Worlds SFF Book Club (Online)
Date: 12/27/23Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Branch: Online Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Community & Culture
Description:
Welcome science fiction & fantasy enthusiasts and other intrepid readers!
Discuss a wide-array of SFF movies (2nd Wednesdays) and books (4th Wednesdays)
Dec 27: When Women Were Dragons by Kelly R. Barnhill
Jan 24: Any Discworld book by Terry Pratchett
Feb 28: Noor by Nnedi Okorafor
Please register with an email address to receive an immediate registration confirmation. You will receive the link to the online class in the confirmation email. This email will also contain as the dial-in information if you wish to participate by telephone.
This is a hybrid book club that meets both online via Zoom (this listing) and in-person at East Columbia Branch. To register for in-person session please follow this LINK.
E-books & e-audiobooks available via Overdrive/Libby
Physical copies of the current month book club choice are kept behind the customer service desk at East Columbia branch. Please stop by and ask for your copy.
Availability of physical copies is not guaranteed.
AI and the Future of Work and Business (Virtual)
Date: 01/24/24Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Branch: Online Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Community & Culture
Description:
Adam Davidson is a master storyteller. . . An engaging mix of Michael Lewis-style reporting and a Shark Tank-like focus on how to succeed in business, [The Passion Economy is] an upbeat spin on what's ahead for us in the new, gig-and-hustle environment.—Deanna Isaacs, Chicago Reader
Adam Davidson is an expert at demystifying complex topics, and he applies these skills to the most crucial issue of our time: the rise of AI. His talks are geared towards curious laypeople—from college students to business decision-makers—who know that AI is likely to transform their careers and business and need a clear framework to understand this new revolutionary technology. AI, he explains, will create massive new winners and, yes, a bunch of losers, as it rewrites our economic rules.
Adam Davidson is the author of The Passion Economy, The New Rules for Thriving in the 21st Century. He co-founded and ran NPR's Planet Money; was economics writer for The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine. He was technical advisor on the movie The Big Short. He has won many of journalism's most prestigious awards, including a Peabody for his coverage of the financial crisis. All of his work has been focused on making the complex, confusing, sometimes depressing news about the economy and making it clear to a broad audience.
He lives in Vermont with his wife, the writer Jen Banbury, and their son.
Please register with an email address to receive an immediate registration confirmation with a link to join the class/event. This email will also contain the dial-in information if you wish to participate by telephone.
Film & Author event - The Sledges (Placeholder)
Date: 03/02/24Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Branch: Central Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Race, Equity & Inclusion
Description:
Battle of the Books 2024 Logistics Meeting (Online)
Date: 03/19/24Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Branch: Online Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Author & Literary Events
Description:
Howard County Library System and Howard County Public School System are excited to bring you a Battle of the Books event for 2024. We thank you in advance for your hard work and dedication to this year’s battle!
This is a mandatory meeting for the Battle of the Books coaches and will provide information about the final logistics of the battle and expectations of teams and coaches.
This meeting will be recorded and available on the Battle of the Books page of the website by April 4.
Film & Author event - The Sledges (Placeholder)
Date: 03/30/24Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Branch: Central Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Race, Equity & Inclusion
Description:
Film & Author event - The Sledges (Placeholder)
Date: 05/11/24Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Branch: Central Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Race, Equity & Inclusion
Description:
Film & Author event - The Sledges (Placeholder)
Date: 05/18/24Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Branch: Central Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Race, Equity & Inclusion
Description:
Film & Author event - The Sledges (Placeholder)
Date: 05/25/24Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Branch: Central Branch
Age group: Ages 19+ (Adults)
Program type: Race, Equity & Inclusion
Description:
