For ages 18 months-4

Encourage your child to discover new things and play with others at our sensory free-play program! There will be multiple sensory activities for your young child to explore each week.

Due to high demand the program may be split into two groups if we are over capacity before the program begins, each session lasting 20 minutes.

No advance registration required, but you will need to stop by the children's desk to get your name on the list when you come in that morning. Once the list is full, the program is full.

Please note that an adult must stay with the child at all times to supervise and make sure everyone is playing safely!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

For Pre-K-Grade 3

Come to the library Wednesday evening for a fun drop-in craft project! There is no registration for this program, but supplies are limited and will be on a first come, first served basis.

This program is kindly sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Public Library.

We will meet in person at Glen Rock Inn and discuss Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne. We will decide on February’s book club title at the January meeting.

To learn more, visit our Facebook Group

Millennial Book Club is sponsored by Glen Rock Library and Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library

2nd-5th Graders

**High-Demand program

On the climb up the ice-capped Mt Kilimanjaro, student-engineers will discover its 5 biomes from the base of Kilimanjaro to its peak. To avoid altitude sickness, you must hike slowly on the way down. Using gravity, slope, and friction, participants will build a STEAMtastically slow, animal-filled trek down the mountain. Registration required.

Register in LibCal

**Registration for High Priority programs is limited to Glen Rock Library cardholders for the first week. Registration for non-Glen Rock cardholders begins on the 23rd.

This program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Library.

Thursday, January 23 at 7:00 PM

There is more to Greenwich Village than you might think. Greenwich Village is known as the center of the counter-culture movement of the 1960s. That bohemian feel has been transformed as its now an expensive and trendy neighborhood to live but it still retains some of its historical roots.

Encompassing the West Village neighborhood, Washington Square Park, and the area around New York University, with a 100-block historic district established in 1969, New York City's Greenwich Village is perhaps best known for its historic architecture, a variety of intimate cafés and restaurants, and a nice place to visit. Visiting The Village is like taking a vacation to a super cool place without actually leaving the city. It is undeniably an area like no other place in the city and the country!

Register here with LibCal.

This program is kindly sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Public Library.

SUNDAY, January 26th at 2:00-4:00 PM

The Arts Council of Glen Rock (ACGR) invites artists of any level to its Open Studio at the Glen Rock Public Library.

Open Studio is a drawing session held once a month from November 2024 through March 2025. People of any age can join other artists one Sunday afternoon a month (2 :00 to 4:00 p.m.) to sketch. November 10, December 1, January 26 (rescheduled from January 19), February 9, and March 23.

Bring your art materials and draw from a provided still life and/or clothed model. There is no instruction. There is no fee to participate.

This is a drop-in event, but to be added to ACGR’s Open Studio email “reminder” list, send a note to acgr@glenrocknj.net with “Open Studio” in the subject line.

**HIGH-DEMAND PROGRAM**

For Pre-K-2nd graders

Use pipe cleaners and beads to create a snowflake you can hang inside your house! Registration is required.

Register through LibCal

**Registration for High Priority programs is limited to Glen Rock Library cardholders for the first week. Registration for non-Glen Rock cardholders begins on the 23rd.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Monday, January 27, 5:30pm

Each subject in Minhwa has a special meaning. Learn about Korean folk art in this class that will be taught by a Glen Rock High School student. Space is limited and registration is required. 

Join us this month to celebrate the Year of the Snake

For Glen Rock students in grades 3 and up

Register online through LibCal: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13956318

Email kristen.rasczyk@glenrock.bccls.org if you have any questions. 

Monday, January 27, 6pm - 8pm

Join a small group of adventurers in a game of Dungeons & Dragons at the Glen Rock Library led by an experienced Dungeon Master from Play! Hoboken.

For grades 6-12

Space is limited, registration is required. **Priority will be given to Glen Rock residents. Out-of-town residents will be placed on a waitlist and notified if a spot becomes available**

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13758706

Questions? Email kristen.rasczyk@glenrock.bccls.org

For 4th and 5th graders.

REGISTRATION BEGINS DECEMBER 15TH

Our January book is Magnolia Wu Unfolds it All by Chanel Miller. Magnolia Wu has pinned every lost sock from her parents’ laundromat onto a bulletin board, hoping that customers will return to take them back. When Iris, a new friend from California arrives, they set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, meeting people and uncovering the unimaginable. 

An activity and snacks will be provided to participants. Pick up books starting 12/16.

Register in LibCal

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Library.

Monday, January 27th, 7pm

Genealogical Society of Bergen County - Monthly Meeting (Webinar)
From Shoebox to Digital Archive - Essential Photo Scanning and Organization for Genealogy
Presentation by GSBC Webmaster, Michelle D. Novak, MI
Via Zoom

Part 1.  In this introductory presentation, Michelle D. Novak will share her insights gleaned from a long career as a designer, photographer, and archivist, and will share tips and advice about digitizing your family photographs.  Topics include an overview of scanning, organizing and archiving digital files. 

Part 2 is on February 24.

Registration required, here.

All GSBC events, meetings and webinars are free and open to the public. For more information about our society, visit our web site, here.

Monday, January 27th at 7pm

Love the idea of a book group, but don't want to read deep literary works? This book group is just what you've been looking for!

We are reading: Moorewood Family Rulesby HelenKay Dimon. Copies are available at the circulation desk beginning December 15.

Get ready for stories, songs, fingerplays, and movement with Miss Libby! Storytime will be held every Tuesday at 10:30 AM in the Children’s Room.

This is a drop-in program, no registration required!

Tuesdays at 3:30pm

This 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens program is for 13-17 year old girls to expand and develop leadership principles to help with the tough choices they face daily. Each session focuses on a different skill practiced through activities and games and concludes with a craft to reinforce the habit.

This program is run by NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) and registration is through them: https://cafs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3kOB3wH09NP919Y

Questions? Email Madeline at mandriulli@cafsnj.org

Session crafts:

1/28: Clay-making
2/4: Empowerment bracelets
2/11: Vision boards
2/25: Priority notebooks
3/4: Mural painting
3/11: Pressed floral bookmarks
3/18: Collaborative felt quilt
3/25: Hand knitting

For grades K-5

REGISTRATION OPENS NOVEMBER 15TH AT 10AM

Come to the library and build whatever your imagination can dream up at Lego Club! Build your own creation or work with other kids to make something incredible! This is a free-form program, no instructions or sets required.

Register in LibCal

For ages 18 months-4

Encourage your child to discover new things and play with others at our sensory free-play program! There will be multiple sensory activities for your young child to explore each week.

Due to high demand the program may be split into two groups if we are over capacity before the program begins, each session lasting 20 minutes.

No advance registration required, but you will need to stop by the children's desk to get your name on the list when you come in that morning. Once the list is full, the program is full.

Please note that an adult must stay with the child at all times to supervise and make sure everyone is playing safely!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

WEdnesday, January 29 at 7:00 PM

Join Annie and learn how to make an origami snake in celebration of Chinese New Year. Annie will have 3 projects to choose from depending on your skill level.

Registration begins on December 15th at 10am.

Adult Registration

Teen/Tween Registration

AGES 18 MO. TO 4

Bring your little ones to the library for a drop-in craft! The projects will be simple enough for little hands to do. No registration required, while supplies last!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Thursday, January 30th, 6pm-7pm

January's maker project: DIY Perpetual Journal

What is a perpetual journal? "The idea is that the journal pages are organized by date, but not year, and that you return to the same pages at the given date range year after year until the pages are filled" (source)

We will making and decorating our journals using a box and 366 index cards - one for each day of the year (including leap year). 

For grades 6-12. Space is limited and registration is required. Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13758425

Questions? Email kristen.rasczyk@glenrock.bccls.org

This program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

Ages 7-12

REGISTRATION OPENS JANUARY 15TH AT 10 AM

Sign up to brighten someone's day! Glen Rock High School students will lead attendees in making bracelets for residents in senior living centers or hospitals. Registration is required.

Register in LibCal

Ages 7-10

REGISTRATION OPENS JANUARY 15TH AT 10 AM

Ages 7-10 Learn how to fold origami, taught by a Glen Rock high school student.

Register in LibCal

*High Demand Program

Grades 3-5

REGISTRATION OPENS JANUARY 15TH AT 10 AM

Sign up to join a small group of adventurers in a game of Dungeons and Dragons let by an experienced Dungeon Master from Play! Hoboken.

Registration Required. Please note that there will be no exceptions made in regards to the age of the participants.

Register in LibCal

*This is a high-demand program! Glen Rock patrons have priority registration for one week, residents of other towns can sign up starting the 23rd.

Get ready for stories, songs, fingerplays, and movement with Miss Libby! Storytime will be held every Tuesday at 10:30 AM in the Children’s Room.

This is a drop-in program, no registration required!

Tuesday, Feburary 4th at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters.

A four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a mystery that will haunt the survivors, unravel a family, and remain unsolved for nearly fifty years

July 1962. Following in the tradition of Indigenous workers from Nova Scotia, a Mi’kmaq family arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.

In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting January 6). The eBook and audiobook of this title are also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

Tuesdays at 3:30pm

This 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens program is for 13-17 year old girls to expand and develop leadership principles to help with the tough choices they face daily. Each session focuses on a different skill practiced through activities and games and concludes with a craft to reinforce the habit.

This program is run by NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) and registration is through them: https://cafs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3kOB3wH09NP919Y

Questions? Email Madeline at mandriulli@cafsnj.org

Session crafts:

1/28: Clay-making
2/4: Empowerment bracelets
2/11: Vision boards
2/25: Priority notebooks
3/4: Mural painting
3/11: Pressed floral bookmarks
3/18: Collaborative felt quilt
3/25: Hand knitting

For ages 18 months-4

Encourage your child to discover new things and play with others at our sensory free-play program! There will be multiple sensory activities for your young child to explore each week.

Due to high demand the program may be split into two groups if we are over capacity before the program begins, each session lasting 20 minutes.

No advance registration required, but you will need to stop by the children's desk to get your name on the list when you come in that morning. Once the list is full, the program is full.

Please note that an adult must stay with the child at all times to supervise and make sure everyone is playing safely!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

HIGH-DEMAND PROGRAM

Grades 3-5

REGISTRATION OPENS JANUARY 15TH AT 10 AM

Kid chefs will form teams and battle it out to compete in a Valentine's Day-themed food challenge! Awards will be determined at the end of the program and everyone can eat their masterpieces. Registration Required.

Register in LibCal

This is a high-demand program! Glen Rock patrons have priority registration for one week, residents of other towns can sign up starting on the 23rd.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Library

For Pre-K-Grade 3

Come to the library Wednesday evening for a fun drop-in craft project! There is no registration for this program, but supplies are limited and will be on a first come, first served basis.

This program is kindly sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Public Library.

Wednesday, February 5 at 7:00 PM

Learn how to identify, preserve, and interpret the old photographs in your personal collection. This is a quick-paced, introductory workshop that incorporates authentic examples of 19th and 20th century images.

With a background working with museum artifacts and family heirlooms, Lindsey Smith loves to help people interpret, preserve, and better understand the objects that make up our world. An increasingly sought-out public speaker, Lindsey has spoken to dozens of groups across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, helping audiences understand how to appreciate and care for their old photographs, clothing, and other treasured heirlooms.

Registration opens January 15th.

Register here with LibCal.

3rd-5th Grade

REGISTRATION OPENS JANUARY 15TH AT 10 AM

Use clay to make candy magnets just in time for Valentine's Day! Please note that participants will need to bake their creations at home in order to finish them. If this is not possible for any reason, Miss Libby will bake them and you can pick them up at a later date. Registration is required.

Register in LibCal

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Public Library.

THursday, February 6th, 6:00pm-7:00pm

Book club for students in grades 6-8! Tween Book Club will meet on the first Thursday of the month at 6pm

Join us to talk about books, socialize, and enjoy snacks. 

February’s book is Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. Copies can be picked up at the circulation desk. 

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13673458

Questions? Email kristen.rasczyk@glenrock.bccls.org

Snacks will be provided!

Thursday, February 6th at 7:00-8:30 PM

A program for artists about the business side of being an artist. Run by the Arts Council of Glen Rock.

Let’s learn from each other to improve our business situations as artists. Bring your questions and experiences to discuss!

Potential topics: Shows Worth Applying To, Organizers to Avoid, Fees, Sourcing Materials, Display Agony, and anything else you'd like to discuss.

RSVP to Stacey Gilmartin at acgrmembership@glenrocknj.net. Please include your ideas, questions, preferred topics. ​

Friday, February 7 at 11:00 AM

Join us for a fun movie morning every first Friday of the month.  Light refreshments will be provided

This month's movie is When Harry Met Sally

SUNDAY, February 9tH at 2:00-4:00 PM

The Arts Council of Glen Rock (ACGR) invites artists of any level to its Open Studio at the Glen Rock Public Library.

Open Studio is a drawing session held once a month from November 2024 through March 2025. People of any age can join other artists one Sunday afternoon a month (2 :00 to 4:00 p.m.) to sketch. November 10, December 1, January 19, February 9, and March 23.

Bring your art materials and draw from a provided still life and/or clothed model. There is no instruction. There is no fee to participate.

This is a drop-in event, but to be added to ACGR’s Open Studio email “reminder” list, send a note to acgr@glenrocknj.net with “Open Studio” in the subject line.

**HIGH-DEMAND PROGRAM**

For Pre-K-2nd graders

Make a Valentine's Day card for someone you love! Registration is required.

Register through LibCal

**Registration for High Priority programs is limited to Glen Rock Library cardholders for the first week. Registration for non-Glen Rock cardholders begins on the 23rd.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Monday, February 10, 6pm - 8pm

Join a small group of adventurers in a game of Dungeons & Dragons at the Glen Rock Library led by an experienced Dungeon Master from Play! Hoboken.

For grades 6-12

Space is limited, registration is required. **Priority will be given to Glen Rock residents. Out-of-town residents will be placed on a waitlist and notified if a spot becomes available**

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982171

Questions? Email kristen.rasczyk@glenrock.bccls.org

This program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Library

HIGH-DEMAND PROGRAM

Grades 1st-5th

Hosted by Spreading STEM. In this class, students will be introduced to basic engineering concepts such as levers, force, and energy. The session will be interactive, allowing students to design, test, and play with their catapults, which they will be able to take home afterward. Registration required.

Register in LibCal

Get ready for stories, songs, fingerplays, and movement with Miss Libby! Storytime will be held every Tuesday at 10:30 AM in the Children’s Room.

This is a drop-in program, no registration required!

Tuesdays at 3:30pm

This 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens program is for 13-17 year old girls to expand and develop leadership principles to help with the tough choices they face daily. Each session focuses on a different skill practiced through activities and games and concludes with a craft to reinforce the habit.

This program is run by NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) and registration is through them: https://cafs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3kOB3wH09NP919Y

Questions? Email Madeline at mandriulli@cafsnj.org

Session crafts:

1/28: Clay-making
2/4: Empowerment bracelets
2/11: Vision boards
2/25: Priority notebooks
3/4: Mural painting
3/11: Pressed floral bookmarks
3/18: Collaborative felt quilt
3/25: Hand knitting

For ages 18 months-4

Encourage your child to discover new things and play with others at our sensory free-play program! There will be multiple sensory activities for your young child to explore each week.

Due to high demand the program may be split into two groups if we are over capacity before the program begins, each session lasting 20 minutes.

No advance registration required, but you will need to stop by the children's desk to get your name on the list when you come in that morning. Once the list is full, the program is full.

Please note that an adult must stay with the child at all times to supervise and make sure everyone is playing safely!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

Wednesday, February 12, 6pm-7pm

Join us for a fun evening of art on the second Wednesday of each month! 

February’s project: DIY Valentine Cards

For grades 6-12. Space is limited & registration is required. Register online through LibCal: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982162

This program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

This month we'll be using watercolor paint. 

AGES 18 MO. TO 4

Bring your little ones to the library for a drop-in craft! The projects will be simple enough for little hands to do. No registration required, while supplies last!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

**ONE REGISTRATION IS GOOD FOR ALL EIGHT SESSIONS**

Want to learn how to code, but don’t know where to start? This program is a great opportunity for you! Open to middle schoolers, this program will teach them the basics of Python, including print and input statements, conditionals, loops, functions and lists. We will use these skills to create fun projects, like a calculator, a text-based
adventure game, and even a Hangman game!

This club is led/taught by a Glen Rock High School student and will run on Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm for 8 weeks beginning February 13th. 

Materials: A Windows (10 or 11) or Mac laptop. Beforehand, please download the IDE VSCode (https://code.visualstudio.com/) and Python 3.13 (https://www.python.org/downloads/) Students must bring their own laptop.

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982145

Session Dates: 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27, 4/3

Saturday, February 15 at 1:00 PM

Join Rebecca as she teaches you how to make an adorable snowman using a mason jar!

Glen Rock Public Library cardholders will have priority in registration. Limited to 15 participants.

Registration opens January 15. 

This event is kindly sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Library.

Register Here with Libcal.

Get ready for stories, songs, fingerplays, and movement with Miss Libby! Storytime will be held every Tuesday at 10:30 AM in the Children’s Room.

This is a drop-in program, no registration required!

For ages 18 months-4

Encourage your child to discover new things and play with others at our sensory free-play program! There will be multiple sensory activities for your young child to explore each week.

Due to high demand the program may be split into two groups if we are over capacity before the program begins, each session lasting 20 minutes.

No advance registration required, but you will need to stop by the children's desk to get your name on the list when you come in that morning. Once the list is full, the program is full.

Please note that an adult must stay with the child at all times to supervise and make sure everyone is playing safely!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

For Pre-K-Grade 3

Come to the library Wednesday evening for a fun drop-in craft project! There is no registration for this program, but supplies are limited and will be on a first come, first served basis.

This program is kindly sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Public Library.

Wednesday, February 19 at 7:00 PM

Join Paranormal investigator, Laurissa Rex as she explains the tools and techniques she uses in paranormal research. Time permitting, there will be hands on activities after the presentation.

Preference will be given to Glen Rock Library Card holders. Registration begins on January 15th.

Register here with LibCal.

For grades K-5

REGISTRATION OPENS JANUARY 15TH AT 10AM

Come to the library and build whatever your imagination can dream up at Lego Club! Build your own creation or work with other kids to make something incredible! This is a free-form program, no instructions or sets required.

Register in LibCal

**ONE REGISTRATION IS GOOD FOR ALL EIGHT SESSIONS**

Want to learn how to code, but don’t know where to start? This program is a great opportunity for you! Open to middle schoolers, this program will teach them the basics of Python, including print and input statements, conditionals, loops, functions and lists. We will use these skills to create fun projects, like a calculator, a text-based
adventure game, and even a Hangman game!

This club is led/taught by a Glen Rock High School student and will run on Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm for 8 weeks beginning February 13th. 

Materials: A Windows (10 or 11) or Mac laptop. Beforehand, please download the IDE VSCode (https://code.visualstudio.com/) and Python 3.13 (https://www.python.org/downloads/) Students must bring their own laptop.

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982145

Session Dates: 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27, 4/3

Thursday, February 20, 6:30pm

Book club for students in grades 9-12! Teen Book Club will meet on the third Thursday of the month at 6:30pm. 

Join us to talk about books, socialize, and enjoy snacks. 

February’s book is Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz. Copies will be available at the circulation desk. Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13673492

Questions? Email kristen.rasczyk@glenrock.bccls.org

Snacks will be provided!

**HIGH-DEMAND PROGRAM**

For Pre-K-2nd graders

Use masking tape and watercolors to make a unique painting using the resist technique! Registration is required.

Register through LibCal

**Registration for High Priority programs is limited to Glen Rock Library cardholders for the first week. Registration for non-Glen Rock cardholders begins on the 23rd.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

For 4th and 5th graders.

REGISTRATION BEGINS JANUARY 15TH

The February book is The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming. Bletchley Park was a well-kept secret during World War II. The critical work done there of code-cracking Nazi messages could determine a victory or loss against Hitler’s army. Amidst the brilliant cryptographers and absent-minded professors working there, it was 10 teenaged girls who kept Bletchley running. This is their story.

An activity and snacks will be provided to participants.

Pick up books starting 1/27

Register in LibCal

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Library.

Monday, February 24th, 7pm

Genealogical Society of Bergen County - Monthly Meeting  (Webinar)
From Pixels to Perfection - Retouching Tools for Family Photos
Presentation by GSBC Webmaster, Michelle D. Novak, MI

Join us for part two on this topic where we’ll explore what you can do with your images after you’ve scanned them—including repairing and enhancing images as well as a short discussion on emerging AI-driven tools.

Registration required, here.

All GSBC events, meetings and webinars are free and open to the public.  For more information about our society, visit our web site, here.

Monday, February 24th at 7pm

Love the idea of a book group, but don't want to read deep literary works? This book group is just what you've been looking for!

We are reading: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. Copies are available at the circulation desk beginning January 27th.

Get ready for stories, songs, fingerplays, and movement with Miss Libby! Storytime will be held every Tuesday at 10:30 AM in the Children’s Room.

This is a drop-in program, no registration required!

Tuesdays at 3:30pm

This 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens program is for 13-17 year old girls to expand and develop leadership principles to help with the tough choices they face daily. Each session focuses on a different skill practiced through activities and games and concludes with a craft to reinforce the habit.

This program is run by NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) and registration is through them: https://cafs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3kOB3wH09NP919Y

Questions? Email Madeline at mandriulli@cafsnj.org

Session crafts:

1/28: Clay-making
2/4: Empowerment bracelets
2/11: Vision boards
2/25: Priority notebooks
3/4: Mural painting
3/11: Pressed floral bookmarks
3/18: Collaborative felt quilt
3/25: Hand knitting

For ages 18 months-4

Encourage your child to discover new things and play with others at our sensory free-play program! There will be multiple sensory activities for your young child to explore each week.

Due to high demand the program may be split into two groups if we are over capacity before the program begins, each session lasting 20 minutes.

No advance registration required, but you will need to stop by the children's desk to get your name on the list when you come in that morning. Once the list is full, the program is full.

Please note that an adult must stay with the child at all times to supervise and make sure everyone is playing safely!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

Wednesday, February 26th at 6:30 PM

In today’s world of structure, stranger danger, and helicopter parenting, free play and independence have virtually disappeared from childhood, giving way to unprecedented anxiety and depression. In CHASING CHILDHOOD, psychologists, activists, and leaders of the "free play" movement fight to bring back the untold benefits of a less curated childhood.

Running time: 85 minutes. 30 minute facilitated conversation led by Kristen Jones to follow.

This screening has kindly been sponsored by Let Wonder Lead.

*REGISTRATION FOR THIS PROGRAM IS FULL. ANY NEW REGISTRANTS WILL BE WAITLISTED.*

Register here with LibCal.

AGES 18 MO. TO 4

Bring your little ones to the library for a drop-in craft! The projects will be simple enough for little hands to do. No registration required, while supplies last!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

HIGH-DEMAND PROGRAM

2nd-5th Graders

During our City Planner Speedway workshop, student-engineers will understand the importance of community, how the structure and layout of a city can improve the lives of its citizens, and the role a City Planner plays in developing these. Participants will become City Planners as they design a new city and use the power of magnetism as a pollution-free alternative to gas-powered vehicles. Registration required.

Register in LibCal

Registration for High Priority programs is limited to Glen Rock Library cardholders for the first week. Registration for non-Glen Rock cardholders begins on the 23rd.

This program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Rock Library.

**ONE REGISTRATION IS GOOD FOR ALL EIGHT SESSIONS**

Want to learn how to code, but don’t know where to start? This program is a great opportunity for you! Open to middle schoolers, this program will teach them the basics of Python, including print and input statements, conditionals, loops, functions and lists. We will use these skills to create fun projects, like a calculator, a text-based
adventure game, and even a Hangman game!

This club is led/taught by a Glen Rock High School student and will run on Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm for 8 weeks beginning February 13th. 

Materials: A Windows (10 or 11) or Mac laptop. Beforehand, please download the IDE VSCode (https://code.visualstudio.com/) and Python 3.13 (https://www.python.org/downloads/) Students must bring their own laptop.

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982145

Session Dates: 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27, 4/3

Tuesday, March 4th at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss The Coast Road by Alan Murrin

A poignant debut novel about the lives of women in a claustrophobic coast town and the search for independence in a society that seeks to limit it.

Set in 1994, The Coast Road tells the story of two women—Izzy Keaveney, a housewife, and Colette Crowley, a poet. Colette has left her husband and sons for a married man in Dublin. When she returns to her home in County Donegal to try to pick up the pieces of her old life, her husband, Shaun, a successful businessman, denies her access to her children.

The only way she can see them is with the help of neighbour Izzy, acting as a go-between. Izzy also feels caught in a troubled marriage. The friendship that develops between them will ultimately lead to tragedy for one, and freedom for the other.

Addictive as Big Little Lies with a depth and compassion that rivals the works of Claire Keegan, Elizabeth Strout, and Colm Tóibín, The Coast Road is a story about the limits placed on women’s lives in Ireland only a generation ago, and the consequences women have suffered trying to gain independence. Award-winning Irish author Alan Murrin reminds us of the price we are forced to pay to find freedom.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting February 3). The eBook of this title is also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

Tuesdays at 3:30pm

This 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens program is for 13-17 year old girls to expand and develop leadership principles to help with the tough choices they face daily. Each session focuses on a different skill practiced through activities and games and concludes with a craft to reinforce the habit.

This program is run by NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) and registration is through them: https://cafs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3kOB3wH09NP919Y

Questions? Email Madeline at mandriulli@cafsnj.org

Session crafts:

1/28: Clay-making
2/4: Empowerment bracelets
2/11: Vision boards
2/25: Priority notebooks
3/4: Mural painting
3/11: Pressed floral bookmarks
3/18: Collaborative felt quilt
3/25: Hand knitting

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

**ONE REGISTRATION IS GOOD FOR ALL EIGHT SESSIONS**

Want to learn how to code, but don’t know where to start? This program is a great opportunity for you! Open to middle schoolers, this program will teach them the basics of Python, including print and input statements, conditionals, loops, functions and lists. We will use these skills to create fun projects, like a calculator, a text-based
adventure game, and even a Hangman game!

This club is led/taught by a Glen Rock High School student and will run on Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm for 8 weeks beginning February 13th. 

Materials: A Windows (10 or 11) or Mac laptop. Beforehand, please download the IDE VSCode (https://code.visualstudio.com/) and Python 3.13 (https://www.python.org/downloads/) Students must bring their own laptop.

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982145

Session Dates: 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27, 4/3

THursday, March 6th, 6:00pm-7:00pm

Book club for students in grades 6-8! Tween Book Club will meet on the first Thursday of the month at 6pm

Join us to talk about books, socialize, and enjoy snacks. 

March’s book is The House at 758 by Kathryn Berla. Copies can be picked up at the circulation desk. 

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13673459

Questions? Email kristen.rasczyk@glenrock.bccls.org

Snacks will be provided!

Tuesdays at 3:30pm

This 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens program is for 13-17 year old girls to expand and develop leadership principles to help with the tough choices they face daily. Each session focuses on a different skill practiced through activities and games and concludes with a craft to reinforce the habit.

This program is run by NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) and registration is through them: https://cafs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3kOB3wH09NP919Y

Questions? Email Madeline at mandriulli@cafsnj.org

Session crafts:

1/28: Clay-making
2/4: Empowerment bracelets
2/11: Vision boards
2/25: Priority notebooks
3/4: Mural painting
3/11: Pressed floral bookmarks
3/18: Collaborative felt quilt
3/25: Hand knitting

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

**ONE REGISTRATION IS GOOD FOR ALL EIGHT SESSIONS**

Want to learn how to code, but don’t know where to start? This program is a great opportunity for you! Open to middle schoolers, this program will teach them the basics of Python, including print and input statements, conditionals, loops, functions and lists. We will use these skills to create fun projects, like a calculator, a text-based
adventure game, and even a Hangman game!

This club is led/taught by a Glen Rock High School student and will run on Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm for 8 weeks beginning February 13th. 

Materials: A Windows (10 or 11) or Mac laptop. Beforehand, please download the IDE VSCode (https://code.visualstudio.com/) and Python 3.13 (https://www.python.org/downloads/) Students must bring their own laptop.

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982145

Session Dates: 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27, 4/3

Tuesdays at 3:30pm

This 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens program is for 13-17 year old girls to expand and develop leadership principles to help with the tough choices they face daily. Each session focuses on a different skill practiced through activities and games and concludes with a craft to reinforce the habit.

This program is run by NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) and registration is through them: https://cafs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3kOB3wH09NP919Y

Questions? Email Madeline at mandriulli@cafsnj.org

Session crafts:

1/28: Clay-making
2/4: Empowerment bracelets
2/11: Vision boards
2/25: Priority notebooks
3/4: Mural painting
3/11: Pressed floral bookmarks
3/18: Collaborative felt quilt
3/25: Hand knitting

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

**ONE REGISTRATION IS GOOD FOR ALL EIGHT SESSIONS**

Want to learn how to code, but don’t know where to start? This program is a great opportunity for you! Open to middle schoolers, this program will teach them the basics of Python, including print and input statements, conditionals, loops, functions and lists. We will use these skills to create fun projects, like a calculator, a text-based
adventure game, and even a Hangman game!

This club is led/taught by a Glen Rock High School student and will run on Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm for 8 weeks beginning February 13th. 

Materials: A Windows (10 or 11) or Mac laptop. Beforehand, please download the IDE VSCode (https://code.visualstudio.com/) and Python 3.13 (https://www.python.org/downloads/) Students must bring their own laptop.

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982145

Session Dates: 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27, 4/3

SUNDAY, March 23rd at 2:00-4:00 PM

The Arts Council of Glen Rock (ACGR) invites artists of any level to its Open Studio at the Glen Rock Public Library.

Open Studio is a drawing session held once a month from November 2024 through March 2025. People of any age can join other artists one Sunday afternoon a month (2 :00 to 4:00 p.m.) to sketch. November 10, December 1, January 19, February 9, and March 23.

Bring your art materials and draw from a provided still life and/or clothed model. There is no instruction. There is no fee to participate.

This is a drop-in event, but to be added to ACGR’s Open Studio email “reminder” list, send a note to acgr@glenrocknj.net with “Open Studio” in the subject line.

Tuesdays at 3:30pm

This 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens program is for 13-17 year old girls to expand and develop leadership principles to help with the tough choices they face daily. Each session focuses on a different skill practiced through activities and games and concludes with a craft to reinforce the habit.

This program is run by NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) and registration is through them: https://cafs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3kOB3wH09NP919Y

Questions? Email Madeline at mandriulli@cafsnj.org

Session crafts:

1/28: Clay-making
2/4: Empowerment bracelets
2/11: Vision boards
2/25: Priority notebooks
3/4: Mural painting
3/11: Pressed floral bookmarks
3/18: Collaborative felt quilt
3/25: Hand knitting

Every Wednesday 1:00-2:30 PM

Adults are invited to join us at the Glen Rock Public Library for the Knit & Crochet Club!

Bring your project (supplies not provided by the Library) and join with others who also love to knit and crochet and craft together.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required.

**ONE REGISTRATION IS GOOD FOR ALL EIGHT SESSIONS**

Want to learn how to code, but don’t know where to start? This program is a great opportunity for you! Open to middle schoolers, this program will teach them the basics of Python, including print and input statements, conditionals, loops, functions and lists. We will use these skills to create fun projects, like a calculator, a text-based
adventure game, and even a Hangman game!

This club is led/taught by a Glen Rock High School student and will run on Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm for 8 weeks beginning February 13th. 

Materials: A Windows (10 or 11) or Mac laptop. Beforehand, please download the IDE VSCode (https://code.visualstudio.com/) and Python 3.13 (https://www.python.org/downloads/) Students must bring their own laptop.

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982145

Session Dates: 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27, 4/3

Tuesday, April 1st at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss The Life Impossible by Matt Haig.

“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…”

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting March 3). The eBook and audiobook of this title are also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

**ONE REGISTRATION IS GOOD FOR ALL EIGHT SESSIONS**

Want to learn how to code, but don’t know where to start? This program is a great opportunity for you! Open to middle schoolers, this program will teach them the basics of Python, including print and input statements, conditionals, loops, functions and lists. We will use these skills to create fun projects, like a calculator, a text-based
adventure game, and even a Hangman game!

This club is led/taught by a Glen Rock High School student and will run on Thursdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm for 8 weeks beginning February 13th. 

Materials: A Windows (10 or 11) or Mac laptop. Beforehand, please download the IDE VSCode (https://code.visualstudio.com/) and Python 3.13 (https://www.python.org/downloads/) Students must bring their own laptop.

Register online: https://bccls.libcal.com/event/13982145

Session Dates: 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27, 4/3

Tuesday, May 6 at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden.

A house is a precious thing…

It is 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is truly over. Living alone in her late mother’s country home, Isabel knows her life is as it should be—led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis brings his graceless new girlfriend Eva, leaving her at Isabel’s doorstep as a guest, to stay for the season.

Eva is Isabel’s antithesis: she sleeps late, walks loudly through the house, and touches things she shouldn’t. In response, Isabel develops a fury-fueled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the house—a spoon, a knife, a bowl—Isabel’s suspicions begin to spiral. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabel’s paranoia gives way to infatuation, leading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever known. The war might not be well and truly over after all, and neither Eva—nor the house in which they live—are what they seem.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting March 30). The audiobook of this title is also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

Tuesday, June 3 at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss The Wedding People by Alison Espach.

A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting May 5). The eBook & audiobook of this title are also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

Tuesday, July 1 at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss Playground by Richard Powers.

Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic new novel from Richard Powers, showcasing the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Overstory at the height of his skills. Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up in naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.

They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.

Set in the world’s largest ocean, this awe-filled book explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game, and interweaves beautiful writing, rich characterization, profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity in a way only Richard Powers can.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting June 2). The eBook & audiobook of this title are also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

Tuesday, August 5 at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza.

Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage. On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief. But Aunt Rosie’s death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret. Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered.

Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and learn the story of Serafina—a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly the more she challenges the status quo, the more she finds herself in danger.

As Sara discovers more about Serafina, she also realizes she is coming head-to-head with the same menacing forces that took down her great-grandmother. At once an immersive multigenerational mystery and an ode to the undaunted heroism of everyday women, The Sicilian Inheritance is an atmospheric, binge-worthy delight.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting June 30). The eBook & audiobook of this title are also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

Tuesday, September 2 at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss Enlightenment by Sarah Perry.

From the author of The Essex Serpent, a dazzling novel of love and astronomy told over the course of twenty years through the lives of two improbable best friends.

Thomas Hart and Grace Macaulay have lived all their lives in the small Essex town of Aldleigh. Though separated in age by three decades, the pair are kindred spirits—torn between their commitment to religion and their desire to explore the world beyond their small Baptist community.

It is two romantic relationships that will rend their friendship, and in the wake of this rupture, Thomas develops an obsession with a vanished nineteenth-century astronomer said to haunt a nearby manor, and Grace flees Aldleigh entirely for London. Over the course of twenty years, by coincidence and design, Thomas and Grace will find their lives brought back into orbit as the mystery of the vanished astronomer unfolds into a devastating tale of love and scientific pursuit. Thomas and Grace will ask themselves what it means to love and be loved, what is fixed and what is mutable, how much of our fate is predestined and written in the stars, and whether they can find their way back to each other.

A thrillingly ambitious novel of friendship, faith, and unrequited love, rich in symmetry and symbolism, Enlightenment is a shimmering wonder of a book and Sarah Perry’s finest work to date. 

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting August 4). The eBook & audiobook of this title are also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

Tuesday, October 7 at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips.

In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.

The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their story: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee’s father, who left for the War and never returned. Meanwhile, in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother’s maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility—the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.

Epic, enthralling, and meticulously crafted, Night Watch is a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting September 2). The eBook & audiobook of this title are also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

Tuesday, November 4 at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange.

Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.

In a novel that is by turns shattering and wondrous, Tommy Orange has conjured the ancestors of the family listeners first fell in love with in There There—warriors, drunks, outlaws, addicts—asking what it means to be the children and grandchildren of massacre. Wandering Stars is a novel about epigenetic and generational trauma that has the force and vision of a modern epic, an exceptionally powerful new book from one of the most exciting writers at work today and soaring confirmation of Tommy Orange’s monumental gifts.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting October 6). The eBook & audiobook of this title are also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.

Tuesday, December 2 at 2:00 pm

Join us to read and discuss Clear by Carys Davies.

John, an impoverished Scottish minister, has accepted a job evicting the lone remaining occupant of an island north of Scotland—Ivar, who has been living alone for decades, with only the animals and the sea for company. Though his wife, Mary, has serious misgivings about the errand, he decides to go anyway, setting in motion a chain of events that neither he nor Mary could have predicted.

Shortly after John reaches the island, he falls down a cliff and is found, unconscious and badly injured, by Ivar who takes him home and tends to his wounds. “Clear chronicles the surprising bond that develops between these two men…pack[ing] a great deal of power into a compact tale” (The Wall Street Journal) about connection, home, and hope—in which John begins to learn Ivar’s language, and Ivar sees himself reflected through the eyes of another person for the first time in decades.

Unfolding during the final stages of the infamous Scottish Clearances—a period of the 19th century which saw whole communities of the rural poor driven off the land in a relentless program of forced evictions—this singular novel explores what binds us together in the face of insurmountable difference, the way history shapes our deepest convictions, and how the human spirit can endure despite all odds. Moving and unpredictable, “a love letter to the scorching power of language” (The Guardian), Clear is “a jewel of a novel” (The Washington Post)—a profound and unforgettable listen.

Titles will be available at the Circulation Desk (starting November 3). The eBook & audiobook of this title are also available on the Libby app.

Registration is not required. Drop in to join our discussion over tea & treats.