Join us for free activities at home, online, and in the community. For updates as they happen, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and sign up for our newsletter.
-------------------------
FOR KIDS & FAMILY
Family Storytime LIVE
Online: Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m., Facebook Live
Stories, songs, rhymes, puppets, and more - live! Storytime helps little ones develop the language skills they’ll need when they’re learning to read. Plus it’s a lovely way to play together. Join us live, or later, or over and over here!
Bilingual StoryWalk®
Through October 31, in the park outside Petersen Barn
All ages: take a walk and enjoy the bilingual children’s picture book “My Colors, My World: Mis Colores, Mi Mundo” by Maya Christina Gonzalez. The beautifully illustrated pages are displayed on a series of signs arranged in order along the path to read as you stroll. Thanks to The StoryWalk® Project, created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.
Stuck in the Middle Book Group - ages 11-14
Online: Wednesday, October 21, 4:00 p.m., Zoom
Preregistration required to receive event link: call 541-682-5450.
Join a fun conversation and activity for ages 11-14. This month, Stuck in the Middle book group is reading "Cuckoo Song" by Frances Hardinge. Sign up and we’ll mail a free copy of the book to you to keep! Or enjoy it free with your library card:
eBook: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12466339
eAudiobook: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/13246975
Tween Scene Book Group - ages 9-12
Online: Thursday, October 22, 4:00 p.m., Zoom
Preregistration required to receive event link: call 541-682-5450. Note: October group is filled. Sign-ups for November group start October 15.
Join a fun conversation and activity for ages 9-12. This month, Tween Scene book group is reading “The Witch Boy" by Molly Knox Ostertag. Sign up and we’ll mail a free copy of the book to you to keep! Or enjoy it free with your library card: https://library2go.overdrive.com/library2go-eugene/content/media/3586942
Watch online anytime:
Bilingual Storytime Online: Join Toña Aguilar online for fun stories, songs, and rhymes in Spanish and English. On YouTube, recorded in September.
------------------------
FOR TEENS
Teen Book Group - ages 13-18
Online: Tuesday, October 20, 4:00 p.m., Zoom
Preregistration required to receive event link: call 541-682-5450. Note: October group is filled. Sign-ups for November group start October 15.
A get-together for ages 13-18. This month, Teen Book Group is reading "Wilder Girls" by Rory Power. Sign up and we’ll mail a free copy of the book to you to keep! Or enjoy it free with your library card:
eBook: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12466339
eAudiobook: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/13246975
Stuck in the Middle Book Group - ages 11-14
Online: Wednesday, October 21, 4:00 p.m., Zoom
Preregistration required to receive event link: call 541-682-5450.
Join a fun conversation and activity for ages 11-14. This month, Stuck in the Middle book group is reading "Cuckoo Song’ by Frances Hardinge. Sign up and we’ll mail a free copy of the book to you to keep! Or enjoy it free with your library card:
eBook: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12466339
eAudiobook: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/13246975
Watch online anytime:
William Ritter: Live Interview Enjoy a talk with the author of the popular and beloved "Jackaby" and "Oddmire" series, recorded this summer.
-------------------------
FOR ADULTS
Job Search Help
By appointment at the Downtown Library: call 541-686-7985 to schedule
Make a one-on-one appointment to meet in person at the Downtown Library with an advisor from Lane County Workforce Services. These friendly experts help job seekers make career plans, become more employable, improve job search skills, and find work. Topics include online applications, resumes, cover letters, interviewing skills, community resources, networking, training scholarships. This service is free and available in English and Spanish. Lane Workforce Partnership/WorkSource Lane is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. This program is co-sponsored by Lane County Human Services, Lane Workforce Partnership, and Eugene Public Library. Call 541-686-7985 to schedule an appointment.
History of Comics Censorship: Banned Books Week talk
Thursday, October 1, 6:30 p.m., YouTube Live
Join us for a live online talk about "The Long Legacy of the Comics Code" by Andréa Gilroy, PhD, comics educator, and owner of Books With Pictures Eugene. You can set a reminder now, watch live on Thurs., Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m., or watch later on YouTube at bit.ly/ComicsCensorship.
Gilroy will discuss the successful campaign of the 1940s and 1950s to ban comics -- and even burn them -- in an effort to "protect the children." She will connect that moment in American history to current events and to the award-winning graphic novel "My Favorite Thing Is Monsters" by Emil Ferris. Learn how and why our understanding of comics as a medium has shifted over time -- and what we miss if we dismiss any form of storytelling as "just for kids."
"My Favorite Thing Is Monsters" is available with your Eugene Public Library card as an eBook (https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11968342) or in print (https://bit.ly/2GS59cx). For more Banned Books recommended reading, with links directly to the library catalog: bit.ly/BannedBooksEug2020
The EUG Parade 2020
New date! Sunday, October 4, YouTube and CATV Channel 29
The 2020 EUG Parade/Pet Promenade is going virtual, with the theme Bounce Forward. Enjoy all the fun and silliness of our beloved EUG Parade while keeping each other safe and healthy. Community members are invited to provide entries for inclusion. The 2020 EUG Parade in Place will be available online on YouTube and on Community Television of Lane County, CATV Channel 29. More information: https://www.eugene-or.gov/2047/The-EUG-Parade-2020
Friday, October 9, 12:00 p.m., pre-register to get Zoom link
Join the Eugene Public Library Foundation for the monthly series , “In Conversation with Experts and Enthusiasts,” each featuring a brief lecture followed by Q&A. In October, New York sommelier and Eugene native Ben Niedelman conjures the right wines to go with some of our favorite books. Ben Nieldelman grew up in Eugene, but it wasn’t until after college that he was bitten by the wine bug. He developed his palate in high-end, wine-centric restaurants, and eventually began working as a professional sommelier. His next step took him out of the restaurant industry and into wine distribution. After moving to New York, he quickly found a position as a Senior Consultant to some of the top wine collectors in the world. He is a Certified Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Specialist of Wine, and holds the Advanced Degree from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust. Niedelman lives in Brooklyn with his amazing Australian wife and outrageously cute dog.
What To Read Next: Spooky Stories for All Ages
Friday, October 16, 6:00 p..m., YouTube Live
Treat yourself to a frightfully fun time with the librarians of Eugene Public Library! We'll tell you about our favorite scary stories for kids, teens, and adults. You can also ask questions or tell us your tastes in the comments, and we'll provide personalized reading recommendations live.
You can also get personalized suggestions anytime with our online forms:
Adults: What To Read Next form
Kids and teens: What To Read Next form
Windfall Reading Series: Melissa Kwasny and Christopher Howell
Tuesday, October 20, 6:00 p.m., YouTube Live
Join the Windfall Reading Series to enjoy poets Melissa Kwasny and Christopher Howell reading live and taking questions online.
Melissa Kwasny has been named Montana Poet Laureate for 2019-2020, a position she is sharing with M.L. Smoker. Her most recent poetry collection is “Where Outside the Body is the Soul Today.” She says, “Most of my poems address in some way our human relationship to the nonhuman world and my own attempt to forge a communication and conversation with it ….Recently I read that one translation of the Chinese character for poetry might be ‘words laid upon the earth altar.’ I like to think of my work like that." Kwasny has published five additional books of poetry; a collection of prose writings, “Earth Recitals: Essays on Image and Vision”; edited “Toward the Open Field: Poets on the Art of Poetry 1800–1950”; and co-edited “I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poets in Defense of Global Human Rights.” She recently published a book of investigative nonfiction, “Putting on the Dog: The Animal Origins of What We Wear.” The recipient of many awards, she has taught widely including currently at Carroll College and Lesley University.
Christopher Howell is author of twelve collections of poems, including the recent “The Grief of a Happy Life.” Describing it, Yusef Komunyakaa said the book “feels and reads like a gift. Each healing song takes lyrical twists and turns and arrives at an abiding truth -- a blessed ransom paid to soil and sky, body and soul, to the Earth....Every vowel is weighed, every leap earned, and the sway of hope drives the natural music of a worthwhile journey." Howell’s other books include “Love’s Last Number,” “Gaze,” and “Dreamless and Possible: Poems New and Selected.” Widely published, he has been honored with the Washington State Governor’s Award, the Washington State Book Award, two National Endowment Fellowships, and many other fellowships and awards, as well as being included three times in the annual Pushcart Prize collections. A military journalist during the Vietnam War, since 1975 he has been director and principal editor for Lynx House Press and is now also director for Willow Springs Books. Howell teaches on the faculty at Eastern Washington University and Eastern Oregon University.
The Windfall Reading Series is presented in partnership by Eugene Public Library and Lane Literary Guild.
Book Group for Adults: "Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult "
Online: Tuesday, October 27, 7:00 p.m., Zoom
Preregistration required to receive event link: call 541-682-5450.
Do you love, miss, and long to know more about Ramona, Edmund, Harriet, Almanzo, and the Cat in the Hat? Get together with a community of readers for a lively conversation inspired by Bruce Handy’s funny and sometimes provocative book. Revisit beloved children’s books and learn about their philosophical, psychological, and literary underpinnings. “Let the wild rumpus start!”
Get the book free with your library card:
eBook: https://library2go.overdrive.com/media/3022436
Audio book: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11944086
Watch online anytime:
Windfall Reading Series: David Axelrod and Sabena Stark: on YouTube Live, recorded in September.
Puerto Rican Cooking Online: Learn how to make two traditional dishes, mofongo and tembleque, to satisfy both savory and sweet tastes. With Sara Cintron on YouTube, recorded in September.
-------------------------
FRIENDS & FOUNDATION SPECIAL EVENTS
The Bookish Brain Trivia Night
Saturday, October 24, 6:00 p.m., Zoom
Preregistration required to receive event link
Join a Halloween themed Bookish Brain Trivia night with your team of 4 to 6 people ($20/team), or on your own ($5) to be matched to a team. Show off your costume, share your wide-ranging knowledge, and raise funds for the Eugene Public Library while competing for prizes -- and bragging rights. Get tickets now.
-------------------------
ONLINE & ONGOING
All free! Some online actitivies require a library card. If you don’t have one, call us to sign up: 541-682-5450.
Personalized reading recommendations
Get expert suggestions to match your tastes and interests. Fill out our online form for adults or kids and teens, email us, live chat with us, or call us at 541-682-5450.
Book lists, reviews, and more
Booklist Online
Books & Authors
NoveList Plus
Exhibit: Traditional Mexican Dresses and Charro Accessories
Through October 4 in the front windows of the Downtown Eugene Public Library
See costumes from a variety of states of the Mexican Republic, including Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Nayarit and Jalisco, in a display provided by Jessica Zapata of Eugene Arte Latino, Noche Cultural, and Ballet Alma de México.
Mexico’s modern folk dance tradition and dresses blend elements of its Indigenous, African, and European heritage. Dance and dresses evolved drastically from 1520 to 1750 with the arrival of the Spanish and continue to evolve. The iconic Charro (horseman) is representative of “La Mexicanidad,” featuring the classic sombrero, spurred boots, and more. Charrería is the national sport of Mexico, dating back to the 1500s when the Spanish brought horses and cattle to the region. UNESCO has recognized Charrería as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Art Exhibit: Acrylic Paintings by Amy Hartsfield
Enjoy a video art exhibit featuring paintings of trees and other "nature-scapes" by self-taught Eugene artist Amy Hartsfield.
Eugene Public Library Escape Rooms
Solve puzzles and clues to escape! Work on these fun challenges alone or as a team.
- Undersea Atlantis Escape Room (ages 10 and up)
- The Labyrinth: Greek Mythology Escape Room (ages 10 and up)
- Spy School: Secret Agent Training Escape Room - Part 1 (ages 13 and up)
- Spy School: Secret Agent Training Escape Room - Part 2 (ages 13 and up)
- Murder in the Library (ages 13 and up)
Women Make Waves: Listening Experience
Take a listening adventure with a wide variety of performers and types of music. Start now.
Stay-at-home Storytimes
Delightful short "tastes of storytimes" we recorded this spring. Enjoy on Facebook or Instagram. Plus new recordings of recent storytimes held live online.
Ancestry.com
Explore your family tree, history, and more. Library card required. Start now.
Lynda.com
Professional courses in software development, web development, design, photography, and business. Library card required. Start now.
Mango Languages
Interactive lessons to learn dozens of languages, including English as a second language. Library card required. Start now.
And more ...
Yes, more learning and entertainment from home!
And even more!