May 13: Our new materials sorter is being installed! Please return items to the free-standing book return container located outside the sliding doors. All kits, Playaway book packs, games, puzzles and oversized books must be returned inside to the Circulation Desk during the Library’s open hours. All donations must be left on the Friends of the Ridgefield Library book carts on the Lower Level of the building. Thank you!
Changes Happening May 13-23: After 10+ years and more than 2.25 million items handled, the Ridgefield Library’s automated materials sorting equipment is getting an upgrade.
With the new sorter, you will be able to insert a stack of books into the book return slot – no more waiting for the green light to insert items one at a time! And our new equipment will be faster, more accurate, gentler and quieter with updated software for improved cybersecurity.
Starting on Tuesday, May 13th, both our outside and inside Main Lobby book return slots will be closed for the installation of the new sorter. During this time, Library items will need to be returned to a book drop container located outside near the Library’s main sliding door entrance.
You will also see new, easy-to-use self-checkout machines arriving in the Bossidy Commons, the Lodewick Children’s Library and on the Upper Level near our Book Club Collection.
We expect the new materials sorter and self-checkout machines to be ready for use on Friday, May 23rd.
Thank you, Ridgefield! Your support of this fiscal year 2024-2025 capital project has made this upgrade to a vital part of the Library’s operations possible. If you would like to learn more about the automated materials handling sorter system or if you have any questions, please contact Library Director, Brenda McKinley at [email protected]
Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17: The Ridgefield Independent Film Festival (RIFF) seeks to make the world a more compassionate place through the sharing of stories through cinema. Stop by the Ridgefield Library for two special events during this year’s RIFF weekend:
Friday May 16 @ 2:00 pm — RIFF Presents Conversations with Filmmakers: Anatomy of a Scene. Join filmmakers Dan Schechter (Life of Crime, Supporting Characters, After Class) and Brian Russell (Not the Same Clarence, Silver Sizzle, Cascades) as they analyze and discuss the anatomy of a scene from five 2025 RIFF Official Selections. Click here to learn more and to register.
Saturday, May 17 @ 10:00 am — RIFF Master Class with Brooke Berman. Filmmaker Brooke Berman walks you through the ins and outs of putting your feature project together on a microbudget. If you have been waiting for permission — a green light, a movie star, an agent, a sign from the Heavens — and are ready to get up and make your film, this is the master class for you. Click here to learn more and to register.
Wednesday, May 21 @ 7:30 pm: Rich Cohen’s Murder in the Dollhouse is the chilling, unputdownable story of Jennifer Dulos, a beautiful, rich suburban mother who dropped her kids off at the New Canaan Country School one morning and vanished. Her body has never been found.
Rich Cohen is the New York Times-bestselling author of Tough Jews, Monsters, Sweet and Low, The Sun & the Moon & the Rolling Stones, The Chicago Cubs, and The Last Pirate of New York, and, with Jerry Weintraub, When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead. He is the cocreator of the HBO series Vinyl, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, and a writer at large for Air Mail. He has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Harper’s Magazine, among other publications. Cohen has won the Great Lakes Book Award, the Chicago Public Library’s 21st Century Award, and the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. He lives in Connecticut.
Our partner, Books on the Common, will have copies for sale and signing.
Click here to learn more and to register.
Tickets and sponsorships are available now for the Ridgefield Library’s Great Expectations Gala at the Ridgefield Library on Saturday May 31st.
Please join us at the Library for a festive evening that celebrates our 2025 Hope Swenson Visionary honorees, Theresa and Dean Miller. The Gala is the Library’s main fundraising event to the year. Proceeds are essential to the Library’s exceptional collections, programs, resources and service to the community.
Tickets and additional information available here: https://ridgefieldlibrary.ejoinme.org/Gala25
The Library’s Museum Pass Program offers free or discounted admission to over 20 premiere educational and cultural institutions in Connecticut and New York. Passes are located at the Circulation Desk. They may be borrowed for two nights and are available on a first come, first served basis only (no reservations). The Museum Pass Program is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.
For more information, call the Circulation Department at 203-438-2282 x202 or email the Circulation Desk.
Tuesday, May 13th @ 1:00 pm: Did you know that 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every day? Leonard B. Comberiate, ISCEBS Fellow and Adjunct Associate Professor at New York University will present Comprehensive Personal Financial Planning with Insight Into Strategic Long-Term Care Planning at the next Senior Voices meeting.
Professor Comberiate is a Certified Financial Planner and instructor who teaches courses in retirement planning, risk management, investments and estate planning. He will explain the importance of picking the right certified financial planner. Whether you are 55 or 75, everyone should understand long-term care and what Medicare covers. Professor Comberiate will also cover the subject of long-term care insurance and hybrid long-term insurance. There will be Q & A after the presentation.
Senior Voices is a free event and hybrid program. You may come in person or register to attend via Zoom. Participants are invited to enjoy light refreshments and conversation following the program. If you have any questions, please contact the Commission on Aging at [email protected].
Click here to learn more and to register.
Friday, May 9th @ 6:00pm: Join us for our 21+ adults-only tabletop gaming experience. Snacks, non-alcoholic beverages provided as well as a ticket for one beer or glass of wine included. Tabletop games mean anything from card games to dice games, board games to strategy games.
You are welcome to bring a game and play, learn a new game, borrow a game from our collection to take home, or just observe! If you have a specific game that you are interested in teaching, please let us know so we can put a table aside for you. Larger groups of six or more can also email to request a table be set aside.
All attendees must be 21 or older. Registration is recommended.
Click here to learn more and to register.
Saturday, May 10th @ 9:00am to 5:00pm: The Friends of the Ridgefield Library invite you to stop by the Friends Sorting Room on the Lower Level of the Library for their monthly Secret Stacks Book Sale, held on the second Saturday of the month. Great choices for readers of all ages and interests!
The Friends of the Ridgefield Library accept book donations! Leave your donated books on the cart(s) outside the Friends Sorting Room on the lower level of the Library during regular open hours. (Please do not leave donations in the Library Lobby or anywhere outside the building.)
Saturday, May 3rd @ 2:00 pm: It’s time for another Jigsaw Puzzle Contest! Every team will be provided with the same 500-piece puzzle, and the first to finish wins. All will be allowed to finish. To sign up your team, please email Adult Programs Coordinator Lucy Handley with your name, contact information and the number of people on your team with their names if possible.
Sunday, May 4th @ 2:00 pm: KJ Denhert is a NYC-based songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and bandleader whose soulful and smoky vocal stylings are earthy and elegant. See KJ’s full bio HERE.
The Ridgefield Folk Concert Series is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.
Click here to learn more and to register.