November 24 – 26:  We’re celebrating the 19th annual Library Days at Books on the Common!  Stop by Ridgefield’s outstanding independent bookstore November 24, 25 or 26 and show your physical or digital Ridgefield Library card — Books on the Common will donate 15% of the proceeds to the Library.  Shop locally and support the Library!

Learn more here about how to get a Library card.

Wednesday, November 15th @ 6:30pm: To celebrate the launch of the Ridgefield LGBTQ Oral History Project at the Ridgefield Historical Society, historian Susan Ferentinos will offer an overview of LGBTQ history, with particular emphasis on the experiences of LGBTQ people in Connecticut. From some of the earliest evidence of same-sex desire in the English colonies to the LGBTQ civil rights struggles of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Connecticut has been a part of the national story of gender and sexual diversity. By using local stories to illustrate national trends, Dr. Ferentinos will demonstrate the importance of individual LGBTQ lives and communities to our understandings of the past.

Susan Ferentinos, PhD, is a public history researcher, writer and consultant helping cultural organizations share untold stories about women and LGBTQ people. She will be assisting with the Ridgefield LGBTQ Oral History Project and has recently worked with the Palmer-Warner House in East Haddam, Connecticut, and the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York. She is the author of the award-winning book Interpreting LGBT History at Museums and Historic Sites and has contributed her expertise to the National Park Service initiative “Telling All Americans’ Stories.”

The Ridgefield LGBTQ Oral History Project is a newly launched initiative of Ridgefield CT Pride, the Ridgefield Historical Society and the Ridgefield High School Gay-Straight Alliance.

To register, visit the Ridgefield Historical Society website HERE

Thursday, November 16th @ 7:00pm:  Join local experts for this in-person program as we discuss:

*Grief and mourning. What’s normal. What’s not.

*Traumatic loss and sudden death.

*Things to watch for: Signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, suicidality.

Sponsored by Project Resilience, the Ridgefield Library, Ridgefield Public Schools, Ridgefield PTAs, Ridgefield Youth Council and Books on the Common.

Learn more and register.

Saturday, November 4th @ 2:00pm:  Join us for a fascinating afternoon with author and UFO expert Ralph Blumenthal. Blumenthal co-authored the explosive story in the New York Times that created a new enthusiasm for UFOs worldwide: “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program.”  He was an award-winning staff reporter for the Times for 45 years and continues to write for the newspaper.

In June 2023, he was the coauthor of the article “Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin,” which led to a bipartisan Congressional hearing on Capitol Hill in July. These inquiries remain active and further Congressional hearings are being scheduled.

Blumenthal is the author of the book The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack and co-author with his wife, the children’s book writer Deborah Blumenthal, of UFOHS! Mysteries in the Sky.

Books on the Common will have copies of both books for sale and signing.

Learn more and register here.

Thursday, October 12th @ 7:00pm: Ever wondered if the fox in your backyard is dangerous? Is it a coyote or a wolf? What about the loud animal screaming you heard at night? We are here to answer your questions! Woodcock Nature Center‘s Animal Curator Jennifer Bradshaw and Officer Zulkeski of Ridgefield Animal Control team up to educate on how to coexist with wildlife, how to properly handle injured wildlife situations and provide proper contact info for all wildlife and animal related scenarios. Topics will also include wildlife rehab, common animals in Connecticut, who/when to call for help, domestic animal awareness and contact between families and wildlife. There will also be animal mounts, furs and LIVE animals!

Learn more and register here.

Sunday, October 8th @ 2:00pm:  The Catoonah Street Jazz and Blues Society will bring the sound of New Orleans-style jazz to the Library as part of the ongoing Ridgefield Folk Concert Series. They have been performing for more than 20 years, spreading happiness and joy through their music.  The Ridgefield Folk Concert Series is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.

Monday, October 2nd @ 7:00pm — The Library is excited to offer a special lecture three-part online lecture series, A.I. in Literature presented by Dr. Mark Schenker. The first program will examine Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Me, followed by A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers on October 16th and Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro on October 30th. Dr. Schenker recently retired as Dean of Academic Affairs at Yale College.

Please register for each talk separately. You will receive the Zoom link upon registration, and in a reminder the day before. More information is available here.

These programs are part of the Library’s Scholarly Series, AI: Ready or Not, which is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.

Thursday, September 28th @ 6:30pm: Eminent bioethicist Dr. Arthur Caplan explores the implications of artificial intelligence in the health care field. Dr. Caplan is currently the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor, and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics, at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City.

Learn more and register to attend this program.

This lecture is part of the Library’s Scholarly Series, AI: Ready or Not, which is made possible by the generosity of the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.  Download the series brochure here.

Tuesday, September 26th @ 1:00pm:  Representatives from the CT Department of Social Services will explain what programs are available to help support caregivers and help their loved ones age in place and receive needed care. Presented in partnership with the Town of Ridgefield’s Social Services Department. Learn more & register.

Thursday, September 21st @ 7:00pm:  Bestselling author Rich Cohen discusses his new book, When The Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season, the gritty, no-holds-barred account of the 1987 NBA season, a thrilling year of fierce battles and off-the-court drama between Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan. Publisher’s Weekly said “this love letter to the NBA’s golden age is an instant classic.”  Books on the Common will have copies for sale and signing.

Learn more and register here.