The Oliver Wolcott Library offers a wide range of programming for adults, from continuing series like Monday
Scholars,
to lectures, book discussions, and author talks. All events are free and open to all.
Continue your journey of lifelong learning with us!
May Events:
Meet the Author: Nicholas Bellantoni
Author of Hiking Ruins of Southern New England
In-Person & on Zoom:
Thursday, May 22 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Registration is required to attend In-Person. Register here
Zoom Participants: Zoom Link - click here on May 22 at 6:30 PM
Don’t miss this fascinating presentation!
Hiking Ruins of Southern New England is a guide to hiking archaeological sites in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Many people have no idea that there are archaeological sites in the area, on public lands where they are allowed to hike.
There are numerous hikes featuring historic ruins in Connecticut to explore such as: A hike through Revolutionary War history on the Putnam Memorial State Park Trail; the legendary and significant archeological ruins on the Lighthouse Village and Jessie Gerard Trails in Barkhamsted; the ruins of an old amusement park on the Suburban Park Trail in Unionville; the Farmington Canal Trail, and so much more!
Dr. Nicholas F. Bellantoni is emeritus Connecticut State Archaeologist and an associate research professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut. He served as the state archaeologist with the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Archaeology Center in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Connecticut.
The Curious Cat Bookshop will have books for sale the night of the event.
Panel Discussion: A Screenage Survival Kit for Parents/Caregivers
The Next in this Three Part Series to Promote Positive Screen Use and Play-based Childhood
In-Person & on Zoom:
Tuesday, May 27 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM
In-Person Registration Required: Click here to attend in-person
ZOOM LINK: Click here at 6 PM on May 27
Gain the tools and support to navigate the turbulent waters of screen use and addiction.
How do parents/caregivers get help with managing screen use? Who can we turn to when things are feeling out of balance or out of control? Is screen use really an issue to be concerned about or is it overblown? Are there trends that we should be aware of happening in our community? All of these questions and more will be addressed by a panel which includes pediatricians, school social workers and other experts. Come with your questions/concerns and we will work toward solutions together.
Meet our Panelists:
Kate Litwin has practiced as a general pediatrician at Rocky Hill Pediatrics for more than 18 years. At work, she routinely counsels parents and patients regarding digital media use. At home, she is the mother of two teenagers and has, like most parents, struggled to set and enforce boundaries at the various stages of child and adolescent development. She has a particular interest in teen mental health and cares for many patients with anxiety, depression, ADHD and eating disorders.
Dr. Lucia Benzoni works in Bristol as a Pediatrician and has 34 years of experience. She lives in Litchfield and is married with five children. A lover of the outdoors, Dr. Benzoni finds joy in engaging in activities like gardening, hiking, and biking. “The struggle is real .... I went from having children that are older that did not have constant access to screens to my youngest child who had constant access.”
Sarah Bolton was born and raised in Woodbury. After graduating from Villanova University, she served a year in the Americorps program in Washington D.C., working for a non-profit agency that encourages adults experiencing homelessness to identify and achieve next steps in their lives. She then lived in New York City and New Haven, continuing her career in public service working for the City of New York and then the State of CT. She eventually made her way back to Litchfield County, settling in Litchfield ten years ago. She obtained her master's degree in social work from UConn in 2012 and has been working as a school social worker since 2013. Sarah, her husband Jay, and their two children enjoy being involved in the community.
Pizza will be served and activities will be available for kids guided by Miss Tricia!
Move Your Mind; Move Your Body
In-Person & Live on Zoom:
Tuesdays: 10:15 - 11:00 AM
In-Person Space is limited. Registration is required. Register here
Zoom Participants: Zoom Link - click here on Tuesdays at 10:15 am to Zoom to the Event.
This Class is designed for senior women.
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2021 to 2030 The Decade For Healthy Ageing. The OWL has always been committed to expanding minds and now we would like to help our community expand their physical strength.
Join Nancy Schuler in this exercise class for senior women. You can attend the class in person, here at the OWL, or online in the privacy of your home. The class features stretching and exercises that can be done in a chair or standing, and lifting of 1 or 2 lb. weights. All exercises are gentle and easy to understand. Exercise has been proven to help one's cognitive abilities, blood pressure, insomnia, digestive issues, depression, strength and independence. The Alzheimer's, Diabetes and Heart Associations all recommend exercise for healthy ageing.
No prior experience is necessary. Bring in a set of light weights for this class - 1 to 2 lbs.
June Events:
Beaded Windchimes
June Adult Take & Make
Available beginning June 2*
*while supplies last!
The weather is getting warmer and the days are getting longer! For this month’s take & make, create your very own beaded wind chime. Hang it outside to hear the bells tinkle in the breeze, or hang it in your window to see the way the sunlight reflects off the beads!
Monday Scholars: Take My Course, Please! The Philosophy of Humor
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On Zoom only:
Mondays from 1:00 - 2:30 PM
June 2 - July 14*
*no class on July 7
ZOOM LINK: Click here at 1 PM on Mondays beginning June 2 to zoom to this program.
Monday Scholars combines the best of online learning and engaging discussion!
Join us for the full 6-weeks or drop in to explore your favorite topics. Each week, we will watch two video lectures together and then engage in lively conversation afterwards. The conversation will be facilitated by OWL's Caroline Ugurlu.
About the course:
Join us as we explore 12 insightful, informative, illuminating, and (yes) humorous lectures. Professor Steven Gimbel of Gettysburg College will take you through the philosophical theories and explanations of humor, from blatantly obvious puns to complex narratives to sly twists of language. Drawing from both analytical and continental philosophy, the natural and social sciences, and the observations of thinkers ranging from Aristotle and Jonathan Swift to Sigmund Freud and Immanuel Kant, this course will leave you with a stronger appreciation of the jokes you tell and the jokes you hear. What's more, it may just leave you with a clearer idea of the true meaning of life. And that's no laughing matter.
Click here to read more about this series.
Armchair Travel: Normandy
Visiting Normandy to Commemorate D-Day with Hugh Schoelzel & Nancy Schuler
In-Person:
Tuesday, June 3 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM
In-Person Registration Required: Click here to attend in-person
June 6, 1944 will always be remembered as D-Day and the decisive turning point in World War II. Operation Overload was one of the largest amphibious assaults in history and demonstrated the Allies’ commitment to restoring freedom in Europe. 2,501 American soldiers were killed on that infamous date.
Join Hugh Schoelzel as he shares photos and stories of ceremonies in Normandy that mark this date each year.
Meet the Author: Adam Galinsky
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Author of Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself & Others
Presented by The Litchfield Area Business Association & OWL
In-Person & on Zoom:
Thursday, June 5 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Registration is required to attend In-Person. Register here
Zoom Participants: Zoom Link - click here on June 5 at 6:30 PM
Inspire is an essential guide to becoming not only a better leader but also an effective decision-maker, a dynamic problem-solver, a value-creating negotiator, and an inclusive innovator.
Whether you’re a leader, a member of a team, a spouse, or a parent, this engaging and rigorous exploration unpacks the science of inspiration. Through compelling stories, fascinating research, and practical tips for addressing the common dilemmas we face daily, Inspire reveals how all of us, regardless of status or circumstance, can be more inspiring more often.
“Drawing from his groundbreaking scholarship, Galinsky reverse engineers the core skills of inspirational leadership, showing how even the most infuriating of leaders can learn to elevate the people around them. Inspire is a must-read for anyone who wants to be a better leader, a better parent, or a better human being.”
— Angela Duckworth, New York Times Bestselling Author of Grit
Adam Galinsky is the Paul Calello Professor of Leadership and Ethics at the Columbia Business School. He earned his B.A. from Harvard and his Ph.D. from Princeton University. He has published more than 300 scientific articles, chapters, and teaching cases in the fields of management and social psychology. His research and teaching focus on leadership, negotiations, diversity, decision-making, and ethics. Professor Galinsky has consulted with and conducted executive workshops for hundreds of clients across the globe, including Fortune 100 firms, non-profits, and local and national governments.
Physical copies of Inspire are available at OWL.
The Curious Cat Bookshop will have books for sale the night of the event.
1958’s American Look with Jake Gorst
A Screening & Discussion
In-Person:
Tuesday, June 10 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Registration is required to attend In-Person. Register here
American Look originally premiered at the 1958 American Society of Industrial Designers conference. This screening presents a meticulously remastered version, with film elements sourced from the collections of Mainspring Archive and the Library of Congress.
This 1958 promotional film highlights Chevrolet’s automobile line as a showcase of American industrial design and style. It explores modern architecture, interiors, packaging, office equipment, and industrial machinery, culminating in a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the 1959 Chevrolet Impala at General Motors’ Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. Emphasizing the abundance of consumer goods and the role of design in shaping freedom of choice, the film captures the optimism of mid-century America. Runtime: 28 minutes.
Following the screening, filmmaker and historian Jake Gorst will lead a discussion on American Look, its significance, and his motivation for undertaking the remastering process.
Jake Gorst is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and president of Mainspring Narrative Films. Over the past two decades, he has produced and directed 11 feature-length documentaries, including Frey: The Architectural Interpreter (2020), Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island (2012), and Desert Utopia: Midcentury Architecture in Palm Springs (2006). His films Farmboy and Leisurama have been distributed nationally on PBS. He is also the author of Andrew Geller: Deconstructed (2015, Glitterati, Inc.) and has contributed to The Architect’s Newspaper, VOX Hamptons, HOME Miami, Modern, and Modernism magazines.
Non-Fiction Discussion Group
Thursday, June 12
Non-Fiction Group: 2:00 pm
Meeting will be held in the Library's Jamie Gagarin Community Room.
The Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America by Sakit Soni
Weaving a personal journey with a riveting tale of 21st century forced labor, the author delves into the lives of the immigrant workers relied on by the U.S. to rebuild after climate disasters. The book is the gripping story of one of the largest human trafficking cases in modern American history – and the workers’ heroic journey for justice despite the frustrations of immigration law. Moderated by Cindy
Fiction Discussion Group
Thursday, June 12
Fiction Group: 3:30 pm
Meeting will be held in the Library's Jamie Gagarin Community Room.
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Three cases: a little girl goes missing in the night, a woman falls victim to a maniac's apparently random attack, and a new mother is trapped until a bloody escape. Decades after the first incident, private detective Jackson Brodie investigates all three cases as connections emerge among the three. Not your typical crime novel, the book is a series of family sagas, with alternating points of view and postmodern literary references throughout.
Moderated by Laura
Meet the Author: Elise Hooper
In-Person & on Zoom:
Tuesday, June 17 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Registration is required to attend In-Person. Register here
Zoom Participants: Zoom Link - click here on June 17 at 6:30 PM
Don’t miss meeting author Elise Hooper who returns to discuss her latest novel!
In The Library of Lost Dollhouses, when a young librarian discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures. Her journey introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, overlooked history, but also a future for herself—and an astonishing familial revelation. Spanning the course of a century, The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a warm, bright, and captivating story of secrets and love that embraces the importance of illuminating overlooked women.
About the Author:
A native New Englander, Elise Hooper spent several years writing for television and online news outlets before getting an MA and teaching high-school literature and history. Her debut novel, The Other Alcott, was a nominee for the 2017 Washington Book Award. More novels—Learning to See, Fast Girls, and Angels of the Pacific—followed, all centered on the lives of extraordinary but overlooked historical women. Hooper now lives in Seattle with her husband and two teenage daughters.
The Curious Cat Bookshop will have books for sale the night of the event.
FULLY BOOKED - Adult Summer Reading Challenge
June 23 - August 30
Registration link coming in mid-June!
OWL’s Fully Booked Summer Reading Challenge is back for 2025!
Register online, then come to the library to receive your challenge card. Starting Monday, June 23, the first 30 people who register AND come to the library to pick up their challenge card will receive a $5 gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts.
Your challenge card includes a list of 16 different prompts for you to try throughout the summer. However, you are not required to complete all of them. Participate at your own pace in whatever way works best for your reading habits!
One lucky winner will be randomly selected to receive a bookish prize basket. For each completed challenge, participants earn one entry towards the prize. Be sure to visit the library before the end of the program to enter your prize slips for the drawing.
Participants who complete at least 6 challenges will gain entry to an exclusive finale event on Tuesday, September 2nd at 6 PM. At this event, Vanessa Fasanella will help attendees create their own floral grapevine wreaths!
Gift cards generously donated by Litchfield Dunkin.
About Our Zoom Events:
All of our Virtual Zoom Events are live. They are not recorded. To participate/join the event, you need to use the exact link connected to the event. Once you click on the link at the specified date and time, you will be prompted to open Zoom, the virtual meeting program we are using. All you need is an internet connection and a device or computer with a webcam and audio. Most computers have built-in webcams. No passwords or confirmation codes, just click the link and follow the prompts.
More security, more privacy: In response to concerns about privacy in a virtual meeting space, we have enabled additional security features in Zoom and updated our meeting links to be protected, private, and secure. These new, unique links can also be accessed through our e-newsletters. To receive secure information regarding these events, please subscribe to our e-newsletter! Click here to learn more about our e-newsletter offerings.