Brooks Memorial Library - Brattleboro VT

Hispanic Voices
2025-09-11 10:00 - 2025-10-16 17:00 (America/New_York) | Main Reading Room
Come and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Brooks Memorial Library with Hispanic Voices, a multimedia exhibit featuring 29 portraits and audio interviews with Hispanic Vermonters. They come from a variety of countries and regions, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Venezuela. Created as a service-learning project at the University of Vermont (UVM) by Adriana Sanchez-Gutierrez, Ph.D., lecturer of Spanish in the Department of Romance Languages and Cultures, Hispanic Voices aims to build awareness of cultural differences in Vermont and celebrate the resilience and contributions of the state’s Hispanic community.
Hispanic Vermonters shared their life stories with UVM students, who, through these conversations, recognized the significance and impact of Vermont’s Hispanic Community. Students then created five-minute interviews that honor and reflect on these life stories, cultural heritage, and lived experiences. According to UVM student Olivia Ciocca, where the interviewee was from influenced the content of the interview: “We made sure to ask questions about what it was like to be a Spanish speaker in Vermont and to learn about how they hold on to their culture.”
The portraits are now on display through October 16th in the Main Reading Room during the library’s open hours.

CANCELED--Sing & Dance With Robin
2025-09-11 10:30 - 11:30 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
SING AND DANCE WITH ROBIN WILL BE CANCELLED ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH.

Designed for ages under 6- all ages welcome! Free and open to the public.
This lovely class is an enriching musical experience for toddlers and preschoolers, designed to support healthy cognitive, physical, and social development. Children will sing, clap, stomp, dance, and play along with the curriculum of traditional and modern folk songs. Parents will be encouraged to fully sing and participate with their child in the class.
Sponsored by the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library.

Brattleboro in Stitches
2025-09-13 13:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-20 13:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-27 13:00 - 16:00, 2025-10-04 13:00 - 16:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Bring a work in progress to sew, knit, crochet, embroider, or mend. Sewing machines, irons, and companionship will be provided.

Sci-Fi Reading Group
2025-09-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Meeting Room D – Quiet Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
The Sci-Fi Reading Group will meet in the Quiet Reading Room from 7:00pm – 8:30pm to discuss Black Days by Jackson Ellis!
The Sci-Fi Reading Group meets the third Monday of every month and is open to curious minds, whether or not they’ve read this month’s selection.

SEVT Audubon Society
2025-09-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join South Eastern Vermont’s Audubon Society on for a monthly program featuring nature and the environment.

Rhyme Time
2025-09-17 10:30 - 11:00, 2025-09-24 10:30 - 11:00, 2025-10-01 10:30 - 11:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join us on Wednesday mornings @ 10:30 am for 30 minutes of stories, songs, and fun!
Rhyme Time is for kids 5 & under and their caregivers.
Free and open to the public.

Friends of the Library
2025-09-17 16:30 - 18:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Monthly meeting of the Friends of the Library. Community attendance and commentary is welcome!
Friends of the Library

What the Constitution Means For Us - with Meg Mott
2025-09-17 18:30 - 20:00 | VT
The Preamble of the Constitution has its own particular grammar. In that singular sentence We, the People define what we want from government: Justice, domestic Tranquility, a common defence, the general Welfare and the Blessings of Liberty. The rest of the Constitution provides the means to achieve those noble ends. It’s not enough to say what we want. We have to design a government that saves us from ourselves.

This Constitution Day (09/17) presentation considers whether or not the Constitution is up to the task. This is not a new question. Some antebellum abolitionists referred to the Constitution as “an agreement with Hell.” Others said it was the only effective tool against the wickedness of political leaders. Without the Constitution the People have no power against the State. Finally, we’ll ask ourselves how we might better dwell in the Constitution in order to achieve a “more perfect union.”

This program is part of The America 250 Town Hall Series, a collaboration with Brooks Memorial Library, Windham World Affairs Council, and Vermont Independent Media, publisher of The Commons, and is made possible, in part, through a generous grant from the Vermont Humanities Council.

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About the presenter: After twenty years of teaching political theory and constitutional law to Marlboro College undergraduates, Meg Mott has taken her love of argument to the general public. She attended the University of New Hampshire in the 1970s and is currently teaching at Keene State College. Meg’s award-winning series, Debating Our Rights, on the first ten amendments, brings civil discussions on contentious issues to public libraries and colleges.

Sing & Dance With Robin
2025-09-18 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-09-25 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-10-02 10:30 - 11:30 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Designed for ages under 6- all ages welcome! Free and open to the public.
This lovely class is an enriching musical experience for toddlers and preschoolers, designed to support healthy cognitive, physical, and social development. Children will sing, clap, stomp, dance, and play along with the curriculum of traditional and modern folk songs. Parents will be encouraged to fully sing and participate with their child in the class.
Sponsored by the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library.

Windham County Genealogy Interest Group September Meeting
2025-09-20 10:30 - 12:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Discover Your Revolutionary War Ancestors & Researching in the Vermont Historical Society Portal

The fall meeting of the Windham County Genealogy Interest Group will focus on “Discover Your Revolutionary War Ancestors” & “Researching in the Vermont Historical Society Portal”, on Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 10:30 AM to 12:30PM, by Zoom and at Brooks Memorial Library. In case of inclement weather, it will be Zoom only. Free and open to all.
Please register at this link: https://bit.ly/WCGIG2025 . A Zoom link will be sent before the meeting. For those people in the local vicinity, an in-person meeting will also be conducted at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St., Brattleboro, Vermont.
“Discover Your Revolutionary War Ancestors”
This year begins the 250th anniversary of the Revolution. If an ancestor was in America at the time of the Revolution (1775-1783) and was of age to serve, now is the best time to find possible military service, land bounty, and pension records. Even if a lineal ancestor did not serve, perhaps a relative did, and records might include information about others in the family. Using databases such as the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Genealogical Research System and resources at the National Archives, as well as tools at Ancestry and Family Search should yield information about ancestors that is found nowhere else. “This is a wonderful opportunity to connect your family story to the founding of our country”, said Wayne Blanchard who will lead the session.
“Researching Vermont Through the Vermont Historical Society Website”
The Vermont Historical Society was chartered in 1n 1838 as an independent non-profit dedicated to exploring the rich heritage of Vermont. The Vermont History Center is located in Barre, Vermont and the Vermont History Museum is located in Montpelier. Both institution contain over 30,000 items to assist the general public and researchers. The VHS website provides access to these items through its library catalog, its museum catalog, digital resources, Vermont History Journal, and Vermont stories, which includes curated podcasts and videos. We will explore these points of access to retrieve vital information that may help in your genealogy research.
For more information, please contact the Windham County Genealogy Interest Group: windhamcountygig@gmail.com

Financial Empowerment
2025-09-22 18:00 - 19:30 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
After a summer hiatus and interest assessment, Financial Empowerment with SEVCA & Mascoma Bank is returning to Brooks Memorial. The September topic is Repairing Credit, where participants will learn how to:
-Understand your credit report
-Avoid common mistakes
-Dispute errors that hurt your score
-Build healthy credit habits
These sessions are being held on the 4th Mondays of the month throughout 2025, with different topics for each session and peer support encouraged throughout. A light meal will be served.
Registration is required. To sign-up, you can call (802-254-5290), stop by the circulation desk, or email us at circ@brookslibraryvt.org

Green Carnation Reading Group
2025-09-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Meeting Room D – Quiet Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Discussions of books by and for queer people. For more information, please visit the Green Carnation Reading Group Facebook page.

Town Arts Committee
2025-09-23 17:00 - 19:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
The monthly meeting of the Town Arts Committee members invites guests and the public to discuss town arts!

Brattleboro 250 Planning Sessions
2025-09-24 18:00 - 20:00 | VT
Come and connect with others who are interested in working on plans to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States in 2026.
This monthly meeting space on the 4th Wednesdays is dedicated for those who would like the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and work on projects that align with Vermont’s 250th Anniversary Commission’s mission to “…inspire all Vermonters to learn from the history, legacy, and context of the past to build strong Vermont communities for the future.”
The space is being hosted by Brooks Memorial Library, Vermont Independent Media (The Commons) and Windham World Affairs Council, with support from the Vermont Humanities Council. We are already working together on a collaboration entitled, ‘Examining American Identity and Leadership in a Changing World’ – and have joined America 250, a national initiative asking communities to plan for how to commemorate the 250th year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Its mission is to provide opportunities for all Americans to pause and reflect on our nation’s past & present, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look to the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond.
NOTE: For the 09/24 session, after an hour of meeting and organizing in the upstairs Community Room, we encourage folks to join a special event in the Main Reading Room from 7 PM. Vermont historian J. Kevin Graffagnino will give a presentation of his NEW BOOK, “Ira Allen: A Biography”, as part of our local America 250 events in commemoration of America’s Semiquincentennial next year. All are welcome.

Ira Allen: A Biography - Conversation with Author, J. Kevin Graffagnino
2025-09-24 19:00 - 20:30 | VT
Vermont historian J. Kevin Graffagnino will give a special presentation as part of our local America 250 events in commemoration of America’s Semiquincentennial next year.
Based on his new book “Ira Allen: A Biography,” Graffagnino’s lively talk evaluates Allen’s checkered career and makes the case for including him in the picture of Vermont’s formative decades. According to the author’s press release, “Land speculator, revolutionary, pamphleteer, politician, and empire-builder, Ira Allen was a key figure on the late eighteenth-century Green Mountain frontier.”
The author will be bringing signed copies of his book for purchase.
Based in Essex, Vermont, Graffagnino is the author or editor of more than a dozen books on Vermont history. Over the years, he has served as the executive director of the state historical societies in Vermont and Kentucky, and as director of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan.
This talk is brought to our community through a joint effort of the Brattleboro Literary Festival, Brattleboro Historical Society, Brooks Memorial Library, and ‘Examining American Identity and Leadership in a Changing World’, a collaborative initiative working to support America 250 events in this region. The event is free and open to the public, with light refreshments to be served.

Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation - with Bhante
2025-09-26 16:00 - 18:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
This offering will be lead by Bhante Rathana, a Buddhist monk originally from Sri Lanka and currently residing at Serenity Central of New England in Jacksonville, Vermont. He has been dedicated to the path of Dhamma since the age of 13, and his journey includes over two decades of monastic training, study, and teaching in Sri Lanka and the United States.
At these sessions, Bhante will be offering practical guidance in breathing meditation (ānāpānasati), loving-kindness meditation (mettā bhāvanā), and walking meditation, rooted in the original teachings of the Buddha as preserved in the Pāli Canon. His approach draws directly from early Buddhist texts, focusing on mindfulness, compassion, and inner peace.
With gentle, step-by-step instruction, Bhante aims to help participants develop calm, clarity, and deeper awareness—whether you are new to meditation or wish to strengthen your practice.

50 Years of Herbal Lessons in 60 Minutes – with Paul Schulick
2025-09-27 10:30 - 12:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
In an era in our country where millions face increasing stress, from economic and climactic uncertainty to political divides, a particularly vulnerable impact could manifest in our personal health. To make matters even more precarious, it is quite possible that millions of people will also be left uninsured and at the mercy of a widely recognized broken health care system. These vulnerabilities challenge the very fabric not only of our well-being but our country as well. Many scientifically validated alternatives or complementary options to modern pharmaceuticals can buoy an individual’s resilience through these challenging times ahead.
From Paul’s fifty years of serving many thousands of people and professionals in healthcare, he will propose his favorite simple and common-sense herbal and holistic solutions.
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About the presenter: Paul Schulick is best known for founding New Chapter, a leading national nutritional supplement company right here in Brattleboro. Being a student, formulator, and professional in the field of natural medicine for more than 50 years, Paul’s passion brought numerous innovations and influence to the marketplace.
Paul’s principal innovations were the advancement of whole food and daily herbal supplementation as an alternative to USP purified vitamins and minerals as well as helping to bring the European technology of herbal supercritical extraction to the United States. He also wrote and co-authored several books on natural healing, helping found and create a biodynamic and organic ginger farm in Costa Rica and developing partnerships with major U.S. universities including MD Anderson Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cornell University, Columbia University, and the University of Tennessee to further the acceptance and value of herbal medicine.
In 2012, P&G chose New Chapter to be their standard bearer in the nutritional supplement field. Paul and his co-founder wife Barbi stayed with the company for six more years until 2018 after which they decided to sow new opportunities and Paul continued his formulating, writing, and teaching.

Youth & Relationships Workshop - CANCELLED
2025-09-29 17:30 - 19:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED by organizer
WORKSHOP FOR YOUTH, CAREGIVERS & MENTORS – FREE YOUTH & RELATIONSHIPS WORKSHOP!
This training is for young people, parents/caregivers and mentors to better understand adolescent development, explore how experiences shape our perspectives, how relationships can support us to grow, and how to be supportive to our youth through difficult times. Facilitated by Matt Wolf from Vermont Afterschool and brought to you by Building a Positive Community, Brattleboro Area Youth Council, and Vermont Afterschool.
Light snacks and beverages will be provided. Registration is recommended: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeeCNRZrH3v3RMwaQByhgA6SwTe8aMHExgtYl3JoZ0Ld2sHw/viewform

Design-A-Plate
2025-10-01 10:00 - 2025-10-15 20:00 | Children’s Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Our 44th annual Design-A-Plate workshop in a take-home format!
Beginning Wednesday, October 1, stop by the Children’s Room at Brooks Memorial Library to pick up a Design-A-Plate packet. Create your drawings at home then return the packet to the library by 8:00 pm on Wednesday October 15. Choose between an 8-inch melamine plate, a 10-inch melamine plate or 12-ounce melamine bowl. The price is $9.00 per item. Please include payment when the completed drawings are dropped off at the library. Cash and checks made out to Brooks Memorial Library are accepted.Plates and bowls will be ready for pickup in early December.
Design-A-Plate is great for all ages. For more information, please call the Children’s Room at 802-254-5290 x1210 or visit our website at brookslibraryvt.org/kids/DAP.

Vermont Pastel Society
2025-10-01 15:30 - 17:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Review business, critique artwork.

LEGO-Palooza
2025-10-02 15:00 - 17:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join us on the first Thursday of every month after school from 3-5pm to play with LEGOs!
We provide the LEGOs. You build. Do not bring your own LEGOs.
Children cannot keep LEGOs, but if there is enough room, we will display them in the window.
Free and open to the public!

Introduction to Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation
2025-10-03 16:00 - 17:30 | VT
This offering will be led by Bhante Rathana, a Buddhist monk originally from Sri Lanka and currently residing at Serenity Central of New England in Jacksonville, Vermont. He has been dedicated to the path of Dhamma since the age of 13, and his journey includes over two decades of monastic training, study, and teaching in Sri Lanka and the United States.
At these sessions, Bhante will be offering practical guidance in breathing meditation (ānāpānasati), loving-kindness meditation (mettā bhāvanā), and walking meditation, rooted in the original teachings of the Buddha as preserved in the Pāli Canon. His approach draws directly from early Buddhist texts, focusing on mindfulness, compassion, and inner peace.
With gentle, step-by-step instruction, Bhante aims to help participants develop calm, clarity, and deeper awareness—whether you are new to meditation or wish to strengthen your practice.

Bringing Catamounts Home: Reimagining the Northeast’s Wild Future
2025-10-06 18:00 - 21:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Catamounts—also known as cougars, pumas, or mountain lions—once played a vital ecological role in the forests of the Northeast. For millennia, they helped shape Northeastern landscapes in a myriad of ways including regulating prey populations, supporting forest regeneration, and enhancing biodiversity. Today, they are considered extirpated from the region.
In this talk, Renee Seacor, Northeast Rewilding Director at Mighty Earth, explores the past, present, and possible future of catamounts in the Northeast. Through three powerful case studies, she traces the forces that led to their disappearance, examines the ecological and social factors affecting their return, and highlights stories of successful coexistence with mountain lions in other parts of the country.
The presentation concludes with an overview of the next steps needed to explore the feasibility and conservation value of bringing catamounts back to Vermont. The event will include time for questions and open dialogue—inviting participants to share ideas, ask questions, and be part of a growing conversation about the future of our shared landscapes.
