Brooks Memorial Library - Brattleboro VT

Brattleboro District 8 Post-Election Discussion
2026-03-09 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Meeting Room D – Quiet Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
All are welcome to a post-election discussion about the budget and other Town matters at this gathering of “District 8” residents.
Prior to joining in this important conversation, it may be helpful to review the following:

FY27 Approved Selectboard Budget and Other Supporting Documents
2026 Report of the RTM Finance Committee to Town Meeting for FY 2027
March 3, 2026 Official Elections Results

For more information, contact: Gary Stroud (garycs2004@gmail.com)

Mud Season Speaker Series - Salamander Crossing Brigades
2026-03-09 18:30 - 20:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Mud Season Speaker Series
The Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center and the Brooks Memorial Library invite you to a series of programs based upon the Vermont Reads 2025-26 selection, The Light Pirate, with the themes of climate resilience through community and the unstoppable power of the natural world.
The Light Pirate
Named after a catastrophic storm, Wanda is born into a world that’s rapidly changing. Rising sea levels and devastating weather patterns transform her coastal Florida town. As she moves from childhood to adulthood, Wanda adapts to this remade landscape, finding adventure, love, and purpose in a place largely abandoned by civilization.
Told in four parts—power, water, light, and time—The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton is a meditation on the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness. It considers the dissolution of the human-made world, and helps us see how human connection, adaptability, and a little bit of magic might guide us to a new future.
Get a copy at the library!

Monday, February 9, 2026 from 6:30-8
Pumpkin and Pye: How Beavers Keep Us Cool
Pumpkin was born in a stone culvert under Upper Dummerston Road and orphaned when his mother was hit by a car. Pye was attacked and badly injured by a dog as a yearling. BEEC naturalist Patti Smith will tell how these young beavers came together and into her care. Photos and videos will illustrate the adventures that ensued.
Patti maintains that beavers are not just lovable, they are important. She will also talk about their crucial role in holding water on a warming planet and mitigating floods. Find out how communities are solving beaver conflicts in ways that allow beavers to keep us cool.

Monday, March 9, 2026 from 6:30-8
Thirty-Eight: The Hurricane That Transformed New England
A hurricane will never surprise us again. But that’s what happened to the people of New England on September 21, 1938. Without any warning, the most destructive weather event ever to hit the Northeast pummeled the coast and blasted its way to Vermont and New Hampshire with torrential rain, flooding, and sustained winds over 100 miles per hour.
Stephen Long tells the story of New England’s Katrina, focusing on the devastation to the region’s forests and the daunting challenge facing New Englanders still in the throes of the Great Depression. His presentation is richly illustrated with archival photos of storm damage and the unprecedented recovery operation, making the storm and its aftermath come alive. A journalist and co-founder of Northern Woodlands magazine, Stephen Long is the author of Thirty-Eight: The Hurricane that Transformed New England.

Monday, March 30 at 7 pm
Salamander Crossing Brigades: help save salamanders
As our planet heats up amphibians are vulnerable. A group of important amphibians in our region depend upon temporary ponds—vernal pools—for egg-laying. These pools can dry much too fast in drought years. They are also vulnerable when they must cross roads to reach their breeding habitat. You can help! Join a Salamander Crossing Brigade. Getting adult amphibians safely across roads is a big way we can make their populations resilient.
The Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center has been organizing crossing brigades at known crossing sites for decades. Come to the library to learn more about the amazing amphibians that head for vernal pools in the spring and what you can do to help them.

Saturday, April 4, 10:30-12pm
Salamander Tea Party with BEEC
Enjoy salamander story books read by our salamander mascot, snack on salamander cookies, and learn all about salamander season in Vermont!
Naturalists will be on hand to answer questions about how and where you can take a peek at amphibian eggs or help out with amphibian conservation and community science projects including BEEC’s Salamander Crossing Brigade.

Monday, April 13 from 6:30-8
Vermont Reads Book Discussion: The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
Join us for a thoughtful, guided conversation centered on The Light Pirate, a novel that follows one girl’s life as climate change reshapes Florida’s coast—and the meaning of home, resilience, and community. Rachael Cohen, environmental writer and editor, will facilitate this 90-minute discussion, creating space to reflect together on the book’s themes, characters, and emotional impact.
Participants will explore themes such as climate adaptation and how people respond—individually and collectively—to environmental change. All readers are welcome, whether the book moved you deeply or left you with lingering questions. Come prepared to listen, reflect, and engage in a meaningful exchange inspired by this powerful and timely novel.

Art & Exploration at the Library
2026-03-10 13:30 - 15:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
We are pleased to offer the second iteration of this free 6-week book exploration and art-making course for learners ages 60+, after last year’s successful pilot-program with River Gallery School teaching artist, Kate Milliken.
Participants will have the opportunity to explore books on a variety of themes including history, food, nature, music, film, and classic novels, and create art in response to those themes through mixed media techniques.
This course is perfect for participants new to creating art and interested in a social book club experience. Supplies are provided. Registration is required. Sign up for one or all sessions in this exciting offering, in collaboration with River Gallery School and Bradley House.
To register: stop by or call the circulation desk (802)254-5290; or, email: outreach@brookslibraryvt.org.

Read to a Dog
2026-03-10 15:30 - 16:30 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Come start a new year of reading by reading to a dog! Read out loud to two sweet dogs, Kelso and Gussy! Both dogs are specially trained to read with kids and LOVE to be petted and cuddled!
Come to the Children’s Room to Read to a Dog–available on a first come first serve basis. Bring your own books or come early to pick some of ours! All Ages Welcome.

Library Board of Trustees
2026-03-10 16:30 - 18:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Monthly meeting of the Brooks Memorial Library Board of Trustees. Citizen attendance and commentary welcome!
Board of Trustees

Food, Ecosystems and Community: Lessons from Nature
2026-03-10 19:00 - 20:45 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join Edible Brattleboro for a winter workshop series exploring the living systems at the heart of a community food forest. Together, we’ll learn how to create regenerative, resilient landscapes-where soil, plants, and people work together in mutually supportive relationships.
The series features nationally recognized speakers Didi Pershouse and Dave Jacke. Didi is an author, educator, and policy strategist, whose work focuses on living soils, carbon cycles, and the role of soil health in resilient ecosystems and communities. Dave Jacke is co-author of Edible Food Forest Gardens and a leading voice in permaculture and ecological design. Jacke will present two talks exploring forest gardening as a model for home and community landscapes, and how ecosystem principles-such as diversity, cooperation, and interdependence-can inform resilient social structures. Together, these speakers bring deep ecological insight and practical wisdom rooted in nature based systems.
Whether you’re cultivating a backyard, tending a shared green space, or simply interested in how ecosystems sustain life, this series offers insight, inspiration, and actionable ideas for nurturing landscapes that grow, adapt, and nourish for generations.
Speaker Schedule:
– Tuesday, January 13 | 7:00 PM
Didi Pershouse — Author • Educator • Policy Strategist
Soil as a Living System: How Healthy Soil Supports Ecosystems and Communities
An exploration of soil biology and the critical role living soils play in climate resilience, food systems, and community health.
-Tuesday, February 10 | 7:00 PM
Dave Jacke — Co-author of Edible Forest Gardens
Gardening Like a Forest: Ecosystem Mimicry for Homes and Communities
Healthy forests maintain, fertilize, and renew themselves, naturally. Wouldn’t you like to grow an abundant food-producing ecosystem like this in your back yard or neighborhood? You can! Edible forest gardens mimic the structure and function of natural forests while growing food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and fun. We can meet our own needs and regenerate healthy landscapes, communities, and ecosystems at the same time. We will dive into the vision of forest gardening, a little history, some science, a few living examples, and a sampling of some useful perennial edibles you can use in your own gardens.
-Tuesday, March 10 | 7:00 PM
Dave Jacke
Ecosystem Social Structures
Functional social interactions between species lie at the core of healthy ecosystems. Understanding species and community niches, interspecies relationships, food webs, guilds, polycultures, and the principles that undergird these structures greatly improves our ability to design and manage healthy forest gardens—and healthy human societies!
-Tuesday, March 24th | 7:00 PM
Ricky Baruch and Deb Habib — Founders of Seeds of Solidarity in Orange MA, with over three decades of experience gardening, farming and teaching widely.
Grow Food Everywhere!
Celebrate spring with this engaging presentation and inspiration for abundant gardens to come. Appropriate for both beginning and experienced gardeners, you will gain ideas for building rich, living soil with local resources and regenerative no-till methods. Learn from presenter experience and interactive conversation as you gather practical ideas for low maintenance and climate resilient methods that grow healthy soil and nourishing food for home or community, and in all settings.

Rhyme Time
2026-03-11 10:30 - 11:00, 2026-03-18 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.

Game Cafe!
2026-03-11 18:00 - 20:45, 2026-03-18 18:00 - 20:45 | Meeting Room D – Quiet Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Come join game enthusiasts in playing Magic the Gathering in various formats (including Commander/EDH) as well as other fun and creative board & card games.
Bring your favorite games- All Ages Welcome!

Brattleboro District 9 Forum
2026-03-11 19:00 - 20:45 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
The budget and other Town matters are up for discussion at the next “District 9” forum. We’ll meet at 6:45 pm on Wednesday, March 11, in the Community Room (3rd floor) of the Brooks Memorial Library. We had a lively discussion at our last forum and heard many happy and grateful comments from participants. Come join us on the 11th.
At the following link, please find a resource to help analyze the Fiscal Year 2027 Town Budget: 2026 Report of the RTM Finance Committee to Town Meeting for FY27
And here is a link to the March 3, 2026 Official Election Results
Thank you for your interest; see you on Wed., Mar 11!
For more information, contact:
Robert Oeser, robt.oeser@gmail.com (518.505.9031), or David Levenbach, fideladelphia@gmail.com (413.559.1533)

Sing & Dance With Robin
2026-03-12 10:30 - 11:30, 2026-03-19 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.

LEGO-Palooza Winter Session!
2026-03-12 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-03-19 15:00 - 17:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join us on Thursdays 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!

Enrolling for SNAP and Medicaid Benefits: Need Help?
2026-03-13 14:00 - 17:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Are you confused about the new SNAP requirements? Do you need help signing up for SNAP or Medicaid? Have you been cut off SNAP or Medicaid or had benefits reduced? Do you need help paying for Medicare premiums or co-pays? The Vermont Workers’ Center is holding open hours at the Brooks Memorial Library Community Room on March 13 and March 27 from 2-4:30 PM to help people understand and navigate these programs. We’ll have information about Medicaid, Medicare, and the SNAP work requirements and exemptions, and can work with people on submitting applications and other paperwork.
Brooks Memorial Library is located at 224 Main Street, Brattleboro. Community Room is on the second floor and is handicap accessible. For questions or more information, email windham@workerscenter.org or call (802) 257-4436.

SilverCircus - by NECCA
2026-03-14 11:00 - 12:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Strengthen balance and build social connection, all while playing and connecting to your inner child with SilverCircus by the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA). These circus classes are designed for older adults and are welcome to all mobility and cognitive levels. We will work with each student where they are at, while fostering a supportive and playful group dynamic. Activities will challenge the brain and the body, and will be scaled up and down to be the perfect challenge for each participant.
It is not too late to join the circus! Join us at Brattleboro Memorial Library at 11am on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays in January through May (01/10, 01/24, 02/14, 02/28, 03/14, 03/28, 04/11, 04/25, 05/09, and 05/23).

Brattleboro in Stitches
2026-03-14 13:00 - 16:00, 2026-03-21 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
2026-03-16 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 The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander!
In the early years of the 20th century, a group of female factory workers in Newark, New Jersey slowly died of radiation poisoning. Around the same time, an Indian elephant was deliberately put to death by electricity in Coney Island. These are the facts.Now these two tragedies are intertwined in a dark alternate history of rage, radioactivity, and injustice crying out to be righted. Prepare yourself for a wrenching journey that crosses eras, chronicling histories of cruelty both grand and petty in search of meaning and justice.
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.

Brattleboro Stamp Club
2026-03-16 19:00 - 20:45 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join the Brattleboro Stamp Club for all sorts of philatelic curios, conversation, and comradery!

SEVT Audubon Society
2026-03-17 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 for a monthly program featuring nature and the environment.
March’s Talk: Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds – with Sophie A. H. Osborn
Presentation Description: Birds are visible, vocal sentinels that alert us to environmental harms through their declining numbers or their failure to thrive. In her book Feather Trails—A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds, Sophie Osborn shares her personal experiences reintroducing endangered Peregrine Falcons, Hawaiian Crows, and California Condors to the wild. While immersing readers in the triumphs and tribulations of being a wildlife biologist, Sophie explores the threats that imperiled these birds, and reveals that what harmed them threatens us, too. She will discuss what led to the endangerment of these three captivating species, recount the efforts of biologists to recover their populations, and read a few excerpts from her book that describe what it was like to work with these magnificent birds.
Biography: Sophie A. H. Osborn is an award-winning environmental writer and wildlife biologist whose work has included the study and conservation of more than a dozen bird species in the Americas. She contributed to reintroduction efforts for several endangered birds and served as the field manager for the California Condor Recovery Program in Arizona for four years. Her first book, Condors in Canyon Country, won the 2007 National Outdoor Book Award for Nature and the Environment. Reviewers for the American Birding Association (ABA) chose her second book, Feather Trails, as their favorite bird book of 2024. Sophie has written articles for BirdWatching, Wyoming Wildlife, and Sojourns magazines. Her writings are also available on her website and her “Words for Birds” Substack blog.

Friends of the Library
2026-03-18 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

Entrepreneurs of Brattleboro
2026-03-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
This is a regular gathering of entrepreneurs in Brattleboro & surrounding areas – for networking and connections.

Celebrating the Poetry of Robert Frost
2026-03-20 13:30 - 15:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
March 26 is the birthday of New England’s greatest poet, and for that matter one of America’s greatest poets. As a long-time admirer of Robert Frost, Raymond Clark will be performing twenty of Frost’s poems in the early twentieth-century dialect of coastal New Hampshire, where he grew up and Frost once resided. Beginning with Frost’s favorite introduction to his collection of over 500 poems, Clark will “Go out to clean the pasture spring.” and travel through the seasons until a crow shakes down on him, “a dust of snow.” There will be time between each poem for interaction, but the focus will be on the poems, not the poet.

Atowi Project, VT Conservation Plan Public Listening Session
2026-03-20 15:30 - 17:30 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
One of a statewide series of public listening sessions to raise awareness of and seek comment upon the development of the new VT Conservation Plan in fulfillment of 2023’s Act 59. Known as the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act, it establishes a statewide framework for land conservation that advances biodiversity protection and supports resilient communities. The Act additionally establishes the goals of conserving 30% of Vermont by 2030 and 50% by 2050. The State of Vermont needs to hear from us about what priorities and actions we think should move to the top of the implementation list.
Learn more here: https://vermontconservationplan.com/

Teen Game Night!
2026-03-20 18:30 - 21:30 | Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join us from 6:30pm-9:30pm to play games with the Teen Advisory Board!
We will have a selection of board and card games to play with as well as a Jackbox Party Pack set up. Feel free to bring your own games as well.
We’ll be spread out across the whole 2nd floor. Pizza and snacks provided!
Hosted by the Teen Advisory Board. “Teens Only” events are open to people in grades 7-12.

Amanda Janoo for Governor - Community Meet and Greet
2026-03-21 10:30 - 12:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Come meet Amanda Janoo, candidate for Governor of Vermont. Amanda is running because she believes this is a pivotal moment to take a courageous step toward transforming Vermont’s political and economic future. She is launching her campaign with a series of community meet-and-greets across the state to listen to Vermonters and hear their vision for our shared future. Together, we are lifting up our shared values, amplifying what unites and inspires us, and building real resilience through stronger community connections.

Financial Empowerment
2026-03-23 17:30 - 19:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Financial Discussion and Q & A with representatives from SEVCA and Mascoma Bank
These FREE classes are being held on the 4th Mondays of the month throughout 2026, with different topics for each session and peer support encouraged throughout. A light meal will be served at 5:30PM; the discussion starts at 6:00 PM.
In March, the focus is on credit reports. Participants will be offered support for receiving, understanding, and checking their credit reports and for ensuring that they are correct.
Registration is required. To sign-up, you can call (802-254-5290), stop by the circulation desk, or email us at circ@brookslibraryvt.org

Community Conversation on Restorative Practices:
2026-03-23 18:00 - 19:30 | Main Reading Room
More people are talking about restorative practices and looking for more accountability after people have been harmed. Interaction provides restorative practices programs, but how do restorative practices navigate big feelings?
Join Community Substance Use Response (CSUR) and Interaction for a community conversation about restorative practices, with a focus on understanding feelings and needs. Together, we’ll explore how naming what’s underneath our reactions can build connection, support healing, and strengthen our community. All are welcome.
Snacks provided before the event. Monday, March 23rd, 6:00-7:30, Main floor. For more information contact Robin at (802) 275-7232 or CSUR802VT@gmail.com
