Message from the CEO

As we begin 2024, I always enjoy discussing priorities or resolutions for the next 12 months. In this new year, I can’t think of anything more important than a robust discussion around intellectual freedom: freedom of expression, speech, the press and the companion right to privacy. At a recent listening session held by Connecticut state representatives, we learned that Connecticut is one of 11 states that have seen challenges of more than 100 book titles this year.

This problem is not far away. It is here. The impacts are chilling for those of us working on the front lines and even more so for members of the public who find these challenged titles relevant to their lives. As a book sanctuary library, this year we resolve to do everything we can to protect challenged books and promote vigorous discussion about your right to read.

--Alice Knapp, CEO

Holiday Hours    

All library facilities will be closed Monday, January 1 for the New Year’s Day holiday. On Monday, January 15, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Main Library will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The branches will operate on their regular schedules.

Commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.       

The library will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with screenings of the award-winning biopic Selma on Monday, January 15 at the Main Library and Harry Bennett Branch. The film chronicles Dr. King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights through an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. Check our calendar for details and other MLK programs.

Support for Sunday Hours

Many thanks to Judy Block for her generous gift to support Sunday hours. Her contribution will help underwrite the cost of providing service at the Main Library Sunday, January 7. Sundays are one of our busiest and most important days of the week and we are grateful for her donation. If you would like to help us provide Sunday hours at the library, please contact Linda Avellar at [email protected], 203 351-8208.

Save the Date: February 8
Dr. Tanisha C. Ford

Don’t miss the award-winning author Dr. Tanisha C. Ford at the Main Library February 8 at 6:30 p.m. She will discuss her book. Our Secret Society: Mollie Moon and the Glamour, Money, and Power Behind the Civil Rights Movement, the definitive story of Mollie Moon, the stylish founder of the National Urban League Guild.

Dr. Ford is a professor of history at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and author of Dressed in Dreams: A Black Girl's Love Letter to the Power of Fashion and Liberated Threads: Black Women, Style, and the Global Politics of Soul, winner of the 2016 Organization of American Historians’ Liberty Legacy Foundation Award for best book on civil rights history. Book sale and signing by Elm Street Books. This event is free but registration is required here.

Passport Day at Your Organization

We can bring passport services to your company or organization. Our passport team is available Monday through Friday to come to your location for the day. We offer photo and photocopy services along with the U.S. passport application process, and can provide instructions for your website. If you’re interested contact Leida Lugo at [email protected]. 

Save the Date: A Novel Affair
April 11

The Ferguson Library will hold its major fundraiser, A Novel Affair, Thursday, April 11 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The library will honor Steven Frederick and Wofsey, Rosen, Kweskin & Kuriansky for their service to the library and the Stamford community.

A Novel Affair is the Ferguson Library’s signature benefit, raising funds to help support Stamford’s public library. Early registration opens February 12.

Thank you to our major sponsors to date:

Morrison: Friends of the Ferguson Library
Du Bois: Pitney Bowes; The George Family
Lahiri: Judith Block; Garden Homes Management; Silver Golub & Teitell; The Herbert And Sarah M. Gibor Charitable Foundation
Baldwin: Abate & Abate, LLC; Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey; Andrea & David Cohen; KPMG; Stamford Health.

For sponsorship information, contact Linda Avellar at [email protected]  or call 203 351-8208.

Friends Mini-Golf Feb 10 and 11

Fun for the whole family! Mini-golf returns to the Harry Bennett Branch Saturday, February 10 and Sunday, February 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Tickets are $5 per person, per round. Ages 3 and younger play for free. Refreshments at the “19th hole.” Many thanks to all our sponsors, especially our Title Sponsor, First County Bank. Register for February 10 rounds here and February 11 here.

There’s Still Time to Give to Our Annual Appeal  

If you’ve already donated to the Library’s Annual Appeal, Thank You! If not, there is still time to help. Your donation of any amount helps keep books and vital services like technology training, English-language learning and children’s early literacy programs free and available to all. You can make a secure online donation here. Thank you for supporting your public library.

Digital Library Kanopy

Calling all film lovers! Did you know that your Ferguson Library card gives you free access to thousands of critically acclaimed documentaries, independent and foreign films, the Great Courses, classic cinema and children’s movies? The Kanopy streaming service can be used on all your favorite devices. Each month you’ll receive 15 tickets to redeem for great content of your choice plus unlimited streaming from the Kanopy Kids collection. To start watching, sign up here.

Friends of the Ferguson Library

2024 Literary Competition is Open

Entries for the Stamford Literary Competition are due February 9. The Literary Competition celebrates excellence in student writing and is open to Stamford students in grades 3 to 12. You can find the entry link here.

Bookshop News

Don’t miss the Friends’ winter sale! Everything in both shops at the Main Library and Harry Bennett Branch is 40% off through January 21. Friends members take an additional 10% off. All proceeds support the library.               

Staff Recommends: Health & Wellness

Is This Normal? Judgment-Free Straight Talk about Your Body by Jolene Brighten

How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older by Michael Greger

Fitter. Calmer. Stronger.: A Mindful Approach to Exercise & Nutrition by Ellie Goulding

The Wellness Trap: Break Free from Diet Culture, Disinformation, and Dubious Diagnoses—and Find Your True Well-Being by Christy Harrison

Built to Move: The 10 Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully by Kelly Starrett

Well at Work: Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace by Esther M. Sternberg

Library Hours
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Main Library
96 Broad Street
Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.
    
Harry Bennett Branch
115 Vine Road
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday  
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Weed Memorial & Hollander Branch
1143 Hope Street
Monday, Wednesday & Thurs, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    
South End Branch
34 Woodland Avenue
Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.