Thanks to the proceeds from your continued support of our used book store The Book Seller, we are once again excited to offer Sunday hours through April 2024!
Learn More About The Book Seller
We wish everyone a reflective Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Wallingford Public Library is closed in observance of the holiday, but library staff have compiled a list of books and other media for all ages that honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. You can access the list here:
We also suggest viewing the following YouTube videos which offer a look at MLK's work in historical context:
A&E Network | Martin Luther King Jr: Risked Life for Civil Rights Movement:
walpublib.org/CivilRightsMovement
History Channel | The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 | Black American Heroes:
walpublib.org/BusBoycott
One-on-One Career Counseling
Sign up today to schedule your virtual appointment
with our career specialist Sarah Eiseman!
Get personalized help with crafting a resume or cover letter or preparing for your big interview.
Visit to get started or contact Sarah Eiseman at seiseman@wallingfordlibrary.org. You will be contacted shortly to schedule your Zoom appointment.
Spanish Conversation Group
Thursdays| 4:30-5:30pm
Improve your Spanish in a friendly and non-judgmental space! Some knowledge of Spanish recommended. Just drop-in!
French Conversation Group
Mondays | 4:30-5:30pm
Improve your French in a friendly and non-judgmental space! Some knowledge of French recommended. Just drop-in!
Our ukulele programs have been so popular that we’ve decided to make them a regular thing! Join Local Ukulelist Steven Lazarus for one of two ukulele clubs, each of which is aimed at a different experience level. If you have any questions you can contact Steven at steven@lazarusmail.net
Beginners Ukulele Club
Second Monday of each month
10-11am|Collins Room | Drop-in
Join our new Beginners’ Ukulele Club which will meet the second Monday of the month at the Wallingford Public Library! Adult patrons who have not played before or who are just starting out are welcome to attend. Local Ukulelist Steven Lazarus will lead and facilitate the club. Please bring your own instruments.
Intermediate Ukulele Club
Second Wednesday of each month
7-8pm|Collins Room | Drop-in
Join our new Intermediate Ukulele Club which will meet the second Wednesday of the month at the Wallingford Public Library! Adult patrons with previous experience playing a ukulele are welcome to attend. Local Ukulelist Steven Lazarus will lead and facilitate the club. Please bring your own instruments.
Knit @ WPL
Second and Fourth Monday of January & February
(First and Third Monday of Other Months)
Monday, Jan 22nd
6-7:30pm
Board Room
No registration required
Knit @ WPL is a place where knitters and crocheters can practice their work in the company of others. Newcomers are welcome to join, but knitting experience is required.
WPL Play Readers
First Wednesday of Each Month
Wednesday, Feb 7th
6:30-8:30pm
Collins Room
No registration required
The Wallingford Public Library Play Readers bring and share poetry, prose, famous speeches and documents, monologues, as well as original material! Come check us out. All are welcome to read and/or listen.
Open Sew
First Tuesday of Each Month
Tuesday, Feb 6th
6:00-8:30pm
Adults & Teens in Grades 9+
Drop-in
Collaboratory
Do you like to sew? Join people who enjoy quilting and sewing at a casual “drop in” program. Bring your unfinished projects, either hand sewing or machine. There are 4 portable sewing machines (or bring your own) and lots of sewing supplies and tools provided by the library for your use.
Saturday Mornings with Poetry
Second and Fourth Saturday of Each Month
Saturday, Jan 27th
9:45am-12noon
Collins Room
No registration required
A meeting of people who love reading and writing poetry. SMwP provides poetic opportunities for anyone to share their poetry, discuss the literary works of poets known and unknown, and expand skills in writing and editing poems in the shared camaraderie of comfortable, supportive members.
Upcoming Book Club
Thursday Night Book Club:
Straight Man
by Richard Russo
Thursday, Jan 18th
6:30-8pm
Collins Room & Zoom
Contact Cindy Haiken to participate:
chaiken@wallingfordlibrary.org
Writing teacher Hank Devereaux Jr. is chair of the English department at a second-rate college in Pennsylvania. His daughter is having husband trouble. The state legislature is threatening to wipe out his department’s budget. His crushes on several women complicate his devotion to his no-nonsense wife. He might have prostate cancer and he’s suspected (with good reason) of murdering a goose. Russo’s hilarious send-up of academia’s infighting and petty intrigue is the basis for the AMC TV series Lucky Hank.
Hibernation Book Club:
Homer's The Odyssey
translated by Emily Wilson
Tuesdays,
Jan 23rd,
Feb 6th & 20th,
Mar 5th & 19th
5:30-7pm
Collins Room and Zoom
Contact Cindy Haiken to participate:
chaiken@wallingfordlibrary.org
If you have always wanted to read some great big classic books but have been daunted by their length and supposed complexity, we have a book club just for you! In the Hibernation Book Club, we will read one long classic novel every winter, dividing it up into shorter sections and meeting six times over the course of three months to work our way through it. Our title for the winter of 2024 is Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey.
The epic poem The Odyssey is told in 24 books and shares the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who spends a long ten years trying to get home after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus’ journey takes him via Africa and southern Europe as he battles mystical creatures and faces the wrath of the gods. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus stave off the suitors who are vying for Penelope’s hand and Ithaca’s throne and continue to hope for Odysseus’ return.
Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of the oldest great adventure story in the Western canon is the first by a woman. In this six-part program, we will read The Odyssey in installments of four books each and meet every other week to talk about the poem and the story.
Truth Be Told:
Nonfiction Book Club
Being Mortal
by Atul Gawande
Thursday, Jan 25th
7-8:30pm
Collins Room & Zoom
Contact Cindy Haiken to participate:
chaiken@wallingfordlibrary.org
Modern medicine can perform miracles, but it is also mainly concerned with preserving life rather than grappling with end-of-life issues. Drawing on his experiences working with terminally ill patients, Gawande offers a timely, hopeful account of how modern Americans face the realities and challenges of declining health and mortality.
Mystery Book Club
A Dangerous Mourning
by Anne Perry
Wednesday, Feb 7th
3-4:15pm
Collins Room & Zoom
To participate, contact Carole Shmurak at cshmurak@gmail.com and put “Wallingford Mystery Book Club” in the subject line.
