Events
Programs
Makerspace Workshop – Sew a Cord Keeper
Makerspace
This month, visit the Makerspace and learn to make a cord keeper! A cord keeper is a small, sewn rectangle of fabric with buttons or Velcro to fasten it into a loop – almost like a napkin ring. This is an easy, quick sewing project for someone to introduce themselves to sewing, and it will help them organize the endless mountains of cables we all have! A cord keeper is reusable, looks nicer than a twist-tie, and has many possibilities for decorating and personalizing!
Space is limited so please register through this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0XqvJjKul3gMJkwO5Xe_Y5uNn_IatNrZYUoaXiS9mK5aIqA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Book Discussion Groups
TALK Series – Growing Up American
Hutchinson Public Library will offer a three-part book discussion series from March through May on the theme “Growing Up American.” Members of the community are invited to attend the free programs, which will take place in the auditorium at the library.
The series is sponsored by Humanities Kansas (HK), a nonprofit cultural organization, as part of its Talk About Literature in Kansas (TALK) program. HK is furnishing the books and discussion leaders for the Hutchinson TALK series. For more information about HK, visit www.humanitieskansas.org.
The books in this series explore the transition from adolescence to adulthood and have also served as tools for broader social critique. In these books, the authors have used the coming-of-age story to comprehend both the terrain of the personal and the historically specific time period in which that character lives.
To check out books and for more information about the reading series, contact Katie Broker, Adult Programming Coordinator at katie.b@hutchpl.org or call 620-663-5441.
Discussion: March 23, 6:00 pm
“Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger
Hutchinson Public Library Auditorium
Discussion Leader: Dan Eells
In this first meeting, Dan Eells will lead a discussion of “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger.
“I keep picturing all these kids playing some game in this big field of rye…What I have to do,” Holden explains, “I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff.” Can J. D. Salinger’s classic still tell us anything about what it means to be American? Let’s start this series by revisiting that too-wise-for-his-age smart aleck Holden Caulfield and his quest for the un-phony.
Dan Eells is the Collection Development Librarian at Newton Public Library in Newton, Kansas. After having earned a B.S. in Information Technology with a Minor in English Literature from McPherson College, Eells also earned an M.L.S. from Emporia State University. In addition, Eells writes book reviews and creates video content for NPL.
Discussion: April 20, 6:00 pm
“Tender At The Bone” by Ruth Reichl
Hutchinson Public Library Auditorium
Discussion Leader: Dan Eells
This is the second book in a three-part “Growing Up American” series. “Tender at the Bone:
Growing Up at the Table” by Ruth Reichl.
“I was slowly discovering that if you watched people as they ate, you could find out who they were.” Through food, Ruth Reichl also comes to learn who she is. By turns moving and hilarious, nostalgic and hopeful, she recalls the long road from her upbringing (with parents indifferent to the appeals of the palate) to her chosen profession of a restaurant reviewer, with foreign travel and dumpster diving along the way, and a recipe to punctuate each chapter.
Dan Eells is the Collection Development Librarian at Newton Public Library in Newton, Kansas. After having earned a B.S. in Information Technology with a Minor in English Literature from McPherson College, Eells also earned an M.L.S. from Emporia State University. In addition, Eells writes book reviews and creates video content for NPL.
Discussion: May 24, 6:00 pm
“Sag Harbor” by Colson Whitehead
Hutchinson Public Library Auditorium
Discussion Leader: John Edgar Tidwell
This is the final book in a three-part “Growing Up American” series. “Sag Harbor” by Colson Whitehead.
Benji explains the central terms of his summers away: “First you had to settle the question of out.” The “out” is out from school, out for vacation, and out to Sag Harbor, but for the African American elites who made the resort their vacation home, the ins and outs of it were more complex. In Sag Harbor, an enclave for an emerging black professional class, fifteen-year-old Benji must try to come to terms with growing up, with African Americanness, and with American popular culture.
John Edgar Tidwell is a Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Kansas. A native of Independence, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Tidwell joined the TALK program in 2008.
Humanities Kansas
Humanities Kansas is an independent nonprofit spearheading a movement of ideas to empower
the people of Kansas to strengthen their communities and our democracy. Since 1972, our
pioneering programming, grants, and partnerships have documented and shared stories to spark
conversations and generate insights. Together with our partners and supporters, we inspire all
Kansans to draw on history, literature, ethics, and culture to enrich their lives and serve the
communities and state we all proudly call home. Visit humanitieskansas.org.
Mystery Mavens
The March 28 discussion book is “Body Beneath the Willows” by Nick Louth. Copies may be obtained through InterLibrary Loan, email interlib@hutchpl.org.
The April 25 discussion book is “Dead Man’s Folly” by Agatha Christie.
The Mystery Mavens Book Discussion Group meets at the library on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm in Conference Room #2. Meetings are informal and usually last about one hour. There is no cost to attend and the Library provides the book. For more information please contact Steven Westfahl at steve.w@hutchpl.org or at 620-663-5441 x 139.