Hutchinson Public Library

Author Talk with David Brooks - Virtual
2026-01-13 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago) | Hutchinson Public Library- Virtual
Register and submit questions here: https://libraryc.org/hutchpl/109227
Join us for a discussion with prominent cultural writer and bestselling author David Brooks on his book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply, in which he helps us pose essential questions: If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them? What kind of conversations should you have? What parts of a person’s story should you pay attention to?
Driven by his trademark sense of curiosity and determination to grow as a person, Brooks draws from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and the worlds of theater, philosophy, history, and education to present a welcoming, hopeful, integrated approach to human connection. How to Know a Person helps readers become more understanding and considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen. Along the way it offers a possible remedy for a society that is riven by fragmentation, hostility, and misperception.
The act of seeing another person, Brooks argues, is profoundly creative: How can we look somebody in the eye and see something large in them and, in turn, see something larger in ourselves? How to Know a Person is for anyone searching for connection, and yearning to be understood.
Register now to take part in a riveting and timeless conversation on how to connect with people from all walks of life, and why doing so is paramount to our individual and communal growth.
About the Author: David Brooks is one of the nation’s leading writers and commentators. He is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, a writer for The Atlantic, and appears regularly on PBS Newshour. He is the bestselling author of The Second Mountain, The Road to Character, The Social Animal, Bobos in Paradise, and On Paradise Drive.

For the Record - Books + Music Club
2026-01-13 18:00 - 19:00, 2026-02-10 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | KS
For the Record is a place for music lovers to gather and share their love of both reading about and listening to music. Join us for a monthly meetup on the second Tuesday of the month at 6:00PM. We dive into the stories behind iconic musicians and albums, while sharing our favorite tracks and newest record finds. We read the 33 1/3 series. These are short books, each about a different musician and album. We explore a new one each month with a discussion about the book, album and the music that moves us. Whether you are a vinyl enthusiast or just passionate about discovering new sounds, For the Record offers a fun and welcoming space to connect.

We meet every month except for September.
Visit our Adults page to see what we are reading this month. Books are available for check out at the Public Service desk.

Pencils & Pages - Sketchbook Practices to Chase Away the Winter Blues
2026-01-15 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Hutchinson Public Library, 901 N Main St, Hutchinson, KS, 67501, United States
A sketchbook journal is a combination of drawing and writing. It can be a daily or weekly practice that allows you to express thoughts, record what you’ve observed around you, or look forward to something yet to come. Plus, doing this regularly comes with perks. It’s a great way to process complex thoughts, reduce stress, and boost creativity. It’s the perfect cozy indoor activity to keep the post holiday slump at bay and it’s a lot of fun!
This month, we’ll start a sketchbook practice by focusing on things that help us keep the winter blues away. We’ll start by sketching our own plans for some cozy self care through the late winter months. We’ll each sketch our own plan focusing on goals we’d like to achieve in the near future as well as favorite hobbies and activities that make the late winter months feel a little warmer. All skill levels are welcome whether you’ve never had a sketchbook before or have filled many of them.
RSVP is required to attend due to space limitations. Please make sure to RSVP on our website or ask for assistance signing up at the library.
We’ll continue a monthly sketchbook and drawing workshop with new inspiration and activities through 2026!
If you RSVP and cannot make it, please let us know so we can allow others to attend.

Machine Embroidery Workshop
2026-01-16 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-01-31 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-02-14 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-02-18 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Hutchinson Public Library – Makerspace, 901 N Main St, Hutchinson, KS, 67501, United States
Visit the Makerspace for a demonstration of our machine-embroidery equipment! This is a two-part workshop where the scheduled event is a presentation-only walkthrough of an embroidery job, then you can return at your convenience for hands-on experience.
We will be showing an overview of how to digitize a design on the computer, hoop your fabric and thread the embroidery machine, customize the embroidery job on the machine, and stitch-out your custom design.

There is no cost to attend. No previous experience is required.
Basic computer and reading skills are required.
Seats are limited, but this workshop will be offered regularly. If you can’t attend a scheduled workshop, please contact us to discuss alternatives.
The Makerspace will be closed to other activities during this workshop.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ:

You will need to return later to complete the hands-on portion of the training.
Young children must be able to understand written and verbal instructions unaided, as well as use a desktop computer.
Each individual attending will need a current Hutchinson Public Library Card. Student library cards are not valid for Makerspace workshops.

Creative Writing Corner
2026-01-16 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-30 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | KS
The Creative Writing Corner is a space for anyone to sit down and work on their own stories. Whether you want to brainstorm ideas with other patrons, need help editing your work, or just want to sit in the corner and write away; this is the corner for you! Join us in the Sunroom on the 2nd floor.

3D Printing Certification
2026-01-17 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-01-20 18:00 - 19:30, 2026-01-29 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-02-07 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-02-10 18:00 - 19:30, 2026-02-19 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Hutchinson Public Library – Makerspace, 901 N Main St, Hutchinson, KS, 67501, United States
We will soon require training to use our 3D printing services. This introductory workshop covers basic information to perform 3D printing projects. Completing it gives you access to use our 3D printing equipment, and you will make a small 3D print at no cost.

There is no cost to attend.
Basic computer and reading skills are required.
No previous experience is required.
Seats are limited, but this workshop will be offered regularly. If you can’t attend a scheduled workshop, please contact us to discuss alternatives.
The Makerspace will be closed to other activities during this workshop.
You may need to return later to pick up your completed 3D print

IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ:

Young children must be able to understand written and verbal instructions unaided, as well as use a desktop computer.
Each individual attending will need a current Hutchinson Public Library Card. Student library cards are not valid for Makerspace workshops.

Author Talk with Julia Hotz - Virtual
2026-01-20 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago) | Hutchinson Public Library- Virtual
Nature, Art, and Service as Medicine with Journalist Julia Hotz, Journalist and Award-Winning Author of The Connection Cure, Tuesday, January 20th at 1 PM CT
Register and submit Questions here: https://libraryc.org/hutchpl/109228
Be sure to jump start your new year with us as we chat with journalist and author Julia Hotz about her book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging.

The Connection Cure combines diligent science reporting, moving patient success stories, and surprising self-discovery to help us discover the lasting and life-changing power of social prescribing. Traditionally, when we get sick, health care professionals ask, “What’s the matter with you?” But around the world, teams of doctors, nurses, therapists, and social workers have started to flip the script, asking “What matters to you?”

Science shows that social prescribing is effective for treating symptoms of the modern world’s most common ailments—depression, ADHD, addiction, trauma, anxiety, chronic pain, dementia, diabetes, and loneliness. By integrating age-old medicines like art, nature, movement, and volunteer service into patient’s daily lives, social prescriptions are radically changing health and healthcare in more than thirty countries. Julia Hotz travels around the world to survey them —sea-swimming lessons for depression, “culture vitamins” for anxiety, a fishing club for ADHD, a farm-based day-care for dementia, a phone-buddy program for social isolation, and many more.

As the first book on social prescribing, The Connection Cure empowers you to find, experience, and implement this revolutionary medicine in your own community. The success stories Julia finds bring a long-known theory to life: if we can change our environment, we can change our health. By reconnecting to what matters to us, we can all start to feel better.

Register today to find out how you can use the wisdom of social prescribing to live your best life!
About the Author: Julia Hotz is a solutions focused journalist based in New York. Her stories have appeared in The New York Times, WIRED, Scientific American, The Boston Globe, Time, and more. She helps other journalists report on the big new ideas changing the world at the Solutions Journalism Network. The Connection Cure is her first book.

Talk Together Tuesday
2026-01-20 18:00 - 19:00, 2026-02-17 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | KS
A multi-lingual social event where you can practice any language you are learning in a real-world conversational environment.
This is a friendly place to meet neighbors, share stories, and celebrate languages from around the world. Enjoy light refreshments and group activities. it’s a lively mix if language, laughter, and learning!
Have questions? Reach out to Adult Education and Literacy Services by calling us at 620-663-5441 or emailing adulteducation@hutchpl.org

Salt City Readers
2026-01-21 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | Hutchinson Public Library, 901 N Main St, Hutchinson, KS, 67501, United States
Let’s talk about books! We explore a variety of fiction genres each month!
Salt City Readers meets every third Wednesday each month.
Check out the books at the Public Service Desk or on Cloud Library!

Craft-Cutter Workshop
2026-01-22 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Hutchinson Public Library – Makerspace, 901 N Main St, Hutchinson, KS, 67501, United States
This workshop covers basic instruction for our craft-cutter, the Cricut Maker 3. You will design and create a vinyl decal, and learn how to make stickers, fabric-transfers, and more.

You will need an email address to register for your Cricut ID.
There is no cost to attend.
Basic computer and reading skills are required.
No previous experience is required.
Seats are limited, but this workshop will be offered regularly. If you can’t attend a scheduled workshop, please contact us to discuss alternatives.
The Makerspace will be closed to other activities during this workshop.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ:

Young children must be able to understand written and verbal instructions unaided, as well as use a desktop computer.
Each individual attending will need a current Hutchinson Public Library Card. Student library cards are not valid for Makerspace workshops.

Strange New Words at Sandhills Brewery
2026-01-22 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Sandhills Brewing, 111 West 2nd Ave., Hutchinson, KS, 67501, United States
They were expendable…until they started comparing notes.

NEW VENUE
We are switching locations and taking science fiction outside of the library. Find us at Sandhills Brewing on January 22nd!
Check out Redshirts by John Scalzi. Books are available at the Public Service Desk.

3D Design with Blender
2026-01-23 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-02-06 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Hutchinson Public Library – Makerspace, 901 N Main St, Hutchinson, KS, 67501, United States
Do you want to make your own designs for 3D printing? Animate a short movie? Model objects for games? Blender is an advanced, free 3D creation suite that will help you with all this and more. Attend this event to learn Blender and visit with other designers. Learning this software is a journey, so feel welcome to come back to future events for more knowledge!

There is no cost to attend.
Registration saves you a spot on one of our design-computers, but is not required. You can bring your own laptop to use.
Basic computer and reading skills are required.
No previous experience is required.
Seats are limited, but this workshop will be offered regularly. If you can’t attend a scheduled workshop, please contact us to discuss alternatives.
The Makerspace will be closed to other activities during this workshop.

Mystery Mavens
2026-01-27 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | Hutchinson Public Library, 901 N Main St, Hutchinson, KS, 67501, United States
6:00 pm
Sun Room
Mystery Mavens meet on the fourth Tuesday of every month. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of this month’s book and participating in a discussion, please contact adult.program.coordinator@hutchpl.org or call 620-663-5441 ext. 123

Author Talk with Liz Moore - Virtual
2026-01-28 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Hutchinson Public Library- Virtual
Register and submit questions here: https://libraryc.org/hutchpl/109229
Secrets and Second Chances with Liz Moore, New York Times Bestselling and Award-Winning Author of The God of the Woods and Long Bright River, Wednesday, January 28th, at 6 PM CT
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.
Join us in conversation with Liz as we embark on a tale of thrilling twists and disturbing disappearances. Register today to “enter the woods,” if you dare!
About the Author: Liz Moore is the author of five novels: The Words of Every Song, Heft, The Unseen World, the New York Times bestselling Long Bright River, and The God of the Woods. A winner of the 2014 Rome Prize in Literature, she lives in Philadelphia and teaches in the MFA program in Creative Writing at Temple University.

Kansas Authors at the Library - Meet Laurie L. Dove
2026-01-29 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | KS
“Dove, a reporter and creative writing professor in Kansas, sensitively tackles the systemic crisis that has ripped apart so many Native American communities.”
—The New York Times

Laurie L. Dove’s debut novel Mask of the Deer woman is a vivid and captivating thriller that has kept readers on the edge of their seats. The novel quickly climbed to the USA Today bestseller list shortly after its release in 2025. You can meet Dove in person at the library on January, 29 at 10:30am to hear more about her writing journey and the whirlwind success of her debut novel.

Mask of the Deer Woman
To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself.
At rock bottom following her daughter’s death, ex–Chicago detective Carrie Starr has nowhere to go but back to her roots. Starr’s father never talked much about the reservation where he was raised, but the tribe needs a new marshal as much as Starr needs a place to call home.
In the past decade, too many young women have disappeared from the rez. Some have ended up dead, others just…gone. Now local college student Chenoa Cloud is missing, and Starr falls into an investigation that leaves her drowning in memories of her daughter—the girl she failed to save.
Starr feels lost in this place she thought would welcome her. And when she catches a glimpse of a figure from her father’s stories, with the body of a woman and the antlers of a deer, Starr can’t shake the feeling that the fearsome spirit is watching her, following her.
What she doesn’t know is whether Deer Woman is here to guide her or to seek vengeance for the lost daughters that Starr can never bring home.
About the Author
Laurie L. Dove is a reporter and editor whose work has appeared in numerous publications and garnered several honors for outstanding journalism. She graduated with a master’s degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University. She is an adjunct professor who currently lives and writes in Kansas. Find her at lauriedove.com.

We will meet in the sun room on the second floor of the library. Space is limited. Please RSVP to let us know you are attending.

Kansas Authors at the Library - Meet Myron Marcotte
2026-01-29 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Chicago) | KS
Myron Marcotte was a mine specialist with Strataca the Underground Salt Museum, for many many years. His extensive knowledge of mining in Hutchinson and the history behind it was an integral part of making Strataca what it is today. He even appeared on Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe in the earlier years of the museum.

Marcotte is one of of two authors who put this incredible story into words. Lynn Ledeboaer and Myron Marcotte worked together spending hours diving into extensive research to put together the story of Emerson Carey and the history of his empire in the early history of our community.
You can meet Marcotte in person at the library on January, 29th as we celebrate Kansas history and Kansas authors.
Kansas Tycoon Emerson Carey: Building an Empire from Coal, Ice, and Salt by Lynn Ledeboer and Myron Marcotte
“I’ve seen a fly make a bull switch his tail” is a homespun quip attributed to Emerson Carey, the powerful salt magnate of Hutchinson, Kansas. True or not, the quote epitomizes the fearless and tenacious character of the legend who became Reno County’s benefactor. Young, awestruck Carey arrived in boomtown 1880s Hutchinson and went on to create an immense empire. Coal, ice, salt, strawboard, egg cases, bags, soda ash and streetcars–he presided over it all. From Carey’s sleeping in a coal yard with a quarter in his pocket to the founding of the exclusive Willowbrook community and attaining a net worth of more than $15 million, authors Lynn Ledeboer and Myron Marcotte relate the epic story.

Tech-Share Meetup
2026-01-31 14:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Hutchinson Public Library, 901 N Main St, Hutchinson, KS, 67501, United States
Tech-Share MeetupGot questions about your phone, tablet, laptop, or other tech gadgets? Bring them to the Tech-Share Meetup! Whether you’re troubleshooting an issue, learning a new app, or just curious about how something works, we’re here to help. This friendly, drop-in session is a great place to get one-on-one assistance, share tips, and learn together in a supportive environment. All ages and skill levels are welcome—just bring your questions and your device!

Art Talk - Northern Renaissance Printmaking
2026-02-12 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | KS
Have you ever wondered how news got around during the Renaissance? Did they draw or paint all those pictures by hand like Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel?
The Northern Renaissance brought about the first books published with movable type rather than laboriously handwritten texts. An innovation that made mass-market paperbacks possible hundreds of years later. What would libraries be without the invention of the printing press? We can hardly stand to think about it!

We have a lot of questions about the origins of print and printmaking, we bet you do too!. So we asked Hutchinson Community College to come back and talk about it! Professor Kim Ivancovich will lead the discussion as we dive into the earliest days of printmaking and early technological invention. During the program, you’ll get to experience printmaking yourself with a hands-on guided art project!
Please RSVP to get reminders closer to the date. Let us know you plan to be there so we can estimate what supplies we’ll need. Thank you for supporting library programs and the Hutchinson Community College with your attendance!
