Hamden Library Podcast

Send us Fan Mail It’s summer reading time again and on this episode, Marcy, Eliza, Kacie and Danielle explain how it all works. After we hear from them, Hannah has an announcement about a special project she’s been working on with the Connecticut State Library.  And since this is a great time of year to get out and enjoy your local parks, Hannah talks with Mike Miller of the Sleeping Giant Park As...

Send us Fan Mail Matt talks to Recycling Coordinator Joe DeRisi and Chair of the Solid Waste & Recycling Commission Alice Kosowsky. They talk about everything from composting and other ways of recycling food waste to the importance of recycling textiles and lots more. If you’re a Hamden resident, you’re sure to pick up some useful tips, and even if you don’t live in Hamden, you will likely lea...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode we are celebrating National Library Week. This year’s theme is “Find Your Joy,” and Kacie and Eliza are here to tell us all about the many different ways the library can help you do just that.   In addition, Kacie talks to Pat Sirulnick about the Friends of the Hamden Library and all that they do for us. If you don’t already know, the Friends are absolutely crucial...

Send us Fan Mail When it comes to a subject as broad as poetry, it’s hard to pick one thing to focus on. So we picked a whole bunch. From statistics of who is writing poetry and why, to a staff-wide poetry collaboration, to an infamous poet with a relentless drive to write and recite his creations regardless of how well, or how poorly, they were regarded by the audiences who heard them - this is a...

Send us Fan Mail Love is in the air and on the shelves! In this Valentine’s Day episode, Kacie chats with booksellers from two of Connecticut’s romance-only bookstores to rave about all things romance novels. From breaking down stereotypes to sharing can’t-miss love stories, we’re making the case that romance is for everyone. Big thanks to Sarah and Elizabeth from Montgomery & Taggert and Jenn...

Send us Fan Mail This is a special, Matt-centric episode in which podcast team member Matt sits down to talk with host Michael Pierry to talk about New Year’s traditions. And because the only force in the known universe more powerful than one Matt is .. two Matts, Matt interviews Matthew Kerzner, aka Dr. K, to help us all in formulating and following through on our New Year’s resolutions and goals...

Send us Fan Mail Enjoy our special end-of-year roundtable discussing our favorite (and least favorite) books and media of 2025 and what we're looking forward to in 2026. List of books/media discussed: Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo , Taylor Jenkins Reid The Summer Hikaru Died , Mokumokuren Alchemised , SenLinYu The Black Wolf (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache...

Send us Fan Mail Board games and picture books - what do these two things have in common? For one thing, you can find them both at the library. For another, they’re both entertaining for all ages. Engaging with a picture book or playing a game with friends and family members can surprise and delight us with the kind of screen-free joy that many of us don’t get enough of but definitely need. In thi...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is dedicated to YOU and your library card. In a special in-depth interview, our Head of Borrower Services discusses the amazing things you can do with your Hamden library card. TJ also mentions some services we offer at the library, even if you don’t have a card. Also includes a quiz show segment all about banned books, in celebration of Banned Books Week, currently i...

Send us Fan Mail Hamden Library Podcast team members Hannah, Eliza, Matt, Rebecca and Michael discuss their summer reading.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, children's librarian Kacie chats with Daron, a professor and reading specialist about reading aloud to older kids. Did you know that research shows some clear - and surprising! - benefits to continuing to read aloud to kids as they grow up? Daron and Kacie share some tips, tricks, and strategies for selecting appealing books for all ages as well as some of th...

Send us Fan Mail To mark this Juneteenth, Mike spoke with Hamden Black History Committee members Deborah Moxam and Evans Simmons about what the Committee does for the community as well as the library’s upcoming Juneteenth Read-In. Mike also talked to author Jill Marie Snyder about her research into the lives of Black Americans, both pre- and post-Civil War.

Send us Fan Mail In honor of Pride month, our new podcast team member, Eliza, recorded a couple of great interviews with two members of the LGBTQ+ community, Tony Ferraiolo and Jillian Celentano. Tony and Jillian are both very engaging, dynamic speakers, and I hope that you get as much out of listening to them as I did. CW: Suicide, gender dysphoria

Send us Fan Mail It's almost summer reading time already! Jenny and Matt, along with some help from other staff members, explain how we can all participate and have fun leveling up at the library this summer and beyond. This episode also goes above and beyond summer reading with some insider information to help you become library super users! We've gathered some tips you can use to get m...

Send us Fan Mail This is the second episode of the podcast in April, because... well, we just couldn’t stop ourselves! Spring is here and it’s time for many of us to start working on our gardens, if we haven’t already. To give us all some tips and ideas, Ryan talked to two Master Gardeners who are also Master Composters, Diane Dynia and Wes Meeker. In addition, Matt spoke with Theresa McCabe, Pres...

Send us Fan Mail This month we are celebrating National Poetry Month. In addition to our staff reading some of their favorite poems and our interview with Franz Douskey, the Hamden poet laureate, one of our patrons was kind enough to call in and read two of her original poems.   We also have a fun little quiz segment entitled “Taylor or Edgar” in which Kacie read me a series of short excerpts and...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is centered on winter. Our roving correspondent, Matt, asked our staff to tell us their favorite things about the season. Then Dave reads a poem by Robert Frost. And finally we wrap things up by talking about our favorite books, movies and anything else from 2024. Matt also discusses seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a condition that can affect many people at this ti...

Send us Fan Mail Four librarians, one table, lots of horror books (and movies)! Find out what Ryan, Jenny, Matt, and Mike think will scare your socks off this Halloween season.

Send us Fan Mail Banned Books Week was established by the American Library Association in 1982 to reaffirm the freedom to read and to highlight the harms of censorship, and is usually held in the last week of September.  On this episode, Ryan talks to Sam Lee, co-chair of the Connecticut Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, about censorship, the First Amendment and the history and...

Send us Fan Mail This month our roving reporters Kacie and Matt asked staff and younger patrons "What have you been reading this summer and how did you feel about it?" You will hear their honest answers in this episode. Enjoy... and let us know what you've been reading!

Send us Fan Mail What books would you want with you on a desert island? What book do you think deserves to be thrown into the fires of Mt. Doom? What movies are better than the books they're based on? The podcast team tackles these tricky questions and lots more in this month's episode.

Send us Fan Mail It's June and we are all about summer reading! Starting June 17, patrons of all ages can participate in our summer reading programs. Learn all about them in this episode featuring comprehensive interviews with our staff!

Send us Fan Mail Ryan talks to Luis Arata and Mick Martucci of the Sleeping Giant Park Association as well as Hamden Arts & Recreation Administrative Assistant Abdul Bunyaminu. The history of the Giant as well as upcoming festivities are discussed.

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Send us Fan Mail Awareness month or acceptance month? Either way, April is all about autism. In this episode, staff member Rebecca Coates takes the mic to spotlight books and podcasts about autism's history and social experience, with an emphasis on autistic self-advocates.  Later, she talks to Jennifer Cretella, Kaitlyn Fenner, and Marilena Mademtzi, three representatives from Clifford Beers...