Book Discussions and Author Visits
Join us for monthly virtual book discussions and special author visits! See the schedule.
The Great Pumpkin Painting Contest
Join us for The Great Pumpkin Painting Contest!
Find the best pumpkin you can to be your canvas and show off your painting skills for our Great Pumpkin Painting Contest! St. Mary's County Library invites submission of painted pumpkin photos. The contest is open to anyone in our community in the following age groups: Children (Ages 0-12), Teens (ages 13 to 17), and Adults (ages 18 and older). Read the guidelines and submit your pumpkin photo! Submissions accepted beginning October 1, through October 18.
Salsa & Bachata dance class
Join Barbara Bernstein from Dance In Time studio to learn the Bachata in your own living room! Bachata has become almost as popular as Salsa in recent years, and this lesson covers both dances.
This is a Library After Hours program provided by Charles County Public Library.
2021 One Maryland One Book Author Tour with Ross Gay
In partnership with Maryland Center for the Book at Maryland Humanities, St. Mary's County Library will co-host writer/poet Ross Gay for a stop on the virtual 2021 One Maryland One Book Author Tour!
Described as “a collection of genre-defying essays,” Gay’s The Book of Delights is this year’s selection for the program. Mr. Gay will read from his book and answer questions at this free program, in conversation with Michael Blackwell, Director of St. Mary's County Library. Registration is free, but required.
Copies of The Book of Delights can be purchased through Curious Iguana Bookstore.
One Maryland One Book is a program of Maryland Humanities.
Local Partners: Calvert Library, Charles County Public Library, Southern Maryland Regional Library
Trivia Mondays
Register with an email address to receive the link to a trivia game and test your knowledge! The game is multiple choice questions and speed matters!
Registration for each week ends at 5 p.m. on Mondays. After 5 p.m., registrants will be emailed a link to that week's trivia. You will have until Thursday at 5 p.m. to complete the game, then you'll receive an email with the full results. Trivia uses Kahoot, accessible through any internet browser, no account needed.
Master Gardeners Plant Clinic
Have questions about growing vegetables, soil conditions, mystery insects, invasive weeds, or heirloom plants? Ask a Master Gardener! Stop by with your plant samples and questions.
The Grim Readers : Book Club
The Grim Readers is a book club that meets on the first Tuesday of every month for an hour to discuss a horror book. This month's pick is Zone One by Colson Whitehead.
The plague has sorted humanity into two types: the living and the living dead.
Now the plague is declining, and Americans are busy reconstructing civilization under instructions from a temporary government established in Buffalo, New York. Their top task: the resettlement of Manhattan. Armed forces have effectively reclaimed the island south of Canal Street—aka Zone One—but pockets of infected squatters endure. While the army has eradicated the most hazardous of the plague-ridden, groups of civilian volunteers are tasked with clearing out a more harmless selection—the “malfunctioning” stragglers, who exist in a catatonic state, engrossed by their previous lives.
Next month's pick, The Ruins by Scott Smith
Author Talk with Courtney Milan
New York Times and a USA Today Bestselling author Courtney Milan will join us for a discussion of her books and her work as an author.
Courtney Milan writes books about carriages, corsets, and smartwatches. Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. She is a New York Times and a USA Today Bestselling author.
She lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband and an exceptionally perfect dog.
Before she started writing romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.
Register to receive the link to the Zoom meeting the day before the event.
Photo credit: Jovanka Novakovic, http://www.bauwerks.com/
Virtual Mystery Book Club
Join us each month as we discuss a different mystery novel. The book for October will be The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton.
The Mystery Book Club meets via Zoom on the 2nd Friday of the month at 7:00pm (unless otherwise noted). Register with an email address to receive the link.
Library Closed
All St. Mary's County Library locations are closed today.
Trivia Mondays
Register with an email address to receive the link to a trivia game and test your knowledge! The game is multiple choice questions and speed matters!
Registration for each week ends at 5 p.m. on Mondays. After 5 p.m., registrants will be emailed a link to that week's trivia. You will have until Thursday at 5 p.m. to complete the game, then you'll receive an email with the full results. Trivia uses Kahoot, accessible through any internet browser, no account needed.
Common Thread Online
Join fellow crafters who love all things fiber - virtually! Registration is required (with an email address). You'll receive an email with a link to join the Zoom meeting before the program.
Open to knitters, crocheters, quilters, embroiderers, cross-stitchers, and any other kind of needleworkers. Work on your current project and chat with like-minded makers. All skill levels welcome.
St. Mary's County Health Department Community Outreach
The St. Mary's County Health Department will be at the Lexington Park Library with health information, help for getting a COVID vaccine, and more!
Introduction to Library eBooks and Streaming
Learn about eBook, eAudiobook, eMagazine, and streaming options available free with your Library card at this virtual presentation and Q&A session!
Top 20 Backyard Birds of Southern Maryland
Join us virtually, as Barb Whipkey, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Lexington Park and LaPlata, MD, teaches us how to identify our area's top twenty backyard birds.
If you are new to birding, this program is perfect for you. You will learn what birds to be on the lookout for, as well as how to entice a wider variety of those birds to your feeders. Barb will share examples of the types of feeders and foods that each species prefers.
Bridgerton Book Club: To Sir Phillip with Love
Join us online to discuss To Sir Phillip with Love, the fifth book in the Bridgerton series.
If you were a fan of the Netflix hit, or if you just want to read the series, come join us for book 5 of a Bridgerton read-along! This month we will read Eloise's story in, To Sir Phillip with Love. We will discuss the plot, character casting, the use of tropes and all things Bridgerton related. Next month we will be reading and discussing book six, When He Was Wicked.
Check out the book in print, or on Hoopla in audio or ebook format.
Trivia Mondays
Register with an email address to receive the link to a trivia game and test your knowledge! The game is multiple choice questions and speed matters!
Registration for each week ends at 5 p.m. on Mondays. After 5 p.m., registrants will be emailed a link to that week's trivia. You will have until Thursday at 5 p.m. to complete the game, then you'll receive an email with the full results. Trivia uses Kahoot, accessible through any internet browser, no account needed.
Master Gardeners Plant Clinic
Have questions about growing vegetables, soil conditions, mystery insects, invasive weeds, or heirloom plants? Ask a Master Gardener! Stop by with your plant samples and questions.
Intro to Foundation Directory Online
Looking for grants for your nonprofit? Come learn how to use Foundation Directory Online (FDO), the most comprehensive prospect research tool for fundraisers, with over 156,000+ grantmaker profiles.
This class is provided by Charles County Public Library. Access to FDO Professional database is available from inside the Leonardtown and the Waldorf West Libraries; FDO Essentials database is available from everywhere via the library websites.
Author talk and AMA with Mia P. Manansala
Mia P. Manansala will join us in a Zoom Meeting to discuss her very first book Arsenic and Adobo. Register to receive the links to submit questions and for the Zoom meeting.
We are looking forward to chatting with Mia P. Manansala (MAH-nahn-sah-lah) (she/her) about her debut novel, Arsenic and Adobo. We will discuss Mia’s rom-com with a dead body that not only has a fun mystery to solve but delicious Filipino food throughout the novel (recipes are included!). In addition, Mia will tell us about her publishing journey and how she incorporates elements of her Southeast Asian heritage into her novel.
You can find Arsenic and Adobo in our catalog here!
You will receive a link to submit questions for Ms. Manansala once you are registered.
Due to the high number of expected attendees, we may not get to every question but we will do our best!
The link to the Zoom meeting will be emailed at least a day before the event.
About the Author:
Mia P. Manansala (she/her) is a writer and certified book coach from Chicago who loves books, baking, and bad-ass women. She uses humor (and murder) to explore aspects of the Filipino diaspora, queerness, and her millennial love for pop culture.
She is the winner of the 2018 Hugh Holton Award, the 2018 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, the 2017 William F. Deeck - Malice Domestic Grant for Unpublished Writers, and the 2016 Mystery Writers of America/Helen McCloy Scholarship. She's also a 2017 Pitch Wars alum and 2018-2020 mentor.
A lover of all things geeky, Mia spends her days procrasti-baking, playing JRPGs and dating sims, reading cozy mysteries and diverse romance, and cuddling her dogs Gumiho, Max Power, and Bayley Banks (RIP).
Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @MPMtheWriter
Or check out her website: www.miapmanansala.com
About the Book:
Arsenic and Adobo released May 4, 2021 garnered starred reviews from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Shelf Awareness. The New York Times stated, “Manansala peppers the narrative with enough red herrings to keep readers from guessing the killer, but the strength of the novel is how family, food and love intertwine in meaningful and complex ways,” which are common themes in her writing.
Arsenic and Adobo is the first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishes—one that might just be killer....
When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She's tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant and has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case.
With the cops treating her like she's the one and only suspect, Lila's left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. Armed with the nosy auntie network, Lila takes on this tasty, twisted case and soon finds her own neck on the chopping block…
Content Warning: fatphobia, drug abuse, evidence planting, police intimidation, (implied) domestic violence, racism
The sequel, HOMICIDE AND HALO-HALO, comes out February 8, 2022.
Maryland Workforce Exchange Workshop: Resumes and Cover Letters
St. Mary's, Calvert, and Charles Counties are collaborating on a joint partnership with the Maryland Department of Labor. Join us for monthly virtual classes relating to employment and training.
Offered by the Maryland Department of Labor, American Job Center, this is an interactive workshop for resume and cover letter writing help. Looking for a job, or a better job? Don't miss this free class. Registration closes the Monday before the event.
Job search help is available at https://mwejobs.maryland.gov/
By registering for this class, you are agreeing that your contact information will be shared with the Maryland Department of Labor, American Job Center (AJC). AJC staffer, Jasmine McCain, will contact you with initial materials and explain the MWE registration process. If you have questions or do not wish to register on MWE, you can contact Ms. McCain directly at jasminet.mccain@maryland.gov to get help on this topic.
St. Mary's County Health Department
Employees from the St. Mary's County Health Department will be available in the lobby to answer your questions about Narcan and Opioid overdose. No appointment necessary.
Maryland Workforce Exchange Workshop: Boomers and Beyond!
St. Mary's, Calvert, and Charles Counties are collaborating on a joint partnership with the Maryland Department of Labor. Join us for monthly virtual classes relating to employment and training.
This workshop, offered by Maryland Department of Labor, American Job Center, is for the experienced, seasoned jobseeker who wants to step into a new role! We will cover going after the dream, making your skillset fit into a new career path, and most importantly, working around those subtle and not-so-subtle age and over-experience barriers. Registration closes one day prior to the event.
Job search help is available on https://mwejobs.maryland.gov/
By registering for this class, you are agreeing that your contact information will be shared with Maryland Department of Labor, American Job Center (AJC). AJC staffer, Jasmine McCain, will contact you with initial materials and explain the MWE registration process. If you have questions or do not wish to register on MWE, you can contact Ms. McCain directly at jasminet.mccain@maryland.gov to get help on this topic.
Virtual Romance Book Club
Each month we will discuss a different romance novel. All books will be available in both eBook and audiobook format on Hoopla. October's title is Witch Please by Ann Aguirre.
Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla
Read the eBook on Hoopla
Virtual Expungement Day: With Williams, McClernan, & Stack LLC
Registration is now closed.
Williams, McClernan, & Stack, LLC will be offering free legal help to those seeking Maryland expungements of criminal records.
Appointments will be available by phone, or virtually in a Zoom meeting room. Appointment sessions will last about 15 minutes.
Upon registering, participants will be asked to give their name, birth date, email address, and phone number. Please also provide a case number if you have specific cases you wish to discuss. Registration information will only be shared with the attorney assisting you during your appointment.
For phone appointments, the attorney will call you at your appointment time. For virtual Zoom appointments, registrants will be sent an email with the Zoom link the day before your session, and be admitted to the Zoom room at the appointment time.
Maryland Expungements Only.
Trivia Mondays
Register with an email address to receive the link to a trivia game and test your knowledge! The game is multiple choice questions and speed matters!
Registration for each week ends at 5 p.m. on Mondays. After 5 p.m., registrants will be emailed a link to that week's trivia. You will have until Thursday at 5 p.m. to complete the game, then you'll receive an email with the full results. Trivia uses Kahoot, accessible through any internet browser, no account needed.
Searching for Fort Hollingsworth: The Battle of Elkton, 1812-1815
Dr. James Gibb will describe the archaeological search for, and discovery of, Fort Hollingsworth in Elkton, MD, and its importance to the communities and militia of Cecil County in the early 1800's.
During the War of 1812, British marines raided settlements the length and breadth of the Chesapeake Bay. Their objective was to convince President James Madison to pull U.S. troops off the Canadian line to defend the nation's capital and one of its principal ports, Baltimore. Despite pleas from people who lived in the region, President Madison refused to send troops to the Chesapeake region.
Join us as Jim Gibb describes the archaeological search for a fort that was built by local able-bodied men for their own defense in 1813. Just south of the Hollingsworth House at Elk Landing in Elkton, MD, archeological evidence has been found identifying the ditch that produced the material with which Cecil County's residents built the Fort Hollingsworth rampart in April 1813.
Common Thread Online
Join fellow crafters who love all things fiber - virtually! Registration is required (with an email address). You'll receive an email with a link to join the Zoom meeting before the program.
Open to knitters, crocheters, quilters, embroiderers, cross-stitchers, and any other kind of needleworkers. Work on your current project and chat with like-minded makers. All skill levels welcome.
Southern Maryland JobSource Mobile Career Center
Job seekers can stop by to get job counseling and resume help, search for jobs, and get registered with the Maryland Workforce Exchange.
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the following rules apply:
- Mask Required for entry
- Only one job seeker at a time in the vehicle
- 6 ft Social Distancing will be enforced
Please note that library staff may be taking photos of any or all events to use for future library publications. Event participants’ photos may be used without notification or compensation. If you do not feel comfortable having your photo taken, please inform library staff when you arrive to an event.
