Show Us How You Connect! This fall, each HCLS branch features a one-of-a-kind social interaction station, a photo-ready, interactive display inviting you to explore how you Learn, Grow, and Connect at the library.
Snap a pic, share your story, and enter to win great prizes! Visit all six branches for more chances to win. Here’s how to enter:
Post to your feed or story on Instagram or upload here
Tag @hocolibrary + use #ConnectHCLS
For each branch you visit, share the picture. You can get up to six chances to win.
Don’t want to be featured on social media? You can still participate by adding your perspective to the board – each station has an opportunity for you to share the ways you learn, grow, and connect with us.
Weekly favorites will be featured on our page, and winners will score some fun library swag.
Contest runs until Oct 31. Winners announced in November.
Celebrate 85 years of excellence with a journey back to where it all began.
This year marks a major milestone in the life of Howard County Library System: 85 years of history, community, and connection. As we look back, it’s not just the number that amazes us—it’s the journey, the people, and the purpose that have brought us to where we are today.
As part of our birthday celebration, we invite you to a very special class:
Howard County Library: The Origin Story – Honoring 85 Years of History, Community, and Connection
Discover how it all started — the visionaries who helped shape it and those who carried it forward — making Howard County Library System one of the top-rated libraries in the country. This program has been lovingly curated and will be presented by several of our dedicated library retirees. These individuals, who spent years serving the library and its customers, have poured their passion and time into uncovering the roots of our library system. They’ve scoured archives, tracked down milestones, and rediscovered library stories.
Their commitment has turned this event into more than just a presentation. It’s a heartfelt tribute to what we’ve built together.
From a small lending library in a Highland store run by Lillian and Ada Disney in the 1930s to the opening of the Central Library in Columbia in 1981 and beyond, our story is one of continuous growth and innovation. We’ve evolved from rented rooms and bookmobiles to vibrant branches offering world-class resources, classes, events, and services. We’ve embraced technology, expanded access, and reimagined what a library can be. But through every decade, one thing has remained constant: you—our community.
Learn more about the early days of the Library when it was a storefront on Main Street Ellicott City led by Lenna Baker Burgess. Hear how the library grew from one location to a system of six modern branches over the following decades, under the leadership of Marvin Thomas. Learn about the contributions of Norma Hill, how Valerie Gross built on past successes to become a nationally ranked library, and about Tonya Aikens’ strategic vision for the future.
Were you around before the Miller Branch was built? Do you remember the excitement of the Central Library’s grand opening in Columbia? Did you visit the storefront libraries in Long Reach or Lisbon? Did a librarian change your life, or did a story from our shelves shape your path? Did a book or program from the library help set your future in motion?
Join us to reminisce, reflect, and reconnect. Bring your memories, old library cards, photographs, or mementos, and share them with us as we fill in the story of the last 85 years from the community’s perspective. Let’s celebrate not only the institution, but the people—customers, staff, volunteers, and supporters—who made this journey possible.
Here’s to 85 years of learning, growing, and connecting—and to the many more stories yet to be written. Thank you for being part of our history. We can’t wait to celebrate with you.
Beginning Tuesday, September 2, 2025, all six Howard County Library System (HCLS) branches will open one hour earlier on weekdays and Saturdays to better meet the evolving needs of the community. New Hours of Operation:
Monday – Thursday: 9 am – 8 pm
Friday & Saturday: 9 am – 5 pm
Sunday: 1 – 5 pm (no change)
“Our new hours will make it easier for people to visit the library before their day gets underway – whether they’re heading to work, school, or simply want a quiet space to start their morning” said Tonya Aikens, President & CEO of Howard County Library System. “This change is a result of requests from our community to open earlier. Visit patterns to our branches support this, showing we were less busy the last hour we were open. At HCLS, our mission is simple but powerful: Learn. Grow. Connect. Our new hours will make it easier for our community to do just that.”
The earlier opening time aims to serve a wide variety of community members, including early risers, students preparing for classes, parents and caregivers with young children, and community members needing early access to resources, technology, or programs.
Whether you’re picking up a hold, attending a morning class, or simply enjoying quiet time to read or work, HCLS will be open an hour earlier to welcome you.
For more information about branch hours and services, visit hclibrary.org.
The Noontime Book Club is the longest running book club in the HCLS system. They gather at HCLS Central Branch.
by Wendy C.
As Howard County Library System (HCLS) celebrates its 85th birthday this year, I’ve found myself flipping through a mental scrapbook—page after page of memories and moments since I first started in 2010. It’s been a rich and satisfying journey, filled with more book recommendations than I could count and some of the most passionate readers and coworkers one could hope to know. When I became an Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch, I landed in a dream team of literary champions affectionately known as the Fictionistas. These were (and still are!) some of the most brilliant book minds around. They mentored me, encouraged me, and perhaps most importantly, welcomed me into their bookish fold.
One of the most meaningful invitations came early on when I was asked to help facilitate Noontime Book Club, lovingly known as Noontime Books. This wasn’t just any club. It was founded in 1993 as Noontime With Books by Marge Trautman, a true trailblazer and the OG Fictionista. Community members were encouraged to come on their lunch breaks, eat, and talk about books. Marge had retired by the time I came on the scene, but her influence lingered in every discussion circle and on every dog-eared reading list.
Marge recently passed away at the age of 81. While we are saddened by her loss, we are comforted knowing that her spirit is alive and well in the very club she started. Month after month, rain or shine, in-person or virtual, some members have been showing up for over a decade, testament to the powerful sense of community and curiosity Marge helped spark. There’s something incredibly special about gathering midday to unpack a story together, be it mystery, memoir, or modern classic. Noontime Books isn’t just about reading. It’s about connecting, questioning, and sharing a slice of life over lunch and literature.
So as we celebrate HCLS’s incredible 85-year journey, I tip my hat to the Fictionistas, to Marge, and to every reader who ever leaned in a little closer during book club to say, “Wait, did anyone else notice that part?
Click for a listing of all the HCLS book clubs that have meetings soon, and many more return in September.
Wendy Camassar is an Instructor and Research Specialist at the HCLS Central Branch and facilitates Noontime Books discussion group. In her spare time, she enjoys reading fiction, thrifting, and volunteering for Success In Style at Savage Mill.
Kids and parents attend a Kindergarten, Here We Come class at HCLS Elkridge Branch.
It’s hard to believe, but the back to school season is right around the corner. For our youngest students, though, there’s no “back” involved … they are going to school for the first time! Every year, the library offers multiple sessions of Kindergarten, Here We Come! at all our branches. With a goal to generate excitement, library staff ease any anxieties or worries with fun stories and activities. Then, students get to practice getting on and off a real school bus, taking some very big steps for little legs.
All classes are for children entering kindergarten in the fall. 45 – 60 minute class. Register for July classes. Register for August classes.
Sponsored by Friends & Foundation of HCLS and Howard County Public School System
CENTRAL BRANCH Registration begins July 30 for all sessions. Wed, August 13 | 10 am & 6:30 pm Thu, August 14 | 3 pm Sat, August 16 | 1 & 3 pm
EAST COLUMBIA BRANCH Registration begins July 16 for all sessions. Wed, July 30 | 6:30 pm Wed, August 6 | 6:30 pm Fri, August 8 | 11 am
ELKRIDGE BRANCH Registration begins July 26 for all sessions. Sat, August 9 | 2 pm Mon, August 11 | 4 & 7 pm Tue, August 12 | 11 am & 2 pm
GLENWOOD BRANCH Registration begins July 12 for all sessions. Sat, July 26 | 2 pm Mon, July 28 | 2 & 7 pm
MILLER BRANCH Registration begins July 21 for all sessions. Mon, August 4 | 11 am Tue, August 5 | 11 am & 2 pm Wed, August 6 | 2 & 6:30 pm Thu, August 7 | 6:30 pm Sat, August 9 | 11 am
SAVAGE BRANCH Thu, August 14 | 2 & 6:30 pm Sat, August 16 | 11:45 am Mon, August 18 | 10:15 am
Bilingual (Spanish/English) Bilingüe (español/inglés) HCLS GLENWOOD BRANCH | SEDE GLENWOOD Tue, July 29 | 11 am Mar, 29 julio | 11 am Registration begins July 12 for all sessions. La inscripción comienza el 12 de julio para todas las sesiones.
en español | SEDE ELKRIDGE Se requiere inscripción a hclibrary.org. Sabado, 16 agosto | 2 pm
REGULARLY SCHEDULED AT HCLS BRANCHES: 10:30 am – 4 pm bit.ly/peer-recovery Peer Recovery Specialists are available at HCLS locations, on a drop in, first come first served basis: Central Branch: 1st & 3rd Tuesdays East Columbia Branch: 2nd & 4th Thursdays Elkridge Branch: 1st Thursdays Glenwood Branch: 2nd Tuesdays Savage Branch: 4th Tuesdays (beginning Aug 26) Miller Branch: 3rd Thursdays
Howard County Library System is teaming up with the Howard County Health Department’s Bureau of Behavioral Health to offer a valuable resource for individuals and families affected by alcohol and substance use. Together, they connect community members with Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (CPRS) – trained professionals who have lived experience with addiction and recovery. Certified Peer Recovery Specialists are uniquely qualified with the lived experience of recovery from substance use, mental health or co-occurring disorders to share with others that are experiencing similar challenges. The non-clinical, strengths-based support is founded in their own unique recovery journeys, raising awareness, normalizing conversation around such struggles, and connecting individuals to local resources and support networks.
This partnership goes further, offering on-site Naloxone (Narcan) training on request. This life-saving medication is used to reverse opioid overdoses, and community members have the opportunity to learn how to properly administer it.
By providing peer support, overdose awareness, and prevention training, HCLS and the Health Department aim to empower community members with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to help themselves and others. The initiative is a vital step towards creating a more supportive, informed, and resilient community for all. This opportunity is open to everyone at no cost, and all information is confidential.
If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, help is available. Contact Howard County Health Department, Bureau of Behavior Health, at 410.313.6202, or call 988.
Tue, Jul 29 | 7 – 8:30 pm HCLS Miller Branch For adults. Register at bit.ly/Author-Tidwell
Tidwell’s new book is a riveting and elegant story of climate change on one city street, full of surprises and true stories of human struggle and dying local trees. It’s set against the national backdrop of 2023’s record heat domes and raging wildfires and, simultaneously, rising hopes for clean energy. In 2023, author and activist Mike Tidwell decided to keep a record for a full year of the growing impacts of climate change on his one urban block right on the border with Washington, DC. A love letter to the magnificent oaks and other trees dying from record heat waves and bizarre rain, Tidwell’s story depicts the neighborhood’s battle to save the trees and combat climate change: The midwife who builds a geothermal energy system on the block, the Congressman who battles cancer and climate change at the same time, and the Chinese-American climate scientist who wants to bury billions of the world’s dying trees to store their carbon and help stabilize the atmosphere.
Mike Tidwell is a journalist, author, and climate activist living in Takoma Park, MD. As a past contributing writer for The Washington Post, he won four Lowell Thomas Awards, the highest prize in American travel journalism. He is a former National Endowment for the Arts fellow whose work has been published in Audubon, National Geographic Traveler, Orion, Washingtonian, and elsewhere.
The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue by Mike Tidwell is available in print, e-book, and e-audiobook.
Required Reading: Texts for Change is a new quarterly book club for readers who care about equity, community, and meaningful conversation. It’s for anyone who’s curious, committed to learning, and ready to grow—no matter where you’re starting from.
Each season, our group gathers around a thought-provoking book that invites us to see the world—and one another—a little differently. These are texts that challenge assumptions, offer fresh perspectives, and help us think more deeply about equity in our lives, our work, and the communities we live in. Howard County is a beautifully diverse place, home to people of many cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. And like many communities, we still face real challenges around access, opportunity, and belonging. Take advantage of the chance to slow down, reflect, and strengthen the ability to show up for one another with empathy and intention.
Read three nonfiction books throughout the year and one fiction title each summer—something lighter to make space for joy, imagination, and connection. Some of these books will stretch us. That’s the point. Growth happens when we’re willing to sit with complexity and listen deeply—to authors and to each other.
Our first title is Black Cakeby Charmaine Wilkerson, which is one of those books that subtly teaches you things about the world that you didn’t know – like the history of Chinese indentured servants in the Caribbean or that surfing isn’t the sole proprietary sport of blond dudes in California. Inspired by her own multi-ethnic Caribbean roots, author Charmaine Wilkerson manages to weave a history lesson seamlessly into a heart-tugging tale of family secrets.
Written in bite-sized chapters that move from past to present and back again, the story is woven together like grandma’s quilt. A little bit of love pinned here, a little bit of pain there. While the new ERCC book club will focus mostly on nonfiction titles, summers will be reserved for fictional getaways. Black Cake is the perfect inaugural book. Enough drama and intrigue to keep you hooked, while sharpening the mind and deepening the senses for of those committed to equity work in our own community.
Dr. Clark is the Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Officer at Howard County Library System.
Join nationally known adventure-travel journalist Peter Mandel for a thrilling virtual exploration of the world’s most remote and extreme locations. Mandel has chased stories from the deserts of Africa to the fjords of Norway, the mountain paths of Japan to the icy wilderness of Antarctica—often returning with unforgettable tales and striking photos.
In this dynamic storytelling event, Mandel shares gripping experiences from the field —surviving a coup in Ecuador, fishing for piranhas in Brazil, floating in the Goodyear Blimp, kayaking to the Statue of Liberty, visiting a ‘city’ of penguins at the South Pole, and more. Along the way, he’ll reveal how these real-life adventures are transformed into powerful prose for today’s newspapers, magazines, and books.
Peter Mandel’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, National Geographic Kids, The Los Angeles Times, and more. He has published eleven children’s books, with titles exhibited at the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Natural History, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. His books have been translated into several languages, including Japanese, German, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish. Based in Rhode Island, he shares his home with his wife, Kathy, and their rescue cats, Emily and Cecil.
This all-ages virtual program is perfect for curious minds, aspiring writers, world travelers, and armchair adventurers alike. Don’t miss this unforgettable journey around the globe—from the comfort of home.
This summer kicks off the third annual reading challenge for adults, while also celebrating 85 years of the library. People are the heart of our library – and we want to see you achieve your goals, explore the world, and find joy in the pages of a good book. Pick up a booklet at any branch to inspire you through a year of reading, filled with suggested titles and prompts for reflection.
While there are 14 reading challenges listed, you need to complete only three of them to participate in summer reading. Once you have read three books (print, e-book, and audio all count), come back to the Library to receive a prize and be entered into a grand prize drawing.
Here’s a sneak peek – and a Chapter Chats review or two:
These are a taste of what a year of reading could have in store for you. Visit our branches often to check displays for more titles or to ask a staff member for a recommendation.
CHAPTER CHATS 