ADULT PROGRAMS
ASK A LEO! TECH HELP FROM TEENS
Tuesdays from 4:00-5:00pm
March 26, April 30, & May 28
Have questions about your phone or tablet? Wondering how to do something on the computer? Get one-on-one tech assistance from a member of the Buchanan Leo's Club! Registration preferred but not required; call the library to register.
FINDING SHAKESPEARE IN THE GARDEN
Tuesday, April 23 at 6:00pm
Join us as we welcome Colleen Sehy, author of Finding Shakespeare in America as she explores typical elements of a Shakespeare garden and highlights some notable examples here in the United States.
ADULT CRAFT: MACRAMÉ PLANT HANGERS
Thursday, April 25, 11am & 5:30pm or
Friday, April 26, 11am & 5:30pm
Join Jen to learn how to make a macramé plant hanger. All materials are provided. Space is limited and sign up is required. Call 269.695.3681.
DUE TO THE POPULARITY OF CRAFT CLASSES, THE SIGN UP FOR THIS CLASS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL APRIL 1.
STORY CLUB STORYTELLING WORKSHOP
Saturday, April 27 from 4-6pm
Hosted by the Story Club of Southwest Michigan, this workshop will help participants develop the courage, confidence and skill to step forward and deliver a well-told, true story to friends, family, colleagues, or even an audience at a future Story Club performance. Registration required, call the library to sign up.
BUTTERFLY HOUSES WITH CHIKAMING OPEN LANDS
Thursday, May 2 at 5:30pm
Join Grace from Chikaming Open Lands to build and paint a colorful butterfly house! Registration required, call the library to sign up. This is a family program. One butterfly house kit available per family.
STAR WARS DAY
Saturday, May 4 from 1:00-3:00pm
Come celebrate May the 4th at the Buchanan District Library! Make a craft, listen to a story, go on a scavenger hunt, answer trivia, engage in a Wii lightsaber battle, and meet characters (Rumor has it Darth Vader may be there)! Fun for all ages. Dressing up is encouraged.
MEET THE AUTHOR: ERIN BARTELS
Tuesday, May 7 at 6pm
Buchanan District Library is part of the Michigan Notable Books Author Tour this year! Join us as we welcome Erin Bartels, author of Everything Is Just Beginning, a story of two lonely souls who have exactly what the other one needs—if they could simply turn their focus from what is ending to what is just beginning. Extra copies are available at the library so you can read this award-winning book before the event. No registration is required.
THE ART OF HERBAL TEA
Tuesday, May 14 at 3:00pm
At the Buchanan Area Senior Center
In partnership with the Buchanan Area Senior Center, join us as we welcome Bevin Cohen of Small House Farm for a special herbal tea workshop! Blend, brew, and enjoy an irresistible selection of herbal teas while Bevin shares his knowledge on the history and folklore of the various herbal ingredients. Create a custom herbal tea to take home and enjoy! Adults of any age are welcome at this program. Registration is required, click here to sign up.
LIFETIME FRIENDS: THE BUCHANAN GIRL SCOUTS
Thursday, June 6 at 5:30pm
Join us virtually or in-person in the library’s Community Room to hear Susan Haedtler Ruth share stories of eight young Girl Scouts who graced the cover of the library’s 2022 Remembering Buchanan calendar. Susan, a Buchanan native and close relative of two of the women, set out to identify the other six and uncover “the rest of the story” about these eight remarkable women.
No registration required. Check back later for the link to participate virtually.
Adult Beanstack Reading Challenges
The Buchanan District Library wants to encourage everyone to be life-long readers, and to that end we're posting more Beanstack Challenges throughout the year. Visit our Beanstack Challenges page for more details on our current challenges!
BUCHANAN BOOK CLUB
Come join our book discussion! Meets the first Wednesday of the month *at 6:00-7:00pm* at the library. Please email l.hauch@buchananlibrary.org if you'd like to join the club/contact list.
January 3- The Searcher by Tana French
February 7- The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
March 6- The Maid by Nita Prose
April 3- Atlas of a Lost World by Craig Childs
May 1- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
June 5- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
July 10*- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (*Not July 3)
August 7- The Power of Babel by John McWhorter
September 4- Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
October 2- Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv
November 6- Middlemarch by George Eliot
December 4- The Black Count by Tom Reiss (meeting location TBA)
Don't have the book and the library's copy is checked out? We can get it for you through MeLCat interlibrary loan! Go to www.mel.org or ask at the Front Desk to request it.
Let us know what you think! If you attended one of our programs, please take a moment to give us your feedback using the form below.
ARCHIVED PAST EVENTS
Jack Knight Presentation with Patricia Lammersfeld
James H. (Jack) Knight, a former Buchanan resident and Buchanan High School student, flew for the U.S. airmail starting in 1919. Patricia Lammersfeld has collected cherished memorabilia about her famous grandfather, and will offer a slide presentation about his life and place in our country’s aviation history. This event took place at the library on Wednesday, June 1, 2022.
Beginning Genealogy with Judy Nimer Muhn
Join Judy Nimer Muhn, writer, speaker, blogger, presenter and researcher for Beginning Genealogy: Effective Strategies & Tools. Millions of people are trying to develop their family tree but how many know the effective, time-tested ways to do this? If you are beginning, learn the fundamental tips that will keep you on track and getting results! Judy has been researching her family tree from the age of 12, specializing in French-Canadian, Acadian, Native American and Michigan research. Beginning as a professional genealogist in Europe in 1993, she has lectured at the National Genealogical Society’s conferences in 1998 and 2000, as well as conferences in Europe and around the United States. She is currently writing a book of the matri-lineal descent of her oldest female ancestor in Normandy, France. Traveling extensively around the world, Judy has visited and researched in the villages and archives of Germany, France, Quebec, and Ontario where her or her husband’s family lived. Program handouts: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yhxX... https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wgqP...
This event took place via Zoom on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 7:00pm. A recording of the is below and on YouTube.
Meet the Author: Susan Ruth
Susan Haedtler Ruth shares stories about five female family members from her new book, Mayflower to Michigan and Beyond: My Family’s Journey. These five women descend from immigrants who arrived in this country between 1620 and 1855. Two of them settled in Chicago; two in Buchanan; and the fifth, Susan’s mother, was a bridge between the two cities. Born in Chicago, she later moved to her family’s 1850s homestead on Portage Prairie. Each story is unique, but they share common themes of adventure, sadness, and joy.
This event took place via Zoom on Tuesday, November 17, 2020, at 7:00pm. A recording of the is below and on YouTube.
Meet the Author: Gabrielle Robinson
On September 24, the Buchanan District Library hosted a special program with South Bend-based author, Gabrielle Robinson. She discussed her latest book, Api’s Berlin Diaries: My Quest to Understand my Grandfather’s Nazi Past, and talked about how you can capture your own family history through writing. Gabrielle tells stories about people that reveal their personal situation within its historical context.One reason for her fascination with the intersection of the personal and historical stems from her own experience. Born in Berlin in 1942, her father’s fighter plane was shot down in 1943. After her family was bombed out twice, they fled Berlin in 1945. After her mother’s death, Gabrielle Robinson found diaries her grandfather had kept while serving as a doctor in Berlin in 1945—only to discover that her beloved Api had been a Nazi. Moving and provocative, Api’s Berlin Diaries offers a first hand and personal perspective on the far reaching aftershocks of the Third Reich and the author’s own inconvenient past. You can learn more about Gabrielle and her writing by visiting her website, https://www.gabriellerobinson.com/.
This event took place via Zoom on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 7:00pm. A recording of the is below and on YouTube.