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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 this episode, Hannah and Matt take you on a journey of exploration into the worlds of picture books and board games, respectively.

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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 in progress (Oct. 5-11). Libraries believe in the freedom to read, and that includes the freedom to listen, learn and discover new things - about the world, about other people, and about yourself. Enjoy!

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

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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 their favorite titles! For a full list of books mentioned, click here.  

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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.

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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.

TW: Suicide, gender dysphoria

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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 more out of your visits to the Hamden Public Library.

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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, President of the Spring Glen Gardening Club and Lyn Baumgartner, the Beautification Coordinator for the Town of Hamden. Whether you’re a new gardener or someone with more experience, we hope this episode inspires you and makes you curious to try some new things in your vegetable or flower garden, both this season and beyond.

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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 I had to guess whether it was written by Taylor Swift or Edgar Allan Poe.  

This has been a real labor of love for me and has turned out to be, I think, possibly my favorite episode that we’ve ever done. Of course, I was an English major so I’m a little biased, but I hope you enjoy it as well! - Mike

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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 time of year.

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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.

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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 current state of book challenges. 

After that, Hamden Library Board of Trustees member Amber Woodward and I discuss her background, balancing community benefit with individual rights and her role in helping the library ensure all users benefit from the ALA's Bill of Rights, among other topics. 

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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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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 Community Care Center, about Clifford Beers' services for families with autistic kids, Autism Services & Resources Connecticut (ASRC), and the annual Walk for Autism and Resource Fair.

We hope you enjoy!  

Further Reading

• Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity - Steve Silberman 
• Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity - Devon Price 
• Spectrum | The Transmitter 

• Connecticut State Department of Social Services - Autism 
• Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (USA) | Direct link to Resources Page 

• The ARC 
• Autism Self Advocacy Network 
• Autistic Women’s & Nonbinary Network 
• The Color of Autism Foundation 

• The Reason I Jump and Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8 –Naoki Higashida 
• Thinking In Pictures – Temple Grandin 
• Look Me In The Eye - John Elder Robison 
• Autism In Heels – Jennifer Cook 
• Sincerely, Your Autistic Child - Various authors
• Neuroclastic 
• The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism 

See our blog page for April 2024's episode for links to other podcasts and links to authors mentioned in the podcast

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This episode features interviews with Geena Clonan, founding president of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, and Colette Anderson, executive director of the Connecticut Women’s Consortium, which provides gender-informed and trauma-responsive training to behavior health professionals. In March we celebrate the women who have helped build a fairer, more just society. After you listen to this episode, we encourage you to read the Proclamation on Women's History Month, 2024 put out by the White House on whitehouse.gov and spend time on the website womenshistorymonth.gov which is hosted by the Library of Congress and their partners.

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In honor of Black History Month, Teen Librarian Jenny Nicolelli interviewed two of her former colleagues from the New Haven Free Public Library to talk about their careers as librarians. First you'll hear Jenny talk with Marian Huggins, branch manager of the Mitchell Library. Then you will hear her interview with Diane X. Brown, branch manager of Stetson Library. These are great talks – especially if you have ever considered entering the field of librarianship and want to get a sense of what it’s really like.

Additional resources:

Recommended Reading Lists (Inspired by Marian Huggins & Diane X. Brown)
All CT Reads

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This month we are focusing on health literacy, or the ability to find, access, understand and use health-related information. First up, Ryan talks to Kate Nyhan, the founder of Community Access to Ventilation Information, about her mission to make air quality monitors available to the public through libraries. Then Ariana interviews Yale medical librarians and Hamden residents, Kayla del Biondo and Alexandria Brackett, on the importance of health literacy, how it informs their work and what we can do to make sure the health and medical information we are getting is accurate.

Additional resources:

• CAVI website
• CRAAP Test
• NewsGuard
• MedlinePlus
• MedlinePlus Magazine
• Network of the National Library of Medicine
• PubMed Central
• clinicaltrials.gov
• The Model Health Show
• The Huberman Lab Podcast
• @thatgaydoctor (Instagram)

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To celebrate the end of the year, we asked our staff to talk about something they loved in 2023: a book, an album, an event - anything that stood out as superlative. Here are their picks. 

What did you like best in 2023? Email us at hamdenlibrarypodcast@gmail.com and we'll read the best submissions in a future episode!

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This month we are recognizing Native American Heritage month with two interviews. Ryan spoke to David Eichelberg, a member of the Mohegan tribe who specializes in outreach and is also doing a special program with the library later this month (check our website for more details). Ariana talked with Matthew Makomenaw, enrolled member of the Grand Traverse Bay Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Assistant Dean of Yale College and Director of Yale’s Native American Cultural Center.

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Have you ever wondered about the history of Hamden? I interviewed town historian Dave Johnson about town origins, trolleys, the Leatherman's cave, and more. Also in this episode, hear from a 102-year-old woman who grew up in Hamden, rode the trolleys, and went into the Nurse Corps during World War II. Plus, Ryan and I talk books and a new kind of library program!

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In this special bonus episode, Ariana talks to Kayla Del Biondo about mindful journaling. Look for Kayla's 3-part program series this summer at the Library!