Throughout the many conversations our library staff has had with community members over the past several months, people express their yearning for opportunities for connection. After months of sitting inside, waiting for an invisible threat to slowly disperse, our community is hungry for time together. We’ve seen this coming. Zoom fatigue took over mid-2020, and the initial novelty of convening digitally lost its charm as we all felt the loss of that special feeling of closeness that accompanies gathering in person. More and more, we’ve heard from community members that are thrilled to be back physically in our library buildings (www.altadenalibrary.org/reopening), which affords our visitors a more meaningful experience than just browsing resources online.

It’s time for connection. We are excited to step out into the world again and to fulfill, in a more meaningful way, one of the critical priorities we set forth in our 2020 strategic plan – to be connectors in this community. In short, we have missed you, so we are doing what good neighbors do and inviting our neighbors over to our place(s) for dinner! The Inspire Harmony series will take place on Thursdays in June, and each gathering will consist of community meals from local restaurants, musical performances by local groups, and chances to converse about what we want for our community and our libraries. While we will wear masks and socially distance, we don’t discount the power of being together, and we hope you will join us and your neighbors at these special gatherings. Links to RSVP are below!

On Saturday, June 5, at 12:00pm, the Friends will welcome CEO Anne Miskey and Sr. Director Shawn Morrissey of Union Station Homeless Services who will discuss homelessness, the challenges of the past year, and how we can all make a difference. The Friends will also present the annual donation to the Altadena Library District and elect officers for the year ahead. >> Sign up for access to the Zoom!

Throughout June, bring the family and take a relaxing stroll around the Altadena Library on Mariposa Street while reading the story "This Day in June" by Gayle E. Pitman. This Storywalk® will be available for the full month of June 2021. In a wildly whimsical, validating, and exuberant reflection of the LGBTQ+ community, this title welcomes readers to experience a pride celebration and share in a day when we are all united. 

Listen today on your favorite podcast platform (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts) or visit thisisaltadena.podomatic.com.

The Altadena Library Foundation recently received a generous grant from the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation that will equip our new mobile library van for pop-ups around Altadena starting in mid-June! Visit www.altadenalibrary.org/wheels to see our growing list of opportunities to encounter the Curiosity Connection in action around town!

Our Summer for Kids & Families

Our June calendar of events for families, children, and teens is full of opportunities to celebrate summer and to connect with new ideas and neighbors. Sign up for the following events and MORE at www.altadenalibrary.org/programs!

June 19th, called "Juneteenth," commemorates the day the last people who were enslaved were emancipated in the United States in 1865. The following picks from the Altadena Libraries' print and digital collections are by Black authors that, through fiction and nonfiction work, tell the stories of the horrific legacy of slavery and of those that have continued to fight for equity and justice.

In our own community of Altadena, we are pleased to lift the story of Ellen Garrison Clark, an educator and civil rights activist that spent her life fighting for the rights of people, like her father, that survived slavery. The Altadena Historical Society will be honoring Ellen on Saturday, June 19, at 11:00am by placing a grave marker at her currently unmarked grave in Mountain View Cemetery. The community is invited to attend in person or to view the ceremony online at the Mountain View Cemetery YouTube page.