Storytimes near ELTING MEMORIAL LIBRARY

Parking Lot

In the month of July, volunteers will be present on certain days in our parking lot book shed to accept donations of books for the 2026 Library Fair! We request that the books are in good, saleable condition. We cannot accept the following: Water-damaged or musty-smelling books Moldy or mildewy books Out-of-date textbooks Encyclopedias Books can be donated on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9 to 11 AM. The 68th annual Elting Memorial Library Fair will be held on Saturday, September 26th, and Sunday, September 27th.

Stone Building- East Room, Elting Memorial Library

The East Room of the Elting Memorial Library will be in use for a meeting of New Paltz Gardens for Nutrition on Thursday, July 9th from 5 PM to 7PM.

Steinberg Reading Room, Elting Memorial Library

The Elting Memorial Library Battle of the Books Team meets to discuss books and prepare for battle.

Steinberg Reading Room, Elting Memorial Library

Join us in the Steinberg Room on Thursday, July 9th at 7 PM for the next installment of Poetry as Protest and Political Action with Ulster County Poet Laureate Mike Jurkovic. Register to get an email reminder the day before the program. Registration is optional.

Children's Room

Join us for a fun introduction to the French language through songs, games, movement, storytelling, and simple crafts. Children will discover French in a playful and supportive environment while building vocabulary and confidence. Designed for children ages 5–11 and their caregivers. No prior French experience is needed—just come ready to learn and have fun! Registration is preferred and guarantees your spot at this event.

Steinberg Reading Room, Elting Memorial Library

Informal group of knitters and other fiber artists that meets every Friday in the Steinberg Room from 3:30PM to 5:00PM. Register if you would like to get an email reminder the day before each program. Registration is optional.

Steinberg Reading Room

Compete in person with other Smash Bros. players! All skill levels are welcome to connect with the local Super Smash Bros. community. Enjoy snacks, drinks and prizes while experiencing the fun of in-person gameplay. Bring your own controller if you like, or use one of ours. Registration required.

Parking Lot

In the month of July, volunteers will be present on certain days in our parking lot book shed to accept donations of books for the 2026 Library Fair! We request that the books are in good, saleable condition. We cannot accept the following: Water-damaged or musty-smelling books Moldy or mildewy books Out-of-date textbooks Encyclopedias Books can be donated on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9 to 11 AM. The 68th annual Elting Memorial Library Fair will be held on Saturday, September 26th, and Sunday, September 27th.

Steinberg Reading Room, Elting Memorial Library

Join us in the Steinberg Room on Saturday, July 11th at 2 PM for our latest program in partnership with Inquiring Minds Bookstore. We will be joined by author L.J. Nightingale as she reads from and discusses her new novel Drawn. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the program. Register to get an email reminder the day before the program and to be made aware of any changes in the event of inclement weather. Registration is optional. Book Description: "This book has been in the works for five years and is very dear to me. It deals with themes of identity, found family, and the struggles of mid-century LGBTQ youth. 'For many gay men in America in 1955, life was an exercise in concealment, where to be one’s true self could spell rejection, jail, or even death. For Jack Lovett, it means getting thrown out of his house on a cold March night with just the shoes on his feet, his jacket, and his sketchbook. Jack never expected to find real friends in his miserable existence...and he expected to find a mud-caked soldier straight from World War II lying in the grass even less. Martin Swire is beautiful, he's brash, and he's asking Jack to help him reconnect with his past. How could Jack say no? He's got nothing to lose. But as they head for New York City to find Martin's wartime friend Rob, Jack unwittingly draws an unearthly presence behind him, one that's been trailing him since childhood...'"

Parking Lot

In the month of July, volunteers will be present on certain days in our parking lot book shed to accept donations of books for the 2026 Library Fair! We request that the books are in good, saleable condition. We cannot accept the following: Water-damaged or musty-smelling books Moldy or mildewy books Out-of-date textbooks Encyclopedias Books can be donated on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9 to 11 AM. The 68th annual Elting Memorial Library Fair will be held on Saturday, September 26th, and Sunday, September 27th.

Steinberg Reading Room

The Steinberg Room will be in use on Sunday, July 12th from 1PM to 3PM by Mid-Hudson Valley DSA.

Children's Room

Come to the library every Monday morning to hear a fun selection of stories with your children and enjoy community with other families! All ages are welcome. No registration is required.

Stone Building- East Room, Stone Building- West Room, Elting Memorial Library

Teens meet to play Dungeons and Dragons.

Steinberg Reading Room, Elting Memorial Library

Join us in the Steinberg Room on Monday, July 13th at 6:00 PM for a reflective writing circle with Laura Santner. Register to get an email reminder the day before the program. Registration is preferred and guarantees your spot. "Summer is the season of abundance. In this workshop, we will explore the richness, complexity, and emotional undercurrents of summer. Through guided discussion, reflective writing prompts, and gentle sharing, participants will use poetry as a lens to explore what we hold onto and what we release, our relationship with time, nature, and inner growth, and finding the space for relaxation and strength. No prior experience with poetry is required—just a willingness to listen deeply and write honestly. Whether you are navigating a personal transition, seeking clarity, or simply wanting to connect with the emotional resonance of the season, this workshop invites you into a mindful, creative space. Bring a notebook, a pen, and an open heart."

Steinberg Reading Room, Vera Rushforth Reading Garden

Join Wayfinder Adventures for an evening of fun games and epic sword fights. For kids ages 8 we'll spend an hour and a half playing improv games, making friends, and battling with foam swords. Registration is preferred and guarantees your spot at this event.

Stone Building- East Room

The East Room of the Elting Memorial Library's stone building will be in use from 5 PM to 7 PM by Ulster Boces.

Vera Rushforth Reading Garden

Join us for a strum-along full of 80s classics and musical fun! Bring along your own instruments to join in, or just enjoy the music and sing along in our library garden. Registration is preferred and guarantees your spot at this event.

Stone Building- East Room, Elting Memorial Library

Graceful Aging meets at the Elting Memorial Library the first and third Wednesday of each month from 10:30AM to 12:00PM. The group also meets on fifth Wednesdays when there is a fifth Wednesday. Register to receive an email reminder the day before the program. Registration is optional. From facilitator Peter Pitzele: "At the beginning of 2020, when my wife Susan and I were in our late 70’s, we returned to the Hudson Valley after decades living elsewhere. It is not uncommon for elders to come back to family, and in our case grown kids, ex’es, memories and a few old friends. This delicate re-engagement occupied the early period of our resettlement. We were keenly aware that we were getting not just older, but old. As we faced into our 80s, we came up with a resolution: 'Let’s do our aging as gracefully as we can.' And, we thought, perhaps we can do that with others. Drawing on our varied experience in leading and being part of groups, we proposed to form such a group. We called it Graceful Aging. This group, necessarily irregular in attendance and varying in age from the late 60’s to the mid-80’s, has been meeting together for more than a year. Together we have originated some guidelines that enhance our ability to listen deeply to one another, to value silence and to share what is uppermost on our minds; there is laughter and story-telling and a lot of compassion. We are like explorers mapping a common terrain from our own co-ordinates. Here are a few of the questions that recur in our conversations: What does the word “graceful” bring to the possibilities of aging? What is the wisdom and gratitude we find in our aging? How do we discriminate between what to let go of and what to hold onto? How can we navigate our duties and responsibilities to our families while respecting our own limitations? How do we tolerate the diminishment of our faculties without feeling unmoored? How do those of us who are unpartnered deal with new levels of loneliness? How do those of us still connected to a significant other enhance our support of one another in aging? What are the practices and routines that we value and protect? And always: What can we learn from one another? Graceful Aging convenes on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Elting Memorial Library in New Paltz. It is an open group; there is no charge to attend. Folks come and go, return or not, but there is a core of regulars. We welcome you to drop in any time. To inquire further, be in touch with the library at the following e-mail. They will give you my email address if they can’t answer your questions or concerns: frontdesk@eltinglibrary.org."

Children's Room, Elting Memorial Library

Take part in creative movement, action songs, and musical games! Activities for young children are designed to nurture their physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. This playful program is led by Jillian Brown, Nationally Certified School Psychologist. Open to all ages, 0-11. Registration is preferred, and guarantees your spot in this program.

Stone Building- West Room, Elting Memorial Library

The West Room of the Elting Library's stone building will be in use on July 15th at 6 PM for a Library Fair meeting.

Parking Lot

In the month of July, volunteers will be present on certain days in our parking lot book shed to accept donations of books for the 2026 Library Fair! We request that the books are in good, saleable condition. We cannot accept the following: Water-damaged or musty-smelling books Moldy or mildewy books Out-of-date textbooks Encyclopedias Books can be donated on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9 to 11 AM. The 68th annual Elting Memorial Library Fair will be held on Saturday, September 26th, and Sunday, September 27th.

Children's Room

Mindfulness together is a great way to bond and create memories! Join Crystal for a family-friendly gentle yoga class, great for anyone who already has experience as well as those who are just beginners. Crystal is a Registered Yoga Teacher-200 & RM and has studied with Flow and Grow Kids Yoga. Bring your own yoga mat if you have one. The library has mats you can borrow, too. This class will work best with one caregiver and one child per team but two children to one adult will also work out just fine! Registration is required to attend this event.

Stone Building- East Room, Elting Memorial Library

Join us in the East Room of the Elting Memorial Library's stone building every other Thursday at 6 PM in June and July for a summer series French conversation class in partnership with Fluency Fair. Registration is required. Registered patrons will get an email reminder the day before each session. "After a very successful spring session at the library, we’re excited to continue with a new round of engaging, results-focused French conversation classes led by Gregor Destin, founder of the Fluency Fair language learning program. This class is designed for A2 / late-beginner learners who want to build real confidence speaking French in a relaxed, supportive environment. Each session centers around a practical, real-life topic. You’ll prepare ahead of time using the Fluency Fair app, so that class time is focused on what matters most: speaking, interacting, and gaining fluency."

Steinberg Reading Room

Join Elting Memorial Library and Unearth the Story of Jurassic Park (1993)! Jurassic Park follows the story of a select group of people touring an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created using prehistoric DNA. Although they are assured the park is safe, they find out otherwise when various ferocious predators break free and go on the hunt. Jurassic Park is rated PG-13 for intense science-fiction terror (MPAA). Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Registration is preferred and guarantees your spot at this event.

Children's Room

Join us for a fun introduction to the French language through songs, games, movement, storytelling, and simple crafts. Children will discover French in a playful and supportive environment while building vocabulary and confidence. Designed for children ages 5–11 and their caregivers. No prior French experience is needed—just come ready to learn and have fun! Registration is preferred and guarantees your spot at this event.

Steinberg Reading Room, Elting Memorial Library

Informal group of knitters and other fiber artists that meets every Friday in the Steinberg Room from 3:30PM to 5:00PM. Register if you would like to get an email reminder the day before each program. Registration is optional.

Parking Lot

In the month of July, volunteers will be present on certain days in our parking lot book shed to accept donations of books for the 2026 Library Fair! We request that the books are in good, saleable condition. We cannot accept the following: Water-damaged or musty-smelling books Moldy or mildewy books Out-of-date textbooks Encyclopedias Books can be donated on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9 to 11 AM. The 68th annual Elting Memorial Library Fair will be held on Saturday, September 26th, and Sunday, September 27th.

Steinberg Reading Room, Elting Memorial Library

Register to join us in the Steinberg Room on Saturday, July 18th at 10:00AM for a defensive driving class taught by Peter Khan. The class is sponsored by American Safety INC. Registration is required to attend the class. The class has a cap of 40 students. The class costs $40 and can be paid with cash or by check on the day of the class. If you are paying by check, please wait to fill out the check until the day of the class. Checks should not be made out to the Library. Please contact the Library if you have registered and cannot make it so that we can contact patrons on the waiting list. Registrants will get an email reminder the day before the program and be notified of any inclement weather changes. Through the class you can reduce the base rate of your auto and motorcycle insurance premiums by 10% each year for three years. The class may reduce up to four points on your driving record. You can find out more information about the class from the NY state DMV website here.

Children's Room

Join Elting Memorial Library in unearthing the story of what owls eat for dinner! This STEM Saturday, do a type of archaeology by dissecting an owl pellet of your very own. Please note: This STEM Saturday is best for children ages 6 . Younger siblings can come, but owl pellet dissection will be prioritized for older children. Registration is preferred and guarantees your spot at this event.

Parking Lot

In the month of July, volunteers will be present on certain days in our parking lot book shed to accept donations of books for the 2026 Library Fair! We request that the books are in good, saleable condition. We cannot accept the following: Water-damaged or musty-smelling books Moldy or mildewy books Out-of-date textbooks Encyclopedias Books can be donated on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9 to 11 AM. The 68th annual Elting Memorial Library Fair will be held on Saturday, September 26th, and Sunday, September 27th.