The Westport Library

05/30/2026

Tonight we're live-streaming the horrifying incidents that may transpire in the library tonight... perhaps you should watch it while your lounging "around the house" 🤣

Tune in at 7 pm to watch Josh Malerman & Wow Town's interpretation of "Incidents Around The House."

This is not a book reading.It’s a live, immersive horror performa...

05/30/2026

Do you know a high-school student that is preparing for final exams! Let them know we're hosting a "Lock-in at the Library" study session📍Sunday, June 7, 5-8 pm.

During the lock-in, the Library remains open past regular hours *ONLY FOR HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS*.

Entry Requirements: You must arrive and be inside the building before the Library closes to the public at 5 pm. Must show your Schoology account or student ID.

Lock-In Rules: If you leave the building after 5 pm, you will not be allowed back in. Parents, adult tutors, and teachers are not permitted to stay in the building.

Available Services: This is a dedicated study environment, so traditional Library services like book checkouts and tech help will not be available.

Staples Players

05/28/2026

Lonnie Quinn has won 14 Emmy Awards for Best Weather Anchor at CBS News New York — and before he was your most trusted voice during a nor'easter, he was a soap opera actor on "All My Children." Dan Woog sat down with the Westport resident and CBS meteorologist for the latest episode of the 06880 podcast, recorded live at The Westport Library's Trefz Forum. The conversation covers the career pivot, the craft of communicating weather, and what it means to be part of this community.

Tune in ➡️

Westport’s own Dan Woog brings his popular blog “06880: Where Westport Meets the World” to life, via the Verso Studios at The Westport Library — recorded LIV...

05/27/2026

It’s ‘We Read Wednesday’ and with our annual Summer Reading Challenge starting on June 1, we’re sharing what other Westporters are saying about their latest library reads!

Have you left a bookmark review at the library yet? Lookout for bookmarks that live inside staff picks or community recommendations. You can ever grab a bookmark from patron services and start your own review thread and even see your recommendation here!

05/26/2026

Brand new book highlights from the most tapped in readers around... our librarians! Check out these titles 📚 published TODAY!

Get ready to place your holds on these new books that our librarians are excited about ➡️ https://westportlibrary.libguides.com/BooksWereExcitedAbout

05/24/2026

Twenty minutes of reading a day is all it takes to keep young minds sharp over the summer — and our Summer Reading Challenge makes it the easiest suggestion any grown-up can make. Running June 1 through September 6, it gives kids a reason to pick up a book, track their progress, and earn rewards along the way. Pass it along.

Hot tip: Grandparents make great readalong buddies ➡️ https://westportlibrary.libguides.com/YouthReadingPrograms

05/23/2026

High schoolers from across the community spent weeks creating 1–2 minute videos exploring how social media spreads hate — from slurs and memes to microaggressions and radicalization. Now it's time to see whose work rose to the top.

On Wednesday, May 27, Dr. Matthias Becker — a research scholar with over a decade of work in discourse studies and AI-supported social media analysis — returns for a follow-up Q&A and discussion, and to announce the winner of the Decode Hate Video Challenge. It's a fitting close to a program that asked young people to do something harder than scroll: to look critically at the platforms shaping their worldview.

Event details ➡️ https://westportlibrary.org/event/decode-hate-video-challenge-awards-ceremony/

05/15/2026

Do you remember The Remarkable Book Shop? Located at 177 Main Street in Westport, the bookshop owned by Sidney & Esther Kramer, served as a beloved independent bookstore and cultural hub. Do you have any memories of this iconic local bookshop?

Operating from the early 1960s until the mid‑1990s, this iconic pink bookstore was cherished for its vast selection of books, cozy browsing nooks, and friendly staff — and even had a resident cat that entertained generations of readers.

Loved by locals and visitors alike, the Remarkable Book Shop became a communal gathering place and a defining feature of Westport’s downtown literary scene. The building that housed the book shop was a traditional colonial originally built in 1775 by Ebenezer Coley and used as his General Store, an important landmark to Westport’s early trading and commerce history.

Learn more with our librarian-curated history guides ➡️ https://westportlibrary.libguides.com/RemarkableBookShop

1/ Sidewalk sale photo from 1977 by Fred Cantor.

2/ Outside of The Remarkable Book Shop.

3/ Wendy Newton, longtime manager, working behind the counter of the book shop.

4/ Sidney and Esther Kramer outside The Remarkable Book Shop: The couple owned the beloved pink-colored book store that was so much a part of Main Street from 1962 to 1997.

5/ Westport painter/illustrator/author, Leonard Everett Fisher, is on the floor reading to eager listeners. In his hands is his book ‘Sailboat Lost.’

6/ Hand-painted advertising for the 1965 gala roof-raising party to celebrate the expansion of the shop.

7/ Edward Gorey had often visited the shop and gladly approved Esther’s use of his illustration of the man. The Remlin Brothers, still Westport contractors, built the man.

8/ After the shop closed, The Remarkable Man found his way across Main Street to the wall of Cold Fusion Gelato, from which he can view his former home.

9/ Jane Green, author taking The Remarkable Bookcycle for it’s inaugural ride along Compo Beach Road in 2018. Shoutout Miggs Burroughs for his contribution to its innovation.

Springshare

05/13/2026

Celebrate 25 Years of Shrek as we go behind the scenes with screenwriter Roger Schulman on Tuesday, May 19 at 7pm. Register ➡️ https://westportlibrary.org/event/verso-university-presents-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-shrek-screenwriter-roger-schulman/

The BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated writer is in conversation with Prof. Todd Barnes, Associate Director of the School of Communication, Media & the Arts and Artistic Director of the graduate film program (FTMA) at Sacred Heart University. Schulman will reflect on his creative journey — from journalism to Hollywood and the classroom — offering an entertaining, behind-the-scenes look at storytelling across media just in time for Shrek’s 25th anniversary!

Go behind the scenes with Roger Schulman, the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated co-writer of 'Shrek,' celebrating its 25th anniversary at The Westport Library!

05/12/2026

A longtime Westport resident, Ian O’Malley is the DJ who introduced Nirvana to New York. Van Halen brought him and his wife together. He appears in the film ‘School of Rock’ alongside Jack Black, as well as the TV show ‘Big Brother,’ and has been a mainstay of the tristate radio scene for nearly 30 years.

Now he’s the latest guest on Dan Woog’s podcast ➡️ https://youtu.be/RfFGbglB0qM?si=ab53Loeh-Dl9WMSQ

#06880

Ian O’Malley is the DJ who introduced Nirvana to New York. Van Halen brought him and his wife together. He appears in the film ‘School of Rock’ alongside Jac...