Adult Programs
For more information on previous programming and projects, including videos of recorded programs please visit our
Previous Programs and Projects page.
Qigong & Tai Chi at the Library
Every Thursday
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Qigong and Tai Chi are approaches to movement that have been practiced for hundreds of years and are particularly helpful for dealing with stress, limited ability to move, those wishing to developing better balance and flexibility and can be practiced by nearly everyone young and old. Although Tai Chi is generally practiced standing, Qigong can be modified to allow participants to be seated.
This weekly drop-in class, open to all, is taught by David Haines, who has been a practitioner of Qigong, Tai Chi, and mindful movement for 50 years, a teacher for 40 years, and a certified Trager Movement practitioner for 35 years. Since moving into the area in 2006 he has taught at Omega Institute, Simon’s Rock college, Columbia-Greene Community College, as well as various libraries, senior centers, and school district community education classes.
Classes are held in the Roe Jan Library Community Room or outdoors, weather permitting. Wear comfortable clothes.
This project has been supported by a grant from the Fund for Columbia County of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
Free English-Language Tutoring // Tutoría del Idioma Inglés Gratuito
Thursdays // jueves
6:00 – 7:30pm
by appointment // con cita previa
Free English-language tutoring will be available at Roeliff Jansen Community Library between 6:00 and 7:30pm. This tutoring program is intended primarily for adults. Instruction will be one-on-one or in small groups with Yvonne Acevedo and will be geared toward everyday conversational needs. Free childcare will be provided for children ages 3 and up. Please e-mail director@roejanlibrary.org or call 518-325-4101 to schedule an appointment.
La biblioteca ofrecerá tutoría del idioma Inglés gratuito, los jueves entre las 6:00 pm hasta 7:30pm, con cita previa. Estas lecciones están diseñadas principalmente para adultos. Las lecciones serán dadas individualmente ó en grupos pequeños por Yvonne Acevedo y estarán orientadas a fomentar fluidez en el lenguage coloquial cotidiano. Ofreceremos servicio para el cuidado de niños(as) de 3 años de edad y mayores. Por favor, comuníquese por correo electrónico con la director@roejanlibrary.org ó marque el 518-325-4101 para reservar una cita.
This project has been supported by a grant from the Fund for Columbia County of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
Saving the Night Sky: Dark Skies and Light Pollution
Thursday, May 2
6:30 p.m.
Dark skies are not just important for seeing the stars, but for the health of our planet and ourselves. Light pollution threatens many animal species, from migrating birds to hatchling sea turtles. It also impacts human health as it disturbs our sleep patterns. Unnecessary lighting wastes money and energy and contributes to climate change. Join us for a film screening and presentation and discussion with Susan Bachelder on the importance of dark skies and learn about a citizen science project to help measure and report light pollution in our area.
Susan P. Bachelder, a resident of Egremont, has been a member of DarkSky International for over a decade. She has posted a local STAR DATE blog for 15 years for her neighbors, encouraging star gazing using simple ID skills to identify stars and planets while explaining the underlying astronomical structures, both in contemporary and historical terms to underpin her observations. As a Classics major, her studies right now are in Persian star charts of the 1600s in historical context.
Poetry Reading: Irene Mitchell
Thursday, May 9
6:00 p.m.
Irene Mitchell, a long-time teacher of English and Writing in inner city and rural New York, will read from and discuss her most recent book of poetry, My Report from the Uwharries (Dos Madres Press, 2022). Mitchell is the author of several earlier books, including Selected Poems (FutureCycle Press, 2021), Clerestory (Dos Madres Press, 2020), Fever (Dos Madres Press, 2019), Equal Parts Sun and Shade: An Almanac of Precarious Days (Aldrich Press, 2017), Minding the Spectrum’s Business (FutureCycle Press, 2015), A Study of Extremes in Six Suites (Cherry Grove Collections, 2012), and Sea Wind on the White Pillow (Axes Mundi Press, 2009).
Formerly Poetry Editor of Hudson River Art Magazine, Mitchell is known for her collaborations with visual artists and composers. Her poems have been presented for gallery exhibition as a series of broadsides, the text incorporated into the artwork. Mitchell’s poetry has also been set to music for piano and voice in cycles of art songs, the marriage of music and poetry. Mitchell was a 2019 Associate Artist in Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
Book Marks! Book Club
Every Third Thursday
May 16
1:00 p.m.
Join our nonfiction book club, Book Marks!, led by Circulation Librarian Robin Gottlieb. Meets the 3rd Thursday of every month. For our May 16th meeting, we are reading Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune by Anderson Cooper.
For more information, email circulation@roejanlibrary.org
Reading and Discussion Program: Land, Liberty, and Loss: Echoes of the American Revolution
Thursdays, February 15 – July 18th, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
The Roeliff Jansen Community Library is hosting a six-session reading and discussion series titled “Land, Liberty & Loss: Echoes of the American Revolution.” Participants, who should commit to the full series, will meet one Thursday a month from February through July to reexamine the American Revolution, its antecedents, and its legacy by focusing on the complex and intertwined histories of Native Americans, Europeans, and their environment.
We will read and discuss six books, one each month, and be joined, virtually, by authors and special guests for several of the sessions.
The reading list can be found at https://humanitiesny.org/our-work/programs/reading-discussion/land-liberty-loss-readings/.
Discussion will be facilitated by library director Tamara Gaskell, who holds a PhD in early American history.
This program is funded by a grant from Humanities New York.
Registration is required. Email director@roejanlibrary.org to reserve your spot!
Next meeting: May 16 at 6:00 p.m.: The Divided Ground by Alan Taylor.
Cookbook Club
Every 3rd Saturday of the Month
Next Meeting: May 18th
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Join our Cookbook Club led by Outreach Library Associate, Fran Colombo. Meets the 3rd Saturday of the month. Members choose a recipe and bring the cooked/baked dish to the next meeting, where the group will discuss the book and share in a community meal. Bring copies of recipes to share with other foodies!
For our May meeting, to honor Mother’s Day, we decided to have a High Tea–Sweets and Savories.
Sounds delicious!
All are welcome to join! The more, the merrier! For more information, contact Fran at outreach@roejanlibrary.org.
Tea Time at the Library
Every Fourth Thursday of the Month
2:30 p.m.
Plan to visit the library on the fourth Thursday of each month at 2:30 p.m. to discuss fun and informative topics. Each month’s gathering will have a different theme; listen, discuss, and enjoy a cup of tea (or coffee if that’s your preference!), and sometimes a fun activity. There will also be plenty of time to chat, get to know your neighbors, and wind down.
For our May 23rd meeting, we will be visited by special guest Creature Teacher and relationship coach Renee Vaughn. Renee will be available to discuss, advise and marvel at all the ways in which relationships affect our lives. We are in relationship with other people, with our animals, with money, with our property, with our spirituality, our muses. If you think about it, everything is a relationship. Who we are and how we relate to our external world is key to our health, wealth and happiness. And tea is important too!
Come join the discussion and enjoy a cup of Harney’s Tea (or coffee) and some fresh baked goods on the house.
Book Talk: From the Hudson to the Taconics
Thursday, May 23
6:30 p.m.
Join authors of From the Hudson to the Taconics: An Ecological and Cultural Field Guide to the Habitats of Columbia County, New York for an engaging introduction to this richly illustrated and unique new book, which is the culmination of years of original research by the Farmscape Ecology Program and Hudsonia. Authors will share some of their experiences creating From the Hudson to the Taconics, exciting discoveries along the way, and how they hope to build on this work through a new habitat research and conservation initiative. The audience will also be invited to learn how one might use this book (available through the library) to become more familiar with the diverse and beautiful landscape of Columbia County and its surrounds. Authors will focus especially on some of their favorite habitats in the Hillsdale/Copake area.
This free talk can be enjoyed as a single event or paired with a Habitat Exploration Walk at Roeliff Jansen Park on May 25 in which participants will have a chance to use the book to explore in more detail the many facets of several habitats.
Habitat Exploration Walk
Saturday, May 25
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Join authors of From the Hudson to the Taconics: An Ecological and Cultural Field Guide to the Habitats of Columbia County, New York for a walk exploring upland shrubland, wet meadow, and other habitats at Roeliff Jansen Park in Hillsdale using this newly released book as a guide and resource. Whether one is already familiar with the park or visiting it for the first time, this walk is designed to help everyone “see more colors” in the landscape. Participants will experience several habitats through multiple lenses, including history, culture, sensory immersion, and ecology, and learn how to recognize patterns in the distribution of plants and the animals associated with them.
Copies of From the Hudson to the Taconics will be available to use for the walk, though please bring your own copy if you have one. The books will also be for sale before and after the walk. The walk is free, but participants are requested to register. You can sign up for the walk at the Roeliff Jansen Library or by emailing fep@hawthornevalleyfarm.org.
Concert: Piano and Cello
Sunday, May 26
3:00 p.m.
Join us for our first concert of the season for an afternoon of classical music with piano and cello.
Pianist and composer Bob Logan holds a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, studying under Meng-Chieh Liu. In early 2020, he joined the Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble on their European tour with performances in England, Scotland, Germany, and Switzerland. He was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow and has won prizes in the NEC Piano Honors Competition, the Chicago College of Performing Arts Concerto Competition, and the UW-Madison Beethoven Competition. He currently runs a piano teaching studio in Chatham, NY.
Cellist Julian Müller is passionate about engaging communities through chamber music, recitals, interactive performance, and collaboration with composers. He soloed with the Louisville Orchestra and was hailed as “haunting and mesmerizing” by USA Today. He has collaborated with Sergei Babayan, Simone Dinnerstein, Matt Haimovitz, members of the Cleveland Orchestra and Quartet, among others, and performs with Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Berkshire Symphony, Caroga Arts Ensemble, the Metropolis Ensemble, and Williams Chamber Players. He is the Artist Associate in Cello at Williams College.
This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature and administered in Columbia County by the Columbia County Council on the Arts dba CREATE Council for the Arts.
Job Search and Resume Help
Job search coaching, with an emphasis on resume writing and using online resources to find jobs, is offered by volunteer Career Coach, Beth Gordon. Beth provides help with finding career opportunities, resume and cover letter writing, interviewing preparation and reviewing job resources.
Career Coaching and Job Search Help sessions cover résumé and letter writing, skills assessments, career planning and Internet job search. These one-on-one sessions are designed to help people of all ages seeking career coaching, goal setting, or help updating and improving their professional profiles.
Job Help sessions are by appointment only and are typically conducted via Zoom. You can make an appointment by calling or emailing the library or contacting Beth Gordon directly at bagordon323@gmail.com. In person help at the library can be provided with prior arrangements as well.
Senior Balance and Strength Class with Dr. Paul Spector on Zoom
Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
ZOOM LOGIN INFORMATION:
https://zoom.us/j/759916157
Meeting ID: 759 916 157
Passcode: 592902
*Please note the start date has been moved from January 12th to January 19th.*
To watch past recordings of Dr. Spector’s class, visit our YouTube channel playlist.
