Adult Programs
For more information on previous programming and projects, including videos of recorded programs please visit our
Previous Programs and Projects page.
Digital Navigator Office Hours
Every Wednesday
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Struggling to get online? Finding it hard to job hunt, find housing, pay bills, or schedule appointments without internet access? The Digital Navigators of the Hudson Valley are here to help! Join Kate, our Communications Manager and Digital Navigator of the Hudson Valley, for free tech assistance. She can help you with:
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Setting up and using email
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Navigating websites for job applications
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Accessing online government services
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Scheduling online appointments
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Basic troubleshooting for personal devices
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And much more!
Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are appreciated! Email communications@roejanlibrary.org or call 518-325-4101 to reserve your spot with Kate.
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.
Cookbook Club
Saturday, April 19
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
We invite everyone in our community to join the Cookbook Club! We meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the library.
For April, the theme will be “Easter & Passover Favorites.”
Everyone is welcome—more members mean more delicious dishes! For more information, please contact Rita at rlj304@gmail.com.
Virtual Author Talk with Monique Gray Smith
Tuesday, April 22
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Zoom
Smith joins us to discuss her most recent book, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults, which received the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award for 2022. Open for all ages.
To receive the Zoom login info, email columbiacountylibraries@gmail.com.
For more information on the Columbia County Community Read program, go to https://columbiacountylibraries.org/programs/columbia-county-community-read/
Reading & Discussion Group: Sustainability
Wednesday, April 23
6:00 p.m.
What does it mean to be sustainable, to live a sustainable life, and to create sustainable communities? We hear the words “green” and “sustainable” wherever we turn, but what does it mean in practice? While there has been renewed attention to sustainability in recent years, as climate change becomes a more imminent threat to our communities, the idea is not new. This reading and discussion series will explore how different authors and communities have understood the meaning of ecological sustainability and how they have tried to put it into practice in the world. Rather than books of doom and gloom, the books selected provide readers with hope, with examples of how individuals can make a difference.
We will read 6 books over the course of 6 months in the spring and summer—meeting the 4th Wednesday evening of each month, March through August.
In April, we are reading Julia Alvarez’s A Cafecito Story.
The remaining books will be:
Alan Weisman, Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World (1998)
Ben Hewitt, The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food (2009)
Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (2007)
Wendell Berry, Another Turn of the Crank: Essays (1995)
A few spots are still available! Books will be provided, some will be available as ebooks or audiobooks. To register, email director@roejanlibrary.org.
Sustainability, Roeliff Jansen Community Library is made possible with support from Humanities New York.
Tea Time at the Library
Every Fourth Thursday of the Month
Next Meeting: April 24
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. In April, we will be joined by Julie Gardinier and Eric Martin for a discussion on travel!
Come join the discussion and enjoy a cup of Harney’s Tea (or coffee) and some fresh baked goods on the house.
Storytelling Workshop
Saturday, April 26
1:00 p.m.
As Braiding Sweetgrass makes clear, storytelling can play an important role in teaching and learning. In this engaging workshop, participants will learn about Ancram Center’s unique approach to storytelling. This process, developed through the Center’s celebrated Real People Real Stories program, utilizes fun, creative problem-solving exercises, along with the fundamental principles that guide the development of a new play. By the workshop’s end, participants will identify a personal, compelling, true to life story, along with a plan to bring that story to life!
Ancram Center teaching artists work with storytellers to help them prepare their stories for the stage. According to RPRS creator, Paul Ricciardi, “The goal is not to create a polished monologue, but to allow the spontaneity of a real-life story to shine through.”
If interested, storytellers can further work with an Ancram Center teaching artist to prepare their stories for the stage, including an opportunity to participate in the Center’s celebrated Real People Real Stories production.
The two-hour workshop is appropriate for late teens and adults. Registration is required and participation is limited to 14. To register, email director@roejanlibrary.org.
Community Read: Braiding Sweetgrass Book Chat
Sunday, April 27
12:30 p.m.
Join us for an information discussion of our 2025 Community Read book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Indigenous scientist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer.
For more information on the Columbia County Community Read and related programming, visit https://columbiacountylibraries.org/programs/columbia-county-community-read/
Concert: Christine & Elliot Spero –
A Tribute to Joni Mitchell
Sunday, April 27
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
“Both Sides Now” is a show with Christine and Elliot Spero that will lovingly take you on a journey through the music of Joni Mitchell, the Canadian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter who is one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s circuit. Mitchell became known for her personal lyrics and unconventional compositions, which grew to incorporate elements of pop, jazz and other genres. Be lifted by songs like “Both Sides Now,” “Chelsea Morning,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Help Me,” “A Case of You,” and so many others.
Singer/pianist Christine Spero is no stranger to the stage — as a teen she recorded with Neil Sedaka and Don Kirschner at RCA records. Her song “He Wasn’t Always That Way” won the USA Songwriting Competition Jazz Category, and her song “Caribbean Nights” was one of the finalists. She and multi-instrumentalist/producer Elliot Spero have been recording and playing live shows together for over 30 years, performing a diverse repertoire of pop, Latin, and jazz from writers such as James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Steely Dan, Peter Gabriel, Todd Rundgren, The Beatles, Bonnie Raitt, Roberta Flack, Burt Bacharach, Sergio Mendes and Jobim as well as Brazilian classics, Motown songs and jazz standards.
This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of The Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by CREATE Council on the Arts.
Roe Jan Library Volunteer Fair
Saturday, May 3
12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
In Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer reminds us that “each person, human or no, is bound to every other in a reciprocal relationship. Just as all beings have a duty to me, I have a duty to them.” Volunteering is one way to give back to the communities that have supported us. Come learn about some of the many volunteer opportunities available in the Roe Jan area. You can make a difference. Email outreach@roejanlibrary.org for more information.
Community Read: Reducing Our Consumption
Sunday, May 4
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Braiding Sweetgrass teaches us to use our precious resources wisely and to take no more than we need. In order to be good stewards of this earth, we need to limit our waste. We all have heard that we need to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Too often the emphasis is on recycle, that last of the three. But we need to begin by reducing our consumption.
In this program by Stephanie Sussman and Jill Berman of Zero Waste Columbia, a citizen volunteer group committed to education and action that can move us toward zero waste in Columbia County, we will learn about the zero waste movement, tips to reduce our consumption, and how even small changes in our behavior can yield significant economic, environmental, and community benefits.
History Webinar: FDR: Hyde Park Hobbyist
Monday, May 5
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Zoom
Join us for the final webinar in a series of history programs on FDR, presented by Jeff Urbin, educator from the Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park.
FDR was a man with many interests and the means to pursue them. He loved to hunt, fish, plant trees, and sail and he collected stamps, books and birds. This session explores some of the activities pursued by Franklin Roosevelt. What do these hobbies and collections say about FDR? What skills or lessons might these hobbies have taught him that he then applied to his actions as governor or president? What are your interests and hobbies and what do you gain from them? Why are hobbies important?
This program is sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association. To register and receive the Zoom link, email columbiacountylibraries@gmail.com.
Author Talk: Nancy Kricorian
Wednesday, May 7
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. on Zoom
Join local author Nancy Kricorian, in conversation with Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, for a reading and discussion of her latest novel, The Burning Heart of the World.
Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the start of the Lebanese Civil War and the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Nancy Kricorian, whose grandparents were genocide survivors, delivers The Burning Heart of the World (Red Hen Press; April 1, 2025),a vivid, poetic, heartbreaking novel filled with rich historical knowledge and cultural insights that inform her characters making them jump off the page and into our hearts and minds. Literary as well as fast-moving, oscillating between intimate moments and loud flashes of the chaos of war, with glints of humor shining through like silver linings, this story of a Beirut Armenian family before, during, and after the war is imbued with the timelessness of a folktale. Returning to the fabular tone of Zabelle, her popular first novel, Kricorian conjures up the lost worlds and intergenerational traumas that haunt a family in permanent exile. The Burning Heart of the World is a sweeping saga that takes readers on an epic journey from the mountains of Cilicia to contemporary New York City.
Nancy Kricorian, who was born and raised in the Armenian community of Watertown, Massachusetts, is the author of four novels about postgenocide Armenian diaspora experience, including Zabelle, which was translated into seven languages, was adapted as a play, and has been continuously in print since 1998. Her essays and poems have appeared in The Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, Guernica, Parnassus, Minnesota Review, The Mississippi Review, and other journals. She has taught at Barnard, Columbia, Yale, and New York University, as well as for Teacher & Writers Collaborative in the New York City Public Schools and for the Palestine Writing Workshop in Birzeit. She has been the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, a Gold Medal from the Writers Union of Armenia, and the Anahid Literary Award.
Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian is the curator of mycology at the New York State Museum, as well as faculty with the Bard Prison Initiative. Kaishian earned her PhD from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Her book Forest Euphoria: On the Abounding Queerness of Nature will be published on May 27, 2025. She lives in the Hudson Valley.
Art Workshop: Pictures of American with Tia Maggio
Thursday, May 8, 15, 22
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
In this 3-session workshop series, taught by local artist Tia Maggio, students will look at three images or themes in American history: (1) the Brooklyn Bridge, (2) the Great Migration, and (3) quilts. In each session, participants will learn about the subject and its place in our history and learn about the artists who portrayed these topics and then do our own interpretations. In each session , after learning about the subject matter and its place in history, students will learn about and gain an understanding of the elements of art: color, line, value, texture, shape, and form.
Tia Maggio is a native New Yorker with a diverse background in the arts and education. She was formally trained in graphic design and advertising at Pratt Institute before continuing her studies in fine art and art history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. With over 30 years of experience, Tia has worked as both a children’s librarian and an art teacher, fostering creativity and a love of learning in students of all ages. In addition to her work with children, she has also taught adult learners, blending her artistic expertise with her passion for education.
Registration required. Limit to 15 participants. Email director@roejanlibrary.org to register.
Read On! Book Club
Wednesday, May 21
6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Join us for the third meeting of Roe Jan’s Read On! Book Club. This month, we are reading The Storied Life of A.J. Fikrey by Gabrielle Zevin. The book is available to borrow through the Mid-Hudson Library System and on Libby and Hoopla.
Led by Fran & Kate, this fiction book club will meet on the third Wednesday of every month. All are welcome! For more information, email communications@roejanlibrary.org.
Book Marks! Book Club
Thursday, May 22
1:00 – 2:00 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 meeting we are reading Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II by Elyse Graham.
Copies are available to borrow through the Mid-Hudson Library System, Libby, and Hoopla. Email circulation@roejanlibrary.org for more information.
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
Tuesdays, 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.
