Hamden Library Podcast

Hamden Library Podcast

A monthly podcast all about Hamden, libraries and community. Your number one listening resource for our unique and diverse community, keeping you informed but also entertaining and inspiring you. Appreciate why Hamden Public Library truly is the heart of Hamden!

Episodes

May 19, 2025 21 mins

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It's almost summer reading time already! Jenny and Matt, along with some help from other staff members, explain how we can all participate and have fun leveling up at the library this summer and beyond.

This episode also goes above and beyond summer reading with some insider information to help you become library super users! We've gathered some tips you can use to get more out of your visits to the Hamden Pu...

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This is the second episode of the podcast in April, because... well, we just couldn’t stop ourselves! Spring is here and it’s time for many of us to start working on our gardens, if we haven’t already. To give us all some tips and ideas, Ryan talked to two Master Gardeners who are also Master Composters, Diane Dynia and Wes Meeker. In addition, Matt spoke with Theresa McCabe, President of the Spring Glen Gardening Clu...

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April 14, 2025 47 mins

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This month we are celebrating National Poetry Month. In addition to our staff reading some of their favorite poems and our interview with Franz Douskey, the Hamden poet laureate, one of our patrons was kind enough to call in and read two of her original poems. 

 We also have a fun little quiz segment entitled “Taylor or Edgar” in which Kacie read me a series of short excerpts and I had to guess whether it was written b...

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January 12, 2025 15 mins

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This episode is centered on winter. Our roving correspondent, Matt, asked our staff to tell us their favorite things about the season. Then Dave reads a poem by Robert Frost. And finally we wrap things up by talking about our favorite books, movies and anything else from 2024. Matt also discusses seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a condition that can affect many people at this time of year.

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October 28, 2024 21 mins

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Four librarians, one table, lots of horror books (and movies)! Find out what Ryan, Jenny, Matt, and Mike think will scare your socks off this Halloween season.

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September 23, 2024 48 mins

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Banned Books Week was established by the American Library Association in 1982 to reaffirm the freedom to read and to highlight the harms of censorship, and is usually held in the last week of September. 

On this episode, Ryan talks to Sam Lee, co-chair of the Connecticut Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, about censorship, the First Amendment and the history and current state of book challenges. 

Afte...

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August 5, 2024 17 mins

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This month our roving reporters Kacie and Matt asked staff and younger patrons "What have you been reading this summer and how did you feel about it?" You will hear their honest answers in this episode. Enjoy... and let us know what you've been reading!

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July 8, 2024 42 mins

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What books would you want with you on a desert island? What book do you think deserves to be thrown into the fires of Mt. Doom? What movies are better than the books they're based on? The podcast team tackles these tricky questions and lots more in this month's episode.

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June 10, 2024 20 mins

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It's June and we are all about summer reading! Starting June 17, patrons of all ages can participate in our summer reading programs. Learn all about them in this episode featuring comprehensive interviews with our staff!

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May 20, 2024 23 mins

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Ryan talks to Luis Arata and Mick Martucci of the Sleeping Giant Park Association as well as Hamden Arts & Recreation Administrative Assistant Abdul Bunyaminu. The history of the Giant as well as upcoming festivities are discussed.

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April 15, 2024 11 mins
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April 8, 2024 29 mins

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Awareness month or acceptance month? Either way, April is all about autism. In this episode, staff member Rebecca Coates takes the mic to spotlight books and podcasts about autism's history and social experience, with an emphasis on autistic self-advocates. 

Later, she talks to Jennifer Cretella, Kaitlyn Fenner, and Marilena Mademtzi, three representatives from Clifford Beers Community Care Center, about Clifford ...

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March 4, 2024 33 mins

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This episode features interviews with Geena Clonan, founding president of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, and Colette Anderson, executive director of the Connecticut Women’s Consortium, which provides gender-informed and trauma-responsive training to behavior health professionals. In March we celebrate the women who have helped build a fairer, more just society. After you listen to this episode, we encourage you...

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February 26, 2024 68 mins

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In honor of Black History Month, Teen Librarian Jenny Nicolelli interviewed two of her former colleagues from the New Haven Free Public Library to talk about their careers as librarians. First you'll hear Jenny talk with Marian Huggins, branch manager of the Mitchell Library. Then you will hear her interview with Diane X. Brown, branch manager of Stetson Library. These are great talks – especially if you have eve...

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January 1, 2024 66 mins

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This month we are focusing on health literacy, or the ability to find, access, understand and use health-related information. First up, Ryan talks to Kate Nyhan, the founder of Community Access to Ventilation Information, about her mission to make air quality monitors available to the public through libraries. Then Ariana interviews Yale medical librarians and Hamden residents, Kayla del Biondo and Alexandria Brackett...

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December 4, 2023 18 mins

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To celebrate the end of the year, we asked our staff to talk about something they loved in 2023: a book, an album, an event - anything that stood out as superlative. Here are their picks. 

What did you like best in 2023? Email us at hamdenlibrarypodcast@gmail.com and we'll read the best submissions in a future episode!

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November 6, 2023 40 mins

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This month we are recognizing Native American Heritage month with two interviews. Ryan spoke to David Eichelberg, a member of the Mohegan tribe who specializes in outreach and is also doing a special program with the library later this month (check our website for more details). Ariana talked with Matthew Makomenaw, enrolled member of the Grand Traverse Bay Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Assistant Dean of Yale C...

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September 4, 2023 54 mins

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Have you ever wondered about the history of Hamden? I interviewed town historian Dave Johnson about town origins, trolleys, the Leatherman's cave, and more. Also in this episode, hear from a 102-year-old woman who grew up in Hamden, rode the trolleys, and went into the Nurse Corps during World War II. Plus, Ryan and I talk books and a new kind of library program!

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June 16, 2023 23 mins

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In this special bonus episode, Ariana talks to Kayla Del Biondo about mindful journaling. Look for Kayla's 3-part program series this summer at the Library!

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It's a very busy month in Hamden and at the library. In this episode, we talk to Jacky Forcucci, a co-founder of Hamden Pride Fest (which takes place on June 10th) and Emida Roller, the artist who created the MLK39 mural that will be unveiled before the  Hamden Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom on the 17th. Our head of technical services Jessica returns to tell us all about our new Library of Things. And Michael ...

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