Librarians save lives: by handing the right book, at the right time, to a kid in need.
Judy Blume

Sweet Potatoes Live at the Gellman Room


December 10, 2022
Main Library

Join us for the ever popular “Sweet Potatoes Live at the Gellman Room” presented by the Richmond-based jazz band, Sweet Potatoes, with members Johnny Hargrove, guitar, Reyna Pannell, vocals, Stephon Larue, drums, and Brian Cruise, bass. This Gellman Room Concert will be held in-person as well as livestreamed over the Library's YouTube Channel.

View More Events

Hoopla Bonus Borrows are Back!


November 2022

hoopla Bonus Borrows are back with new themed collections! Readers can choose from hundreds of titles in the Bonus Borrows collection with unlimited checkouts. Visit our Online Resources to access Hoopla or download the app from your app store and start reading today!

December 2022 Art Galleries


Friday, December 2, 2022 - Tuesday, January 3, 2023
Main Library

Throughout the month of November, our Main Library will be hosting art exhibits from Focus Group Camera Club, William Parrish, Martin T. Evans, MD, and Venkat Santosh, MD. First Friday, a monthly opening-night reception for all the artists of the library’s galleries, will be held on Friday, December 2, 2022, from 6:30—9:00 pm. Live music will be provided by Modern Totem, a trio presenting a wide variety of rhythmic and melodic diversity from around the world. More information and links to their works is available on our Art Exhibits page.

Latest from the Blog

18 Nov
16 Nov
07 Nov
28 Oct
26 Oct

November Book Chat with the Youth Services Team

Louis Maranski
November 18, 2022
#bookchat
#bookrecs
#childrensbooks
#kidsbooks
#rplrecommends
#youthservices
childrens
families
reading-recommendations

Welcome to the latest installment in our series of blog posts featuring children's books we're currently loving! "Book Chat with the Youth Services Team" features one book recommendation from each of our Youth Services team members. We cover a variety of books from fiction to non-fiction, picture books to chapter books, graphic novels and more! We hope that this month's reading recommendations get you excited about some awesome new books we've added to our collection as well as some oldies but goodies....

Author Talk: Margaret Edds & "What The Eyes Can't See"

Ben Himmelfarb
November 16, 2022
Author Talk
book discussion
history
racial justice
ralph northam
adult
biographies
book-discussions
events
history-and-preservation
inform-enrich-empower

Margaret Edds will discuss her new book and sign copies available for purchase from Book People. Thursday, December 8, 2022 at 6:30 pm in the Gellman Room at the Main Library From MargaretEdds.com: Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's "blackface scandal" could have destroyed any politician. The photo of Governor Northam purportedly in blackface created a firestorm not only locally but also in every political sphere. What the Eyes Can't See details why Northam's career did not end with the scandal, and how it made him a...

Library Myths

Nico D'Archangel
November 7, 2022
libraries
myths
RPL
themoreyouknow
truth
inform-enrich-empower

#1 Libraries only have books In addition to books (both large-print and standard) we have audio book cd's, DVD's, graphic novels for all ages, sheet music, music cd's, zines, book club kits, Virginia State Park backpacks, and magazines for you to check out. All branches have public use computers and usually a notary on staff (please call ahead of time for this free service and don't sign anything until the notary gives you the okay). Most branches have daily newspapers you can read in-house; Richmond Times Dispatch, Wall Street Journal, New...

Read a Celeb Memoir — 2022 RAD Reading Challenge for Teens

Jennifer Deuell
October 28, 2022
aradreadingchallenge
book recommendations
book recs
book reviews
booksforteens
ireadya
reachingchallenge
reading suggestions
readingchallenge2022
teenreads
book-reviews
reading-challenge
reading-recommendations
teens

Hey hey readers! Welcome back to my next installment of the RAD Reading Challenge...RPL Style! For those of you that are new here, I've taken on local book blogger Rachel Dawson's 2022 reading challenge. But, I'm doing it with all YA books! It's been fun so far and if you'd like to go back and read any of my prior posts, they're all linked at the end. The prompt just completed was to "read a celeb memoir." This one was tough! There aren't that many celeb memoirs written for teen readers. So, for all you celebrities out there reading my blog...

New Art at Main! The Conjurer Revealed...

Ben Himmelfarb
October 26, 2022
art
art opening
artist talk
special collections
adult
events
inform-enrich-empower

The City of Richmond Public Art Commission & Richmond Public Library invite you to a talk by artist Rob Womack to celebrate the reinstallation of his multi-panel painting, The Conjuror Revealed. Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 6:00 PM in the Special Collections Room at the Main Library Originally commissioned by the PAC in 1994 for the Landmark Theater, The Conjuror Revealed was placed in storage in 2012, when the building closed for renovation to later reopen as the Altria Theater. It was most recently seen in Coloratura’s 2018...