Don’t Forget Your Book: Something for Everyone at the East Hampton Library

Growing up the son of a college professor and an artist, I spent a considerable amount of time at the library. Come to think of it, our house was very much like a library. Not just because it was filled with books (my parents’ home is almost insulated in words), but there was always something going on: book clubs 3 nights a week; art activities; office hours; tech support; story time; ongoing lectures (i.e., “Dinner conversation” with an English Ph.D.)

Since my parents aren’t hosting bingo nights or book clubs for my friends anymore, I am so grateful to rely on East Hampton Library for creative ways to learn new things and meet new people. All year, the East Hampton Library provides a wide range of programming and services for any age and interest. 

Engaging Events

The East Hampton Library’s suite of programming offers compelling activities and learning opportunities for everyone. Suited for every age group with activities and events interesting to many different passions and hobbies, the library is an ideal starting place to try new things.

Below are some of their upcoming and recurring programs but check their website often for up-to-the-minute scheduling. 

Book Clubs • Writers Clubs • Lecture Series • Afternoon Chess • Peer Tutoring • Online Yoga Courses • Trivia • Photo Contests • Fitness for Older Adults • Seasonal Crafting • Seed Swaps • LEGO Club • Sing-a-longs • Book Readings • Toddler’s Playtime • and much, much, more.

Information Literacy, Technology Lessons, Community Service

Being surrounded by wall-to-wall books is a wonderful feeling, but the EH Library offers so much more than books. As the world moves more and more information online, libraries help provide development in vital 21st-century skills. In a world where almost all information is instantly available, knowing how to understand is as important as knowing how to read.

The library offers community service opportunities for teens looking to help older adults make sense of and use their technology. Everyone has something to teach and something to learn, and the library is an excellent resource for learning how to use new technology.

Print is Never Obsolete 

An ancient technology—the book—undoubtedly stands the test of time. While we live in a world surrounded by words and content, books command their own respect. Like most, I devour audiobooks and podcasts, but headphones drown out the sound of the ocean; nothing can beat the internet’s immediacy of information, but you can’t put a blog on a bookshelf.

Print is authoritative proof of staying power, that its contents deserve and demand their own space to exist. A book offers a reprieve from the often scattered and fragmented information I passively consume daily. What a relief it is to escape the frenzy to attract attention, clickbait, and the exhausting torrent of decontextualized content.

Authors stand behind their words proudly and un-anonymously sharing their work and themselves with the world. There is a truthfulness born from the tangibility, the intimacy of a book, and a promise that you are holding something real. That honesty has always been special, arguably more in a world of anonymous articles and posts that can instantly be edited or removed.

The East Hampton Library is located at 159 Main Street, East Hampton.

The Library is open Mon–Thur: 9am – 7pm; Fri–Sat: 9am–5pm; Sunday: 1pm–5pm.