News & Updates

Starry Night

November 16, 2023

December 16 from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Celebrate the season with a magical, light-filled evening in Library Park.  This annual tradition will include a luminary walk, music, and baked goods provided by the Friends of the Patten Free Library. Be sure to bundle up, as all activities take place outdoors.

Staff Picks: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

November 15, 2023

Yellowface traces the story of a woman who steals her dead friend’s novel and has it published to great success.  But the original writer is Asian and our antiheroine is not.  So even without knowing she is posing as the author, people begin to question her appropriation of identity.  We see her living in dread […]

A Night at the Patten

November 14, 2023

Saturday, December 16 from 5-7:30 p.m. Join us for an enchanting evening at this year’s fundraising event, held on the same night as Starry Night. Immerse yourself in the magical atmosphere of our indoor luminary walk.  See the library come to life with the soft glow of lanterns, creating a whimsical path for you to explore. […]

Staff Picks: What We’re Reading

November 9, 2023

We’re closed for Veteran’s Day, so we’re stocking up on books!  Here’s what PFL staff is reading this weekend:   Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology by David Abram Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley O Pioneers! by Willa Cather Pet by Catherine Chidgey Astor: The Rise and Fall of […]

10th Annual Writing Contest

November 6, 2023

1st prize and 2nd prizes will be named in each of six categories: Grades 6-9: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction Grades 10-12: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction Adults: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction Entries will be judged by a panel including Library staff, trustees, local teachers, community members and Teen Library Council members. First ($100) and second prize ($50) gift certificates […]

Dawnland: Screening and Discussion

November 15 Film Screening at 5 p.m. Discussion at 6 p.m. In recognition of National Native American Heritage Month, all are invited to a free screening of the Emmy award-winning documentary, Dawnland, followed by post-film discussion. From the Upstander Project, “For decades, child welfare authorities have been removing Native American children from their homes to […]

Staff Picks: Mister Magic by Kiersten White

November 2, 2023

White’s newest book seems at first to be a frightening and heartbreaking deep-dive into those odd, early-morning, public access children’s shows some of us used to stumble upon as kids (anyone else watch Mr. Dressup on CBC at 5 am?). A reunion of the cast of a mysterious children’s show leads to increasingly disturbing realizations […]

Staff Picks: Aurora’s Anticipated Non-Fiction: October True Crime Terrors

October 25, 2023

Lay Them to Rest by Laurah Norton At the heart of the story is a severed head. Found by two girls in a lakeside Illinois park in 1993, the head would languish in anonymity for almost thirty years, the woman to whom it had rightly belonged banished to the realm of generic Jane Does. Popular podcaster […]