After-School Activities Program (A.S.A.P.)
Emergency Preparedness Course with NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
| Date | Thursday, March 5, 2026 |
| Time | 4:00 – 5:00 pm |
| Description | With severe weather events becoming more frequent and more extreme, it is more important than ever that New Yorkers are prepared for disasters. The NY Citizen Preparedness Training Program teaches residents to have the tools and resources to prepare for any type of disaster, respond accordingly and recover as quickly as possible to pre-disaster conditions. The training course will provide an introduction to responding to a natural or man-made disaster. Participants will be advised on how to properly prepare for any disaster, including developing a family emergency plan and stocking up on emergency supplies. |
| Location | Proudfit Hall |
| Registration | Registration Required! Cost: Free |
| Contact | mcarll@sals.edu or 518-854-7463 |
Family Memorabilia Course: Part THREE – Organizing Your Digital Photo Collections
| Date | Tuesday, March 24, 2026 |
| Time | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm |
| Description | The average American has over 70,000 digital images in their photo collection. We are the most documented generations in the history of the world. But all those great memories might as well not exist if we are overwhelmed with the sheer quantity of the images we each have, or if we can’t find them when we want them, or if we have only a vague idea of who some of the people are in the photos on our devices. Plus, how safe and secure are the devices that you use to keep your digital photos? Learn how to identify and locate where your photos are stored, how to quickly eliminate duplicates and junk, and how to choose a backup system that is right for you. Carolynn Duffy, through her business, Kinship Matters, is a genealogist and photo organizer in Washington County, with fifteen years professional experience helping to create a rich and complete legacy for clients and their family, through researching, documenting, preserving, and archiving clients’ personal histories, photos, heirlooms, and memorabilia. She knows firsthand how irreplaceable and meaningful photos can be; how important it is for them to be organized and labeled in order to keep them from becoming a pile of strangers in a box; and how critical where they are stored is to keeping them safe, accessible, and preserved for now and future generations. She also knows what it’s like to inherit objects that family referred to as “heirlooms,” but to have no idea of the meaning behind the memento. |
| Location | Proudfit Hall |
| Registration | Registration Required! Cost: Free |
| Contact | 518-854-7463 or mcarll@sals.edu for registration |
Tai Chi with Lila Brown at Bancroft
| Date | Wednesdays and Thursdays |
| Time | 9:00 am – 10:00 am (Wed.) 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm (Thurs) |
| Description | Instructor Lila Brown offers Tai Chi to the Salem community at the library, free of charge. We start with gentle, healing Qi Gong warm-ups and dip in to the beginning of the Yang Style Short Form. Improve your flexibility, balance, breathing, strength, and posture while developing focus, patience and awareness; mental, spiritual, and physical. Enjoy the flow of movement and mindfulness. Perfect for all ages and conditions. No previous experience necessary. Space generally limited to 8 participants. Drop-ins are welcome when space allows. |
| Location | Proudfit Hall |
| Registration | To register for your spot, and for more information, contact Lila at LilaRBrown@gmail.com. |
| Contact | 518-854-7463 or slm-director@sals.edu for questions |
Sewing Basics with Bev Kratzert
| Date | Thursday, April 9 and 16th |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm |
| Description | Bev Kratzert comes to Bancroft this April to teach some of the basics of sewing with a sewing machine. Participants in the program will have two Thursdays to learn, and the second Thursday builds upon the first week’s lesson. |
| Location | Proudfit Hall |
| Registration | Registration Required |
| Contact | 518-854-7463 or mcarll@sals.edu |
Earth Day Celebration
| Date | April TBD |
| Time | 2:00 pm |
| Description | During Spring Break, World Awareness Children’s Museum comes to Bancroft Library to talk about our earth, different ways the earth is polluted, and how we can take steps to keep our earth clean! Program is best suited for ages 5 – 12 years. This program includes interactive stations! Please register. |
| Location | Proudfit Hall |
| Registration | Registration Required |
| Contact | 518-854-7463 or mcarll@sals.edu |
DEMCO Sticker Board – Community Event
| Date | Throughout Winter |
| Time | Library Hours |
| Description | What is a DEMCO sticker board? This large-scale collaborative mosaic project is where participants place small, color-coded stickers on a grid to reveal a larger image. These projects foster community, teamwork, fine motor skills, and a sense of shared accomplishment! Each time you come into the library feel free to add a few stickers to the board! |
| Location | Proudfit Hall |
| Registration | no registration |
| Contact | 518-854-7463 or slm-director@sals.edu for questions |
StoryWalk: The Little Book of Joy
| Date | All Winter |
| Time | Library Hours |
| Description | December can be a dark time of year, so this season, we thought, “Let’s add some light and color to our community!” Bancroft Library will host a StoryWalk around the building with The Little Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama & Archbishop Desmond Tutu. After reading the pages outside in the courtyard and around the building, participants can come inside and decorate the rainbow window with streamers and an origami project. We hope you can help light up our community this year and you’ll find some joy to carry with you! The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson. |
| Location | Outside and Library |
| Registration | FREE – no registration needed |
| Contact | 518-854-7463 or slm-director@sals.edu for questions |
“It’s Revolutionary!” History Program with Debi Craig and Dorothea Craig Casey
| Date | Saturday, May 16, 2026 |
| Time | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm |
| Description | Sisters Debi Craig and Dorothea Craig Casey will present a program for children called “It’s Revolutionary!: Stories, Songs, and Games from the Revolutionary War.” Learn about the Boston Tea Party, Ben Franklin’s invention: the glass harmonica, Henry Knox’s Trail which came right through Washington County en route to Boston, as well as the stories of some of the important women in the Revolutionary War. Children will learn songs about the Battle of Bennington and Revolutionary Tea as well as Colonial children’s games. Both presenters are retired music teachers. Craig began her teaching career right at Whitehall Elementary School where she taught for four years. She also taught at Cambridge Central School and for the Saratoga Springs City Schools. Casey taught in Vermont and Ohio, then at the Saratoga Springs Jr. High School, spending most of her teaching career at South Glens Falls Central School. In their retirement, the sisters started a Story Time in Hebron where both grew up. It meets on Saturday morning once a month providing children with opportunities to incorporate music, puppets, and movement with children’s literature. They had always wanted to do a puppetry program together and in 2022 the two started an after-school Puppet Club for children, They have performed “The Three Little Pigs”, “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” and “The Nutcracker” The program will last approximately an hour. |
| Location | Proudfit Hall |
| Registration | Registration Required! Cost: Free |
| Contact | mcarll@sals.edu or 518-854-7463 |