Week Calendar

Please join us in the Large Meeting Room where your toddler is free to roam and play in the space during stories, fingerplays, songs and rhymes for ages 2-5 and their caregivers. 

[For ages 0-18 months] Please join us in our Youth Services Programming Room for stories, fingerplays, songs, and rhymes for children ages 0 to 18 months and their caregiver.

[Ages 0-6 and their Caregivers]  Come to Bach for a fun and educational storytime full of silliness, singing and movement.  Then, stay to play!

[Ages 1-4] Come join Gruff the friendly storytime monster and his human librarian side-kick for fun stories, silly songs, and dancing. Bring your energy and your little one and get all the wiggles out! 

[2-5] Come on down to the historic Howe Branch of the Albany Public library for Stories, Songs, Dancing, Playtime and Crafts!

[For adults] English as a new language can be challenging and there is always room for improvement.

[Ages 0-5] Join us for stories, songs & fun for preschoolers and their caregivers every week at the Delaware Branch.  Then, every week after Preschool Storytime-- stay & play!

[Ages 0-24 months] Join us for fun songs and short books to introduce your baby to storytime! We will meet in the community room, and babies and their caregivers are welcome to stay and play after storytime.

[Ages 0-5] Join us for a sensory friendly storytime with dimmer lights, fidget toys, and fun songs, followed by unstructured play time.

[For ages 0-18 months] Bring your baby and bounce along to fun stories, songs, and rhymes. Baby Storytime is a 15-minute program, followed by a relaxed playtime where you and baby will meet new friends.

[For adults] The City of Albany's new Department of Neighborhood Services wants to hear from you! Please stop by the Pine Hills Branch to meet with Alex Word, the Neighborhood Specialist for Pine Hills. 

[For ages 1-4] Please join us for stories, fingerplays, songs, and rhymes for toddlers and their caregiver. After storytime, enjoy unstructured playtime with sensory blocks, cars, balls, and much more!

[For children 0-8 and their caregivers.] Today is Take Your Child to the Library Day and we're celebrating glow-in-the-dark style! Join us for a special "Glowing Readers" storytime and glow-in-the-dark crafts.

[0-5] Come celebrate Take Your Child to the Library Day by dancing your wiggles out to fun friendly family music! 

Kids are encouraged to come in their best dance party attire and comfortable shoes.

[Adults] Bring your device & your questions and we'll figure it out together. This is a one-on-one help session. Registration is required; call 518-427-4300, ext. 4 to register, or register online. Tech Help is offered every Monday. 

Come Join us at the Howe Branch or on Zoom to get some light movement in to start your week off right! Please Make sure to bring a water bottle, walking shoes and to wear comfortable clothing for movement i.e. Leggings and a tee shirt.

[Adults] Caregivers, stop in with your group for various activities for all abilities. Crafts, Legos, karaoke, quiet time, coloring, movies... there's no limit to the fun we'll have! Call 518-427-4300 ext.

[All Ages] The library will place Lure Modules at the Tree of Iron sculpture Poke Stop behind the library on Wednesdays in January.  Stop by on your lunch & catch some Pokémon! And did you know that we're also a Pokémon Go gym?

[Adults] Come celebrate National Hot Tea Month! Did you know that aside from water, tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world?

[For Adults] This class is designed for adult newcomers to Albany who have some basic English language skills and are looking to improve their fluency and communication abilities.

[For ages 18+] Are you a fiber crafter? Does your family have all the hand knitted or crocheted hats, scarves, mittens, or shawls that they could possibly use in this lifetime?

You’re writing a book (or thinking about it), but what happens next?

Join us for tea and a live stream of Seth Fishman, vice president and literary agent at Gernert Company. Fishman will present on the publishing process and answer some questions from viewers. 

Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County ENL class

Patrons can call Emma Schreiner at 518-434-0540 for scheduling and more information.

[For Adults] Classes are provided to help students improve English speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Classes are free to students age 21 year or older. 

[For Adults] Join us for a free movie screening with coffee and the chance to talk to community services providers! Housing Services, mental health providers, and others will be available to answer questions and provide information. 

[Ages 6-12] Celebrate Seollal, Korean Lunar New Year.  Our guest programmers, Justin and Min will share some Korean traditions for Seollal.  They will also demonstrate Bojagi, the Korean art of fabric gift wrapping.

[Ages 18+] Would you like to update or create a résumé? Having formatting nightmares? Need help tweaking or writing a cover letter? The Delaware Branch offers one-on-one sessions every Thursday between 1-2pm. 

Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County ENL class

Patrons can call Emma Schreiner at 518-434-0540 for scheduling and more information.

[For Adults] Classes are provided to help students improve English speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Classes are free to students age 21 year or older. 

[For Adults] This class is designed for adult immigrants and newcomers to Albany who are preparing for the USCIS citizenship and naturalization process.

Join us as we talk about Knife: Meditations after an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie.  

Reviewer:  John McGuire, PhD, attorney. 

[For Adults] In Our Own Voices, Inc provides free HIV and HEP C testing. No registration or appointment required. Free and discreet. 

Wellness Series: How to Put Down Your Phone - Ancient tips for managing a busy mind and a busy world

Like me . . . do you get completely distracted by your busy mind, the phone, news, and endless doom scrolling?

[Adults 18+]  Looking for help so you can confidently use a computer?  Sign up for a 30-minute session for help with:

[For Ages 5-11] The First Saturday in February is Take Your Child to the Library Day. Come to the Pine Hills branch and learn how to make glow-in-the-dark slime.

[Adults] The City of Albany's new Department of Neighborhood Services wants to hear from you!

The City of Albany's new Department of Neighborhood Services wants to hear from you! Please stop by the North Albany Branch to meet with Lori Kochanski, the Neighborhood Specialist for North Albany. 

[Ages 5-17] Kids love reading to Rocket, certified therapy dog.  Why?  Because he's soft, cuddly and a good listener.

[Ages 4-8] Visit the Pine Hill Branch library and explore our extensive picture book collection! Each week our "Book Buddies" will read pre-selected books featuring award winning authors.

[For Teens] Not a Number is an interactive child trafficking and exploitation prevention curriculum designed to provide youth with information and skills in a manner that inspires them to make safe choices.

[Adults 18+]  Looking for help so you can confidently use a computer?  Sign up for a 30-minute session for help with:

[Adults] The City of Albany's new Department of Neighborhood Services wants to hear from you!

We have video games, anime, and potential make crafts! A place to hang with friends after school.

[For Ages 6 - 14] Calling all little Makers! Along with access to all of the Albany Made Lab equipment, Mini Makers will be abke to use some of our favorite Youth Services gadgets and tools.

[For ages 3-7] Join us for a sensory friendly storytime with interactive stories, songs, dance, and play! 

Join us every Tuesday after school for crafts and fun at Arbor Hill West Hill!

Play Super Smash, Smario kart and more with friends!

[All Ages] Kinetic sand, orbeez, color-coordinated discovery bins, fidget toys, stress balls, tea tastings, relaxing sandscapes, calming music & more! Come explore our Sensory Stations. This is a drop-in program.

 [Ages 5-17 and Families] Come make slime at the library! Clear or opaque, with a range of colors to choose from!

[For Ages 10 to 17] A space welcoming all gamers age 10 to 17. Come play our Nintendo Switch on a big screen. Compete with others in multi-player chaos with up to 8 players at once!

[All Ages] The lights & volume will be low and the movie will be family-friendly. Snacks included. This is a drop-in event that recurs on the last Wednesday of every month.

[Teens] Welcome travelers! Do you want to play Dungeons & Dragons but unsure where to start? Join us and learn how to make your characters and worlds come alive.

[Ages 9-17] Hang out at the library and choose from our selection of board games or video game to play with your friends!

[For All Ages] Calling all Artists, Musicians, Crafters, Makers and Menders! Stop by the self-directed open Makerspace and start (or finish) something!

[For Ages 13-17] Clash your favorite gaming icons in the ultimate showdown. Tweens and Teens are invited to bring their friends and play Super Smash. Come see if you are good enough to beat our library gamers!

[Ages 4-8] Join us for My First Book Club! This program is for children who have graduated from Storytime and are starting to read more on their own.

[For ages 9-17] Play various video games including Smash Brothers, Tekken, Mariokart, NBA 2K22 on the Nintendo Switch, XBox or PS4 with your friends! 

Enjoy a family movie night at the North Albany Branch! 

We will have a treat that appears in the movie based on the titles listed below! 

Movie will start around 5:15 pm. 

Celebrate National Puzzle Day with a variety of activities. From word puzzles to community jigsaw puzzle, and even make your own puzzles - we'll have it all!

[Ages 5-11] Come celebrate Lunar New Year; it'll be the Year of the Snake on January 29th! All we'll have different snake-themed craft stations and science experiments.

Hey You! Yes You! Do you like Anime? How about Manga? How about geeking out with others who are like you?

[Ages 11-17] Take your creativity to the library and  choose from a variety of artistic mediums, incluing sharpie art, zines, watercolor, collage, and others.The program will also feature art instruction books from our collection.

[For All Ages] Enjoy a family film and some light refreshments!

 Rating: PG. Runtime: 92 minutes.

[Ages 2-7] Join us in your jammies for Pajama Storytime!  We will read books, sing songs, and have lots of cozy fun!

This character design class will explore the fundamentals of figure drawing, focusing on accurate proportions, dynamic poses, and expressive facial features.

[For ages 6-14] Minecraft beginners and experts: come build your world and characters in a weekly Minecraft competition with your friends at the APL Washington Ave. Branch.