October 2025
In This Issue:
Banned Books Week
Read Up Richmond Book Giveaways
Monuments Project
Fire Prevention Week
Highlighted Events
All Events
Curated Reads on Libby
Hoopla Bonus Borrows
Hispanic Life in America
Foundation Update
Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week: October 5–11
Banned Books Week began in 1982 in response to a sharp rise in book challenges in libraries, schools, and bookstores. This year’s theme—Censorship Is So 1984—Read for Your Rights—reminds us that the freedom to read is essential to an open, democratic society.
 
The week serves as a reminder that every individual is entitled to explore ideas and stories without restrictions. By observing Banned Books Week, we honor diverse voices and affirm the importance of protecting every reader’s ability to question, discover, and choose.
 
Celebrate the Freedom to Read
Richmond Public Library invites you to join two special events during Banned Books Week.
 
Freedom to Read Bingo
September 28-October 11, All Day
Ginter Park Branch
 
Kids, read banned and challenged books to get bingo. Prizes await every completed card!
Group Bike Ride for Banned Books
Saturday, October 4, 10:00 AM
Belmont Branch
 
Show your support for the freedom to read with a celebratory ride through the Museum District. Decorate your bike—or yourself—as a favorite banned book character. Riders will loop the neighborhood and return to the library. (This ride is best for experienced cyclists; young children are welcome in bike seats or cargo trailers.) Registration required.
Read Up Richmond Book Giveaways
Enter to Win a Copy of Mỹ Documents
Looking forward to hearing Kevin Nguyen discuss his new book Mỹ Documents at Read Up Richmond on November 16? Make the conversation even better by reading it in advance! Starting October 1, we’ll give away two copies each week to library community members. Winners can bring their book to the event for a personal signing with the author.
 
 
Save the Date!
 
Read Up Richmond: Kevin Nguyen in Conversation with Emma Ito
Sunday, November 16, 2:00 PM
 
Richmond Public Library - Main Library
101 E. Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23219
 
Register here.
Monuments Project
Monuments Project: Community Contributions
If you were in Richmond in 2020-2022 during the monuments' removals, you were a part of history. Make your story part of public knowledge! At our community contribution events, library staff will assist you with submitting archival material (photos, videos, documents, flyers, etc.) to Richmond Public Library's Digital Special Collections.

Saturday, October 4, 1:00-4:00 PM           Main Library
Tuesday, October 21, 6:00-8:00 PM          Hull Street Branch
Thursday, October 23, 6:00-8:00 PM         West End Branch
Sunday, October 26, 2:00-4:00 PM            Ginter Park Branch
Wednesday, October 29, 6:00-8:00 PM     Belmont Branch
Fire Prevention Week
Storytime with a Firefighter
Listen to fire-themed stories, sing songs, and visit with local firefighters. You'll even get to touch a fire truck! Ages 3-5.
 
Monday, October 6, 11:00 AM           East End Branch
Tuesday, October 7, 10:30 AM          Belmont Branch
Wednesday, October 8, 10:30 AM     Hull Street Branch
Thursday, October 9, 10:30 AM         Main Library
Thursday, October 9, 12:00 PM         Ginter Park Branch
Touch a Fire Truck
Local firefighters will visit the library and teach us all about fire safety. We'll also get to explore their fire truck! Ages 6-12.
 
Monday, October 6, 4:00 PM             Broad Rock Branch
Tuesday, October 7, 4:00 PM            West End Branch
Thursday, October 9, 4:00 PM           Westover Hills Branch
Highlighted Events
The Great East End Bake-Off Club
Thursday, October 9, 6:00 PM 
East End Branch
 
Each month, participants bake the same recipe and come together to taste, share challenges and triumphs, and discuss what they learned along the way.
It's All the Dark Web: Data Privacy, Dark Patterns, and the Myth of Connection
Wednesday, October 22, 6:00 PM
Main Library
 
This empowering talk aims to help users navigate online spaces more wisely, demystify the web, and examine the limits of online “community”. It also highlights the importance of in-person connections—not in spite of our online lives, but because they make real-world community even more essential. Registration required.
Baby ArtsPlay!™
Mondays, 10:30 AM
North Avenue Branch
 
Taught by Greater Richmond Wolf Trap teaching artists, Baby Artsplay!™ is a family-based program that helps children and their parents or caregivers boost learning and development through music, movement, and drama. Registration required.
Pet Party & Adoption Event
Sunday, October 12, 2:00-4:00 PM 
West End Branch
 
All well-behaved pets are welcome, whether feathered, furred, scaled, or otherwise! Enjoy petting areas for friendly animals, snacks and water for pets and their humans, music, photo opportunities, and local pet businesses. We’re also partnering with local shelters to host an adoption event during the party and a supply donation drive leading up to the parade.
All Events
 
 
Curated Reads on Libby
Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice
Where every page tastes like fall.
Rootbound by Tarah Dewitt   Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter   Deja brew by Celestine Martin   The ex hex : a novel by Erin Sterling   Kiss and spell by Celestine Martin
 
Horror & Dark Fiction by BIPOC Authors
Haunting fiction from brilliantly diverse storytellers.
Lakewood : a novel by Megan Giddings   Audition by Katie. Kitamura   The Dark We Know by Wen-yi Lee   Everything the Darkness Eats : Second Edition by Eric Larocca   Never whistle at night : an Indigenous dark fiction anthology by Shane Hawk
 
 
Hispanic Life in America
The Experience and Impact of Hispanic Americans as Recorded by the News Media.
Hispanic Life in America is the most comprehensive digital collection of diverse sources and perspectives from and about Hispanic Americans. Featuring nearly 20,000 global primary sources from 1704 to today, this unmatched resource offers an expansive window into how people of Spanish-speaking heritage have shaped international relations, immigration, civil discourse, labor, arts, and culture. 
 
 
Richmond Public Library Foundation 
 
Ben Franklin believed that "...libraries have improved the general conversation of the Americans.” So we think he'd join us for Read Up Richmond on November 16, a community event designed to bring people together to spark dialogue and understanding.
 
Programs like Read Up Richmond thrive because community members such as you believe, as Franklin did, that libraries serve as vital gathering places for civic engagement and lifelong learning. 
 
You don't need to write a famous almanac to appreciate Richmond Public Library—but you can help continue Franklin's vision. 
 
Your gift today ensures the future of such events as Read Up Richmond and sustains the spaces in which meaningful conversations happen. Thank you for your continued support.
 
Susan Revere
Executive Director, Richmond Public Library Foundation
 
 
 
 Above Image: Dr. Beniamin [i.e., Benjamin] Franklin gebohrn zu Boston den 17 Janü. 1706, Nürnberg : G.N. Raspe, [1778]. Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections. CC-BY
 
Sign Up for Our Newsletters
Want to Stay "In the Know" About Richmond Public Library?

Click on the button below to sign up for future editions of RPL at Home,
as well as other news from the library! 
 
 
Library Closure
 
 
As a reminder, all Richmond Public Library locations will be closed on Monday, October 13, for Indigenous Peoples' Day.
 
Richmond Public Library
101 East Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219
(804) 646-7223
https://rvalibrary.org/