Winter Fun is Just Beginning!
Yeti, Set, Read! The Winter Reading Challenge starts Monday, December 1st and goes through Saturday, January 31. An adorable blue yeti with white fur and striped horns happily reads a book.
Snuggle up with a good book and join our winter reading challenge! Track your reading and complete activities with the Beanstack App to earn badges on a virtual bingo card, and potentially win fun prize baskets!
 
  1. Register at ropl.beanstack.org or downloading the Beanstack App. You can use a previous Beanstack log-in for this too.
  2. Each badge that you complete earns you one ticket! These tickets can be put toward a chance to win winter themed baskets
    • Complete one row, column, or diagonal on the bingo card to earn a free $5 coupon to the Friends Book Shop and a choice between a bookmark or a koozie
    • People who complete the full bingo card will win a camping mug while supplies last
More information can be found on the Winter Reading Challenge page!
Royal Oak Public Library presents the Lucky Day Art Fair on Saturday December 13 from 11:00 to 4:00. Support 22 local artists and artisans!
"You're invited to Jane Austen's 250th Birthday Party!" An illustration of Jane Austen wears a festive blue and purple birthday hat.
Jane Austen's 250th Birthday Party
Monday, December 15 at 6:00 PM
Come celebrate Jane Austen's 250th birthday with other fans! Enjoy tea, snacks, birthday cake, Jane Austen themed crafts, trivia, and a raffle! Registration required.
 
Michigan History!
Sharing Four Decades of Live Recordings from The Ark
Wednesday, December 10 at 6:00 PM
From a humble house concert series to one of the most iconic folk venues in the world, The Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan has been a cornerstone of folk music’s evolution. For four decades, long-serving manager Dave Siglin recorded over 1,600 live performances on analog tape—capturing legends like Elizabeth Cotten, John Prine, Odetta, and Rev. Gary Davis in raw, intimate form. 
 
University of Michigan professor Paul Conway will share insight into what it takes to bring legacy recordings into the digital age, including the preservation process, navigating permissions, engaging diverse student researchers and partners, and exploring an innovative 3-D virtual reality application that enables visitors to navigate the original Ark on Hill Street. Registration required.
 
Some Healthy Holiday Cheer
Holiday Drinks and Treats Cooking Class with Chef Val
Tuesday, December 23 at 6:00 PM
Come celebrate the holiday with a traditional drink and a festive treat. Learn how to make a sugar free, egg free version of the classic holiday drink, eggnog. And make a delicious fig chocolate treat. Chef Val will teach you all about brown rice syrup and why it is the best sugar substitute. Recipes are vegan, organic, whole foods, sugar free and gluten free.  Registration required.
Socialize at the Library!
Conversation Cafe
Thursday, December 11 at 6:00 PM
Conversation Cafe is a place where there is no marketing, and where no committees are formed. We simply meet to talk about a topic, which is revealed the night of the Cafe. Meet members of your community and have important discussions that are safe, exciting, and relevant. Registration required.
Poet headshots of: Audre Lorde, Maya Angelou, Sylvia Plath, and Edgar Allen Poe
Poetry Workshop
Wednesday, December 17 at 6:00 PM
A workshop is a welcoming, focused environment, in which we can patiently and with care discuss the work of another poet. The purpose of the workshop is not only to improve our writing but also hone our voice and the figurative language needed to express our voice. We'll focus on issues of craft, like voice, metaphor, structure, rhythm, and tone, and over time hopefully form a community of poets who support and engage each other's work. Registration required.
 
Screenshot from the film: The Last Laugh
Royal Oak Public Library Film Club 
Thursday, December 18 at 6:00 PM
We meet each month to discuss a movie on Kanopy that we have watched on our own before the discussion. There are not that many venues anymore that show independent films, and even less opportunity to discuss films. But there are so many good movies out there that demand our active engagement. This club is a chance to really take film seriously, to watch it passionately and critically, and discuss it with fellow film enthusiasts. 
 
December Film: The Last Laugh
Monthly Book Clubs
Selected books can be requested at the Adult Reference Desk.
Cover of God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
Cover of Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McMonaghy
Community Book Club
Thursday, December 11 at 6:30PM 
Meets on the Second Thursday of every month. Members then vote on the next book to add to the schedule.
 
December Book: God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Thursday Night
Book Club
Thursday, December 18 at 7:00PM
Meets on the Third Thursday of every month, and reads every genre.
 
December Book: 
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McMonaghy
Short Work
Book Club
Tuesday, December 30 at 10:00AM
Meets on the Last Tuesday of every month, and reads books under 250 pages long. We make short work of short works!
 
December Book: 
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
A Look into January...
Queerdos: A Social Club
Monday, January 5 at 6:30 PM
Welcome to Royal Oak Public Library's monthly queer social club! It's a safe space to talk about various medias and simply exist in a place where you don't need to worry about people just not getting it. 
 
Bring your iced coffees, your sweatpants, your septum rings...they're all welcome here! 
Register if you'd like event reminders.
Small round penguin made up of black and white yarn pom pom
Take and Make: Pom Pom Penguins
Starting Monday, January 5
Celebrate the new year with a new craft! Take home a kit to make a pom-pom penguin. All materials and instructions are provided. Pick up your kit at the adult reference desk starting January 5th. They are first come first served while supplies last.
 
Adult Collection Highlight!
 
Two blue canvas bags of book club kits, one is of the title James by Percival Everett, the other is the title The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
We've got Book Club Kits! 
 
Need help providing copies of a title for your book club? 
Starting a new book club?
 
Each kit is 6-12 copies of a single title in a handy canvas tote bag, ready to be checked out and then shared amongst your members. New titles are added frequently! They are located at the back of the adult non-fiction shelves.
 
Holiday Closures
Winter Holidays Closure Announcement. The library will be closed Wednesday, December 24 through Thursday December 25, and Wednesday December 31 through Thursday, January 1

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Royal Oak Public Library
222 E 11 Mile Rd.
Royal Oak, Michigan 48067
(248) 246-3700
https://www.ropl.org/