Friends of the Catonsville Library

10/20/2026

Celebrate Día de los Mu***os with us! Our celebration kicks off with author Duncan Tonatiuh discussing his book Funny Bones at our Owings Mills and Towson branches. We also have sugar skull and papel picado crafts throughout the week and our annual Día de los Mu***os festival at our Reisterstown Branch on Thursday, October 29.

Find all events: https://ow.ly/XlNI50ZZ6Tq

10/18/2026

In observance of National Family History Month, did you know the library offers free access to Ancestry? Find genealogy records from North America, the U.K., Europe and Australia including U.S. census records from 1790, passenger lists, immigration records, vital and military records, directories, photos and more. Available in branch only.

10/13/2026

‼️Entrepreneurs and small business owners‼️We have a great line up of programs to help you expand your business or discover what's possible. https://ow.ly/Qvc450ZXahW

P.S. If you haven't signed up for our business newsletter yet—now is the time. Get program information, updates from across the county and resource tips from the library! https://mailchi.mp/bcpl/small-business-newsletter

10/10/2026

Our branches are closed on Monday, October 12, in observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day. Check out our digital library for 24/7 access to books, movies, music and more.

10/08/2026

We are proud to once again partner with St. Joseph's Medical Center to offer free flu vaccination clinics in October and November. It is available for anyone ages 9 and up. Find one near you: https://ow.ly/Y14G50ZTXbZ

10/08/2026

Maryland STEM Festival gets started next week and we have dozens of programs lined up for you—featuring LEGOs, slime, bottle rockets, pumpkin drops and more! Find one that interests you: https://ow.ly/Tl6l50ZV1lW

10/07/2026

10/06/2026

This year’s Banned Books Week coincides with ALA’s official 150th anniversary. To mark the occasion, ALA has released a list of the 150 most challenged books documented from 1990, when ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom began tracking book challenges, through 2025.

The full list of the 150 most challenged books - those that have been targeted for restriction or removal in libraries and schools - spans contemporary titles such as "Gender Q***r: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe and literary classics such as "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.

“Every book on this list is a reminder that readers have the right to explore ideas and decide for themselves what to read,” said ALA President Maria McCauley. “For 150 years, ALA has worked alongside library workers to keep that choice open to everyone. We ask for support for our libraries so the next generation has that same freedom.”

See the full list at ala150.org/150books.

10/05/2026

Here at Goodreads, our editorial team spends a lot of time looking at books. Literally looking at them. We’ve discovered that if you take in thousand...

10/05/2026

Let books be.

Today kicks off , an annual observation started more than 40 years ago in response to a sudden surge in the number of attempts to censor or remove books in libraries, schools, and bookstores. Sound familiar?

Today, libraries continue to face record numbers of challenges to the books on their shelves. And contrary to common narratives suggesting that concerned parents are driving these challenges, data from ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom suggests otherwise – 92% of these challenges came from pressure groups and government officials in 2025.

For this year's Banned Books Week, we remind our communities that a handful of people running organized censorship campaigns should not be allowed to dictate what the rest of us can read, and that the joy and creativity of reading is not only an act of resistance, but a freedom that must be protected.

Find ways to get involved and spread the word, censorship data, and events throughout the week at https://bit.ly/4yvixbB.