Southeast Steuben County Library

FTC: First Tech Challenge
2025-11-19 16:30 - 18:30, 2025-11-12 16:30 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Join the 2025 First Tech Challenge Library team: Code, Design, and Compete with Robots!
FIRST® Tech Challenge students work together with their mentors to design and build robots to compete in a dynamic and exciting challenge released every September. Teams program classroom-scale robots to follow autonomous commands before student drivers take control in two-on-two matches. On and off the field, students develop STEM skills, engage in community outreach, practice engineering innovation, and build confidence to help them succeed. For ages 13-17 only.
Contact Kayla Crane at cranek@stls.org or 607-936-3713 x 2416 with questions.
Discover more about First Tech Challenge here.

Mah-Jongg
2025-11-19 13:00 - 15:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
The game Mah-Jongg, originating in China during the Qing dynasty, is a game of skill, strategy, and calculation involving a degree of chance. Join us for an American style Mah-Jongg group. Whether you are an experienced player or would like to learn, join us and check it out!
Mah-Jongg meets every Wednesday from 1 to 3 pm.
For more information please call Michelle at 607-936-3713, x209, or email her at: wellsm@stls.org

Preserving Memories Seminar
2025-11-18 17:00 - 18:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Join us for an inspiring and educational evening focused on celebrating and preserving the memories of our loved ones. This FREE seminar brings together experts in grief care and library resources to share creative and meaningful ways to honor family stories through quilting, writing, and digital preservation
Whether you’re crafting keepsakes, recording family recipes, or safeguarding photos and videos, you’ll leave with practical tips and heartfelt inspiration for keeping cherished memories alive.
Please sign up using the form below.
Presented in partnership by CareFirstNY and the Southeast Steuben County Library

Crafty Corner
2025-11-18 15:00 - 17:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Drop in every Tuesday for a simple craft to make and take home.
No need to sign up, just stop in.
Suggested for ages 3-10 years.

GATLAS
2025-11-18 15:00 - 16:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
This is a safe and supportive space to talk about gender, sexuality, and what’s going on with you and teens like you. There is usually a craft or project as well!
Open to anyone ages 13-18 / Grades 8-12
Every Tuesday, 3:00-4:30 PM at the Southeast Steuben County Library.
This program is in partnership with BLOOM and Planned Parenthood of Greater New York.

Online Author Talk | Charles Duhigg : "How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection"
2025-11-18 14:00 - 15:00 | https://ssclibrary.org/event/online-author-talk-charles-duhigg-nothing-more-of-this-land/
In this groundbreaking book, Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection, Charles Duhigg unravels secrets to reveal the art – and the science – of successful communication. He unpacks the different types of everyday conversation and pinpoints why some go smoothly while others swiftly fall apart. He reveals the conversational questions and gambits that bring people together. And he shows how even the most tricky of encounters can be turned around.
Above all, he reveals the techniques we can all master to successfully connect with others, however tricky the circumstances. Packed with fascinating case studies and drawing on cutting-edge research, this book will change the way you think about what you say, and how you say it.
You can register for this free, live, online talk here.
This is one of a series of free, live-streamed author talks made possible through the Library’s partnership with Library Speakers Consortium (LSC). You can learn more about upcoming presentations on our LSC microsite, as well as watch recordings of presentations that you were unable to attend live.
About the Author: Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist and the author of Supercommunicators, The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better. A graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale University, he is a winner of the National Academies of Sciences, National Journalism, and George Polk awards. He writes for The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine, and was the founding host of the Slate podcast How To! with Charles Duhigg.

Scrabble Club
2025-11-18 13:00 - 15:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Exercise those brain cells with a game of Scrabble every Tuesday from 1 – 3 PM.
For more information please call Michelle at 607-936-3713, x209, or email her at: wellsm@stls.org

Coffee, Tea & English: Conversation
2025-11-18 10:30 - 11:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
This is a group for English language learners, an informal, relaxed time to practice speaking English in small groups with a native speaker.
Coffee, Tea and English: Conversation is held in person at the Library. Contact Maryalice at littlem@stls.org for more information or to be added to the email list.

Storytime with Miss Sue
2025-11-18 10:00 - 10:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Join us as for stories, songs, rhymes and fun. Suggested for ages birth to age 3. After storytime go upstairs to the PRC for playtime and a themed craft project.

Coffee, Tea & English: Vocabulary
2025-11-18 09:15 - 10:15 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
This is a class for English language learners, an informal, relaxed time to learn new English words and expressions, share cultures and make new friendships.
Coffee, Tea and English: Vocabulary is held in person at the Library.
Contact Maryalice at littlem@stls.org for more information or to be added to the email list.

Basic Electronics with Waz
2025-11-17 15:30 - 16:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Dive into the world of electronics with Waz!
Discuss how an Arduino works, get hands-on with a breadboard, and explore electronics during demonstrations.
All levels welcome.
No need to sign up, just show up.

Brick by Brick
2025-11-17 15:30 - 16:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
See if you’re up to the challenge of a Lego build.
Suggested for ages 4-12 years.
No need to sign up, just drop in!

Agriculture in the Classroom: A Rafter of Turkeys
2025-11-17 10:30 - 11:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
In partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension, we’ll learn more about how our food and agricultural products are produced.
Suggested for ages 4-8 years.
No need to sign up, just show up.
This program is made possible by a donation in memory of Shirley Smith.

Teen Dungeons & Dragons with Dungeon Master Robin
2025-11-15 14:30 - 16:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Led by Dungeon Master Robin, this gathering is suitable for ages 13-17. All levels of experience will be welcomed in this safe space. Come to one or all gatherings.
If you have questions about D&D (campaigns, settings, etc.) contact Dungeon Master Robin at (607)936-3713 x2413 or email: lashr@stls.org
To be put on a waiting list, call Kayla at (607)936-3713 x2416 or email: cranek@stls.org.

Saturday Morning Movie: "Smurfs 2025"
2025-11-15 11:00 - 13:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Come spend the morning watching a movie on the big screen with surround sound.
No need to sign up, just show up
Smurfs 2025 | 2025 | Rated PG | 1h 35m
The Plot: When Papa Smurf is taken by evil wizards Razamel and Gargamel, Smurfette leads the Smurfs on a mission to the real world to save him.

RoboExplorers
2025-11-15 09:30 - 10:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Members from the EnderBots FTC Team 5484 will visit the Library, to read a robotic-themed story and then demo their robots.
No need to sign up, just show up.

Adult Dungeons and Dragons
2025-11-14 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-11-12 19:30 - 21:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Looking for a local D&D group with other like-minded adults? Join us at the Southeast Steuben County Library on Wednesday and Friday evenings. Hosted by Dungeon Master Robin, bring your characters and dice.
Got any questions? Email Robin at: lashr@stls.org.
We will meet on the second floor of the Library building. Take the elevator upstairs, and head across the lobby. If this will be your first time attending this program, please sign up using the form below; once you have completed the form, you shouldn’t need to do it each time.

Friday Movie (for Kids!)
2025-11-14 15:15 - 17:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Every Friday afternoon Miss Sue will show a new movie for kids. All the films will start at 3:15 PM and will be rated G or PG.
What movie will Miss Sue show? You have to be there if you want to know!
No need to sign up, just show up.

Adult Book Club | “When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II" by Molly Guptill Manning
2025-11-14 15:00 - 16:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
This month’s book will be When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning.
About the book: In 1943, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 120 million small, lightweight paperbacks for troops to carry in their pockets and rucksacks in every theater of war. These Armed Services Editions were beloved by the troops and are still fondly remembered today.
Soldiers read them while waiting to land at Normandy, in hellish trenches in the midst of battles in the Pacific, in field hospitals, and on long bombing flights. They helped rescue The Great Gatsby from obscurity and made Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, into a national icon.
When Books Went to War is the inspiring story of the Armed Services Editions, and a treasure for history buffs and book lovers alike.
About the Author: Molly Guptill Manning is an author, historian, curator, and associate professor of law at New York Law School. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller When Books Went to War, The Myth of Ephraim Tutt, and The War of Words. In 2026, her next book, A Librarian’s War, will be published. She has spoken across the country about the power of the written word, and has curated the exhibit, “The Best-Read Army in the World,” which launched in New York City in 2023 and is traveling around the United States. The exhibit showcases the essential role that books, magazines, and newspapers played in World War II.
Before she became a professor, Molly worked in the New York federal courts for thirteen years. She earned a B.A. and M.A. in American history, a J.D. at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and an M.A. in Museum Studies from NYU.
The Adult Book Club meets in-person at the Library on the second Friday of each month (this month is an exception). If you have questions about the Book Club, please email Linda Reimer: reimerl@stls.org
Check our calendar for future dates and book selections.

Artsy Kids | November 14
2025-11-14 13:30 - 14:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Each week Miss Angel will lead us in an exploration of new techniques and ways to make art.
Everyone should have a finished piece to take home after each class.
For young artists ages 7 to 12.
Sign up required; registration form will open below at 9 AM on November 7.

Red Cross Community Blood Drive | November 14
2025-11-14 09:00 - 14:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
The Southeast Steuben County Library will be the site for a Red Cross blood drive on November 14, between 9 AM and 2 PM. The need for blood is high, especially Type O, but your donation of any blood type can help to save a life.
If you last donated blood on or before September 19, you are safely eligible to donate again at this drive.
You can sign up by calling 1-800-RED CROSS, or sign up on the Red Cross Blood Drive page: scroll down to November 14.
You can download the smartphone app to track your donation history and sign up for future drives.
If you have never given blood before and would like some more information, check out this helpful page.
Upcoming drives:
January 9 (Friday), 2026
May 13 (Wednesday), 2026
July 8 (Wednesday), 2026
The Red Cross is coordinating with the Library to host blood drives on a 56+ day schedule: that means that each time you give blood at the Library, you will be eligible to give blood at the next scheduled drive. How convenient to be able to come back to the Library for all of your donations!

Online Author Talk | Amanda Peters : "The Search for Truth and the Persistence of Love"
2025-11-13 19:00 - 20:00 | https://ssclibrary.org/event/online-author-talk-amanda-peters/
Join us in an online conversation with acclaimed writer Amanda Peters as we discuss her instant bestselling novel, The Berry Pickers, as well as her tender short fiction collection, Waiting for the Long Night Moon: Stories.
Influenced by Peters’ own Mi’kmaq heritage, The Berry Pickers is a riveting exploration of family, grief, and the bonds we share.
July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.
The Berry Pickers is an intimate portrait of race, love, and loneliness–and the power of forgiveness. Register now to take part in the discussion!
You can register for this free, live, online talk here.
This is one of a series of free, live-streamed author talks made possible through the Library’s partnership with Library Speakers Consortium (LSC). You can learn more about upcoming presentations on our LSC microsite, as well as watch recordings of presentations that you were unable to attend live.
About the Author: Amanda Peters is a mixed-race woman of Mi’kmaq and European ancestry, born and raised in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. Her short fiction and non-fiction have been published in The Antigonish Review, Grain Magazine, The Alaska Quarterly Review, The Dalhousie Review, and Filling Station Magazine. Amanda’s first novel, The Berry Pickers, won the Barnes and Noble Discover Prize and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, as well as the Dartmouth Book Award and the Crime Writers of Canada First Crime Novel Award. Her most recent book of short fiction, Waiting for the Long Night Moon, was published August, 2024, to critical acclaim.

Online Author Talk | Amanda Peters : Truth and the Persistence of Love
2025-11-13 19:00 - 20:00 | https://ssclibrary.org/event/online-author-talk-amanda-peters-the-berry-pickers/
Join us in an online conversation with acclaimed writer Amanda Peters as we discuss her instant bestselling novel, The Berry Pickers, as well as her tender short fiction collection, Waiting for the Long Night Moon: Stories.
July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.
Influenced by Peters’ own Mi’kmaq heritage, The Berry Pickers is a riveting exploration of family, grief, and the bonds we share.
You can register for this free, live, online talk here.
This is one of a series of free, live-streamed author talks made possible through the Library’s partnership with Library Speakers Consortium (LSC). You can learn more about upcoming presentations on our LSC microsite, as well as watch recordings of presentations that you were unable to attend live.
About the Author: Amanda Peters is a mixed-race woman of Mi’kmaq and European ancestry, born and raised in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. Her short fiction and non-fiction have been published in The Antigonish Review, Grain Magazine, The Alaska Quarterly Review, The Dalhousie Review, and Filling Station Magazine. Amanda’s first novel, The Berry Pickers, won the Barnes and Noble Discover Prize and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction in the US, and has been translated into sixteen languages around the world. Her most recent book of short fiction, Waiting for the Long Night Moon, was published August, 2024, to critical acclaim.

Homeschool Hangout
2025-11-13 11:00 - 13:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
The primary focus will be social interaction but we’ll also incorporate a light theme or activity. Suggested for ages 5-12 years but younger siblings are welcome to tag along.
If you would like to organize/plan one of the dates, feel free to contact Miss Sue: mcconnells@stls.org

Coffee, Tea and English: Book Club
2025-11-13 10:00 - 11:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
The Coffee, Tea & English Book Club is intended for international people. The book is chosen by the facilitator with the group’s needs and language skills in mind. Participants read on their own and then meet weekly to discuss the material as prompted by prepared questions. This serves as another opportunity to practice English language skills in a relaxed environment.
This is an online program, on the Zoom platform. To get the Zoom link, please email Maryalice Little at: littlem@stls.org.

Corning Adult Writer’s Group
2025-11-12 18:00 - 20:00 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Writing can be a lonely pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be. Join a group of fellow writers for conversation, inspiration and feedback. The Corning Adult Writer’s Group has been encouraging and supporting fellow writers for over 12 years.
Writers in all genres welcome. The group offers a hybrid meeting option: in person at the Library for those who are comfortable doing so, and online via the Zoom video platform for those who are not yet ready for in-person. The group meets every Wednesday from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Interested in joining the group? Contact Michelle Wells via email at: wellsm@stls.org.
Be sure to include your name and writing interests, and she will get back to you. (Members must sign up to attend, either to receive the Zoom link, or to sign up for the limited in person seats.)

Happy Tales
2025-11-12 17:30 - 18:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
Read to certified therapy dogs! Suggested for children 5 to 10 years old, beginning to read on their own. This program is held in the The Mary Lu Walker Children’s Room
No need to sign up, just show up!

ATLAS Special : Henna Tattoos with Jen Sekella
2025-11-12 15:30 - 16:30 | Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY, 14830
This week, artist Jen Sekella will show us how to make henna hand tattoos! Henna (also known as mehendi) is a plant which can be dried, powdered, mixed with liquid and drawn onto skin to make a temporary tattoo design, which fades in 1 to 3 weeks.
ATLAS is completely free, you just have to sign up using the form below, so we know how much henna to have ready.
The ATLAS program provides a relaxing environment to wind down after school, work on homework, play games, use library resources, and participate in guided MakerSpace projects.
For Middle and High School students.
