Blog Entries

The Friends of Handley Regional Library System (HRLS) are excited to announce the Fall Used Book Sale, with an exclusive Friends Member Night on Friday, October 4, 2024, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Bowman Library Meeting Room. This special preview night allows current Friends members to shop the extensive collection of gently used books, DVDs, CDs, and more before the sale opens to the public. Not a member yet? You can easily join at the event or online.

Thursday September 12 is Video Game Day and we can help you celebrate.  

Video Games

Our teen book spotlight this week is focused on graphic novels!!!  Graphic novels are incredibly visual stories that can feature pretty much anything fiction and nonfiction.  Done in the style of comic books, there is a huge variety of choices; literally something for everyone so even if you have never read one before, you will definitely be able to find something.  For our talk this week, we have a great selection of nonfiction, fantasy, historical, humor, and realistic to get you started.

Our Middle Grade book spotlight this week is focused on graphic novels!!!  Graphic novels are incredibly visual stories that can feature pretty much anything fiction and nonfiction.  Done in the style of comic books, there is a huge variety of choices; literally something for everyone so even if you have never read one before, you will definitely be able to find something.  For our talk this week, we have a great selection of retellings, fantasy, historical, humor, and realistic to get you started.  These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the sea

Get ready to learn all about the environment and how you can do your part with Smokey Bear’s Reading Challenge. Running from August 10th to November 30th, the challenge is available to all ages and accessible on your Beanstack account. 

When you think of youth programming at the library, you probably think about storytimes and puppets and all sorts of things for younger kids. But did you know that the library offers programs for teens, as well? Read on to learn about a few of the activities you can get involved with! 

Bowman Library 

Our middle grade book spotlight this week is taking a look at Mysteries!!!  There are so many different types of mystery books available that there is literally something for everyone’s tastes!  Some are straight mystery/detective stories while others are more suspenseful and thrilling; mysteries are usually cross genre as well meaning that not only is there a mystery element, but there may also be some fantasy, science fiction, or historical elements as well.  We have a great selection this week from realistic to fantasy, murder mysteries and crime solving so you will either

Our teen book spotlight this week is taking a look at Mysteries!!!  There are so many different types of mystery books available that there is literally something for everyone’s tastes!  Some are straight mystery/detective stories while others are more suspenseful and thrilling; mysteries are usually cross genre as well meaning that not only is there a mystery element, but there may also be some fantasy, science fiction, or historical elements as well.  We have a great selection this week from realistic to fantasy, murder mysteries and crime solving so you will either find so

Are you researching your family’s history?  Have you hit a brick wall in your research?  Do you have tips/strategies that you can share with others?  If so, Family History Hunters is the group for you!

Winchester, VA — The Handley Regional Library System is proud to announce the impressive statistics from the 2023-2024 fiscal year, underscoring its vital role in the community and its ongoing commitment to providing accessible resources and services to patrons of all ages.

Over the past year, the Handley Regional Library System's three locations—Handley Library, Bowman Library, and Clarke County Library—welcomed 365,992 visitors, reflecting the vibrant engagement with our libraries. Key highlights from the year include:

Historical Fiction

Discover quick listen historical fiction favorites that explore the complexity of the human condition, like The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, on @hoopladigital. https://www.hoopladigital.com/collection/5558

Mystery

The Stewart Bell Jr. Archives is happy to announce a new database to help family researchers: American Ancestors.  From the New England Genealogical Society, this search engine provides access to 1.4 billion+ searchable records from the US and around the world.  Our membership also allows patrons to have access to the American Ancestors magazine and the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, two of genealogy’s leading print publications. 

Did you miss out on Hungry for History last year?  If so, you don't want to miss it this year.  Across Winchester and Frederick/Clarke County museums and historic sites in our community will offer a variety of programs and special events such as presentations, cooking demonstrations, hands-on activities, children’s activities, food tastings, special handouts and giveaways, displays of historic recipes, agriculture related programs and more.  To kick off the Hungry for History week, Stewart Bell Jr.

There are so many new YA non-fiction books covering such a wide variety of topics that you are guaranteed to find something that interests you! Here are a few examples:

A major thing that helps us in life is our executive functioning skills. Our executive functioning skills are essentially our ability to do planning, organization, and then follow through with that planning and organization by acting on it.