Toddler Storytime - Wisner Branch
2026-05-21 10:00 - 10:45 (America/Chicago)
Come join Ms. Carrie for silly songs, stories, and crafts!
Target Audience is 0-5 years old.

Questions? Call Ms. Carrie at 318-435-4336

CLOSED FOR MEMORIAL DAY
2026-05-25 08:00 - 17:00
Franklin Parish Library will be closed for Memorial Day.

Novel Quilting Club
2026-06-01 09:00 - 16:00, 2026-07-06 09:00 - 16:00
First Monday of each month
Experience a full day of creativity, relaxation, and connection with fellow quilters right here at home.
Bring your equipment & any projects you’re currently working on & join in.
All skill levels welcome.
Call Kayla at 318-435-4336 with Questions.

FRANKLIN PARISH LIBRARY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY EQUIPMENT OR ITEMS THAT YOU BRING.

Teen D&D Club - For High School Teens, Led by High School Teens
2026-06-01 13:00 - 15:00
Did you know we have a group of high school teens who lead their own D&D Club?! Now you do!
For any high school teens who are interested in joining in, come visit us on June 1 at 1:00 PM in the Learning Center Rm B (second meeting room in the blue building).
Any skill level is welcome and no supplies are needed.
All you need to bring is your imagination and positive attitude.

SR 2026 - Adult Lunch & Learn: Poverty Point World Heritage Site
2026-06-05 12:00 - 13:00
Join us for a ranger-guided discussion of the ongoing work and current understandings of Poverty Point World Heritage Site. This presentation takes us back over 3,000 years ago when indigenous peoples created the largest mounds and earthworks in North America. The ancient site was the center for exchange, ceremony, and community in North America between 1700 and 1100 BCE. Please give us a call to RSVP so we can get an accurate lunch count.

SR 2026 - Children & Family Program - Poverty Point World Heritage Site
2026-06-05 14:00 - 15:00
Children & Family Program:Get hands on with archaeology with a ranger-guided presentation showcasing artifacts and replicas from Poverty Point World Heritage Site. This talk includes film, Q and A, along with the guided artifact and replica experience itself.

LAYERED - Adult & Teen Activity
2026-06-08 10:00 - 11:30
Adults & Teens:
Peel back the surface and discover your inner artist! Join us for Layered, a new mixed-media journaling monthly activity where we transform blank pages into personal masterpieces. Using a blend of collage, paint, ink, and found objects, you’ll build texture and meaning one layer at a time. Journals and art supplies will be provided but feel free to bring your own if you’d like.
No “artistic talent” required—just a desire to create.
Join us the 2nd Monday of every month
10am in the Learning Center

Noon Nibbles - Adult Lunch & Learn
2026-06-11 12:00 - 13:00

SR 2026 - Children & Family Event - Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo
2026-06-12 10:00 - 11:00
Children & Family Program:We’re bringing the zoo to you! Come join us as we meet some adorable animals and learn all about them from our pals at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo!

SR 2026 - The Dinosaur Experience
2026-06-19 14:00 - 15:00
Children & Family Program:
We’ve partnered up with Friends of Crowville to bring the Dinosaur Experience to the library this year!
Come join us in the Learning Center on June 19th at 2:00 PM for a roaring good time with Ranger Nash & his mischievous dinosaur friends!
We expect this event will fill up quickly and space is limited.

Toddler Storytime at the Main Branch
2026-06-22 10:00 - 10:30
Come join Ms. Carrie for silly songs, dancing, and crafts.
10:00 am in the program room upstairs at the Main Branch in Winnsboro
Target Audience is generally 2-6 Year olds

SR 2026 - Movie & Popcorn: Jurassic Park!
2026-06-22 14:00 - 16:00
Bring your favorite movie snacks and join us in the Learning Center on June 22 at 2pm for popcorn & Jurassic Park!
Parents, this movie is rated PG-13 for “intense science fiction terror.”
No drop offs. Parent/guardians must accompany all minors.

Wellspring Parent Cafe
2026-06-26 10:00 - 11:00
Come a little early the day of Louisiana Snake ID and visit with our friends from the The Wellspring My Community Cares Team for their Parent Cafe – Friday, June 26 from 10-11 am in the Learning Center at the Main Branch

SR 2026 - Louisiana Snake ID (show #1 of 2)
2026-06-26 10:30 - 12:30
Is it even summer reading if we don’t have our friends from Louisiana Snake ID join us?!? Friends of Crowville teamed up with us this year to bring them back to town.
We’re so excited they’re coming back to visit us again this year!We’ve got two time slots for you to choose from. Join us on June 26th in the Learning Center at 10:30 am or 2:30 pm.
Slither on over and learn about snakes! In this hands-on show, Kevin Hood with Louisiana Snake ID will discuss misconceptions about snakes, explain why they benefit our environment, share some cool facts, and present some common species native to our state. Kevin & his family members will also provide information about how to identify venomous snakes. At the end of each show, audience members will be welcomed to form a line to pet, hold, and take photos with a few of the snakes presented.
Kevin Hood, his wife, Rachel, and their two sons run Louisiana Snake ID. The family travels the state for educational shows and has been featured on Bayou Wild TV and in articles in Louisiana Sportsmen Magazine. Join us for an educational and interactive event enjoyed by all ages!

SR 2026 - LA Snake ID (Show #2 of 2)
2026-06-26 14:30 - 16:30
Is it even summer reading if we don’t have our friends from Louisiana Snake ID join us?!? Friends of Crowville teamed up with us this year to bring them back to town.
We’re so excited they’re coming back to visit us again this year!
We’ve got two time slots for you to choose from. Join us on June 26th in the Learning Center at 10:30 am or 2:30 pm.
Slither on over and learn about snakes! In this hands-on show, Kevin Hood with Louisiana Snake ID will discuss misconceptions about snakes, explain why they benefit our environment, share some cool facts, and present some common species native to our state. Kevin & his family members will also provide information about how to identify venomous snakes. At the end of each show, audience members will be welcomed to form a line to pet, hold, and take photos with a few of the snakes presented.
Kevin Hood, his wife, Rachel, and their two sons run Louisiana Snake ID. The family travels the state for educational shows and has been featured on Bayou Wild TV and in articles in Louisiana Sportsmen Magazine. Join us for an educational and interactive event enjoyed by all ages!

SR 2026 - Louisiana Jonesie & the Mound Builders
2026-06-29 14:00 - 15:00
Join us in the Learning Center June 29 at 2pm for this interactive storytelling experience for children between the ages of 5-12 and their accompanying adults. The program takes audiences into the world of Poverty Point as it existed 3400 years ago, with a special emphasis on “a day in the life of a Poverty Point child.” kids will learn how ancient people built massive earthworks without modern tools and how archaeologists pieced together this puzzle using science. Best of all, the adventure includes interactive games and fascinating facts that will make history come alive in ways no textbook ever could.

This special program is presented by the Northeast Louisiana Children’s Museum with funding administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the State of Louisiana.

Read & Craft Book Club for Adults
2026-06-30 18:00 - 20:00
Calling all adults!
We have so much fun chatting books & crafts! Bring whatever craft your working on or just come to chat & have a great time socializing with readers & crafters.
Don’t craft? No worries! Come hang out. Don’t read? No worries! Come hang out. You might learn about a craft or new book that peaks your interest!
Read & Craft meetings monthly on the last Tuesday of every month from 6pm to 8pm. Can’t stay the whole time? No biggie. Come hang out while you can.

Water Safety Class for Elem/Jr High Kids presented by the US Army Core of Engineers
2026-07-02 14:00 - 15:00
Join us in the Learning Center on Thursday, July 2, at 2:00 PM for a Water Safety Class for kids
Target audience: elementary / Jr high students.

LAYERED: Mixed Media Journaling for Adults & Teens
2026-07-13 10:00 - 11:00
Adults & Teens: Peel back the surface and discover your inner artist! Join us for Layered, a new mixed-media journaling monthly activity where we transform blank pages into personal masterpieces. Using a blend of collage, paint, ink, and found objects, you’ll build texture and meaning one layer at a time. Journals and art supplies will be provided but feel free to bring your own if you’d like.
No “artistic talent” required—just a desire to create.

Virtual Author Talk: Small Towns and Big Secrets: In Conversation with Bestselling Author Karin Slaughter
2026-07-14 18:00 - 19:00 | Online Event
Join us for a thrilling evening with acclaimed author Karin Slaughter as we chat about her North Falls series, consisting of We Are All Guilty Here, in which two teenage girls vanish in rural Georgia, and her upcoming sequel, The Secrets
We Hide.
In The Secrets We Hide, Slaughter welcomes readers back to North Falls. A small town with big secrets…
1601 Iris Drive looks like any other house on the quiet, residential street. But rumors are rampant about the Vickery family, and what goes on behind closed doors.
When gunshots ring out, Sheriff Emmy Clifton and her sister, ex-federal agent Jude Archer, discover a devastating crime scene. Allison Vickery has been murdered in her own kitchen, and her teenage daughter is bleeding upstairs, left for dead.
Everyone thinks they know what happened. But secrets are buried everywhere in this small town.
And it’s up to Emmy Clifton to uncover the truth…
Register now to take part in the discussion, and for an exclusive sneak peek of The Secrets We Hide, coming out August 11, 2026!
About the Author:
Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular storytellers. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels, including the Edgar nominated Cop Town and standalone novels Pretty Girls and False Witness. An international bestseller, Slaughter is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. Pieces of Her, based on her novel, debuted at #1 worldwide on Netflix as an original series in 2022. Her bestselling thriller series, Will Trent, is now a television and streaming sensation in its 4th season. The Good Daughter has been adapted into a limited series starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy, and further projects are currently in development for film/TV. Karin Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Franklin Parish Library.

SR 2026 - STEM CAMP! Children Ages 8-12, Preregistration Requred
2026-07-15 08:45 - 15:30
We’ve teamed up with our friends at Louisiana Delta Community College in Winnsboro and Friends of Crowville for our second annual SUMMER STEM CAMP! Come by our Main Branch in Winnsboro to complete your child’s registration form quickly before it fills up! You can also email Kayla@franklinparishlibrary.org to grab a copy of the registration form / permission slip.

Children ages 8-12July 15 in the Learning CenterPre-registration is required and it will fill up quick!Drop-Offs start at 8:45 amProgram starts at 9 am & ends at 3:30 pmLunch will be served.

Our goal is to inspire students, encourage creativity, & help develop skills related to problem solving, critical analysis, teamwork, independent thinking, initiative, communication, & digital literacy.
Students will alternate between small group activities and whole group learning activities. We can’t wait!

Virtual Author Talk: Migrant Heart: The Hidden Cost of the American Dream and Healing Through Storytelling with Reyna Grande
2026-07-16 13:00 - 14:00 | Online Event
In her ambitious new memoir, Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget, beloved bestselling author Reyna Grande illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival.
What is the true power of stories? Can they heal the jagged edges of a traumatic childhood? Is the cost of telling the story worth the price of the cure?
With her signature blend of sophistication and raw honesty, Grande interrogates how living between two nations, two languages, and two identities has shaped the woman, mother, and writer she has become. Moving from the legacy of violence in her hometown of Iguala, Mexico, to a bittersweet family vacation in Europe spent reconciling her own impoverished past with her children’s world of abundance, she uncovers startling truths about the nature of survival.
Whether being racially profiled in the Arizona borderlands or finding unexpected wisdom from the slugs in her garden, Grande unflinchingly asks: How do we bridge the gap between who we were and who we have become? How do we turn pain into power? When memory threatens to define us, how can we use story to heal while still honoring our boundaries?
Register today for this virtual talk if you identify as a seeker, a dreamer, or “anyone who believes in the enduring, transformative power of finding one’s voice.”
About the Author:
Reyna Grande is an award-winning author, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. As a young girl, she crossed the US–Mexico border to join her family in Los Angeles, a harrowing journey chronicled in The Distance Between Us, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her other books include the novels A Ballad of Love and Glory, Across a Hundred Mountains, and Dancing with Butterflies, the memoirs Migrant Heart, The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition, and A Dream Called Home, and the anthology Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings. She lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and two children. Visit ReynaGrande.com for more information.

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Franklin Parish Library.

SR 2026 - Hat Trick Magic with David Leboeuf
2026-07-17 10:00 - 11:00
Join us July 17 in the Learning Center at 10am! Magician David Leboeuf enchants children of all ages with a combination of magic, humor, and audience participation for a uniquely entertaining show.

SR 2026 - Textured Dino Painting with BG Designs
2026-07-21 14:00 - 16:00
Join us in the Learning Center July 21 at 2pm for this fun children’s activity with talented, local artist Braiden Griffith!
Paint is involved so make sure they’re wearing clothes that can get a little messy.
No drop-offs. All minors must be accompanied by their parent/guardian.

SR 2026 - Movie & Popcorn: The Good Dinosaur
2026-07-24 14:00 - 16:00
Bring your favorite movie snacks and join us in the Learning Center on July 24 at 2pm for popcorn & The Good Dinosaur!
Parents, this movie is rated PG for “peril, action, and thematic elements.”
No drop offs. Parent/guardians must accompany all minors.

Virtual Author Talk The Power of Connection: Creating Lasting Friendships in an Increasingly Lonely World with Dr. Marisa Franco
2026-07-28 13:00 - 14:00 | Online Event
Join us in virtual conversation with bestselling author Dr. Marisa Franco, one of the world’s leading experts in human connection. Her book, Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make–And Keep–Friends, explores the science of different attachment styles and how they impact our relationships–often in ways we don’t realize!
How do we make and keep friends in an era of distraction, burnout, and chaos, especially in a society that often prizes romantic love at the expense of other relationships? In Platonic, Dr. Marisa G. Franco unpacks the latest, often counterintuitive findings about the bonds between us—for example, why your friends aren’t texting you back (it’s not because they hate you!), and the myth of “friendships happening organically” (making friends, like cultivating any relationship, requires effort!). As Dr. Franco explains, to make and keep friends you must understand your attachment style—secure, anxious, or avoidant: it is the key to unlocking what’s working (and what’s failing) in your friendships.
Making new friends, and deepening longstanding relationships, is possible at any age—in fact, it’s essential. The good news: there are specific, research-based ways to improve the number and quality of your connections using the insights of attachment theory and the latest scientific research on friendship. Platonic provides a clear and actionable blueprint for forging strong, lasting connections with others—and for becoming our happiest, most fulfilled selves in the process.
Register today to learn more about how to harness the science of human connection to create cultures of belonging.
About the Author:
An enlightening psychologist, New York Times bestselling author, and TED speaker, Dr. Marisa G. Franco is known for digesting and communicating science in ways that resonate deeply enough with people to change their lives.
Dr. Franco works as a professor at The University of Maryland and authored Platonic: How The Science of Attachment Can Help You Make – and Keep – Friends. She writes about friendship for Psychology Today and has been a featured connection expert for major publications like The New York Times, The Telegraph, and Vice.
Dr. Franco speaks on belonging at corporations, government agencies, non-profits, and universities across the country, including Harper Collins Publishers, Cisco, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and The Department of State.

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Franklin Parish Library.

Novel Quilting Club (Adults)
2026-08-03 09:00 - 16:00

Virtual Author Talk: The Legacy of Julia Child's Kitchen with Smithsonian Curator Paula J. Johnson
2026-08-04 13:00 - 14:00 | Online Event
Join us for a conversation that’s sure to warm your heart (and make your stomach rumble), as we delve into the legacy of cooking icon Julia Child with Smithsonian curator and public historian Paula J. Johnson, author of Julia Child’s Kitchen: The Design, Tools, Stories, and Legacy of an Iconic Space. The book includes interviews with chefs who knew Julia well, commentary on her favorite culinary tools and kitchen gadgets, and a stunning array of photos.
Julia Child’s 20’ x 14’ kitchen was a serious workspace and recipe‑testing lab that exuded a sense of mid‑century homey comfort. It has been on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., for most of the past twenty-three years, and museum goers have made it a top destination.
The kitchen contains more than one thousand parts and pieces—tools, appliances, utensils, furniture, artwork, knick‑knacks, books, and bits of whimsy—all reflecting Julia’s status as an accomplished chef, gastronome, delightful cooking teacher, television trailblazer, women’s advocate, mentor, and generous, jovial friend.
Julia Child’s Kitchen (and this online conversation) is a must‑have for every serious home cook and Julia Child fan. Register now to enter the discussion and learn more about how Julia Child continues to influence food today!
About the Author:
Paula J. Johnson is a curator and public historian at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. She conducts research and collects objects relating to the history and culture of American food and serves as the Director of the Smithsonian’s Food History Project. Johnson was one of the curators who collected Julia Child’s home kitchen in 2001 and led the team that created FOOD: Transforming the American Table, a multi-layered exhibition that explores the major changes in food production, distribution, and consumption in the United States since the 1950s. She has shaped and contributed to many public programs on food history and leads the annual “Food History Weekend.” Johnson is the author of many articles and three books, including Julia Child’s Kitchen: The Design, Tools Stories, and Legacy of an Iconic Space (2024). She received the Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar in the Humanities Award in 2020.
Johnson began her museum career at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland, and has worked at the Smithsonian since 1991. She is a member of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and Les Dames d’ Escoffier. She serves on the editorial collective for Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies.

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Franklin Parish Library.

Virtual Author Talk When Trees Testify: Reclaiming America’s Black Botanical Legacy with Beronda Montgomery
2026-08-25 13:00 - 14:00 | Online Event
Join us for a riveting conversation with award-winning biologist Beronda Montgomery as we discuss her book, When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy.
The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine. These trees, and others, testify not only to the complexity of the Black American narrative but also to a heritage of Black botanical expertise that, like Native American traditions, predates the United States entirely.
In When Trees Testify, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees, as well as the cotton shrub, are intertwined with Black history and culture. She reveals how knowledge surrounding these trees has shaped America since the very beginning. As Montgomery shows, trees are material witnesses to the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants.
Combining the wisdom of science and history with stories from her own path to botany, Montgomery talks to majestic trees, and in this unique and compelling narrative, they answer.
Register today for this insightful discussion about Black history and botanical mastery.

About the Author:
Beronda L. Montgomery, PhD, is a writer, researcher, and scholar who pursues a common theme of understanding how individuals perceive, respond to, and are impacted by the environments in which they exist. Her primary laboratory-based research has been focused on the responses of photosynthetic organisms (i.e., plants and cyanobacteria) to external light cues. Additionally, Beronda pursues this theme in the context of effective mentoring and leadership of individuals, and the role of innovative leaders in supporting success.
Beronda is author of two books When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy (2026, Henry Holt and Co.) and Lessons From Plants (2021, Harvard University Press).

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Franklin Parish Library.
