Humanities events

Humanities: Honoring Connections, Broadening Horizons

Our humanities program brings nationally recognized authors and world-class scholars to the library community through events that focus on music, art, local history, religion, literature, and culture.

Programs are often developed in partnership with our many local arts and humanities organizations, nonprofits, and institutions.

Humanities programming is funded by the Durham Library Foundation.

Durham Library Foundation: Better libraries, stronger communities. 25th Anniversary.

2024-2025 Humanities Events Calendar

Upcoming Events

David Menconi presents, “From the Mountains to the Sea – A Brief Overview of North Carolina (and Durham) Music”

Saturday, April 12, 2025 • 3:00pm - 4:00pm

Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)

Join us for this special Library Fest event where we'll trace some of the currents of North Carolina’s incredibly influential music history, which includes key contributions to the evolution of jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, rock and...

Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen

Registration required

Nature Writing Workshop

Saturday, April 26, 2025 • 10:00am - 11:30am

Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Meeting Room #4347)

Nature has inspired countless pieces of poetry and prose over the course of time and space. Nature writing puts us in intimate touch with our own inner landscapes, while filling us with awe and reverence for our natural world. If you have ever been...

Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen

Registration required

Only Soldiers and Only At The Frontline: Soviet Women of WWII in Combat & Memory

Wednesday, April 30, 2025 • 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)

Join Durham County Library for a special lecture on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two. Dr. Anna Krylova of the Duke University History Department will deliver a presentation on women of the Soviert Union in active service on the...

Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Senior Citizen

Registration required

Director's Cut

Saturday, May 10, 2025 • 1:00pm - 6:00pm

Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)

Save the date!...

Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen, Tweens: 9-12 Year Olds

Registration required

Afrofuturism Fest

Saturday, May 17, 2025 • 10:00am - 5:30pm

Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)

Save the date!...

Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen

Mallarmé Music: Space Pants

Saturday, June 28, 2025 • 2:00pm - 3:30pm

Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)

Come join us in the Main Library Auditorium for Space Pants: Intergalactic Music & Multi-media Storytelling, featuring Jen Beattie's vocals and Diane Wade on the Viola.

Registration required

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Play time. Bestselling authors at your fingertips; just hit play! Covers of "Solito" by Javier Zamora, "The Poet X" by Elizabeth Acevedo, "Yellowface" by R. F. Kuang, "Maybe You Should Talk To Someone" by Lori Gottlieb, "Everything I Learned about Racism I Learned in School" by Tiffany Jewell, and "Mother-Daughter Murder Night" by Nina Simon.

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Get in touch!

Humanities Coordinator Celeste Holtzmann.

Celeste

Email: choltzmann@dconc.gov

Celeste is a North Carolina native from the small town of Ridgeway. A winding road of customer service jobs and volunteer opportunities fed her passion for serving community and the various members of it. A graduate of UNC Asheville (BA) focusing in the art of printmaking and from NCCU (MLS) focusing in public libraries, she is thrilled to now take on the role of Humanities Coordinator for the exceptional community of the Durham County Library system. If you could only know one thing about her, she’d want you to know that she wants to HEAR FROM YOU! The humanities and libraries share the common thread of community and sharing voices, so please share yours! There may not be enough days in the year to do it all, but your ideas, interests, and suggestions matter!

More about Celeste >

Pronouns: she/her