Humanities events
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.
2024-2025 Humanities Events Calendar
Upcoming Events
The Other Side of the Story
Saturday, February 22, 2025 • 10:00am - 12:00pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)
Community Forum of the Stagville Descendants Council Library series....
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen
Mallarmé Music
Saturday, February 22, 2025 • 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Children's Programming Room)
Join lutenist Daniel Swenberg in a FREE presentation called The Conversation- Everything you wanted to know about Lutes, but were afraid to ask, a demonstration of some of his favorite early music and instruments. Dan will demonstrate...
Ages: Adult, Elementary School, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Middle School, Senior Citizen, Teen, Tweens: 9-12 Year Olds, DPS
Negro Durham Marches On - An Examination of the Past, Present and Future of Hayti in Durham
Saturday, February 22, 2025 • 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)
Join Durham County Library's North Carolina Collection for a special screening of the historic 1948 film Negro Durham Marches On by Don Parisher. The film was commissioned by the Durham Business and Professional Chain, and it depicts...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Senior Citizen
Registration full. Join the waitlist >
DCoL Humanities Presents - Cornel West
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 • 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)
Save the date!...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
Registration full. Join the waitlist >
The Other Side of the Story
Saturday, March 08, 2025 • 10:00am - 12:00pm
Stanford L. Warren Branch Library (1201 Fayetteville St) (SLW Meeting Room - Full Room)
Community Forum of the Stagville Descendants Council Library series....
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen
Nature Writing Workshop
Saturday, March 15, 2025 • 10:00am - 11:30am
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Conference Room #3214)
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
The Other Side of the Story
Saturday, March 15, 2025 • 10:00am - 12:00pm
East Regional Library (211 Lick Creek Lane) (East Meeting Room)
Community Forum of the Stagville Descendants Council Library series....
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen
Finding Harmony and Balance with Shirley Kim
Saturday, March 15, 2025 • 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Stanford L. Warren Branch Library (1201 Fayetteville St) (SLW Meeting Room - Full Room)
...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen, Teen
Telling the Full Story: Uncovering Hillsborough's Hidden History
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 • 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)
Save the date for an inspiring evening on March 18, 2025, at 6:00 PM at the Durham County Main Library! Join The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough and members of the Telling the Full Story committee for an engaging panel discussion about...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
The Other Side of the Story
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 • 10:30am - 12:30pm
Offsite
March 19, 2025 - Lyon Park Community Center (1309 Halley Street)...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen
Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City's Soul
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 • 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)
Join Durham County Library for a special talk with author Aran Shetterly on his new book Morningside and the legacy of the Greensboro Massacre. Copies of the book will be availble for sale by Letters Bookshop. ...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
The Other Side of the Story
Saturday, March 22, 2025 • 10:00am - 12:00pm
Offsite
March 22, 2025 - Braggtown Baptist Church/Durham Rail Trail Discussion (3218 N Roxboro St)...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen
Moving Forward Together
Monday, March 24, 2025 • 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen, Teen
DCoL Humanities Presents - Bakari Sellers
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 • 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)
...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
Tressie McMillan Cottom (Library Fest 2025 KEYNOTE)
Monday, April 07, 2025 • 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (Main Auditorium)
...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen
Writing Your Multigenerational Story with Dr. Zelda Lockhart (Library Fest 2025 KEYNOTE)
Thursday, April 10, 2025 • 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Offsite
...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen
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
Nita Tyndall (Library Fest 2025 TEEN/YA AUTHOR KEYNOTE)
Saturday, April 12, 2025 • 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St) (MakerLab)
...
Ages: Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Teen
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
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
Get in touch!
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!
Pronouns: she/her