Programs in Numbers

Join us for special readings with the Hillsborough Police Department!

Once a month, local police officers will visit the Main Library in downtown Hillsborough to share some of their favorite children’s stories. Families can choose the 30-minute session that works best for their schedule. Sessions are offered from 3:30–4:00 or 4:00–4:30 PM, and each session includes up to six children for a small, cozy storytime experience. Please check in at the children's desk when you arrive.

After the stories, children will have a chance to ask questions and learn what it’s like to be a police officer in our community. It’s a great way to enjoy books, meet local helpers, and have a fun, interactive library experience!

Registration for this program is required. Please register each child who will attend.

Parents are welcome to join in the storytime or remain close by during the program.

Stitch Together Our Story: Teen Quilt Project
Leave your mark on the teen room—literally! In this creative, collaborative program, each teen will design their own fabric square using art supplies, doodles, quotes, or anything that represents you. Once everyone’s pieces are complete, we’ll stitch them together into a one-of-a-kind quilt to be displayed in the teen space. Whether you’re artsy, crafty, or just want to try something new, this is your chance to be part of a lasting piece of teen-created art. Come hang out, get creative, and help us build something amazing—one square at a time!

Registration for this program is encouraged but not required

Rising 6th graders can join teen programming after September 1, 2026.

Join the Orange County Public Library for Get Carded: Trivia Nights, a fun and engaging evening of trivia held at The Rookery in downtown Hillsborough. Show off your knowledge, compete for bragging rights, and connect with fellow trivia lovers—all while enjoying a lively atmosphere and local brews.

When: Wednesdays at 7:00 PM
Where: The Rookery, 115 W Margaret Ln, Hillsborough, NC 27278 (right beside the Main Library in Hillsborough!)
Audience: Adults only

No registration required. Come early to grab a seat and a drink!

Children from walkers to age 5 and their caregivers are invited to participate in a 25-minute interactive program that incorporates age-appropriate books, rhymes, music, and movement. A 30-minute Stay-and-Play follows Storytime. Registration is not required.

Join us in the kid's area of the Southern Branch Library

For a 15-20 minute early literacy program for babies with stories, rhymes, bounces, and songs! For newborns up to walkers with their caregivers and siblings.

Location is inside the Southern Branch Library on the first floor of the Drakeford Library Complex in Carrboro, NC.

Calling all curious kids! The Curiosity Crew is a program where Kindergarten–2nd graders can build, create, and discover through fun projects in art, science, and beyond. This week we will make our own sensory bottles and squishy fidgets for you to take home!

Children may participate in this program independently or with their caregivers. Caregivers must remain inside the library for the duration of the program.

The Tuesday Evening Book Club is a Community Member-Led book club which meets the on 2nd Tuesdays of the month at 6:30pm at Main Library in Hillsborough. The club discusses a wide variety of popular and interesting books in a light atmosphere.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged but not required. For reading selections and more information, visit the library's book club page.

Are you up for a building challenge?

Kids and their families, drop-in from 12-5 to become a LEGO paleontologist and build dinosaurs to be displayed in the library!

Guides will be available for kids to learn how to build ankylosaurus, brontosaurus, velociraptor, pterosaur, and baby spinosaurus.

Children must be supervised by an adult at all times.

Hotwheels Handspinners is an active group of fiber artists whose craft begins (mostly) at the spinning wheel, where we make yarn to knit, weave, crochet, felt, macrame, and more! We meet monthly at the Orange County Public Library's Main Branch in Hillsborough, and welcome spinners of all levels of expertise who have fiber to spin and something to spin it with. While the meeting room offers ample space for spinning wheels, we ask that you register in advance to help us properly prepare for each meeting.

Be on the lookout for occasional “Learn To Spin” gatherings for both adults and children, as well as an annual fiber swap. For inspiration, feel free to browse the library's collection of books on handspinning.

Registration in advance for this event is strongly recommended

Step into a prehistoric adventure with Dino Academy!

Join the quirky and curious Dr. Sarah Tops for an action-packed theatrical performance that brings dinosaurs to life. Featuring colorful, life-like dinosaur puppets that stomp, roar, and charm their way across the stage, this show blends science, storytelling, and imagination in the style of your favorite nature programs. Along the way, you’ll discover fascinating dino facts that are sure to impress even the biggest dinosaur fans. It’s an unforgettable journey through time—no time machine required!

This event is open to curious minds of all ages! Parents must accompany their children for this program.

There is no registration for this event. Doors will open at 10:15am.

The Summer Reading Program is generously funded by the Friends of the Library, whose support helps make our programs possible.

Ayr Mount is well-maintained early nineteenth-century historic house and surrounding landscape just outside of downtown Hillsborough. While picturesque, the current scene one encounters while visiting Ayr Mount presents only a small portion of the site’s long history – one that stretches back centuries to the settlements of the Ancestors of North Carolina’s Tribal Nations. This summer, UNC graduate and undergraduate students are learning how to reveal more of the deep history of the property through archival research and archaeological fieldwork. In this talk, they will present the preliminary findings of their work, which includes ground penetrating radar and archaeological excavation. Register to attend.

Can't make it on the 11th, but still interested? This talk will be offered again at the Main Library on July 18th!

In this hands-on workshop for adults and high school–aged participants, patrons will turn discarded and overlooked materials into new reuse art projects. Facilitators from the Scrap Exchange will provide reuse supplies (Pool noodles, egg cartons, plastic caps, buttons, pipe cleaners, beads, and more) along with crafting tools such as scissors, tape and staplers and hot glue guns.

Registration is encouraged!

Friendly Fiber Fridays Meet-Up - Added Time! | First and fourth Fridays of the month from 9am to 10:30am and Second Fridays from 1-3pm at Main Library located at 137 West Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278.

Do you knit, crochet, or do other fiber work? Bring your project and join us at Main Library in Hillsborough for a Friendly Fiber Fridays. This is a fun meet up for fibercrafty folks with space for you to spread out, work, and chat with other crafters. The library has yarn available for anyone to take if they like, and patterns are available in the fibercraft section of adult nonfiction (in the 746s). Feel free to bring your coffee and snacks along.

“Unearth a Story” with NC Zoo at Southern Branch Library!

As part of our Summer Reading program we are hosting an interactive presentation led by the NC Zoo. Learn new animal facts and even see a surprise live animal or two! Program is 45 minutes with 15 minutes for questions at the end.

Kids and families are all welcome! No registration required, first come-first served for seating. Children under 10 years old must be with an adult caretaker at all time.

*It is at the Zoo's discretion which live animals will be attending and we will not know in advance*

Join us at Southern Branch library for storytime!

Starting at 10:30am, Southern Branch librarians will lead a 25-30 minute program with stories, songs, and movement for toddlers-preschoolers and their caregivers and siblings.

These events are free and require no registration.

Children must be supervised by their adult caretakers at all times.

Location: Library is on the first floor of the Drakeford Library Complex building--information desk inside can direct you.

Town of Carrboro's Toddler Playtime partnership will resume in the fall of 2026.

Learn computer basics and earn a computer!

Thanks to grant funding from NCDIT, we’ll be able to give away a laptop computer to each patron who attend all four sessions. Classes will include basic computer and internet lessons.

Some of what we will discuss:

Computer basics

Digital Identity

Digital Well-being (including internet safety and scam awareness)

Using Email

Digital Relationships

Digital Safety

Using the internet to access important real life information (banking, medical records, etc)

Social Media

Computers are provided for the class! You do not need to bring your own.

If you need transportation to participate in this program, call Orange County Public Transportation at (919) 245-2008 at least 48 hours before to book a Demand Response ride. There is no fee associated with this service.

You must attend all four sessions to receive a computer. If you are going to have a conflict with one of these sessions, please contact Andrew, the instructor (contact info is in the sidebar).

This class can accommodate 10 students. The instructor will alert people on the waitlist when the class is offered again in the future. Please do not sign up for this class if you have already taken it.

The sessions are Thursdays at 1pm:
July 9
July 16
July 23
July 30

Step into the world of dragons! In this exciting program for grades 3–5, kids will explore dragon myths and legends from different cultures, learn fun facts about famous dragons in stories, and imagine what their own dragon would look like. Participants will create a glowing dragon eye craft using colorful materials and textures to design a magical dragon eye they can take home. The program encourages creativity, imagination, and artistic expression while introducing children to mythology and fantasy storytelling.

This program is designed for children in grades 3 to 5. Registration is not required.

Not a Book Club | The next best thing to reading a good book is talking about it with your fellow readers. Join us online on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 6:30pm for an informal book discussion. We’re "Not a Book Club," so there’s no assigned reading and no pressure. Just grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, and let’s talk books! Registration is required for the link to join the discussion.

For more information about this and other book clubs, visit the library's book club page.

#NaBC

Call for writing submissions has been extended and expanded! Adults, submit your 10 sentence story (or 10 line poem) through July 8th 2026 to contribute to WAX2, the library’s literary zine for adults.

The original WAXPRINT zine was dedicated to youth expression. This new version of the zine will be dedicated to writing by adults with different themes per issue. In this first issue in 2025 was focused solely on poetry. The 2026 issue is centering local stories told in 10 sentences or 10 lines of poetry. Local history is made up of our many stories of this place captured through bible records, wills, and court documents but also through everyday recollections of a life lived. Unearth and share your stories with us. Your stories are a part of local history. We hope to collect and publish around 25 pieces of writing in the 2026 volume of WAX2 which should be available in July. We will (if contributors are willing to attend) have a Moth-like gathering to share what we've written in July at Main Library in Hillsborough. We can also submit a contributor's work to PBS North Carolina's Homegrown History archive if the contributor wishes. We look forward to seeing your work!

Submission Guidelines:

_Submissions will be open from through July 8th 2026.

_Submit work in word format or via google doc to ocpltab@gmail.com

_There is submission limit of 2 pieces of writing that is no more or less than 10 sentences or ten lines of poetry per person

_This year's submission theme is focused on local stories as a part of America 250, the the year-long commemoration of the nation's founding. As such we are asking for works set in NC from family lore to stories about people, places and events that have shaped you and/or our community.

_Submissions are for people 18+ years old. While "adult content and language" are not prohibited, submissions may not contain language that is oppressive, abusive, or diminishing to others. Please do remember our setting, here.

_If you have questions, call or stop by the upstairs desk at Main Library in Hillsborough or send an email to the address listed above. Many thanks!

This is one of our programs throughout 2026 that commemorate America 250, the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding. Click to see more A250 events at your library.

This ESL conversation group will meet at the Main Library in Hillsborough on Wednesdays in July, 12-1 PM, starting July 8th. While the group is primarily intended as a space for intermediate and advanced-level speakers of English to practice their skills, all ability levels are welcome to attend! Coffee, tea, and light snacks will be served.

Welcome to Medicare! Are you turning 65, eligible for Medicare and feeling overwhelmed by all the information “bombarding” you? The Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) and the Orange County Department on Aging are here to help! Whether you are retiring soon, already retired or continuing to work, attend this workshop where you’ll get valuable information including how and when to enroll, potential penalties for late enrollment, as well as Medicare’s costs, benefits and options. Please register by calling 919.245.2015.

¡Bienvenido a Medicare! ¿Está usted cumpliendo 65 años, es elegible para Medicare y se siente abrumado por toda la información que lo “bombardea”? ¡El Programa de Información sobre Seguros Médicos para Personas Mayores (SHIIP, sus siglas en inglés) y el Departamento para Personas Mayores del Condado de Orange están aquí para ayudarlo! Ya sea que se jubile pronto, ya esté jubilado o continúe trabajando, asista a este taller donde obtendrá información valiosa que incluye cómo y cuándo inscribirse, posibles sanciones por inscripción tardía, así como los costos, beneficios y opciones de Medicare.

Esta clase es en inglés. Para las personas que deseen esta información en español, pueden llamar al Centro de Llamadas del Departamento de Seguros de Carolina del Norte. Tienen intérpretes de español disponibles para ayudar a la gente por teléfono de lunes a viernes, de 8:00 am a 5:00 pm El número es 1.855.408.1212.

Join the Orange County Public Library for Get Carded: Trivia Nights, a fun and engaging evening of trivia held at The Rookery in downtown Hillsborough. Show off your knowledge, compete for bragging rights, and connect with fellow trivia lovers—all while enjoying a lively atmosphere and local brews.

When: Wednesdays at 7:00 PM
Where: The Rookery, 115 W Margaret Ln, Hillsborough, NC 27278 (right beside the Main Library in Hillsborough!)
Audience: Adults only

No registration required. Come early to grab a seat and a drink!

Children from walkers to age 5 and their caregivers are invited to participate in a 25-minute interactive program that incorporates age-appropriate books, rhymes, music, and movement. A 30-minute Stay-and-Play follows Storytime. Registration is not required.

Join us in the kid's area of the Southern Branch Library

For a 15-20 minute early literacy program for babies with stories, rhymes, bounces, and songs! For newborns up to walkers with their caregivers and siblings.

Location is inside the Southern Branch Library on the first floor of the Drakeford Library Complex in Carrboro, NC.