By Beverly Ewart
CFL will be closed on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 19, 2026.
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I offer this excellent selection of books for you to check out – you’ll find them all right here, at Canton Free Library:
The autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Edited by Clayborne Carson. A professor of history and the noted author and editor of several books on the civil rights struggle, Dr. Clayborne Carson was selected by the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. To edit and publish Dr. King’s papers. Drawing upon an unprecedented archive of King’s own words – including unpublished letters and diaries, as well as video footage and recordings – Dr. Carson creates an unforgettable self-portrait of Dr. King. In his own vivid, compassionate voice, here is Martin Luther King, Jr., as student, minister, husband, father, and world leader… as well as a rich, moving chronicle of a people and a nation in the face of powerful – and still resonating – change. ~ Publisher
Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 Edited by Ibram X. Kendi, and Keisha N. Blain. “A “choral history” of African Americans covering 400 years of history in the voices of 80 writers, edited by the bestselling, National Book Award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. Last year marked the four hundredth anniversary of the first African presence in the Americas–and also launched the Four Hundred Souls project, spearheaded by Ibram X. Kendi, director of the Antiracism Institute of American University, and Keisha Blain, editor of The North Star. They’ve gathered together eighty black writers from all disciplines — historians and artists, journalists and novelists–each of whom has contributed an entry about one five-year period to create a dynamic multivoiced single-volume history of black people in America” ~ Publisher.
African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Freedom by David Hackett Fischer. “A brilliant synthesis of African and African American history that shows how slavery differed in different regions of the country, and how the Africans and their descendants influenced the culture, commerce, and laws of the early United States” ~ Publisher.
March: Book 1 by John Lewis. This graphic novel is Congressman John Lewis’ first-hand account of his lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Book One spans Lewis’ youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a climax on the steps of City Hall. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper’s farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington D.C., and from receiving beatings from state troopers, to receiving the Medal of Freedom awarded to him by Barack Obama, the first African-American president. ~ Publisher
March: Book 2 by John Lewis. After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence — but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the deep south, they will be tested like never before. ~ Publisher
March: Book 3 by John Lewis. By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as a chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear. Through relentless direct action, SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but for every step forward, the danger grows more intense: Jim Crow strikes back through legal tricks, intimidation, violence, and death. The only hope for lasting change is to give voice to the millions of Americans silenced by voter suppression: “One Man, One Vote.” To carry out their nonviolent revolution, Lewis and an army of young activists launch a series of innovative campaigns, including the Freedom Vote, Mississippi Freedom Summer, and an all-out battle for the soul of the Democratic Party waged live on national television. With these new struggles come new allies, new opponents, and an unpredictable new president who might be both at once. But fractures within the movement are deepening … even as 25-year-old John Lewis prepares to risk everything in a historic showdown high above the Alabama river, in a town called Selma. ~ Publisher
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Chess Club at CFL – Chess Club meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-4. Tuesday is free play with Ryan Nolan and designed for those that have some experience.
Thursday’s weekly session is with Zachary Woodley-White and is designed for beginners who would like to learn how to play. We offer rudimentary instruction and a judgement free space for younger players to establish and build on their fundamentals. No registration needed, ages 12 and below. Questions? Contact Zach at zwoodleywhite@ncls.org
Grab a board, find a friend, and start a game at any open table in the Main Reading Room. Other board games are available or bring your own.
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TEEN ANIME meets on Thursdays from 5-7pm.
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Children’s Programming at the Canton Free Library:
O-17 months: Baby Storytime is for our library babies and their caregivers. We’ll share books, bounce rhymes, songs, finger plays, lots of smiles, and then close with social/play time. Tuesdays 10:30-11:30 am. No registration is needed.
18-35 months: Toddler Storytime for children and their caregivers. We’ll share books, rhymes, music, movement, and lots more early literacy fun! Mondays 10:30-11:00 am. No registration is necessary during the school year.
3-5 years: Preschool Storytime is for children and their caregivers. Stories, songs, movement, crafts, friends, and lots of fun! Wednesdays 10:30-11:15 am. No registration is needed during the school year.
K-2nd grade: Each month at Books and Beyond, we’ll explore themes with books, activities, games, and art. Books and Beyond meets each third Thursday afternoon from 3-4 pm. Registration for each month is required by the Monday before the program.
3rd-6th grade: Tween Time offers a mix of cool crafts, art exploration, games, STEAM, and book talks of popular and classic literature. Tween Time meets every fourth Thursday afternoon from 3-4 pm. Registration for each month is required by the Monday before the program.
K-6th grade: Lego Club: A different challenge/theme will be given at the start of each meeting. Lego Club meets on the last Monday of the month (unless that’s a holiday, whereupon the date will be announced) from 3:00-4:00pm. Registration is required by the Friday before the program, but it fills fast! Don’t wait!
Ages 5-up: Arts After School: Artist Kris Rozelle will lead a different art project each month for kids 5 and up. Arts After School is free, but registration is needed for each class. Since class size is limited, please let us know if your registered child cannot attend so another child may have their spot. Thanks!
Battle of the Books: The 2026 list for the NCLS Battle of the Books for children in grades 4-6 is out! It may be found on our website, our Facebook page, or you may pick up a copy in the children’s room at the library.
For questions or registration email Ms. Val at vwhite@ncls.org or
call 315-386-3712 ext. 4
Programs are sponsored by the Friends of the Canton Free Library and the St. Lawrence County Youth Bureau.
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Curbside Service is always available: Call (315) 386-3712 and choose option 1 “Front Desk,” or send an email to canlib@ncls.org.
MORLEY BRANCH is open Tuesday 1pm-3pm; Wednesday 4pm-6pm; Thursday 10am-12pm. Call for more information: (315) 379-0066.
RENSSELAER FALLS BRANCH is open on Tuesdays from 11am – 5pm. Call the library at (315) 344-4155 for more information.
CANTON BRANCH is open 9am-6pm Monday – Friday; 10am-3pm Saturday. Contact us at (315) 386-3712 or cantonfreelibrary.org.