
Upcoming Events

Color Our World: Captain Curiosity - Into the Deep
A light-hearted love story about the colorful creatures that live beneath the sea.
Color Our World: Captain Curiosity - Into the Deep
A light-hearted love story about the colorful creatures that live beneath the sea.
Bring your imaginations and join us every week for a different building challenge!! All kids ages 6-11 are invited to come out; no registration is needed. Our theme this week is...Outer Space!
Disclaimer(s)
Library Consent Statement for Photography and Video
Programs, events, and daily happenings sponsored by Handley Regional Library System may be photographed or recorded. Attendance at any sponsored program, event or general library use constitutes the consent of all attendees and the consent of the parents or legal guardians of any minor children in attendance, to the future broadcast, publication, and other use of photography or videos at the sole direction of Handley Regional Library System.
Enjoy a passive playtime for infants and families while we break from storytime during our Youth Summer Reading Special Presenter series. Ages 0-16 months.
Come to the Clarke County Library Children's Room for stories and fun! Miss Bonnie will share a new adventure with early readers and their families each week. All are welcome!
Trit Trot to Bowman is an early literacy program for infants, 0-18 months, and their families and caregivers. Introduce your baby to the joys of books, language, movement, and music!
Disclaimer(s)
Library Consent Statement for Photography and Video
Programs, events, and daily happenings sponsored by Handley Regional Library System may be photographed or recorded. Attendance at any sponsored program, event or general library use constitutes the consent of all attendees and the consent of the parents or legal guardians of any minor children in attendance, to the future broadcast, publication, and other use of photography or videos at the sole direction of Handley Regional Library System.
Photography Notification
While we do allow professional photography inside the property of Handley Regional Library System, we do ask that we are notified ahead of time of photoshoots at 540.662.9041 x 25. Photography activities may be limited to specific areas due to reserved use and cannot impede any patron activity using the library.
What's New
Celebrating Joan Wood’s Retirement and Legacy at the Archives
After nearly 15 years of dedicated service to the Handley Regional Library System, Joan Wood has officially retired from her role as Archives Assistant at the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives at Handley Library.
Archives intern dives into the skies of the past!
Meet Rin, our archives intern, who’s diving into the skies of the past! They’re currently cataloging the Rudy Rodgers Aerial Photography Collection—a stunning archive of over 7,000 images capturing Winchester, Frederick County, and other parts of the Lower Shenandoah Valley from above.

A Little Noon Music
The Friends of Handley Regional Library System sponsor live music at our libraries with concerts called A Little Noon Music. From September to May, a variety of musicians delight audience members with their talents.
Announcing our 25/26 season! All performances begin at 12pm.
September 12, 2025 @ Handley Library- Rich Follett
October 10, 2025 @ Handley Library- Andrew McKnight
What to Watch
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Better Man
- Better Man is based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Under the visionary direction of Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), the film is uniquely told from Robbie's perspective, capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit. It follows Robbie's journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.
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Abbot Elementary: The Complete Third Season
Abbott Elementary follows a group of dedicated, passionate teachers and a slightly tone-deaf principal - who are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible educators may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do even if they don't love the school district's less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.
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Dogfight [blu-ray]
- An ineffably bittersweet portrait of youth in the 1960s, Nancy Savoca's funny, sensitive tale of love and war etches two vividly alive characters: aspiring San Francisco folk singer Rose and hotheaded, Vietnam-bound marine Eddie, who meet on the occasion of a cruelly misogynistic party where men compete to bring the most unattractive dates they can find. But what begins as a night to forget unexpectedly develops into something far more meaningful.
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Anora
- Contemporary cinema's foremost chronicler of American dreamers and schemers hustling on the margins of capitalist promise, Sean Baker, reaches new heights of mastery with this audacious anti Cinderella story a whirlwind neorealist screwball comedy with an aching heart. In an electric, star-is-born performance, Mikey Madison soars as Anora, an enterprising, ferociously foulmouthed Brooklyn erotic dancer and sex worker whose Prince Not-So-Charming comes along in the form of a Russian oligarch's wild-child son.
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Captain America: Brave New World
As he takes on the mantle of Captain America, Sam Wilson meets with newly elected U.S. president Thaddeus Ross and soon finds himself in the middle of an international incident. In a race against time, Sam must unravel a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
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Basquiat [Blu Ray]
Julian Schnabel's tribute to his friend and fellow painter Jean-Michel Basquiat is less a conventional biopic than an impressionistic, sensory immersion into the much-mythologized downtown Manhattan art world of the 1980s. Jeffrey Wright, in his first lead film role, stars as the visionary artist whose rise from graffiti tagger to art star forces him to confront the glare of sudden fame, along with racism, his own struggles with addiction, and the difficulties of being self-determining and free in America.
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Dune Prophecy
From the expansive universe of Dune, created by acclaimed author Frank Herbert, and 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit. Dune: Prophecy is inspired by the novel Sisterhood Of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
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Long Distance Swimmer : Sara Mardini
- Sara Mardini, once a competitive swimmer in Syria, became Europe's most celebrated refugee after saving 18 people's lives. After working as a rescue volunteer in the Mediterranean, she is accused of people smuggling and faces a 25-year prison sentence. We follow her fight for justice and journey of self-discovery against the backdrop of Europe's refugee 'crisis.'
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The Substance
- Demi Moore gives the career-best performance as Elisabeth Sparkle, a former A-lister fired from her fitness TV show by studio head Harvey. She is drawn to The Substance. All it takes is one injection and she is reborn as the gorgeous Sue.
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The Count of Monte Cristo
Edmond Dantes, a sailor falsely accused of treason, is imprisoned in the Château d'If off Marseille. After escaping, and adopting the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo, he plans revenge against those who wrongly accused him.
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Sight
- Sight, starring Greg Kinnear and Terry Chen, follows the inspiring true story of Ming Wang, an impoverished Chinese prodigy who flees Communist China to become a pioneering eye surgoen in America. When tasked with restoring the sight of an orphan who was blinded by her step mother, he must confront the trauma of living through a violent uprising in his youth, the Cultural Revolution.
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Transformers One
- The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Known as sworn enemies, once they were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. The first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie.
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Nosferatu
- A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
- Inspired by the screenplay "Nosferatu" by Henrik Galeen and the novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker.
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Terraforma
- TerraForma is the story of the remote desert island of Ascension: for a million years entirely devoid of life, but it was engineered by the process of 'terraforming' into a tropical paradise. It is also the story of what that transformation may mean for the fate of our planet, in a future when terraformed landscapes and human-engineered environments may come to warp our understanding of nature itself.
Staff Picks
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Basquiat [Blu Ray]
Julian Schnabel's tribute to his friend and fellow painter Jean-Michel Basquiat is less a conventional biopic than an impressionistic, sensory immersion into the much-mythologized downtown Manhattan art world of the 1980s. Jeffrey Wright, in his first lead film role, stars as the visionary artist whose rise from graffiti tagger to art star forces him to confront the glare of sudden fame, along with racism, his own struggles with addiction, and the difficulties of being self-determining and free in America.
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The sirens : a novel
2019: Lucy awakens from a dream to find her hands around her ex-lover's throat. Horrified, she flees to her older sister's house on the Australian coast, hoping she can help explain the strangely vivid nightmare that preceded the attack-but Jess is nowhere to be found. As Lucy awaits her return, the rumors surrounding Jess's strange small town start to emerge. Numerous men have gone missing at sea, spread over decades. A tiny baby was found hidden in a cave. And sailors tell of hearing women's voices on the waves. Desperate for answers, Lucy finds and begins to read her sister's adolescent diary. 1999: Jess is a lonely sixteen-year-old in a rural town in the middle of the continent. Diagnosed with a rare allergy to water, she has always felt different, until her young, charming art teacher takes an interest in her drawings, seeing a power and maturity in them-and in her-that no one else has. 1800: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza have been torn from their loving father in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. For their entire lives, they've feared the ocean, as their mother tragically drowned when they were just girls. Yet as the boat bears them further and further from all they know, they begin to notice changes in their bodies that they can't explain, and they feel the sea beginning to call to them..."-- Provided by publisher.
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The retirement plan : a novel
- Three middle-aged best friends turn to murder in order to collect on their husbands' life insurance policies...but are unaware that their husbands have a devious plan of their own, in this darkly funny debut perfect for fans of Thursday Murder Club and Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.
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The last great heir
- Rival heirs, Merriment and Rue, prepare for a customary duel on their thirteenth birthday to determine the next ruler, but a shared enemy compels them to work together to save their loved ones.
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Romantic Friction
Sofie Wilde's bestselling fantasy romance series has been breaking bestseller records and readers' hearts for years. She's primed to become a worldwide phenomenon as the tenth and final book is set to debut after the annual romance readers convention takes place in Chicago next week. As buzz continues to build toward the book's release, Sofie is asked to headline the event for the first time, a career milestone. One she won't let anyone take from her, especially "the next Sofie Wilde." That's what they're calling her--Hartley West, the self-published debut author who writes in the style of Sofie Wilde. Except she doesn't actually "write" anything. After Hartley admits to using AI to create her novel, Sofie's ready to watch Hartley be skewered on social media. Except in this unpredictable world, Hartley is instead lauded for being innovative, for being such a skilled editor to take what the AI churned out and massage it into a story that's just as compelling as Sofie's--maybe even more so. After her unhinged rant unintentionally goes viral, Sofie loses her keynote, and she's starting to lose all her support. That loss is Hartley's gain--as her book sales start soaring, she's given the headliner spot. Sofie is livid. And she's not the only one. As the convention begins, Sofie is surrounded by fellow authors who also fear for their futures, their livelihoods, their art being stripped away, one AI prompt at a time. Something must be done. This has to be stopped. Now. With the clock ticking down to the keynote, Sofie enlists her fellow authors in a plan to stop Hartley, vowing, "'The next Sofie Wilde'--over my dead body. Or hers.
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Bearer of bad news : a novel
- For someone who hates secrets, Las Vegas hairdresser Lucy Rey is about to be faced with a whole bunch of them. After discovering that her fiancé has been cheating on her with someone from his improv class, Lucy finds herself short on funds and desperate for a change of scenery. Enter a most unusual job opportunity: a Bearer of Bad News. Sure, it's a little weird, but Lucy's employer is wealthy beyond compare, so who can blame her for wanting to outsource? Despite the few details, and the fact that the bad news sounds more like a vaguely worded threat, Lucy can't say no to the perks: an-all-expenses-paid trip to the Italian Dolomites plus a generous bonus if she proves she's found her client's sister and delivered the message. Then she learns that her mission is just the tip of the iceberg. Launched into a world of betrayal and greed involving eighty-year-old secrets, stolen jewels, and a World War II-era mystery, Lucy is in way over her head. And she's connected to this story in ways she never could have imagined. For fans of Gail Honeyman's ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE and Kirstin Chen's COUNTERFEIT, BEARER OF BAD NEWS is an exhilarating romp that deftly explores the weight of secrets, the power of friendship, and how, by healing the wounds of the past, we can build a brighter tomorrow.
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Needy little things
- Seventeen-year-old Sariyah, who can sense people's immediate needs, must use her ability to solve her friend's mysterious disappearance while dealing with family challenges and avoiding the same danger that befell her friend.
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Death of a smuggler
- "All Hamish Macbeth wants is a quiet life in his peaceful home in the Highland village of Lochdubh. But when his newly-assigned constable arrives, he presents Hamish with a surprise and a secret. Getting to the bottom of the secret becomes the least of Hamish's problems when he meets a family who have a score to settle with a sinister man who has mysteriously gone missing. Discovering a murdered woman's body puts further pressure on Hamish, especially when it becomes clear that the murdered woman and the missing man are linked. To Hamish's horror, he then finds himself working on the murder case with the despicable Detective Chief Inspector Blair--his sworn enemy--who has been drafted in under curious circumstances. With a growing list of suspects, ever more bewildering circumstances and Blair hindering him at every turn, Hamish must find the murderer before anyone else falls victim. Never has a quiet life seemed further from his grasp!"-- Provided by publisher.
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The voice we find
- Sophie Wilder needs a way out of a dysfunctional family situation, and August Tate is searching for a way to support his hard-of-hearing sister. As they work together on a series of audiobooks, their initial conflict slowly grows into a romance, but they will both need to listen to the voices of others-and find the strength in their own.
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Dragons of Fate: A Dungeons & Dragons Novel
- A clash of powerful magical forces sets off the Graygem of Gargath, sending Destina Rosethorn and her companions deeper into the past than she intended—to the age of Huma Dragonsbane and the Third Dragon War. Now, with the Device of Time Journeying shattered, they must find another way back to their own era before the Graygem irrevocably alters history and the Third Dragon War ends in defeat for the forces of good.
- A clash of powerful magical forces sets off the Graygem of Gargath, sending Destina Rosethorn and her companions deeper into the past than she intended—to the age of Huma Dragonsbane and the Third Dragon War. Now, with the Device of Time Journeying shattered, they must find another way back to their own era before the Graygem irrevocably alters history and the Third Dragon War ends in defeat for the forces of good.
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The Martian contingency
"Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, D.C.--triggering an extinction-level global warming event--Earth's survivors have started an international effort to establish homes on space stations and the Moon. The next stop--Mars. Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, lands on the Red Planet, optimistic about preparing for the first true wave of inhabitants. The mission objective is more than just building the infrastructure of a habitat - they are trying to preserve the many cultures and nuances of life on Earth without importing the hate. But from the moment she arrives, something is off. Disturbing signs hint at a hidden disaster during the First Mars Expedition that never made it into the official transcript. As Elma and her crew try to investigate, they face a wall of silence and obfuscation. Their attempts to build a thriving Martian community grind to a halt. What you don't know CAN harm you. And if the truth doesn't come to light, the ripple effects could leave humanity stranded on a dying Earth..."--Amazon.
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Everything is poison
- Sixteen-year-old Carmela Tofana finally gains access to her mother's apothecary in early 17th-century Rome, where she discovers that alongside healing remedies are dangerous potions that can change women's lives.
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Realm of ice and sky : triumph, tragedy, and history's greatest Arctic rescue
- National Outdoor Book Award-winning author Buddy Levy's thrilling narrative of polar exploration via airship--and the men who sacrificed everything to make history. Arctic explorer and American visionary Walter Wellman pioneered both polar and trans-Atlantic airship aviation, making history's first attempts at each. Wellman has been cast as a self-promoting egomaniac known mostly for his catastrophic failures. Instead he was a courageous innovator who pushed the boundaries of polar exploration and paved the way for the ultimate conquest of the North Pole--which would be achieved not by dogsled or airplane, but by airship. American explorer Dr. Frederick Cook was the first to claim he made it to the North Pole in 1908. A year later, so did American Robert Peary, but both Cook's and Peary's claims had been seriously questioned. There was enough doubt that Norwegian explorer extraordinaire Roald Amundsen--who'd made history and a name for himself by being first to sail through the Northwest Passage and first man to the South Pole-picked up where Walter Wellman left off, attempting to fly to the North Pole by airship. He would go in the Norge, designed by Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile. The 350-foot Norge flew over the North Pole on May 12, 1926, and Amundsen was able to accurately record and verify their exact location. However, the engineer Nobile felt slighted by Amundsen. Two years later, Nobile returned, this time in the Italia, backed by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. This was an Italian enterprise, and Nobile intended to win back the global accolades and reputation he believed Amundsen had stripped from him. The journey ended in disaster, death, and accusations of cannibalism, launching one of the great rescue operations the world had ever seen. Realm of Ice and Sky is the thrilling narrative of polar exploration via airship--and the men who sacrificed everything to make history.
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The tainted cup
- An eccentric detective and her long-suffering assistant untangle a web of magic, deceit, and murder in fantasy reimagining of the classic crime novel.
- Shadow of the Leviathan; Book 1
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King of Envy
- He had everything he could’ve wanted…except her.
- Dangerous. Powerful. Reclusive.
- Vuk Markovic is notorious for shunning human interactions. The scarred billionaire rarely talks, and he has no interest in relationships outside his small but trusted circle.
- His only exception? Her. The beauty to his beast, the object of his obsession.
- He saw her first. He wanted her first. But now, she’s engaged to his oldest friend—and the closer the wedding looms, the more he’s torn between loyalty and desire.
- She should be his…and he might just risk it all to have her.
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The dividing sky
- In 2460, eighteen-year-old Liv Newman dreams of a future beyond her lower-class life in the Metro. As a Proxy, she uses the neurochip in her brain to sell memories to wealthy clients. Maybe a few illegally, but money equals freedom. So when a customer offers her a ludicrous sum to go on an assignment in no-man's-land, Liv accepts. Now she just has to survive. Rookie Forceman Adrian Rao believes in order over all. After discovering that a renegade Proxy s shady dealings are messing with citizens brain chemistry, he vows to extinguish the threat. But when he tracks Liv down, there s one problem: her memories are gone. Can Adrian bring himself to condemn her for crimes she doesn t remember?