Upcoming Events
Annual Flower Basket Fundraiser
Event Dates: March 24 - May 8, 2026
Pick-Up Dates: May 6 - 9, 2026
Pick-Up Location: HCLS Miller Branch, Enchanted Garden
Donation Amount:
Friends & Foundation of HCLS Spring Basket Fundraiser is back! When you donate, our thank you is a wonderful basket
and you help us raise funds to support literacy for youth in Howard County.
Friends & Foundation of HCLS is blooming with opportunities for you to help us raise funds to support literacy for youth in Howard County. These beautiful blooms — great for thank you gifts, Mother’s Day, or a treat for your garden — are sure to all get claimed fast, so don’t wait!
We have two lovely options for our 12” hanging baskets. One basket features a shade-tolerant mix of plants, and the other bursting with bright blooms and perfect for sunny spots. Your additional $25 contribution goes much further!
The Kathleen Glascock Tribute Fund, celebrating 10 years of support, will match your additional $25 donation up to $1,000 to purchase young adult books for teen-led high school book clubs, which serve 50-60 teens monthly, expanding the library’s selection and number of young adult titles available.
Event Dates: March 24 - May 8, 2026
Pick-Up Dates: May 6 - 9, 2026
Pick-Up Location: HCLS Miller Branch, Enchanted Garden
Donation Amount:
- $40 for Flower Baskets
- $25 to match donations up to $1,000 from the Kathleen Glascock Tribute Fund
Friends & Foundation of HCLS Spring Basket Fundraiser is back! When you donate, our thank you is a wonderful basket
and you help us raise funds to support literacy for youth in Howard County.
Friends & Foundation of HCLS is blooming with opportunities for you to help us raise funds to support literacy for youth in Howard County. These beautiful blooms — great for thank you gifts, Mother’s Day, or a treat for your garden — are sure to all get claimed fast, so don’t wait!
We have two lovely options for our 12” hanging baskets. One basket features a shade-tolerant mix of plants, and the other bursting with bright blooms and perfect for sunny spots. Your additional $25 contribution goes much further!
The Kathleen Glascock Tribute Fund, celebrating 10 years of support, will match your additional $25 donation up to $1,000 to purchase young adult books for teen-led high school book clubs, which serve 50-60 teens monthly, expanding the library’s selection and number of young adult titles available.
National Library Week RAFFLE
Last day to purchase tickets: April 20, 2026
April 21, 2026 Draw winners
Cost: $25 per ticket
Click here for tickets and prize details!
Last day to purchase tickets: April 20, 2026
April 21, 2026 Draw winners
Cost: $25 per ticket
Click here for tickets and prize details!
- For a $25 donation by April 20, you could win a prize package of tickets to Toby's Dinner Theater and Ladew Gardens! We'll draw the winner on April 21, so be sure to get your tickets by April 20th. All proceeds support initiatives at HCLS for you to learn, grow, and connect!
Tavern Talk for America 250
April 26, 2026 (Sunday)
Time: 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Location: Backwater Books, Ellicott City, MD
Cost: $30
Click here for tickets!
Join Friends & Foundation of HCLS for Tavern Talks at Backwater Books, a lively event celebrating America250 by exploring how taverns once sparked ideas, debate, and community during the Revolutionary era.
Guests will enjoy a tasty charcuterie board appetizers and each ticket includes one alcoholic drink from the Bibliobup.
Presentation: Significance of Taverns in the Colonial Period
All proceeds support initiatives at Howard County Library System for you to learn, grow and connect. Grab your tickets now before they sell out!
This project has been financed in part with funds from the Maryland 250 Commission, an instrumentality of the State of Maryland. Project contents or opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the State or Maryland 250 Commission.
April 26, 2026 (Sunday)
Time: 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Location: Backwater Books, Ellicott City, MD
Cost: $30
Click here for tickets!
Join Friends & Foundation of HCLS for Tavern Talks at Backwater Books, a lively event celebrating America250 by exploring how taverns once sparked ideas, debate, and community during the Revolutionary era.
Guests will enjoy a tasty charcuterie board appetizers and each ticket includes one alcoholic drink from the Bibliobup.
- 3:30 pm: Cocktails and Mingle
- 4-5 pm: Significance of Taverns talk
- 5-5:30 pm: Tabling by partner organizations Historic Ellicott City, Inc. and the Howard County Historical Society
Presentation: Significance of Taverns in the Colonial Period
- Explore taverns as vital sites of social-political activity in the mid-Atlantic during the Revolution, including the roles of Black bartenders and women tavernkeepers, or “Ordinaries,” in shaping public discourse. Talk will include specific revolutionary incidents on the mid-Atlantic seaboard.
- Speaker: JP Fetherston is a Ph.D candidate at the University of Maryland who is writing a dissertation about the history of African Americans and social drinking in early American history. Previously, he worked for a decade in Washington, D.C. as a nationally acclaimed bartender at a variety of renowned bars and restaurants. Most notable among them was the Columbia Room, winner of America’s Best Cocktail Bar in 2017. Mutual passions for storytelling and historical research drew him back to higher education to investigate why and how Americans have consumed alcohol in the past.
All proceeds support initiatives at Howard County Library System for you to learn, grow and connect. Grab your tickets now before they sell out!
This project has been financed in part with funds from the Maryland 250 Commission, an instrumentality of the State of Maryland. Project contents or opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the State or Maryland 250 Commission.
