Charleston Library Society

Due to the high enthusiasm surrounding Story Time, we will be offering this to members only. To join the Library Society, please click here. Join us for our beloved Story Time in the Rabbit Hole! During this hour-long, kid-friendly program, children and their parents/caregivers will join Justine, our Children's Programming Coordinator, to read in the Rabbit […]

From one of South Carolina's leading voices in the courtroom comes a true story of murder and intrigue, right here in our home state. Explore the true story of Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins, dubbed the Charles Manson of the South, from the prosecutor who brought him to justice. Author and prolific lawyer Richard "Dick" Harpootlian […]

USAID was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to unify America's foreign aid programs and deliver benefits both abroad and at home. Internationally as well as in South Carolina, the agency's work created tangible economic value. With the agency now largely closed and the future of foreign aid uncertain, we are thrilled to […]

Join the Charleston Library Society's conservation team to learn the art of hand bookbinding and walk away with your very own journal. Starting with paper, board, and thread, students will be instructed on the techniques and practices of constructing a well-made blank book from scratch. Each journal will feature hand stitching and decorative marbled paper […]

Join early American historian Benjamin C. Schaffer who reveals a number of lesser-known truths about America's earliest naval forces in his new book, The First Fleets: Colonial Navies of the British Atlantic World, 1630-1775. As both factual resource and engrossing narrative, the book provides insight into the newly established British colonies of pre-Revolutionary America, and […]

The trendsetters of the last 20 years may, in fact, take direction from those before (or even before). Join fashion historian Caroline Rennolds Milbank and former interiors designer Diana Hambleton for an engaging Life Long Learning course to delve into the true originals of each category, and the lasting influence of each on what remains […]

Visiting from the UK, author and renowned speaker Hugo Vickers brings us Malice in Wonderland, an investigation into the whirlwind life of the photographer, diarist, painter, interiors and costume designer that was Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton. Cecil Beaton invited Hugo Vickers to be his authorized biographer only days before his unexpected passing. Undeterred, Vickers […]

Join us for the first of this year's Bond Street Series, focused on the importance of cultural institutions in fostering creative conversation and enhancing opportunities for democratic engagement. Founder of Bond Street REIT, Michael Reynolds, will host a rare conversation with Special Guest Deepak Srivastava, President of Gladstone Institutes in California, and one of the […]

Week 1: JUNE 8th - JUNE 12th Join CLS for Camp in the Stacks, Summer 2026! In this, the first week of Camp in the Stacks, we will dive into our favorite stories to make friends with magical creatures, and then invent our own brand-new magical creature friends! Please fill out the waiver form linked […]

Please join us for our New Member Orientation! Every second Monday of the month, we host our newest members of the CLS family for a fun and informative tour of the facility, including key information on utilizing Library resources, an exploration of some of the treasures from the CLS archives, a visit to the Igoe […]