United States immigration law has been one of the hot-button political issues for decades. With the election of Donald Trump, immigration policy has become the top issue in the media, in Washington, and throughout the country. The sheer volume of information that has flooded the news can be overwhelming and can leave a person wondering, “What really is happening?” Panelists Catalina Samper Horak, Executive Director of Building One Community, and lawyers Douglas R. Penn and Aleksandr ("Alex") Y. Troyb will provide a real-world, down-to-earth summary of the current state of United States immigration law, what it means for documented and undocumented immigrants, and for our communities and country. Presented at The Westport Library on June 14, 2017.

On May 22, 2017, Brian Gaffney, retired CEO US and managing director with Allianz Global Investors, discussed the challenges he faced in integrating five independent asset management organizations into one and how he created organizational lift while avoiding the drag of disorganization at The Westport Library.

Sponsored by Bernstein Private Wealth Management & Patriot Bank

In Bettyville, George Hodgman returns to Paris, Missouri, to care for his ailing mother. This panel of eldercare experts will discuss the issues you might face as your parents age—the emotional, legal and practical issues of caring for your parents whether they live close by or far away. This panel took place at The Westport Library on January 10, 2017.

Author Lauren Smith Brody on "The Fifth Trimester"

Award-winning journalist Bianca Bosker discusses her book Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste. The book chronicles a year and a half long adventure that takes the reader inside elite tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, a California winery that manipulates the flavor of its bottles with ingredients like “Mega Purple,” and even a neuroscientist’s MRI machine as Bosker attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what’s the big deal about wine?

On April 28, 2017, Dave Briggs, co-host of CNN'S Early Start, Nancy Newill Doniger, editor of The Easton Courier, Reuters reporter Luciana Lopez, and Dr. Bill Yousman, of Sacred Heart University's School of Communication and Media Arts joined Patricia Porio from the League of Women Voters for a panel discussion on media and politics.

On April 26, 2017, bestselling author Mark Kurlansky spoke about his new book, "Havana: A Subtropical Delirium" at The Westport Library

On April 20, 2017, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova, discussed her new novel, The Shadow Land, at the Westport Library.

Disability activist, attorney and motivational speaker Robert Tudisco discussed why kids with ADHD do what they do, where common myths come from and his views on medications and other interventions on November 14, 2016 at the Westport Library.

Dr. Mark Schenker, Dean of Academic Affairs at Yale College, gave a talk on the theme of homecoming in Bettyville and other works of literature and myth on January 14, 2017 at the Westport Library.