NORWAY — Angela Todd will present a talk on Thursday, November 21, from 6:30 – 8 p.m., called Hidden Stories: Orphanages, Asylums, and Magdalene Laundries at Norway Memorial Library. Whether it came from the community, the church, or the government, families have always needed help getting by. This presentation is an overview of the ways families were helped by outside sources. It also considers how concealed stories, when revealed through oral accounts, can find a place in the written record.

This program is inspired by two novellas by Claire Keegan that are selections for Morning Book Club in December. Foster is the story of a young girl and the childless couple she is temporarily placed with when her mother is expecting another baby. The other, Small Things Like These, involves an Irish Magdalene Laundry.

Magdalene Laundries forced women and girls into unpaid labor doing laundry and other domestic work as punishment for perceived moral code violations. A film starring Cillian Murphy, based on this novella will be released on Nov. 8. Morning Book Club will discuss these books on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 9 a.m. Morning Book Club is open to anyone who enjoys reading and discussing books.

Angela Todd is an archivist and historian who works to save the frequently overlooked stories of historically excluded people, including women. She works with individuals and families to build and preserve their family legacies. Angela has degrees in women’s studies, English, and cultural studies.

Norway Memorial Library is at 258 Main Street in Norway. For more information, call 207-743-5309, or visit www.norwaymemoriallibrary.