Want to talk about civil liberties as you munch your lunch?

The Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury and the ACLU-VT have teamed up to sponsor a four-part reading and discussion series that looks at what happens when challenges to liberties arise and how the liberties are protected. The discussion series begins Feb. 17 and runs through May 19.

The series is based on four books that cover issues through the eyes of  people who lived through civil liberties controversies. The reading series is free and open to the public. Books are available through the library.

Attorneys, a writer, and an ACLU staff member have volunteered to help with discussions around each book.

The four books, authors, discussion date, and guest speakers are:

• When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka (2002), Feb. 17, guest speaker Louis Megyesi.
• In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action by Ellen Ackerman and Carolyn Kennedy (1991), March 17, guest speaker attorney Wanda Otero-Ziegler.
• Gideon’s Trumpet by Anthony Lewis (1964), April 21, guest speaker attorney Mitch Pearl.
• Arc of Justice: A Sage of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle (2004), May 19, guest speaker ACLU-VT Executive Director Allen Gilbert.

All discussions take place at the Ilsley Library at 12:15 p.m.

Contact information for the library is www.ilsleypubliclibrary.org, info@ilsleypubliclibrary.org, phone (802) 388-4095, street address 75 Main St. Middlebury VT 05753.