A New York Times best-selling author will mark the first event for the new Roesel Public Lecture Series from Lane Libraries.

“A generous gift left to us from Hamilton resident Leroy Roesel allows us a new opportunity to present public appearances by nationally-known authors,” said Lane Libraries spokeswoman Carrie Mancuso.

Until his death in 2010, Roesel spent a great deal of his time at the Hamilton Lane Library, “reading several newspapers from cover to cover, absorbing the library atmosphere and becoming a well-known fixture himself,” Mancuso said. “Those who knew him have said that he would be happy to know that his gifts are being used, in part, to bring in new speakers for the public to enjoy”

Susan Cain, author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,” will discuss her work exploring the strengths of the quieter half of our population.

“This is the next big diversity issue of our time,” Cain said. “We all know the case for racial and gender diversity. The same exact thing is true for personality diversity. We desperately need the talents of the quiet, careful thinkers among us.”

Although introverts are often seen as anti-social or hermit-like, they are just as warm and caring as extroverts, she said.

“But they express their social impulses more quietly, and tend to invest them in a few select people rather than a broad social network,” she said. “They’re not anti-social, just differently social.”

Cain said people sometimes seem surprised when she tells them that she is an introvert herself.

“I’m a pretty friendly person,” she said. “I can’t live without my family and close friends — but I also crave solitude. I feel incredibly lucky that my work as a writer affords me hours a day alone with my laptop. I also have a lot of other introvert characteristics, like thinking before I speak, disliking conflict, and concentrating easily.

“But I also believe that introversion is my greatest strength,” she said. “I have such a strong inner life that I’m never bored and only occasionally lonely. No matter what mayhem is happening around me, I know I can always turn inward.”

Cain’s visit to Hamilton will also include sessions with Hamilton High School students.

Cain said that she hopes that the introverts in the audience will be inspired to “feel not just comfortable about who they are but to be proud, and to harness their strengths.

“Introverts often feel like something is wrong with them, as if introversion is a weakness,” she said. “People feel a lot of guilt about preferring to be alone. But they shouldn’t.”