The SERC Library is OPEN!

I know, you were beginning to think we would never be open ------ the landlord let us know that as of 8:15 pm on Tuesday evening the power had been restored to our building!!!!  Whew, good -bye IRENE!  Please remember we are still on our summer hours for this week.  We will be open 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  We will be closed on Saturday, Sunday and Monrday.  We will resume our fall hours on Tuesday, September 6th ----- which means Mondays and Fridays, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (except for Monday, September 5th when we will - yes, be CLOSED for Labor Day) and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 8:30 am to 6:30 pm and Saturdays 9am to 1 pm. 

Hope to see you on Wednesday!

SERC Library will be closed on Tuesday, August 30th!

Yes, again we have to blog that we are closed.  Still no power!!!!!  I guess Hurricane Irene did not like us!  We hope to be back to the Library on Wednesday, however, we still do not have an idea as to when our power will be restored.  If you owe resources to the Library, do not worry ------ we will be waiving fines!  We understand that you are still getting emails from the Library ----- our Library system is handled out of California and the hurricane did not affect them.  Please check back here to see if we have blogged that we are open before you come to the Library.  I promise to blog when we are open!!! 

Thank you, SERC Library Staff

SERC Library is CLOSED MONDAY AUGUST 29th

The SERC Library will be closed on Monday, August 29th.  Hurricane Irene knocked out the power to the Library and it has yet to be restored.  Please check back to see if we have re-posted additional closing information before coming to the SERC Library.

Thank you, SERC Library Staff

Library of Congress Traveling Exhibit Rolls into East Hartford CT

Okay, get ready this press release is about as long as the eighteen wheel truck-----

A special Library of Congress traveling exhibition-mounted in a customized 18-wheel truck-will visit East Hartford, CT.  The visit is hosted by the East Hartford Public Library of East Hartford.

The exhibit will be in East Hartford, Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10 and parked at 840 Main Street, East Hartford, CT.

The exhibit is free and will be open to the public from 10 am to 6 pm both days.

The "Gateway to Knowledge" exhibition will bring high-quality facsimiles of many of the Library's top treasures and information about the millions of resources in the Library's unparalleled collections to small towns and rural communities across American-areas that may not be aware of their access to the wealth of information in this publicly funded institution.  Ultimately, the "Gateway to Knowledge" will visit 90 sites in the states across the Midwest, South and East coast through September 2011.

The exhibit and its national tour are made possible by the generous support of the Rapoport family.  Bernie and Audre Rapoport are founding members of the James Madison, Council, the Library's private-sector advisory group.

"As both a storehouse of world knowledge and primary resource for the U.S. Congress, the Library is energized by the prospects of the exhibition playing an important role in sharing the national collection with the people to whom it belongs," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

The exhibit will include programming especially for teachers and students and provide relevant and engaging learning experiences for lifelong learners.  The truck, which will be staffed and driven by two docents well-versed in the Library and its collections, will be parked at various schools, libraries, community centers and other public venues.

The trailer expands to three times its road width, and visitors will enter from a central staircase to find several areas of museum-style exhibits including a welcoming multimedia display and computer terminals displaying the Library of Congress websites.  The websites will include the main site, http://www.loc.gov/, the Center for the Book/Literacy Programs site, http://www.read.gov/, and sites pertaining to U.S. collections, exhibitions and a special site for use by teachers.

The exhibition will outline the history of the Library, including Thomas Jefferson's role in re-establishing the Library, when he provided his personal book collection to the nation after the burning of the U.S. Capitol in 1814. Jefferson's organization of his books by categories of "Memory, Reason and Imagination" will inform the organization of the exhibition.

The exhibition will feature facsimiles of such treasures as the 1507 Waldseemüller Map (the first document to use the word "America"); the 1455 Gutenberg Bible; the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, in Thomas Jefferson's hand with edits by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams; the 1962 drawings for the comic book that introduced Spider-Man to the world; the handwritten manuscript to jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton's "Frog-i-More Rag"; and Walt Whitman's poem "Leaves of Grass."

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution.  The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions.

Thank you Donna Urschel from the Library of Congress for the above press release.

Whew ---- okay, I am exciting and am definitely going to check out this exhibit!  Hope to see you there!

Come see the SERC Library at Unity Day!

The 3rd Annual Unity Day is Saturday, August 20th from 11 am to 6 pm at the South Green-Union Park, 14 Old Church Street, Middletown, CT and is sponsored by HealthyHome HealthyChild.

Unity Day is a time of celebration for every member of the community, with fun filled family festivities, reflective moments of empowerment, performances that focus on themes of unity & peace, and renewing our community's passion to work together.

All activities are FREE and open to the public.

Look for the SERC Library's booth at the celebration --- we hope to see you there!



                                                                                                              

2011 - 2013 Parent Leadership Training Grant Application is Now Available

The State Education Resource Center and the CT Parent Information and Resource Center (SERC/CT PIRC) are pleased to release the following Parent Leadership Training Grant Application for 2011-2013.

The Parent Leadership Training Grant funds are intended for programs aimed at improving children's health, safety, and education by training parents in civic leadership skills.  The programs must (1) train parents in civic leadership skills and (2) support, increase, and sustain parental engagement in community affairs (PA 10-11, July l, 2010).

PIRC link to grant application is:  http://ctpirc.org/s/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=154 

All grant applications are due on August 31, 2011 no later than 2:30 pm.  Grants will be awarded pending the availability of funds, public and private.

A Bidders Conference will be held on August 15, 2011 from 8:30 am to 10 am in the SERC Classroom at 25 Industrial Park, Middletown, CT 06457-1516.  For advance registration, please contact Martine Persico, Project Assistant, at SERC/CT PIRC 860.632.1485 x 288, or persico@ctserc.org.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend.