The Essex Library Association is proud to announce the award of a $2,500 grant from the Middlesex County Community Foundation, for the expansion of our collections of language learning materials for adults, young adults, and children. The range of resources to be acquired through this generous funding will include CD-ROM language learning programs, ESL study guides for Spanish and Chinese speakers, bilingual books and workbooks, medical phrase books, and circulating MP3 players for downloading language instruction audio books. The Library has seen a boom in requests for these materials, but budget constraints had prevented their acquisition. We anticipate that this collection will fill a long-term need for patrons from a broad cross-section of the community; from business and pleasure travelers, to the most disadvantaged among us who want to become more self-reliant, productive members of society through improved English-speaking skills. Our thanks go to the Middlesex County Community Foundation, for their continuing support of our goals, our organization, and our community.
The Middlesex County Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of the County, now and in the future, by developing endowments, making grants that have impact and assisting donors in meeting their philanthropic objectives. Since its founding in 1997, the Community Foundation has provided over $1.5 million in grants to more than 200 organizations for the arts, cultural and heritage programs, educational activities, environmental improvements and for health and human services.
March Events:
Your Bill Of Rights In Action
Thursdays, March 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th, at 7 p.m.
Do you know your rights in cases of search and seizure, private property versus eminent domain, or your childrens’ rights to free speech in public schools? Join us at the Essex Library for an important educational series of talks offered by attorney members of the Connecticut Bar Association, Your Bill of Rights in Action. Legal issues in the news, as well as those affecting your everyday life, will be explored and explained. Bring your questions, and arm yourself with the information you can’t afford to be without.
Computer Basics
Fridays, March 12th, 19th, 26th and April 2nd from 9-10 a.m.
Four classes for the absolute beginner that will get you started with email, the Internet, file saving, and attachments. Enrollment strictly limited, so please call and reserve a spot. You may bring your own laptop, or use one of our desktop computers.
Fine Art Photography
Saturday, March 13th at 10:30 a.m.
Jerry Reed, a fine art photographer whose most recent work will be shown in March at the Essex Library, will be giving a talk on his work. Photographers interested in learning more about what fine art photography is, and how it differs from other forms of photography, will want to attend. Additional learning materials will offered as a follow-up to the program. Jerry has previously conducted 27 digital photography workshops. This is not a "How To" workshop, so there is no need to bring your camera or computer, just an open mind.
Who's Afraid Of The Big, Bad "Ring"?
Saturday, March 13th at 2 p.m.
Many music lovers are intimidated by the monumental four-opera cycle written by Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen, despite its undisputed place in the pantheon of great music. But the Essex Library’s “Opera at the Library” is planning to make these pioneering musical masterpieces some new fans, when its “Wagner Without Fear” series kicks off with a talk on the music of Wagner by opera scholar James Kuslan. Locally, Mr. Kuslan has lectured on operatic disasters and on madness in opera (and mad modern stagings); he als wrote completely original dialogue for Salt Marsh Opera's performances this past October and November of Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus. His easy-to-enjoy lectures combine erudition with humor.
An Irish Evening With Tom O'Carroll
Tuesday, March 16th at 6:30 p.m.
Join us for the return engagement of folklorist, folk-singer and instrumentalist Tom O'Carroll, to celebrate St. Paddy’s. Tom brings a wealth of stories, humor, wit and history to his performances and, whether playing a plaintive air on the tin whistle or singing and playing rousing traditional songs to the accompaniment of the guitar or the bodhrán (Irish drum), he will captivate all with his lively program of Irish culture.
Opera at the Library presents…Das Rhinegold
Friday, March 19th at 2 p.m.
This opulent, classic Metropolitan Opera production is the gold standard for Wagner, with a cast including James Morris, Christa Ludwig, Siegriend Jerusalem, and Ekkehard Wlaschiha in the first opera from the mighty Ring Cycle. Enjoy it in Surround Sound and Stereo, on our newly upgraded sound system!
Centerbrook Architects' Lecture Series continues with Professor Michael Crosbie: "God Comes To Earth, Ecology, Theology and Architecture"
Friday, March 19th at 7 p.m. at the Essex Town Hall
Michael J. Crosbie , Ph.D., AIA, is Chair of the Department of Architecture and an associate professor at the University of Hartford. He has been involved in architectural education for more than 20 years, and has lectured at architecture schools across the U.S. and abroad. His major contributions to the profession have been in the field of architectural publication. He has been an editor for a number of national architectural magazines, and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Faith & Form, a journal on religious art and architecture. He is the author of more than a dozen books on architecture and of hundreds of articles on the subject. A licensed architect, Crosbie previously practiced with Centerbrook Architects and consults with Steven Winter Associates, one of the country's leading firms in the field of sustainable architecture. He studied architecture at Catholic University.
For a full schedule of the Centerbrook Lecture Series, click here.
"Who Would Not Sing For Lycides?"
Wednesdays, March 24th and 31st, and April 7th and 14th at 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
A 4-session poetry course in the Pastoral, the Elegy and the Ode, with Victoria Murphy. Poetry lovers will read ancient and modern examples of each of these enduring forms. Those who feel so moved may write their own versions. Please not that the group is limited to 15 participants, and registration is required. Text (loan copies available at the Library): Mark Strand & Eavan Boland: The Making of a Poem, Norton & Co.
From The Courtly Love Garden To Inner Flower: Gardens And Flowers In Art From 1700 to 1940, with Professor Robert Baldwin
Saturday, March 27th at 11 a.m.
Connecticut College Art History Associate Professor Robert Baldwin will share images and insights in this brilliantly illustrated lecture, co-sponsored by the Essex Garden Club.
On-Going Programs:
SCORE At The Library
Second and fourth Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Southeastern Connecticut chapter of SCORE® provides free and confidential advice on starting and growing small businesses. Counseling will take place at the Essex Library on the second and fourth Thursday of each month between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Appointments must be scheduled in advance, either by calling 860-388-9508, or downloading a request form.
Don Flynn, an Essex resident, along with Steve Workman and other chapter members will counsel business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in Essex. According to Flynn, "At the initial meeting, the business owner describes his or her current situation and challenges the business may be facing to a team of counselors. Based on the specific areas of need, a SCORE counselor with experience in those areas is assigned to help guide the business owner in the completion of a business plan or other action steps".
Check Your Blood Pressure Service
The VNA offers a FREE blood pressure check on the 4th Thursday of every month from 1-2 p.m. in the 1889 Room at the Essex Library.
Out of work? Frustrated and overwhelmed? Need help getting started with
your search? Come to the Essex Job Club where you can learn how to write
or update your resume so that it will get noticed, improve your interviewing
skills, make networking contacts, and get the support you need to stay
motivated. Sheryl Serviss is leading an eight-week program on Fridays from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. from
January 29th through March 19th at the Essex Library. This is FREE and ALL are welcome. Please contact Sheryl Serviss
at 860-304-8437 to register.
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Adopt A Book
Are you an avid fan of James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Alexander McCall-Smith or another popular author? In return for a donation of $15 to the Essex Library, you can be the first person to check out the latest best-selling book of your choice. A personalized bookplate that honors you for your gift will be placed in the item you select as an additional way of saying thanks. A list of books that are available for adoption follows. Check back periodically as we will update this list on a regular basis:
Fiction
Caught by Harlan Coben
The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell
U Is For Undertow by Sue Grafton
Ford County by John Grisham
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Fantasy In Death by J.D. Robb
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Kisser by Stuart Woods
Non-Fiction
Open by Andre Agassi
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America
by Timothy Egan
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
Mennonite In A Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
True Compass by Edward M Kennedy
The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson
Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith
Going Rogue by Sarah Palin
Please call the Library at 767-1560 for more information.