Photo by Linda Byam. ... See MoreSee Less
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The talk is free, but please register at tolland.org/library, using the online events calendar.
www.salon.com/2020/09/07/counterculture-memoirist-sharon-dukett-on-what-we-learned-and-forgot-fro... ... See MoreSee Less
As she crossed the U.S. and Canada for a decade – by hitchhiking, bicycling or on the back of a motorcycle - she experienced love and heartbreak, found out who she can and cannot trust, and awakened to the Women’s Liberation movement.
The talk is free, but please register on the online library calendar at tolland.org/library. ... See MoreSee Less
Sharon Dukett of Portland, Connecticut will discuss her colorful coming-of-age memoir on Zoom on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in an author visit sponsored by the Tolland Public Library Foundation.
In “No Rules: A Memoir,” Dukett describes leaving her sheltered home life in South Windsor at age 16 in 1971 to join the hippies in California. As she crossed the U.S. and Canada for a decade – by hitchhiking, bicycling or on the back of a motorcycle – she experienced love and heartbreak, who she can and cannot trust, and awakens to the Women’s Liberation movement.
In the book, Dukett reflects upon the changes that reshaped her during that time and how the women’s liberation has empowered the lives of girls and women today.
"No Rules" was a finalist for the International Book Awards, the Best Book Awards and the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards.
Dukett is a retired deputy director in state government, a former project manager, and was president of her consulting company, Paradigm Associates LTD. She is now working on a thriller novel about the climate crisis.
Dukett is the latest author to speak as part of the 10-year-old Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series, which is sponsored by the library foundation.
Please register ahead of time for this free talk by clicking on the online events calendar at tolland.org/library.
Join Zoom Meeting
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Find your local number: us02web.zoom.us/u/kdZQZ1cNaI ... See MoreSee Less
We were happy that one of the originators of the author series and former Foundation board member, Heather Ricker-Gilbert, joined us, too.
Photo by board President Linda Byam. ... See MoreSee Less
Middletown author Sari Rosenblatt, winner of the prestigious Iowa Award for Short Fiction, will speak Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. via Zoom about her collection of short stories, “Father Guards the Sheep.”
She is the latest author to speak as part of the 10-year-old Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series, which is sponsored by the Tolland Public Library Foundation.
Rosenblatt, who holds a master’s of fine arts degree from the Iowa Writers Workshop, teaches at the Wesleyan Institute for Lifelong Learning in Middletown. She previously taught fiction writing at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven.
The collection of her short stories is her first book although her stories have been published in the Iowa Review.
Novelist Tom Drury, judge of the Iowa Short Fiction Award, has called Rosenblatt’s stories “moving, funny, and beautifully observed.”
Award-winning novelist Wally Lamb has likened Rosenblatt’s work to the fiction of Anne Tyler.
“Sari Rosenblatt’s “Father Guards the Sheep,” is populated with characters who are humane, sympathetic, and lovably askew. Rosenblatt’s eight stories are polished, perfect gems.”
Since 2010, the EDK series has brought well-known authors to Tolland, including Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Dan Barry, Steven G. Smith and Susan Campbell; Chris Knopf, Caragh O’Brien, Dawn Metcalf, Denis Horgan, Jeff Goldberg, Cindy Rodriguez, Susan Schoenberger and Lucy Anne Hurston.
Please register ahead of time for this free talk by clicking on the online events calendar at tolland.org/library. To join the talk, link to: us02web.zoom.us/j/81552231407?pwd=VnEzS280dTl4SUhpUGxiZXBMcmN6QT09
Meeting ID: 815 5223 1407
Passcode: sQ9JZL
or dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 815 5223 1407
Passcode: 595592 ... See MoreSee Less
Marjorie Howes Drake, Jo Anne Burgh Chris Knopf Carol Parker Susan Chenard Jennifer LaRue Ieasha Gibson Jody Lyn Tina DeMarco Please share!
Jennifer Powers, Jamie Cat Callan, Jessica Bhuiyan
I don't know if I can attend but I will be looking for Sari's book!
Yes, will share and plan to attend. Thanks, Jill.
WooHoo Sari Rosenblatt.
Cool....I will need to check out her stuff
The Foundation was established in 1996 to accept gifts for and make grants to the Tolland Public Library to augment what is provided to the library in the town budget.
Grants for the library have been used to outfit the library's Maker Space, purchase the audio-visual equipment in the library's Program Room, host teen poetry slams, provide Ancestry.com and other useful databases for residents and library patrons and to bring award-winning authors to Tolland through the Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series.
We hope you will consider designating us through AmazonSmile as you make holiday purchases. ... See MoreSee Less
www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-whiteramirez-family-of-tolland-ct?utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_... ... See MoreSee Less

Remembering Peter Ramirez of Tolland, organized by Nancy Orris
www.gofundme.com
We, the Board of Trustees of the Hicks-Stearns Museum, would like to help our friend … Nancy Orris needs your support for Remembering Peter Ramirez of TollandThe Tolland Public Library will begin the third stage of its phased reopening on Thursday, Aug. 13. Patrons can browse all adult and teen materials without appointments. Study rooms, the Discovery Center and the Maker Space will not be open.
The Children's section, other than new items, will continue to be closed. Masks and social distancing are required. The number of patrons in the library at one time may be limited.
Curbside service as well as copying and faxing by staff will continue as will computer use by appointment.
The library’s hours will be from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., Monday thru Thursday, and from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. ... See MoreSee Less
There were three people waiting outside at about 2:15 p.m on Friday and there was no one there.
The Tolland Public Library will begin the second stage of its phased reopening on Thursday, July 30. This stage will allow patrons to make appointments for browsing new items in Adult Fiction and Nonfiction, new DVDs and Audiobooks, new Large Print books, new Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction, and new Childrens Fiction and Nonfiction books. Appointments, lasting 30 minutes per day can be made by calling 860 871-3620. The schedule for browsing is Monday thru Thursday, 10-7:30. Patrons are encouraged to use the library’s three self-check out stations. Items to be returned should be placed in the exterior book bin and will be quarantined for at least 72 hours. Masks and social distancing are required. Curbside service will still be available as well as copying and faxing by staff and computer use by appointment. ... See MoreSee Less
Thanks to a grant from the Tolland Public Library Foundation, the JobNow service has been renewed for another year for library patrons.
The Tolland Public Library is offering the free job service to patrons form home using their library cards.
JobNow provides online career assistance, including one-on-one mock interviews, lists of common interview questions and tips to answer the questions.
Users can also submit a resume or cover letter for a professional critique that is guaranteed within 24 hours.
There is no limit to how often library patrons can use JobNow.
To use the database from home, visit www.tolland.org/library/ and click on the JobNow icon. Users must have a Tolland library card to login from there. ... See MoreSee Less
Thanks to a grant from the Tolland Public Library Foundation, the JobNow service has been renewed for another year for library patrons.
The Tolland Public Library is offering the free job service to patrons form home using their library cards.
JobNow provides online career assistance, including one-on-one mock interviews, lists of common interview questions and tips to answer the questions.
Users can also submit a resume or cover letter for a professional critique that is guaranteed within 24 hours.
There is no limit to how often library patrons can use JobNow.
To use the database from home, visit www.tolland.org/library/ and click on the JobNow icon. Users must have a Tolland library card to login from there. ... See MoreSee Less
Wonderful!

hoopla | streaming audiobooks, music, video & ebooks
www.hoopladigital.com
hoopla is a groundbreaking digital media service offered by your local public library that allows you to borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics and TV shows to enjoy on your computer, tablet, or phone – and even your TV! With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately, or downloaded ...Thanks to a grant from the Tolland Public Library Foundation, the Tolland Public Library has renewed the Hoopla digital media service that allows library card holders to borrow movies, TV shows and other media on a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week basis.
The latest grant also allows the library to increase the number of digital media selections from two to three, per patron, a month.
Library patrons can choose from thousands of titles and borrow movies, music, audiobooks, e-books, comics and TV shows and enjoy them on their computer, tablet, phone or even their TV. With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately or downloaded to phones or tablets to be enjoyed offline later. Before signing up, they can browse the choices, which include e-books by Joe Hill, Janet Evanovich and Alexander McCall Smith, and movies such as “Before We Go,” “The Forger” and “The Most Magnificent Thing,” at www.midwesttape.com/hoopla.
To use Hoopla, visit tolland.org/library and click on the Hoopla icon. Patrons will be asked to create a Hoopla account. Once they have done so, they choose Tolland Public Library and then sign in with their active Tolland Public Library card number. Then they can browse the offerings, just as they would during a visit to the library, and start downloading or streaming content.
For free, Tolland library patrons can download or stream up to two digital media selections a month per active library card. Drop by the library and ask a staff member to show you how to use Hoopla or if you have questions, call the library at 860-871-3620.
The library foundation was established in 1996 to receive donations to benefit the Tolland Public Library and to enhance library services beyond what the town budget provides. Besides Hoopla, it also sponsors author visits and funds library technology and the Ancestry.com and JobNow! databases that are available for use at the library at 21 Tolland Green. ... See MoreSee Less
This seems terrific, just signed up!
Children’s author Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo, who writes books about kids discovering their inner bravery, will present a free book talk on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 1 p.m. at the Tolland Public Library at 21 Tolland Green.
The talk, which is part of the Tolland Public Library Foundation’s Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series, is free, but registration is required. To register, call the library at 860-871-3620 or visit tolland.org/library.
A representative of RJ Julia Booksellers will be on hand to sell books, which Ferruolo will sign.
A resident of Ellington, Ferruolo is the author of “Ruby in the Sky” and the just-released “A Galaxy of Sea Stars.” Her books are middle grade books aimed at children aged 8 to 12.
“Ruby” was a Washington Post KidsPost Summer Book Club selection that won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ work-in-progress award, the Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award and the New Voices in Children’s Literature: Tassy Walden Award.
It explored the story of Ruby Moon Hayes, a 12-year-old girl new to Vermont who just wanted to keep to herself. She found that wasn’t easy once a Syrian refugee and a reclusive neighbor each befriended her.
Ferruolo’s latest book is about family, loyalty and the hard choices we face in the name of friendship. It features the tale of 11-year-old Izzy Vitale of Seaside, Rhode Island, who wishes her father would act like he did before he was deployed to Afghanistan. Challenges ensue when he invites his former Army interpreter from Afghanistan and his family, including 11-year-old Sitara, to relocate to Seaside.
Ferruolo is a volunteer with IRIS, the Integrated Immigrant & Refugee Services in New Haven. She has served as a public defender, taught high school English in Czechoslovakia and worked for Sam Gejdenson when he was a Congressman. ... See MoreSee Less
Do you like music? Do you like games? Do you like having fun with your family & friends? If Yes, guess and match song titles on your cards to Win! Come Join Us at Shea's for a FunDay Sunday!!! #FUN #Weekend #Singo www.facebook.com/events/1497393910416847
The free talk, set for 7 p.m. at the library at 21 Tolland Green, comes just two days before the women’s teams resume their rivalry.
The teams met 22 times between 1995 and 2007, when Tennessee ended the series. The Huskies have won 11 national titles and the Lady Vols have won 8.
A native of West Hartford who now lives in San Diego, Goldberg was the UConn women’s basketball beat writer for the Hartford Courant from 2001 to 2006. Hs is also the author of “Bird at the Buzzer: UConn, Notre Dame, and Women’s Basketball Classic.”
Goldberg is now the editor of sportsintel.com and was the team reporter for the San Diego Fleet in the Alliance of American Football in 2019. He previously covered the Boston Red Sox for the Courant as well.
Goldberg is returning to speak at the library as part of the Tolland Public Library Foundation’s Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series.
Registration is required. Call the library at 860-871-3620 or sign up online at tolland.org/library. ... See MoreSee Less
In an unusual twist, this is the second year in a row that Rochelle won the Nook at the library foundation's drawing. Congrats to her on her good luck. ... See MoreSee Less
Read all about it at:
www.journalinquirer.com/towns/tolland/tolland-library-offers-digital-media-service/article_61da10... ... See MoreSee Less
That’s awesome!
Thanks to a grant from the Tolland Public Library Foundation, the Tolland Public Library is now offering the Hoopla digital media service that allows library card holders to borrow movies, TV shows and other media on a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week basis.
Library patrons can choose from thousands of titles and borrow movies, music, audiobooks, e-books, comics and TV shows and enjoy them on their computer, tablet, phone or even their TV. With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately or downloaded to phones or tablets to be enjoyed offline later. Before signing up, they can browse the choices, which include e-books by Joe Hill, Janet Evanovich and Alexander McCall Smith, and movies such as “Dumbo,” “Pet Sematary” and “Poms,” at www.midwesttape.com/hoopla.
To use Hoopla, visit tolland.org/library and click on the Hoopla icon. Patrons will be asked to create a Hoopla account. Once they have done so, they choose Tolland Public Library and then sign in with their active Tolland Public Library card number. Then they can browse the offerings, just as they would during a visit to the library, and start downloading or streaming content. For free, Tolland library patrons can download or stream up to two digital media selections a month per active library card. Drop by the library and ask a staff member to show you how to use Hoopla or if you have questions, call the library at 860-871-3620. ... See MoreSee Less
Her book chronicles its ups and downs, including its heyday as an industrial powerhouse where sewing machines, bikes and even electric cars were made, as well as the years when violent gangs held sway on its streets. Susan called herself an accidental author who gets interested in a topic and then obsessed about it until she's able to write a book about it. She said she remains hopeful because she sees proof that the American Dream still exists in Frog Hollow. ... See MoreSee Less
Susan Campbell is a one-woman Broadway show.
Excellent presentation. Susan Campbell is a wonderful speaker as well as author.
Thank you so much for having me. What a great crowd and I loved the conversation.
Here are some fun facts about librarians. ... See MoreSee Less

9 facts about librarians you probably didn't know
www.cnn.com
They preserve history. They can be very well paid. They even help spies. In honor of National Library Week, here are some facts about librarians that might surprise you.They were James Herbert Smith, the editor, and columnists Jacqueline Smith, Maureen Croteau and Carolyn Lumsden, who were discussing their book, "Opinionated Women in the Land of Steady Habits."
Jacky Smith, from Hearst Connecticut Media, said in her columns, she seeks to write about universal truths from particular situations. Croteau, head of the University of Connecticut Journalism Department, described being one of the first female reporters at the Hartford Times in the early 1970s and being told she couldn't go out and cover a riot. She eventually convinced the editor to send her. "If you could do then the job then, you could do the job,'' she said.
In the first photo are Lumsden, the former editorial page editor of the Hartford Courant, at left, and Jacky Smith; second, Jacky and Jim Smith; third, Croteau; fourth, Croteau and Lumsden; fifth, Jacky Smith gives an autographed copy of the book to Marie K. Shanahan, an associate professor of journalism at UConn. ... See MoreSee Less
Editor James Herbert Smith and Jacqueline Smith, Hearst Connecticut Media’s editorial page editor at The News-Times in Danbury and The Norwalk Hour, and Maureen Croteau, a professor of journalism and the longtime head of the University of Connecticut Journalism Department, will take part in the free talk sponsored by the Tolland Public Library Foundation.
The talk is part of the foundation’s Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series.
James Smith is a retired newspaper editor, past president of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors, a member of the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame and past president of the non-profit Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information.
In the book, he has included newspaper columns by women journalists published between the 1950s, with one flashback to 1828, and the present day. The columns cover topics from the #metoo movement to health care, fashion, sports, politics, art and nature, with history, clarity, honesty and humor.
Jacqueline Smith’s entries include a touching column for The News-Times about sending her first daughter off to college, a forceful call in The Meriden Record-Journal in 2000 for the Polish Elks club to stop holding a “stag” dinner and a powerful column about gun control in The News-Times in 2015.
The work of Croteau, who is a member of the Connecticut Journalism Hall of Fame, includes a moving 1987 column in The Day of New London about a condolence call on the widow of a neighbor. Her entertaining column about a man with a seemingly endless saga involving the state Department of Motor Vehicles, published in The Hartford Times in 1972, and her reaction to paparazzi as bounty hunters, not journalists, written in the Hartford Courant in 1997 after the death of Diana, princess of Wales, are also featured.
Other columnists featured are Maura Casey of The Day; Michele Jacklin, Karen Hunter, Gina Barreca, Jenifer Frank, Carolyn Lumsden, Helen Ubinas, Claire Smith and Susan Campbell of the Courant; the late Lisa Chedekel, Deb Waldman and Katherine Weber of the New Haven Register and Faith Vincent Middleton of the Journal Inquirer in Manchester.
Please register for the talk by calling the library at 860-871-3620 or online at tolland.org/library.
Pictured, left to right: James Herbert Smith, Jacqueline Smith and Maureen Croteau ... See MoreSee Less
He included also Marge Hoskin who's 85 and has written more than 1,000 "Quiet Corner Whispers" for the Norwich Bulletin. THANK YOU ALL, and thsnks Jim.
Dash and another robot named Dot were recently purchased using a grant from the Tolland Public Library Foundation as part of the Maker Space that it has outfitted in the library. ... See MoreSee Less
Rochelle stopped by the Foundation's booth and entered the drawing at the Celebrate Tolland festival in September. ... See MoreSee Less
The Foundation thanks Betty-Lou for her many years of service, from 1996 at the Foundation's founding until 2017. The interactive games were selected as a way to honor Betty-Lou because of her longstanding interest in the arts and in children's programs at the library.
In addition to the games, she is also being honored with the establishment of the Betty-Lou Griffin Experience the Arts series, which will bring continuing arts programs to the library for Tolland residents and library patrons. Under her leadership, the Foundation had already offered workshops in anime, cartooning and zentangle. The series is being organized by volunteer Kristen Morgan. Though she stepped down from the board in 2017, Betty-Lou is continuing to serve as a volunteer, offering her advice to the board members. ... See MoreSee Less
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
You are awesome
👏
A wonderful way to honor Betty-Lou! Just so glad that people love these
Wonderful recognition! Thanks for your hard work Betty-Lou!
Very proud to call you my friend .
Oliver loves these Betty-Lou! Thanks!
Thanks, Georgiana. It’s hard to believe it’s been 21 years.
A wonderful article honoring the services you've provided to the library! Congratulations, Betty-Lou!
A fantastic way to honor someone who has done so much for our community. Thank you Betty-Lou S. Griffin!
Congratulations Betty-Lou! Tolland is lucky to have you!!
If you’ve ever thought of publishing a book, the Tolland Public Library Foundation has the perfect talk for you on Tuesday, Nov. 27 when young adult author Dawn Metcalf will share her advice on “Getting Published.”
Metcalf will discuss the world of traditional publishing, including “the terms, resources, methods and madness” for writers aged 13 to 103! The free talk will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the library at 21 Tolland Green in Tolland as part of the foundation’s Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series.
Registration is required and can be done by calling the library at 860-871-3620 or by registering online at tolland.org/library.
Metcalf, of north-central Connecticut, is the author of “Luminous,” a paranormal fantasy, and “Indelible,” “Invisible,” “Insidious” and “Invincible,” books in her series about a fantasy world known as “the Twixt.”
The author series has brought Pulitzer Prize winners Dan Barry and Steven G. Smith to Tolland as well as writers Susan Campbell, Denis Horgan, Caragh O’Brien, Dom Amore, Jeff Goldberg, P.W. Catanese, Cindy Rodriguez, Susan Schoenberger, Jane Haddam and Lucy Anne Hurston. ... See MoreSee Less
Parlato is a published poet, author, artist and an associate professor of English at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, where he also lives. He will speak at the library at 21 Tolland Green at 6:30 p.m. The talk is sponsored by the Tolland Public Library Foundation as part of its Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series.
Parlato won the 2011 Tassy Walden Award for Young Adult Manuscript from the Connecticut Shoreline Arts Alliance for his first novel, “The Namesake,” which was published in 2013.
His latest book follows teen protagonist Teddi Adler and unveils the romantic and dramatic consequences that unfold when she joins a library literary group called “SUMMERTEENS.”
Combining romance and humor with elements of the paranormal, the book’s been called a profound novel about one teenage girl’s decision to redefine her life in the wake of supernatural events. Parlato says the book is intended for teens 14 and up.
The talk is free, but registration is required. To register, call the library at 860-871-3620 or register at tolland.org.library.
Since 2010, the EDK series has brought well-known authors to Tolland, including Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Dan Barry and Steven G. Smith, Jane Haddam, Dom Amore, Chris Knopf, Caragh O’Brien, Dawn Metcalf, Susan Campbell, Denis Horgan, Jeff Goldberg, Cindy Rodriguez, Susan Schoenberger and Lucy Anne Hurston. ... See MoreSee Less
In one touching moment, Louise Schott of Tolland showed Dom a tie that Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen had given to her brother, Frank Leja. Frank, a first baseman from Holyoke, played in 26 games for the Yankees in 1954-55. After the talk, Dom was able to identify some of her brother's teammates in a photo, and he promised to get back to Louise with the names of the other players that he didn't immediately recognize. ... See MoreSee Less
It can be purchased online at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Dom says if you can buy it before his talk, he'll sign it Thursday.
To attend, please register by calling the library at 860-871-3620 or online at tolland.org/library. ... See MoreSee Less
Baseball fans won’t want to miss award-winning Hartford Courant sportswriter Dom Amore when he comes to the Tolland Public Library on July 26 to Tolland Public Library to discuss his book, “A Franchise on the Rise: The First Twenty Years of the New York Yankees.”
The talk will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the library at 21 Tolland Green as part of the Tolland Public Library Foundation’s Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series.�
In its 115 years, the team has won a league-leading 27 world championships. Amore takes readers back in time to the era from 1903 to 1923, including the Yankees’ first ten years as the Highlanders, the move to Yankee Stadium and their first World Series in 1923.�
Amore vividly recounts the snowy night that Honus Wagner was offered twenty crisp $1,000 bills to join the new franchise in New York; the story behind the holes punched in the outfield fence to facilitate the stealing of signs in 1909, and why the team thought it may have had the next big superstar in a college football player named George Halas.
Amore is a twenty-year member of the Baseball Writers Association of America who has been writing about sports for Connecticut newspapers since 1982. He has written for the Courant since 1988, covering the Yankees, Major League Baseball and baseball at all levels for much of that time. He has been named Connecticut Sportswriter of the Year four times by the National Sports Media Association and has won more than thirty state, local and national journalism awards. �
The book includes a foreword by John Sterling, who has been the radio voice of the Yankees since 1989.
The talk is free, but registration is required. To register, call the library at 860-871-3620 or register online at tolland.org/library. ... See MoreSee Less
It was wonderful. What a gift to have. We can’t wait for your Yankee one. I’m so glad to sign up for author events like this. I go to some at Mark Twain where I volunteer occasionally and they are great. Great job
Steven G. Smith, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, will speak at the Tolland Public Library on June 13 about his new book, “Under the Dark Sky: Life in the Thames River Basin.”
Smith will speak at 6:30 p.m. at the library at 21 Tolland Green as part of the Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series, which is sponsored by the Tolland Public Library Foundation.
The book, published by Wesleyan Press and containing 92 vivid color photos, tells the story of contemporary rural life in eastern Connecticut and southern Massachusetts.
Anyone who treasures Connecticut’s “Quiet Corner” will enjoy this book, which showcases the picturesque Thames River basin. This watershed area is considered to be the last place where dark night sky can be viewed between Washington, D.C. and the Boston metro area. It is often referred to as the “Last Green Valley.”
The book also contains a foreword by noted outdoor writer Steve Grant, who wrote extensively about nature and adventure travel while working as a journalist at the Hartford Courant for 29 years.
Smith is an associate professor of visual journalism at the University of Connecticut whose work has appeared in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, CNN and USA Today. He shared in a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of wildfires in Colorado in 2003 for the Rocky Mountain News.
The talk is free, but registration is required. To register, call the library at 860-871-3620 or register online at tolland.org/library. ... See MoreSee Less
Here she is, at left, with Library Director Barbara Pettijohn, center, and TPLF President Linda Byam. Photo by Betty-Lou Griffin ... See MoreSee Less
Thank you Ginny for all your years with the children of Tolland.
Thanks to the students who are participating, and thank you to everyone who helped spread the word about this event. We're looking forward to showcasing the work of these young writers.
The public is welcome to attend.
Photo of the 2017 poets by Betty-Lou S. Griffin ... See MoreSee Less
Steven G. Smith, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, will speak at the Tolland Public Library on May 15 about his new book, “Under the Dark Sky: Life in the Thames River Basin.”
Smith will speak at 6:30 p.m. at the library at 21 Tolland Green as part of the Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series, which is sponsored by the Tolland Public Library Foundation.
The book, published by Wesleyan Press and containing 92 vivid color photos, tells the story of contemporary rural life in eastern Connecticut and southern Massachusetts.� Anyone who treasures Connecticut’s “Quiet Corner” will enjoy this book, which showcases the picturesque Thames River basin. This watershed area is considered to be the last place where dark night sky can be viewed between Washington, D.C. and the Boston metro area. It is often referred to as the “Last Green Valley.”� The book also contains a foreword by noted outdoor writer Steve Grant, who wrote extensively about nature and adventure travel while working as a journalist at the Hartford Courant for 29 years.
Smith is an associate professor of visual journalism at the University of Connecticut whose work has appeared in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, CNN and USA Today. He shared in a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of wildfires in Colorado in 2003 for the Rocky Mountain News.�
The talk is free, but registration is required. To register, call the library at 860-871-3620 or register online at tolland.org/library.
Since 2010, the EDK series has brought well-known authors to Tolland, including Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dan Barry, Chris Knopf, Caragh O’Brien, Dawn Metcalf, Susan Campbell, Denis Horgan, Jeff Goldberg, Cindy Rodriguez, Susan Schoenberger and Lucy Anne Hurston.� ... See MoreSee Less
The Tolland Public Library Foundation is seeking poets in middle and high school, aged 12 to 18, to compete in its seventh annual teen poetry slam on Thursday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tolland Public Library at 21 Tolland Green.
Details and entry forms are available at tollandpubliclibraryfoundation.org, and completed forms and poems should be sent to katefarrish@gmail.com.
Here's a photo of the 2017 winner, Sara Carey of Tolland, with host James MacArthur, an English teacher at Tolland High School. Photo by Betty-Lou S. Griffin. ... See MoreSee Less
TOLLAND – Teenaged writers will perform original poems and compete for prizes on Thursday, April 5 when the Tolland Public Library Foundation holds its seventh annual poetry slam.
In partnership with Tolland High School and Tolland Middle School, the Foundation and the Tolland Public Library are sponsoring the slam for middle and high school students ages 12 to 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the library at 21 Tolland Green.
Preference will be given to Tolland residents, but students from other towns can participate if space permits.
Poetry slams were born in Chicago in 1986 to encourage and celebrate the art of performance poetry.
Students will be performing two three-minute poems, which will be judged by a panel that will include THS Assistant Principal Margot Martello; a THS student, Ginny Brousseau, the Tolland Public Library’s young adult/children’s librarian; Foundation Board Vice President Dani Titterton and Foundation Board Member Mike Byam. A top prize of a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card and other prizes will be awarded.
Poets must be prepared to perform a third poem in case of a tie-breaker.
The slam will be hosted by Tolland High English teacher James MacArthur.
Entry forms are available at the public library, the high school library, from any THS English teacher or at TollandPublicLibraryFoundation.org. Students must return the forms to one of the same places and email three original poems to katefarrish@gmail.com by Monday, April 2.
The slam is free and open to the public, but audience members are asked to register for the event by calling the library at 860-871-3620 or visiting www.tolland.org/library.
Pictured: teens who took part in the 2017 poetry slam; 2017 winner Sara Carey with host James MacArthur. Photo credit: Betty-Lou Griffin ... See MoreSee Less
Please help spread the word to any teens who might want to take part.
Thanks to grants from the Tolland Public Library Foundation in 2017, patrons of the Tolland Public Library could use a 3D printer, research their family tree, meet award-winning authors and learn how to start their own business.
All of these services and more were provided by $22,964 in grants the foundation made to the library in 2017, using income from its Eaton-Dimock-King Endowment.
The foundation’s largest grants came for technology as the library expanded into the old Hicks gym in town hall. They included $4,885 to purchase the projector and sound system for the new Library Program Room and $3,500 to buy a 3D printer, laptop, software, a light tracing box and media conversion equipment for the new library Maker Space.
Library Director Barbara Pettijohn urged library patrons to sign up for lessons on using the equipment and thanked the foundation for its support.
“As the library expansion was being finished in 2017, the foundation’s grants were essential in helping us to outfit the Program Room and Maker Space with technology that was not included in the project budget,’’ she said. “I truly appreciate the foundation’s support.”
Grants from the foundation also funded the Ancestry.com, JobNow and A to Z Database for residents to conduct research on their ancestors, on how to find a job and on companies nationwide, respectively.
A foundation grant is also funding a Tumblebooks subscription for the library. The online database includes 1,100 titles for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, including animated picture books and read-along chapter books.
The foundation also held its sixth annual Teen Poetry Slam in March with more than a dozen enthusiastic poets and is planning its seventh annual slam on April 5. Entry forms will be available soon at the library at 21 Tolland Green.
In 2017, foundation grants also brought authors P.W. Catanese and Caragh O’Brien to the library as well as author/illustrator David Biedryzycki as part of its Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series. The foundation also sponsored a zentangle workshop in which library patrons learned how to make drawings using repetitive art patterns.
Tolland residents hoping to start their own business also received useful advice from a lawyer and insurance executive, thanks to a foundation grant.
Linda Byam, president of the foundation board of directors, urged residents to attend its programs this year and to check out all of the offerings in the expanded library.
“Our library is a Tolland treasure, and the expansion is allowing it to truly become a community hub for residents of all ages,’’ she said.
For more information on the Maker Space and databases, call the library at 860-871-3620.
Pictured: teen poet Zoe Livingston of Tolland; the 3D printer in the library's Maker Space ... See MoreSee Less
Residents and library patrons donated a total of $4,334, which was matched by the Tolland Public Library Foundation during its drive from September to December. The Foundation had pledged to match up to $10,000 in tax-deductible donations.
The drive was held to support the purchase of books, magazine subscriptions, e-books, audio books, DVDs and other materials for the library. It was started following a cut to the materials budget, but even though the funds were restored in September, continued uncertainty over future state funding to the town convinced the Foundation board of directors to continue the matching drive.
Library Director Barbara Pettijohn said she was pleased to have the additional funding.
“Thank you very much to Tolland residents and library patrons who provided us with their generous support during this matching drive,’’ she said. “The library staff and I are grateful and will use the donations wisely.”
For more information on the library foundation, visit tollandpubliclibraryfoundation.org/ or like its Facebook page. ... See MoreSee Less
thank you for your efforts Tolland Library Foundation!!
The Tolland Public Library Foundation is pleased to announce that it has received a $36,000 bequest from the late Lois Barlow Cox Query, a beloved library patron and Tolland community activist.
The unrestricted gift will be used to support library initiatives and programs that are not covered by the town budget.
A small portion of the gift was used to purchase a commemorative clock in Ms. Query's name that is now mounted in the Tolland Public Library at 21 Tolland Green.
A plaque was recently unveiled by Library Director Barbara Pettijohn and Foundation President Linda Byam with Ms. Query's nephew and godson, George Schiebel of Vernon, present. He was joined by his wife, Kimberly, and their daughter-in-law to be Heaven Charpentier as well as Ms. Query's longtime friends Kathy Bach and her husband, Dr. Louis Bach.
Ms. Query, who died in 2014 at the age of 82, also lovingly left bequests to the Tolland Historical Society and her church, the United Congregational Church of Tolland. Ms. Query was a volunteer with the Tolland Library Association, a past moderator of the church and a past member of the Tolland Garden Paths garden club and the Tolland Conservation Commission.
"Lois left a legacy of strength, vision, service, good works and a commitment to the community that she loved,'' Kathy Bach said.
Pictured below are Ms. Query; left to right, Library Director Barbara Pettijohn, George Schiebel, Kimberly Schiebel, Heaven Charpentier, Kathy Bach, Dr. Louis Bach and Library Foundation President Linda Byam; memorial clock ... See MoreSee Less