The Tolland Public Library was filled with poetry, author visits, book talks, genealogy searches - and even zombies - in 2012 thanks to $10,470 in grants from the Tolland Public Library Foundation.
The grants brought more young people into the library and enhanced services beyond what the town budget provides.
The funds enabled the library to host award-winning authors, hold informative sessions on paying for college, host its first poetry slam for Tolland teens and allow residents to conduct useful searches through the Ancestry.com, Consumer Reports and the Credo research database.
Most importantly, the grants allowed the library and the Foundation to offer a wide-ranging initiative known as the “Year of the Young Adult.”
The initiative reached its goal of bringing more programs and materials to the library of interest to children aged 11 to 18. It was made possible through grants from the Foundation’s Phoebe Dimock King and Elizabeth C. King Eaton Endowment.
“The library has been able to hold many informative and lively events, thanks to the grants from the Foundation,’’ library director Barbara Pettijohn said. “It’s a great partnership.”
The Foundation brought astronomer Kevin Manning and author P.W. Catanese to the library. It also funded a popular Book Voyagers club on the “The Hunger Games” trilogy and a discussion of “The Maze Runner.”
On April 27, the library resounded with the creative voices of Tolland teens when 20 students competed for prizes at the first poetry slam. The response was overwhelming, so a second slam is being planned for this April 26.
The Foundation also purchased a computer and educational software for students, paid for extra copies of the Tolland High School summer reading books and funded a session showing teens how to apply makeup to transform themselves into a zombie.
Nearly 100 people have attended talks on how to pay for college by financial advisor Craig Breitsprecher. Another talk, also funded by the Foundation, is scheduled for April 10 at 6:30 p.m.To register, call the library at 860-871-3620.
“The Foundation has been thrilled to be able to support so many interesting programs at the library,” Foundation President Linda Byam said. “We want to keep this buzz of activity going in 2013 by funding even more programs.”
Grants to the library have also funded the Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series, which has brought award-winning writers Caragh O’Brien, Denis Horgan, Susan Schoenberger, Ken Davis and Lucy Anne Hurston.
In honor of former library director Barbara Butler and her love of travel, the Foundation also purchased a display stand, bulletin board and travelogue books.
Residents can call the library at 860-871-3620 to arrange to have their own travel photos displayed on the bulletin board.
About the Tolland Public Library Foundation
The 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. Tax-deductible donations can be sent to the Tolland Public Library Foundation, Inc., 21 Tolland Green, Tolland, CT 06084. Donations can also be directed to the foundation via the United Way by using the code AG1694.
