News
Hartford Public Library Receives Grant to Develop Youth Coding Programs
Hartford Public Library has received a $25,000 grant from the American Library Association (ALA) to design and implement coding programs for young people. Hartford Public Library is one of 28 libraries around the country to receive a grant from Libraries Ready To Code, an initiative of the ALA sponsored by Google, which promotes computer science (CS) and computational thinking.

Coding for Teens at Hartford Public Library will offer three intensive learning sessions in 2018, with space and equipment for up to 25 youth ages 13-19. The program consists of instructional hours, a networking event, and an end-of program competition. In addition to the three intensive learning sessions, the Library will develop a structure for a "Coding Studio" where businesses, organizations, and individuals, can hire youth to complete computer science related work.

The Library will also work with local corporations to identify departments that will hire youth with entry-level skills, and to identify the skills those youth need to be successful within that company. By the end of this grant cycle, we will have sufficient relationships to place youth in paid work positions.
Lena Horne Special Stamp Unveiling Dedication Ceremony with the United States Postal Service
Wednesday, February 28, 3:00 pm
Albany Branch
Please join us for a United States Postal Service stamp unveiling dedication ceremony. The USPS will honor legendary performer and civil rights activist Lena Horne on the 41st stamp in the Black Heritage stamp series. The event will include remarks by Postmaster Hartford Theodore Goonan, Black History Month books to peruse and borrow from Hartford Public Library, and a participatory display reflecting the people who inspire Hartford residents. Refreshments will be served.
Breaking Barriers, A Discussion   
Tuesday, February 27, 5:30-7:30 pm
Hartford History Center
Join Hartford Public Library Corporator Charmaine Craig, known as Hartford’s Tree Lady, and Patricia Kelly, Ebony Horsewomen, who are featured in "Breaking Barriers," a book published by Aetna which celebrates African-American notables.

Floyd W. Green III, Vice President and Head of Community Activation & Local Marketing for Aetna, will moderate a discussion.

Images from the book will be on display in February inside the Hartford History Center.

Email Mackenzie Callahan to RSVP. There are still seats available.
VITA Dollars and Sense Day: Free Professional Tax Help
Saturday, February 24, 10:00 am-1:00 pm
Downtown Library
If your household income is up to $54,000:
  • Save an average of $200 or more in tax preparation fees
  • Get your refund in 7-10 days

Walk-ins welcome.
NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY!

This program is FREE and open to the public. Light refreshments available at no cost.
Encounters: Citizen
Saturday, February 24, 10:00 am-12:00 pm
The Amistad Center for Art & Culture at The Wadsworth Atheneum
Lunch follows
Join us for small group discussions about everyday acts of racism in American society with selections of Hartford Public Library’s Big Read book for 2018, Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine.

The Hartford History Center at Hartford Public Library, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, and UConn Humanities Institute - UCHI have formed a community engagement partnership to present Encounters, a series focused on encouraging informed and informal conversations about issues that affect our lives. The aim is to strengthen our ability to know ourselves, and to develop a forum for respectful and challenging dialogue.

Please read selections of Citizen found HERE and HERE prior to the event. Limited space. Lunch will be provided.

To register, email: faculty@wadsworthatheneum.org.
School Choice Application Session and Paint Night
Paint instruction: 5:30 pm, free paint: 6:30 pm.
Downtown Library - Children’s Room 3rd Floor
February 28 is the last day to apply to Open Choice and Magnet Schools! Come get application assistance while the kids enjoy painting and pizza. Application help with be available all day. 

Pizza will be provided.

Call the Children's Room at 860-695-6330 to sign up.
Contact Jeniffer Perez Caraballo at 860-306-9757/860-695-6325 for any other questions.
Poets on Poetry Series: Wisława Szymborska
Saturday, February 24, 10:15 am
ROOM 026, Downtown
Polish poet Wisława Szymborska received international recognition when she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. In awarding the prize, the Academy praised her “poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality.” Collections of her poems that have been translated into English include People on a Bridge (1990), View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems(1995), and Monologue of a Dog (2005). Poet Julia Paul, Manchester's first poet laureate, will moderate.
Baby Grand Jazz Series: Haneef Nelson
Sunday, February 25, 3:00 pm
Center for Contemporary Culture

The Haneef Nelson Quintet is a Hartford based jazz ensemble that features original music and arrangements of Latin jazz and jazz standards. Haneef Nelson was introduced to jazz at the young age of 13 through his father and through the Jazzmobile program. There he was taught how to play trumpet by such legendary figures as Donald Byrd and Cecil Bridgewater. Later, when he was was 17 years old, Haneef received instruction and inspiration from Dave Burns, an unsung trumpet legend in jazz. Nelson attended and graduated from the Hartt School, where he studied with such luminaries as Jackie McLean, Nat Reeves, Steve Davis, Chris Casey, Raymond Williams and Roger Murtha.

Nelson will play with Taber Gable on piano, Matt Dwonszyk on bass, and Jonathan Barber on drums.

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 2:00 pm. 

Hartford Public Library now offers new overflow accommodations within the Library where you can view the livestream of every Baby Grand Jazz performance. Come to rooms 140 and 141 to watch. They will be available until filled to capacity.

HPL will livestream all concerts and post them for later viewing on its website. Visit www.hplct.org for more details.

This series is made possible by the Kaman Foundation.
A special thanks to all of our donors and sponsors who help make these programs possible.
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Upcoming
Family Movie Night

PARK BRANCH
Monday, February 26 , 6:00 pm
Families will enjoy a family movie and popcorn. There will be a voting poll for children to vote on the movie they would like to watch during the first two weeks of the following month.
Yoga Time

Wednesday, February 28, 3:30-4:30 pm
Yoga is great for keeping your body healthy and your mind relaxed. Come learn some fun poses, no special mat or experience needed.
Building Wealth:
Securing Your Financial Freedom
 
Wednesdays, February 28 - March 14, 6:00–7:00 pm
In celebration of America Saves Week, join a three-week program series to learn how to develop a plan for building personal wealth.
Money Management 101

Tuesday, March 6, 6:30 pm
Come hear Naciki Reid, local author and Certified Financial Educator, address financial traps to avoid as well as financial needs ranging from debt reduction and budgeting to savings, retirement and investing.
Hartford Public Library | 860.695.6300 | hplct.org