SEPTEMBER 2022      

News from the Director’s Desk

Whoever called summer days lazy was wrong! We’ve had an exciting month! Thanks to the efforts of Senator Martin Looney, we are the recipients of $1.75m in bonding funds to repair the

roof and the aging HVAC system as well as make some other much needed fixes. We will keep you posted as we begin this exciting adventure!

But there is always time for a little fun. In addition to visiting us for story sharing, jazz, and our sewing social, Eva has done another of her creative book displays. Check out her mysteries that take place on campuses – or as Eva likes to describe it – books you would never be assigned for class. There are some fun, classic mysteries – think Dorothy Sayers.

Come visit and soak up the comforts of our library. We would love to see you!

Cheers!

Jan

Friday Happy Hour Jazz | Fridays in August | 5:30-7:00 p.m.

• Friday, September 3: Edmund Hall and Alvin Batiste, two Louisiana clarinetists.
• Friday, September 9: Special Poetry Program at 4 p.m., featuring recorded spoken word performances by poets including Langston Hughes, Gil Scott-Heron, and Oscar Brown, Jr.; followed at 5:30 by jazz.
• Friday, September 16: Jimmy Rushing & Dizzy Gillespie and other party-lovers
• Friday, September 23: Listener's Choice (Frank will be away)
• Friday, September 30: Listener's Choice (Frank will be away)

Join a congenial little group up on the third floor of the Institute Library to listen to recordings you forgot about or never knew about and stick around a bit to discuss the music! BYOB beverage and treat 

Friday Happy Hour Jazz is presented in concert with and support from Jazz Haven. 

Please consider making a $5 donation when you come to Friday Happy Hour Jazz. 

Story Sharing at The Institute Library 

Second Thursdays | 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Story Sharing meets the SECOND THURSDAY of the month. Join the Institute Library Story Sharing group on Thursday, September 8th, at 7:00 p.m.

We hope that you will come in person, but please bring a mask.

If you cannot come in person, you may participate via Zoom, at the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82984857044

If you are coming, it would be very helpful if you would tell the group coordinator, Arnie Pritchard, and let him know whether you will attend in person or on Zoom, and whether you expect to offer a story. You can also contact him for questions at apritchard01@snet.net. See you here!

Gallery @ The Institute Library

Closing Reception - DECOYS & MIMICS

September 21       5:00-8:00 pm

Join us for a final hurrah of our summer show (please note the date change from the original poster announcement) which will feature many of the artists and an informal exhibition tour!

want to participate more fully? think faux! 

dress the part! Gussy up in faux prints -- mock leather -- furs -- feathers -- camouflage -- costume jewels! Bring a favorite mock or faux food or drink to add to our reception potluck goodies... OR just show up and enjoy the festivities, it will be good to see you...

-- and best of all, this event is free and open to all! 

Sew Sew Social: The Sewing Bee at the Institute Library

Alternate Thursdays, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. September 8th & 22nd. Bring your latest project, or revive one you let get away from you! Absolutely free and open to all -- old, steady hands and people who barely know what they're doing should all feel welcome! 

IfeMichelle Gardin, who is now the Social Justice Reader's Program Manager, has been busy meeting with mentors and making plans for this semester's influx of kids. She's conferring with last year's mentors, new mentoring candidates, and in talks with people in the New Haven Public School system to ensure the kids an exciting opportunity in a space where they will be welcome and get to work on projects beyond the NHPS curriculum. 

Breaking SJR News! We are proud to announce that Tristan Ward, who completed the first Institute Library Social Justice Reader program fellowship in June of this year, has co-founded the College Bound BIPOC Students Alliance (CBBSA) to assist BIPOC students in grades 6-12. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/3B09GmM or contact infocbbsa@gmail.com.

Once again, we'll be part of BrewOn9! Thursday, Sept. 29! The Institute Library is always happy to be one of the stops for this event, and volunteers leap to participate at the desk!

We don't know which local brewery will be posted here at 847 Chapel Street, but we'll be a stop on the tour, people will be happy to give you a beer, and we'll be thrilled to see you! 

For several years pre-Covid, the Institute Library was a regular stop on BrewOn9, the specialized Ninth Square "pub crawl" organized by Town Green Special Services. Not so much a true pub crawl, but a "discover things you might have missed here!" crawl, BrewOn9 is a beer, food, shopping and activity tour throughout Ninth Square businesses, aimed at showcasing the brick & mortar business in the area in a really fun, hands-on way. Covid was a bump in the road, but BrewOn9 is returning to the Ninth Square, a much-loved annual tradition downtown. Town Green Special Services says: "It’s like speed-dating the 9^th Square!" The Institute Library loved being one of the stops, and is thrilled to participate again this year. BrewOn9 will take place Thursday, September 29^th from 4:30-8:30PM.

The usual p.s. from the Operations Manager:

These past few weeks brought us a lot of news, as members of the community here have heard. Between the news of funding for building repairs and the arranging of a bunch of events this fall, it all got me thinking about the Institute Library as a little mouse that was suddenly sitting up and roaring. As I commenced work on the newsletter, with this image in mind, I took inspiration from Leonard Wibberley's classic novel. Eventually it occurred to me to ask the volunteer seated across the desk from me, "Do you know The Mouse that Roared?" 

He smiled hugely and said he had just watched it again a couple years ago and loved it. This led to a discussion of Peter Sellers.

As we talked, I went to pull our copy of Wibberley's novel from the stacks, where it was nestled sweetly next to Mouse on the Moon, the sequel. The roundtable discussion of the Greats of British Comedy of the 1960s meandered on as I continued working on this newsletter, and I made a mental note to go to Best Video and rent some DVDs (focus: Peter Sellers; Peter Cook). 

The next day, our first visitor to the Library that morning borrowed a copy of Eric Idle's memoir. I said, "You should have been here yesterday, some of us were sitting around talking about British comedians of the 1960s." Behind me, Jan the ED piped up that TCM has been showing Peter Sellers movies. "Really!" I said.

Clearly, the zeitgeist is telling us something. We need to focus on British comedians and comic novels of the mid-20th century. 

But consider, too, more virtuous, if not solemn, activities. Here at the Institute Library, we will be hosting programs at which you can expose yourself to more than just 20th century British comedy: art, music, literature, and civic events will all be topics of conversation. Ainissa Ramirez's visit on the 24th will give you a chance to learn a thing or two about how scientific and technological discoveries and developments have had impacts on our lives that we might never think about, but probably should. Ainissa, I will add, happens to be someone with pretty good comic timing, so I expect her visit here will lead to some laughter, as well as providing you with a little intellectual buzz. The Friday Jazz Happy Hour expands its reach this month into recorded poetry, including some stuff from Gil Scott-Heron, and you know what that's all about: The Revolution, which will probably be streamed, if it happens soon...

Autumn 2022 will be very buzzy here. Come be part of it all, here at 847 Chapel Street. 

But in general: If you have any questions about books, or anything else we may be able to help with, email the Library: Home@InstituteLibrary.org or me directly: Eva@InstituteLibrary.org. Onward, y'all.

--Eva Geertz