From a press release:

The Essex Library is delighted to present the return engagement of popular Dublin-born folklorist, folk-singer and instrumentalist Tom O’Carroll, to celebrate St. Paddy’s with a concert on Tuesday March 16th at 6:30 P.M.

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. CDs of Tom’s music will be available for purchase after the show.

This performance is free and open to all. For reservations or information, please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560. The Essex Library is located at 33 West Avenue.

From a press release:

Even music lovers are intimidated by the monumental four-opera cycle written by Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen, despite its place in the pantheon of great music. But the Essex Library’s “Opera at the Library” is planning to make these musical masterpieces new fans, when its “Wagner Without Fear” series kicks off Saturday, March 13th at 2 P.M., with a talk by opera scholar James Kuslan. His easy-to-enjoy lectures combine erudition with humor (and surprises!)

The first screening in the Ring Film Series will be Das Rheingold, the Metropolitan Opera’s definitive, classic staging, starring James Morris, Christa Ludwig, Siegriend Jerusalem, and Ekkehard Wlaschiha, Friday, March 19th at 2 P.M. Enjoy this dazzling performance in Surround Sound and Stereo, with our newly upgraded sound system.

Mr. Kuslan, a popular speaker on the topic of classical singing, has lectured on operatic disasters and on madness in opera (and mad modern stagings). As artistic producer, he is creating a series of vocal CDs for Deutsche Grammophon to feature some of the German classical record company’s most glamorous stars, and wrote the liner notes for London Records’ 20 CD collection, Opera Made Easy, which highlights the artistry of Luciano Pavarotti. He also wrote completely original dialogue for Salt Marsh Opera’s performances of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus.

Don’t miss this chance to discover (or get better acquainted with) the music of this controversial genius. Call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 for information or reservations.

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 photography on Saturday, March 13 from 10:30 to 11:30. 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. The program is free and open to all. Please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 for reservations or more information. The Library is at 33 West Avenue in Essex.

Architecture Lecture
The Essex Library’s popular series of Centerbrook Architects’ Lectures continues on Friday, January 8th at 7 p.m. with a talk by Professor Chuck Benson on “The Art and Architecture of C.F.A. Voysey and Sir Edwin Lutyens”, at Essex Town Hall.

This lecture focuses on the works of two of the most beloved architects and designers from the turn of the 19th to the 20th centuries—the end of the Arts and Crafts movement in Great Britain. The holistic approach to residential design of these two extraordinary artists has in part defined our enchantment with the English Country Cottage.

Professor Chuck Benson has been teaching Art and Architectural History for over twenty-five years, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He has lectured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, MOMA, The Whitney Museum, The Getty in Los Angeles, and The Art Institute in Chicago, as well as the Isabella Stewart Gardner in Boston. Dr. Benson currently serves as the Director of Colorado Operations, and Head of Design for a Group that specializes in the architecture and engineering of Satellite Operations Centers and Mission Control Stations.

Please call the Essex Library for information and reservations, at 860-767-1560. The Essex Town Hall is at 29 West Avenue in Essex Village.

Opera at the Library
Essex Library’s “Opera at the Library” series continues with a magnificent Met double bill; Puccini’s Il Tabarro, starring Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas, and Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, featuring Luciano Pavarotti, Juan Pons, and Teresa Stratas. Come enjoy these classic performances, filmed live at the Metropolitan Opera House, and featuring some of opera’s most beloved singers at their best, Friday, January 8th at 2 P.M. The program is free and open to the public. Please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 for information and reservations.

Savvy Shopper
Come meet the Hartford Courant’s own Savvy Shopper, Korky Vann, at the Essex Library Thursday, January 7th at 7 P.M.

She’ll share tips, tricks, and handouts, all served up with her trademark humor, to help you hold onto more of what you work so hard for. Korky will talk about some of her own less-inspired buys (a three-armed sweater, for instance) and tell stories about her experience of going a month without spending any money. If one of your resolutions was finding smart ways to save a buck, this is a great way to get started. It’s a wealth of information, and the program is free. Please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 to reserve a seat.

The Essex Library is the recipient of a 2010 Connecticut Award for Excellence in Public Library Service, conferred by The Connecticut State Library and the Connecticut Library Association. One of only two such prizes given each year, the Essex Library won in the population category of 15,000 and under for the Library’s GirlZone program.

GirlZone, a self-esteem and life-skills course for adolescent girls, was made possible by a grant from the Middlesex County Community Foundation, as well as substantial donations of time and services made by several local businesses. The program series was presented by the Library’s Head of Children’s and Young Adult Services Judie McCann, and Children and Young Adult Services Assistant Jessica Branciforte, with the help of the Paul & Lisa Program Incorporated’s Victoria Taylor who served as facilitator. Utilizing the expertise of local businesswomen and professionals, the eight-week course covered topics including healthy eating, job interview skills, internet safety, and skin care, and culminated in a graduation dinner hosted by the Saybrook Point Inn.

A panel of Librarians, Trustees and others from outside Connecticut reviewed the nominations. According to Mary Engels of the CLA Public Library Awards Committee, “The judges were incredibly impressed with the difference the Library is making in the lives of the girls. They also liked the community partnerships that were forged and the fact that this was accomplished with a very small budget.”

The Essex Library’s director Richard Conroy, Judie McCann, Jessica Branciforte, and Jenny Tripp will be featured speakers at the CLA Annual Conference in April at the Mohegan Sun Conference Center, where they will accept the award on the Library’s behalf at the Awards Reception. The Essex Library staff will also contribute an article about the program for the Connecticut Libraries publication.

An award reception will be held at the Essex Library Friday, January 22nd at 4 p.m. and the public is invited to attend. The Library is at 33 West Avenue.

Links:
Essex Library

Photographer Lou Condron’s landscapes and architectural studies will be on display through the month of December at the Essex Library.

A native New Yorker, Condron is a retired mechanical design engineer transplanted to Old Lyme from California, where his passion for photography flowered on family camping trips to the Arizona and California deserts. The natural beauty of that landscape, often scarred by the abandoned old mining towns, fascinated him. Condron’s quest for natural beauty has taken him to the Maine coast and all along the Connecticut shoreline, an area he describes as “glorious”, and many of the images on exhibit at the Library are from these travels.

The show is free and open to the public during regular Library hours. The Essex Library is at 33 West Avenue in Essex.

Links:
Essex Library

If you’re looking for amnesty for your Essex Library fine, now’s the time.

In partnership with the Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantries, the Essex Library Association is sponsoring “Food For Fines” for the month of December. Library patrons are encouraged to donate undamaged, unexpired, boxed or canned non-perishable food items to the Essex Library, in exchange for a one dollar reduction per food item to be applied to overdue fines for Essex Library materials. All food will be donated to the Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantries.

The most needed items include canned meat and fish, peanut butter, rice, pasta, canned fruit, canned vegetables, boxed cereal and oatmea. No glass, beverages, or dented cans will be accepted. Like the sound of “no fines”? Bring your non-perishable items to the Essex Library until December 31st, and support your community food banks.

Links:
Essex Library
Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries

We received the following press release from the Essex Library:

In an effort to cut costs and make the most efficient use of staff time, while continuing to offer the highest level of service to our patrons, the Essex Library will be changing our hours. We will be closed on Sundays, open an extra hour on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and will open an hour earlier on Mondays. Starting November 29th, our hours of operation will be:

Monday, Wednesday & Friday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday & Thursday: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Sunday – Closed

Links:
Essex Library

• Author Eugenia West will talk about her newest mystery, Overkill, the fast moving sequel to Without Warning, at the Essex Library on Thursday, December 3rd at 4 p.m.Ms. West, who splits her time between Essex and New Hampshire, will be signing copies of her book and discussing her creative process. The program is free and open to all, and reservations may be made by call the Essex Library at (860) 767-1560.
• Ever wonder how to put together a great cheese flight? How to pair fine cheeses with wines? How today’s artisanel cheeses are made? Come, learn, and taste great cheese-based recipes cooked by caterer and cheese-maker Andrea Isaacs, at the Essex Library on Thursday, December 3^rd from 6 – 7:30. Reservations are required and seats are limited for this free program, so please call the Library at 767-1560.
• Explore the booming “Agriturismi” movement Sunday, December 6^th at 3 p.m., when chefs/authors Matthew Scialabba and Melissa Pellegrino present THE ITALIAN FARMER’S TABLE at the Essex Library. Their sumptuously illustrated cookbook features authentic recipes from over thirty working family farms in Northern Italy, where the farm-fresh food movement is booming. Sample the delicious cuisine, and hear the story behind the book’s creation. The authors will be signing books. Seats to this event are free, but reservations are strongly suggested, and may be made by calling the Library at (860) 767-1560.

The Library is at 33 West Avenue in Essex.  Call 767-1560 for more information.

Links:
Essex Library

We received the following information about upcoming events at the Essex Library this fall:

RÉSUMÉ BOOTCAMP AT ESSEX LIBRARY
Looking for work, but not finding it? Could your résumé be holding you back? In today’s tight job market, a well-written résumé is what makes that all-important great first impression on potential employers. Is yours up to the task? Join Connecticut Department of Labor’s résumé expert Karent Quesnel, Thursday September 24th at 10 a.m., for Résumé Bootcamp at the Essex Library. Karen will read and critique your résumé, and help you put your best foot forward. The program is free and open to all, and the Essex Library is at 33 West Avenue in Essex. Please call (860) 767-1560 for reservations or information.

ESSEX LIBRARY ASKS “THE GOD QUESTION”
Does God exist? Without doubt, the greatest question to face humanity in its history, the controversy rages on today with a recent spate of books on both sides of the divide. Revealing the thoughts of the greatest philosophers on the biggest question of all, Connecticut College Professor and Philosophy Department Chair Andrew Pessin will discuss what famous thinkers from Plato to Dawkins have said about the Divine, Thursday October 1st at 6:30 P.M. at the Essex Library. He’ll also be talking about his new book, The God Question, and sharing his captivating insights into wide array of God-related puzzles. Join us for this fascinating, insightful program, free at the Essex Library, located at 33 West Avenue. Please call (860) 767-1560 for information or reservations.