There were days back home in the Congo that Jean Kabeya and his family couldn’t eat.
 
Jobs were scarce, but living expenses didn’t go away. Kabeya’s family applied to a government program in the Congo that would help them resettle to a place where there were more opportunities. Kabeya and his family came to Hartford two years ago.
 
Every day people like Kabeya arrive in Hartford, looking to start anew. The American Place at HPL strives to help. In commemoration of World Refugee Day, celebrated June 20, we look at one aspect of The American Place's work.

Kabeya was part of HPL’s “Linking Learning, Belonging, and Community” program, which provides high school students who are immigrants and refugees the chance to work on their English language skills.

In an effort to update the traditional historical narrative of Hartford, Hartford Public Library will work with city teens, elders, and local artists to create public art celebrating the stories of city change makers from the Black, Latinx, and indigenous communities.

The library has opened registration for the Hartford Changemakers summer program, which is geared to Hartford residents ages 13 and older.
Interested individuals can sign up using this Google Form: bit.ly/HartfordChangeMakers

The virtual workshops will begin July 13 and run through August 21. The workshops will integrate themes around leadership, organizing, and creative responses to shaping history in your own neighborhood.

Hartford Public Library is launching a new educational program designed to train people for well-paying technology careers.

HPL and CISCO Networking Academy are now offering free self-paced, online technology courses on cybersecurity and coding to students aged 18 and older.

Online U.S. citizenship classes will be held on Saturdays, starting July 11, from 1 to 3 pm.

Get assistance completing your application.

Class registration is required by
texting or calling 860-490-8402 or reaching out via e-mail to [email protected]
The Hartford Census Day of Action - Call 5 initiative will take place on June 24. 

Organizations, including HPL, will be picking up the phones, sending e-blasts, and posting to social media on June 24 to encourage the Hartford community to fill out the 2020 Census. 

Volunteers will contact five people over the phone they know to make sure they've filled out the Census and to ask those five people to call five more people and ask them to do the same.

The Census can be completed online at 2020Census.gov or over the phone at 844-330-2020.
HPL will begin offering contactless service starting on Monday, June 22 at the Downtown Library.

In addition:
  • Book drops are now open for returns at Albany, Dwight, Park, Camp Field, and Downtown libraries. All fines will be waived through September 1.
  • HPL's Library on Wheels will begin service throughout the city starting on Monday.
  • Don't know what to read? Have HPL librarians curate your selection for you. Just fill out an online form about your interests (or give us a call) and our staff members will pick out just the right thing. For more information, click here.
“Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy—where information is free and equally available to everyone. People tend to take that for granted, and they don’t realize what is at stake when that is put at risk.” ―  Carla Hayden