Skype-a-Docent -- Take a Museum Tour at the the Fairfield Public Library

Visit the New Britain Museum of American Art next week without leaving town!  Thanks to a grant from the Connecticut State Library through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, museum docents will guide us through exhibits using Skype technology.  Skype is a video phone call, but when the call is projected onto the large screen in the Library’s Rotary Room, we will be able to view the exhibits almost as if we were there.  We will also be able to ask questions of the docent as we tour.  Join us for the first museum “visit” on Wednesday, October 23 from 10:30-11:30 am at the Main Library, 1080 Old Post Road.  Registration is required.
 
The Skype-a-Docent series will feature a different regional attraction each month through June of 2014.  Upcoming “visits” include Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close at the Bruce Museum on Wednesday, November 13 and an exhibit of Baroque and Renaissance paintings at the Bellarmine Gallery, Fairfield University on December 11.

Many seniors frequent varied Library programs from literary lectures to Affordable Care Act information sessions.  The Library is a hub for people to gather and continue with lifelong learning.  This new program will attract many seniors and others interested in continuing with learning and cultural enrichment without having to leave Fairfield.  And, in the case of individuals living in senior living facilities, these programs will be brought directly to them.

Skype-a- Docent is an extension of the Library’s Homebound Service that has delivered Library books and other materials to residents for over 20 years.  Last year over 1,200 items were delivered by volunteers to five senior living facilities and to individuals living in their own homes.  Now we are able to “deliver” tours of cultural interest.

This $5,000 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant for the Skype-a-Docent program was awarded by the Connecticut State Library and approved by the Connecticut State Library Board. LSTA funds are provided through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (http://www.imls.gov), the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.

All programs at the Fairfield Public Library are free, and open to everyone, but seating is limited.  To register or for more information, visit our website at www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org, or call 203-256-3160. Follow the Fairfield Public Library on Twitter: www.twitter.com/fairfieldpublib and Facebook: www.facebook.com/fairfieldlibrary.