If you aren't already familiar with this LOC free program (transportation, lodging, not included; however, they get a great rate usually at a convenient hotel and you do get lunch at an amazing LOC cafe each day), it's truly amazing! I participated last summer.

Valerie DiLorenzo

CASL President

Connecticut Association of School Librarians' Organization Address:

4 Wotton Lane

Burlington, CT 06013

See all details below/attached.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Apfeldorf, Michael G <mapf@loc.gov>
Date: Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Subject: 2 weeks left to apply to the 2026 Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institutes!
To:

Happy New Year everyone!

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has helped us spread the word regarding the 2026 Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institutes! Thanks to your help, we have some really great applications coming in. But we still have room for more! So, if you are willing and able, please feel free to continue to let your colleagues know about this free professional development opportunity. Remind them that the deadline to apply is January 23, 2026, just a little more than two weeks away, and that they can apply here: https://www.loc.gov/programs/teachers/professional-development/teacher-Institute/. I've also attached a flyer for the workshop if you'd like a quick and simple notice, which you can post or forward as you see fit.

I'm happy to answer any questions, and again, thank you for helping us spread the word!

Mike Apfeldorf

Library of Congress

From: Apfeldorf, Michael G
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2025 12:41 PM
Subject: Help us spread the Word! 2026 Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institutes!

Greetings from the Library of Congress...we hope that you are doing great!

As previous participants of the Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institutes, you understand better than anyone how transformative participating in the Institute can be for many educators. We hope that your experience was both enjoyable and productive for you and your students!

That said, I wanted to let you know that we've just launched the application for the 2026 Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institutes and invite you to share it with anyone you know. Please feel free to distribute this information to any and all educators you think may be interested, including: individual educators, group of educators, folks on social media, listservs, or any organizations — the more the merrier! 🙂 You can let them know that the newly launched application may be found here:

https://www.loc.gov/programs/teachers/professional-development/teacher-Institute/.

Also, if you would find it helpful, I have also included informational text on the Institutes below. Feel free to cut and paste from this text and forward it to others as you see fit.

2026 Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institutes

Join us onsite at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. for a free three-day professional development workshop, where you’ll learn and practice strategies for using primary sources with K-12 students. Three sessions will be offered in the summer of 2026:

July 8-10, 2026
July 15-17, 2026
July 22-24, 2026

In each session, Library of Congress education specialists will model a variety of hands-on, inquiry-based teaching strategies for using primary sources to engage students, build critical thinking skills, construct knowledge, and launch original research. Activities will feature some of the millions of historical artifacts from the Library’s collections – photographs, prints, manuscripts, maps, multimedia, and more – which are digitized and freely available online. Participants will also conduct research to identify primary sources and develop an activity related to their classroom content.

The institute and instructional materials are provided at no cost. However, participants are responsible for transportation to and from Washington, D.C., and any required overnight accommodations. Applications are due January 23, 2026 and require a letter of recommendation.