From hosting the letters of Christopher Columbus, timeworn maps of newly-discovered lands, ancient stele and illuminated manuscripts, to drawings of captive slaves of the Amistad and videos of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island in 1906, the Library of Congress is known for housing some of the world' greatest treasures.   Lesser-known is the plethora of opportunities it offers to introduce educators from across the country to its resources, enhancing the teaching and learning experiences of educators and students worldwide.

One of these exciting opportunities, for which the application deadline is quickly approaching, is the Library of Congress 2010 Summer Teacher Institute.  The four-day institute is designed to enable educators to return to their classrooms equipped with numerous new tools to assist the learning experiences of their students.  One item covered is its Teaching with Primary Sources program, a revolutionary tool to improve research opportunities available to elementary, secondary, and college students.  The Library is working to help our teachers incorporate these primary source documents into their American and world history, art, foreign language, and other lesson plans.


The Summer Teacher Institute is open to all grade 4-12 educators – teachers, librarians, media specialists and instructional technology specialists in public, public charter, private or religiously-affiliated schools, as well as homeschooling parents.  There is no charge for the Institute or the materials, but the participants need to provide their own housing and transportation, as well as a wireless-enabled laptop.

There are six individual sessions to be held in 2010 on the following dates:

Session 1          May 11-14                Session 4          July 19-22
Session 2          June 8-11                 Session 5          July 27-30
Session 3          July 12-15                 Session 6          August 17-20

The application forms are available on the Library of Congress website (http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/teacherinstitute/apply/)

The application deadline is March 19, 2010.  As a member of the House of Representatives’ Library of Congress Caucus, committed to raising awareness of this very creative institution and the plethora of programs it offers, I hope many Nebraska educators will take advantage of this opportunity.