Friends Newsletter, December 2014

Above: FOCPL President Tommy McNeil with board member Lori-Anne Shapiro, on right, and Carrboro ArtsCenter Board Member Mariana Fiorentino, on left attended the Maya Angelou tribute event November 9th.

A Tribute to

Maya Angelou:

A Resounding Success by Lori-Anne Shapiro, FOCPL Board Secretary We certainly reached across the aisle on this one! Friends groups convened, coordinated and collaborated – – – from near and far, from county to city, and from large to small! The Friends of the Orange County Public Library came together with the Friends of the Carrboro Public Library, the Friends of Chapel Hill Public Library, and the Friends of The ArtsCenter of Carrboro.

To start off, great effort was put into publicity, which included an all-out effort to reach both middle and high schools of the Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school systems. In fact, a ninth grader from Chapel Hill High School read one of her favorite Maya Angelou poems during the open mic session of the event (she can be seen in the Channel 14 news clip on the video mentioned below). Leading up to the event we had a great public service announcement on WHCL Radio in the form of conversation between Ron Stutts of WHCL and Melva Fager Okun, Board Member of the Friends of the Carrboro Library. Melva was stupendous in promoting the event!

Attending the event was a highly inclusive broad spectrum of the community —

at least 50 people came, white and black, young and old, men and women, together reflecting the diverse breadth of audience to which Maya Angelou herself reaches through her written word.

Our Master of Ceremonies was Pamela Taylor who herself is a poet and one of the organizers of Living Poetry (see livingpoetry.net), the largest group of poets in the Triangle. As a poet facilitator for Living Poetry, she sends out the weekly poetry prompts and coordinates other local events.

Her blog, A Poet’s Double Life, is geared toward poets working in the non-literary world.

After Dr. Taylor gave a stunning reading of Maya Angelou’s poem “Caged Bird”, she introduced Jennifer Evans who sang “Summertime” and ”God Bless the Child,” accompanied by Rick Keena on guitar. Both Ms. Evans and Mr. Keena hail from Carrboro.

Jennifer is a local blues and gospel singer with an incredible voice. Additionally, with a delightful sense of humor she told the story about how she turned one of the top items on her bucket list into a reality when she met Maya Angelou.

Martha Flowers was our next special guest. Her relationship with Maya Angelou went back to the time when Maya was in her mid-twenties getting started on stage. Martha had taken Maya under her wings and helped her learn to fly. First at the Purple Onion in San Francisco and then eventually in the company of Porgy and Bess, which toured world-wide. Maya’s coming out during this time is delightfully described in many books, including her own The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou and The Life and Times of Porgy and Bess: The Story of an American Classic, by Hollis Alpert.

During two separate open mic sessions, many people, young and old, male and female, Continued on Page 5…

Friends Membership List, 2014

Anderson, Pam & Gery Barker, Larry & Sally Barrows, Bill Baumann, Carl & Susan Bergen, Roberta Beveridge, Pam Black, Dani Blythe, Beverly & Wesley Bohannon, Marvilyn Booth, Carey & Ralph Marshall Brown Judy Brown, Thomas & Robin Bedingfield Burton, James & Ann Butler, Brian Callahan, Marc & Dail Cameron, Marcia & Tom Caton, Barbara Carroll, Charlie Clark, Jane Cleary, Charlie, Martha, Erma Cleaton, Faye Coble, Jim Coffey, Gloria Cobb, Candice & Martha McMillan Condon, Patricia Cooley, Gail Cotterman, Laura & John Cox, Edwin Crandall, Nick & Jane Crandell, Brian & Jamie Croner, Elizabeth Crovitz, Elaine Culp, Bartow Currie, Peggy Davis, Barbara Dorsi, Ted, Tracy, Evan & Shannon Dry, Kristi Dyer, Stuart Ehrenhaft, Henry Eidenier, Jerry & Betty Ellington, Richard Esch, Gwyn Fan, Cheng Fan, Cheng – family of Fettig, Art Fjiord, Bess Flowers, Ed & Janet Friends of the Carrboro Libraries Gaede, Jane Gamble, Stacey Garland, Jim & Florence Gerstner, Patrick & Sandra Gilfillen, Statler & Valerija Glaser, Marc & Vuich, Jeanne Goldman, Barbara Davis Graham, Lori Grandstaff, John, Sigi, Ray & Nick Habeck, Elizabeth Hailey, Edward Halman, Olivia Hannaman, Steve, Millie, Matthew Hardy, Charles & Matt Holdiness Helton, Don & Susan Hester, Jenny Holaday, Chris Holler, Ginger & Don Basnight Hunter, Frank & Millie Irving, Lauren Johnston, Cory Jones, Jennifer Joseph, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, Jesse Kenyon, Amy

Knight, Allison & Joel (Linda & Joey) Kren, Daniel Lamb, Dee Anne & Wilson Lamont, Dr. Barry Levinson, Sara & Paco Amador Little, Jacqueline Lloyd, Evelyn MacAulay, John & Karen Mack, Karen & Gregory Manly, Ann Manwaring, Jim & Kathy Margot, Jean-Michel & Mayhew, Anna Jean Marsosudiro, Gloria Matheson, Elizabeth McDonald, Brian & Linden McIrvin, Tim Mellendorf, Brian Moore, Rosetta Morris, Jerry & Janie Most, Marguerite Newsome, Tom & Sue Norwood, Mike Parker, Lionel Parsley, Jim & Carolyn Pelissier, Bernadette & Vann Bennett Peter, Robert & Mary Ann Pinnell, Lynnette Pockney, Matthew & Rand, Penny Polewka, David Polito, Jessica Ponder, Kathleen & Gerald Reid, Holly & Shaw, Richard Reid, William & Gwenyth Roberts, John & Alexandra Roush, Edward Royce, Rachel Russell, Rollin & Betsy Rzeszotarski, David Saaremaa, Linda Schmid, Judy Schmoock, Lynn Scolnik, Patricia Sebesan, Ann Shepherd, Erin & Jacob Shortley, Vanessa Sickbert, Ginger Sikes, Kristin Simmers, Deborah & Tom Stevens Simmons, Laura & Richard Simmons, Kirsten & Day Sinquefield, Mona Smith, Lee Smith, Mark & Monaco, Julie Strayhorn, Bob & Helen Stephenson, Tammie Swanhart, Shelley Swinford, Helen Taft, Suzanne Teer, Marvin Terry, Joan Torain, Yolanda Tordi, Anne Tozzolina, Frank & Kathleen Tully, Rev. Thomas Turlington, Shannon & Molloy, Martin Utsey, Thomas Vergara, Susanne Walker-Sykes, Kelley Wallace, Andy & Barrie Walters, Louie & Nancy Weakly, Sandra Weaks, Wendy Weston, Anne Wheeler, Sharon Whitmore, Sharon Wiley, Mary Williams, Judith Wolf, Gretchen & Deter, Dan Young, Perry

December in Youth Services by Debbie Shreve, Head of Youth Services It has been a busy fall in Youth Services with our regular programs in full swing. Even as our fall programs wind down on November 26, we are already gearing up for our winter session. We will take a few weeks off to plan and then begin our winter programs on January 5, 2014.

on a magical train ride around the world to learn about winter festivals. No registration is needed for this 45-minute program, which will be held on December 13 at 11:00 a.m.

Please do visit the library to see and experience our special holiday displays. This year’s theme, “Unwrap the Gift of Reading,” highlights favorite holiday children’s books. A special thank you goes to the Hillsborough Garden Club for sponsoring and coordinating our festive displays.

During the month of December we will celebrate the holidays with a special program. All ages are welcome to join Conductor Steve on the Artic Express as he takes us ATS Focuses on Fun for December by Anne Pusey, Head of Adult & Teen Services This fall was a busy one for Adult and Teen Services, with a focus on planning, growth, and improved services.

Department staff enjoyed the opportunity to participate in numerous training and professional development opportunities over the past few months.

Most fun, perhaps, was a series of field trips to local libraries and cultural institutions, which helped Orange County Public Library to forge partnership connections in addition to bringing back technology, display, and design ideas.

accomplished with the generous support of FOCPL.

In October, our public computers received an early makeover, with new wide screen monitors installed along with a new and improved time management and printing system.

Looking ahead, this holiday season we’ll be focusing on fun! Stop by the library any time in December to get a dose of holiday spirit. Whether you like your celebrations to be traditional, silly, or downright bookish, you’ll find it at the library.

To start things off right, the Main Library invites the community to its 2nd Annual Open House on Saturday, December 6, from 2:00-4:30 p.m. We’ll have crafts, snacks, and activities all afternoon We look forward to seeing some of these ideas come to fruition as we prepare for our upcoming second floor makeover. This project, scheduled for winter 2015, will be

For each nonperishable food item donated, $1 will be deducted from a customer’s library fine balance. Canned pet food may also be donated. Food donations will directly benefit County residents in need.

Library customers can also donate a new, unwrapped toy in its original packaging in exchange for eliminating all library fines. The toys will be donated to the Toys for Tots campaign coordinated by the Orange County Department of Social Services. Food donations will also be distributed through this campaign.

OCPL

will also gladly accept food items or toys from anyone, regardless of whether they have library fines.

Donated food or toys cannot be used to reduce fees associated with lost or damaged library materials.

leading up to the Hillsborough Holiday Parade at 4:45 p.m. Plan to get into town early while the parking is easy and to spend some time at the library before venturing out to enjoy the other downtown festivities.

orangecountync.gov/library/ bookclubs.asp. For another interesting discussion, join counselor DJ Pappas as she continues her “Good Counsel” series with a talk about health and happiness scheduled for Thursday, December 11, at 6:30 p.m.

There are several book clubs that meet monthly at the library, and December is a great time to join in the fun. The “First Monday Classics” group will be discussing Dickens’ A Christmas Carol on Monday, December 1, at 6:30 p.m., and the “Tuesday Evening Book Club” has chosen This Year it Will Be Different (and Other Stories) a Christmas Treasury by Maeve Binchy as their seasonal read for Tuesday, December 9, at 6:30 p.m.

You can find the titles and dates for other book club meetings on the library’s website at Teens are invited to let their fandom shine at the teens-only Cosplay & Karaoke Holiday Party on Saturday, December 13, at 3:00 p.m., and the whole family is invited to join in the fun during our “Interactive Holiday Movie” event on Wednesday, December 17, at 6:00 p.m.

Moviegoers will be encouraged to quote, chomp, and sing along with Buddy during this special showing of Elf, rated PG.

As always, you can find the latest library event listings on our online calendar at bit.ly/ocplcal.

Book Sale Report: More Money Raised for our Library!

by Chris Holaday, Newsletter Copy Editor

Thanks to a terrific turnout from both volunteers and shoppers, this year’s second book sale was another success. We raised a lot of money from both books sales and new memberships to support library projects. All in all, everyone did a splendid job and everything went smoothly.

Sale coordinators Bill Barrows and Chris Holaday would particularly like to thank their wonderful team of volunteers. This group all contributed their time to do everything from moving boxes to keeping the tables tidy to collecting money. We also had over 30 members of the Friends work a shift at the sale. We don’t have room the give everyone the thanks they deserve but will give a special mention to some of those who work sale after

sale:

Linda and Jeff S c h m i t t , D e n n i s Hermanson, Stacey Gamble, Margie Hardy, Debbie Simmers, Sara Levinson, and Jane Gaede. Assistant Happy Anniversary to the OCPL Evening Book Club!

by Sara Levinson, Newsletter Chair O n T u e s d a y , October 12, the

OCPL

Evening Book Club met to

discuss The Bully Pulpit:

Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the club. Nancy Esperson added to the festivity by spelling out “10” with small brownies that were just the right size to allow us to feel virtuous as we indulged.

Everyone agreed that The Bully Pulpit was the heaviest book they’ve ever lifted for book club, because the text length was unusually long: over 750 pages plus notes for a total of 924 pages with 32 pages of plates. It was not an option to carry back and forth to work on the bus!

the book on a digital device and said that it took her forever to move through the text one percent at a time. The group agreed the best approach to The Bully Pulpit as both a physical and mental object is to enjoy each chapter unhurriedly.

The book w e a v e s a v i v i d understanding of events shaped by the timely relationships between extraordinary people. Who they were and the actions they took then affect us directly now.

Zeleny Terretta is the librarian (2nd from right) who started our book club. Anne (pictured in blue o n t h e f a r r i g h t ) remembered how Zeleny tantalized her with a whole month to hang on to a brand new book she coveted. She could borrow it, and if she wanted to, she Janie Morris (standing second from left) read

Library Director Andrea Tullos also played a big role –as always– by arranging for tables and the removal of books after the sale.

Thank you!

T h e b i g g e s t thanks, though, go to the booklovers who came and shopped. Even if you came and bought only one book, you still contributed to the cause. All of the money raised will help the Friends support the projects of our library.

It’s not too early to start thinking about the Spring Sale!

If you’re moving or just tidying up, why not donate some of those books that are starting to gather dust so that some other reader can enjoy them? Just bring them by the library. The Friends will do the rest!

P.S. Don’t for get we have an on-going book sale all year long. Come check out our terrific selection just inside the door on the shelves in the front right corner.

could come to a book club discussion about it. She came, she experienced, she stayed.

welcome.

From Reading Lolita in Tehran to Bully Pulpit, 118 books have been read and discussed by our group over the past ten years. Happy Anniversary to the OCPL Evening Book Club!

We look forward to many more interesting books and great people to share them with. All are Above: Pictured standing left to right are the members of the Evening Book Club: Jesse Kaufmann, Janie Morris, Nancy Esperson, Sara Levinson, Zeleny Terretta, and Anne Middleton. Seated from left are Jane Jull and Helen Swinford.

MAYA ANGELOU

Continued from front page speaker to have been moved by this event, though.

Our very own Andrea Tullos had this to say, “It was an intimate S u n d a y a f t e r n o o n gathering.

The mood reflected reverence, love, and wisdom — imparted and prose. I was honored to be present, and to share this special time.”

representing the diversity of t h e c r o w d b r a v e l y volunteered to read poems and stories written or inspired by Angelou. Our own FOCPL Board Members responded to the invitation.

Even I stepped forward, selecting a long-time associate from the audience, Diane Robertson, on my way to the stage to join me in reading “A Phenomenal Woman.” Later

FOCPL

President Tommy McNeil dramatically read a Langston Hughes poem, which inspired him to reflect on Maya Angelou.

Nerys Levy, a Board member of the Friends of Carrboro Library, said, “Yes, it was a great event, thanks to everyone’s collective efforts. I think Maya Angelou would have enjoyed the event. It had a quiet power, reflected her soul through her poetry, and was truly joyful. Those gathered were reverential and underscored the fact that remembering the past and the legacy of those have departed is necessary for sustaining our present.” M y p e r s o n a l favorite segment of the event was hearing from Jolmar Miller and Jamie McPhail; they had each created a “trading card” based on Maya Angelou’s censored autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings for Chapel Hill Library’s Banned Books Week in 2014 and 2013, respectively. Their artistic renditions of this book were so remarkably different and yet they had in common a very strong, rich and deep response to this author’s p e r s o n a l s t o r y o f overcoming tremendous odds to become a major national figure.

Along these same lines, Mama Dip spoke proudly and eloquently of t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f “yesterday” in how she conducts her life to remain purposeful and productive.

It just so happens that Mama Dip and Maya were exactly one year apart in age, and, as such, they lived through similar struggles as African A m e r i c a n w o m e n determined to make life better for other people.

You didn’t need to read or be a keynote Above: Friends Board Members of Carrboro Library and Andrea Tullos, right, OCPL Assistant Director.

Mama Dip has been philanthropically involved with the Share the Love Fund, and has been cooking in Carrboro for the past 40 years. She still goes to work every day, along with several of her children who also work at her restaurant. For this event, she donated tart-size pecan pies and lemonade.

Needless to say, it’s no wonder this pie is one of the MOST popular items on her menu!

(of which I hope to receive a copy), and Megan Hahn from Channel 14 News, which can be viewed by entering this link: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?

v=6n953Ptx3p8&list=UU4s boowBnus4ZgxA-IYkgjA W e o w e o u r greatest kudos for the success of this event to Mariana Fiorentino for sharing her personal connections within the community with us and to Carrboro ArtsCenter for hosting us!

At the event were both a UNC Journalism student who made a video Top left: Jamie McPhail sharing her artistic rendition of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Top right: FOCPL Board Members on the Event Planning Committee, Lori-Anne Shapiro & Tori Williams.

Middle left: Martha Flowers telling the story of her work and friendship with Maya Angelou.

Bottom right: Mama Dip with Diane Robertson.

Left: Jolmar Miller discussing her artistic rendition of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

by Sara Levinson, Newsletter Chair Book Club Update The December meeting of the Orange County Public Library Book Club will be our holiday meeting. There will be a festive potluck while Maeve Binchy’s This Year it Will be Different is discussed. This book of short stories all t a k e p l a c e a r o u n d Christmas, and, as the title implies, many of them, at least, deal with people who are going to have, or are hoping for, something different from what they have been experiencing during the holidays in the past.

Nelson Mandela.

An autobiography, the book profiles Mr. Mandela’s early life, coming of age, education, and the 27 years he spent in prison. He was jailed as a terrorist for his role as the leader of the then-outlawed African National Congress as they protested apartheid.

He went on to become internationally recognized for his leadership as president of South Africa and he led the healing of his previously segregated c o u n t r y .

P r e s u m e d Innocent, Scott Turow’s first novel, will be February’s selection. It tells the story of a prosecutor January’s choice is A Long Walk to Freedom by

who is charged with the murder of a colleague. The plot is clever, chilling, and unpredictable, and follows his trial for her murder, and the events that led up to his situation.

labor associated with women’s traditional roles that leads to an odd displacement. The female energy that flows to wealthy countries is subtracted from poor ones, often to the detriment of the families left behind. The migrant nanny, cleaning woman, nursing care attendant, or maid eases a “care deficit” in rich countries, which her absence creates one at home.

The Community Read’s book discussion is led by a subject expert. The date for that discussion has not yet been set, but the book club will be meeting at our usual time and place for our discussion.

March’s selection is tied in with the countysponsored Community Read program, and presents an invitation to the community to read a book on a selected social justice or human rights topic and then get together and talk about the book. The book, Global

Woman:

Nannies, Maids and Sex Workers in the New Economy by Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild, talks about the broad-scale transfer of