Friends Newsletter, Spring 2015

Friends’ Matters FOCPL 2014 Annual Meeting The 2014 FOCPL Annual Meeting was held in conjunction with the December Board Meeting on Wednesday evening, December 10, in the library’s meeting room, which was decorated with flyers from the 2014 “Author Talks” fundraisers and special events. Friends and board members were able to meet and socialize while enjoying four different and delicious varieties of pizza, courtesy of President Tommy McNeil. Save the Date!

Books ‘n’ Brews Fundraiser Semi-annual Book Sale April 24-26 April 20, 5-7 p.m.

The semi-annual book sale event will be held at the Library on Friday, 4-7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 12-4 p.m.

Volunteers needed!

Join us as guest bartenders take over the Hot Tin Roof on behalf of the Friends.

Raffle prizes donated by local businesses. 115 W Margaret Lane.

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Meet the New Board Members Good news for the Friends of the Orange County Public Library! We now have two excellent new board members.

We are still seeking a third member to fill an open seat.

FOCPL Board of Directors Tommy McNeill, President Lori-Anne Shapiro, Vice-President Mark Smith, Treasurer Tori Williams Reid, Treasurer-Elect cont. Page 3 Shannon Turlington, Secretary and Newsletter Coordinator Bill Barrows, Member At-large Marcia Cameron, Chair, Events and On-going Book Sales Robin Crawford, Chair, Membership Committee cont. Page 2

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Meet the New Board Members (cont.)

Robin, a native North Carolinian and a resident of Hillsborough for 18 years, has more than 20 years of experience in project management, clinical trials and pharmaceutical sales. As a member of several nonprofit organizations, she has served on the membership committees. Two of these were Jack and Jill of America, Durham Chapter, and the Triangle Park Chapter of the Links, Inc., in which she was responsible with other members for bringing in and maintaining qualified members through critical needs assessments. She holds a B.A. in Communications and an M.A. in Training and Development from North Carolina Central University. Robin is married to Attorney Brian Crawford and has one 8-year-old daughter, Genesis. She has agreed to serve as Membership Chair, where her past experience will be much appreciated. Shannon Turlington Shannon has always loved libraries, books and writing. As a teenager, she worked with her father, a dealer of rare and used books, and volunteered for her hometown library in Pittsboro, and as an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill, she worked in Wilson Library. After graduating with a B.A. in English and honors in creative writing, Shannon was an editor for an academic publisher and helped found an Internet start-up. She then turned to writing full-time, publishing 18 nonfiction books on subjects as diverse as Internet technologies and voodoo. Most recently, Shannon worked for IntraHealth International, a global health nonprofit in Chapel Hill, where she compiled and edited online documentation for an open source software development project. Sharon currently parents her 6-year-old son, contributes book reviews to Kirkus Indie and occasionally blogs about books and reading at shannonturlington.com. Shannon’s experience will be an asset in her new role as Newsletter Coordinator, and she has also agreed to serve as Secretary.

Robin Crawford

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Friends 2014 Annual Meeting (cont.)

A highlight of the meeting was the recognition of Past President Janet Flowers, with statements by Tommy McNeil and Lori-Anne Shapiro, and the presentation of a Weaver Street Market gift card. Erin Shepherd Hill submitted a list of

accolades, including the following:

“From a high-level perspective, Janet was the catalyst for important internal reorganizing with the Friends from 2010-2013. As the president or

co-chair of the Board during this time, she:

initiated the codification of several policies, practices and committee charges; implemented financial oversight practice of the Friends funds; began regular reviews of the Friends bylaws; presided over paver fundraisers that garnered tens of thousands of dollars for the library; organized the Friends’ Matters newsletter; streamlined book sale logistics; opened the line of communications within the Friends via the OCPL Assistant Director Andrea Tullos with Past President Janet Flowers.

email listserv; planned and organized the annual holiday business meeting and Friends gatherings; served on the budget planning committee; and actively participated in all Friends functions. Janet is an exceedingly collaborative and collegial person, and these traits served the Friends and the library well during her tenure. She worked closely with library administration and staff to great effect.

It was an honor to serve with Janet with the Friends of the Library. Janet, the former head of acquisitions for UNC Libraries, is a champion of libraries and OCPL in particular.”

President McNeil’s “Year in Review” focused on three highlights: (1) an outstanding quarterly

newsletter by outgoing committee members:

Sara Levinson, Chris Holaday and Josh Walker; (2) Marcia Cameron’s launching of the consignment book sale as an additional source of revenue; and (3) the success of the Maya Angelou Celebration, which was coordinated by four Friends groups: Friends of the Orange County Public Library, Friends of the Carrboro Public Library, Friends of Chapel Hill Public Library and Friends of the ArtsCenter of Carrboro.

Library Director Lucinda Munger reviewed the year’s accomplishments and thanked the Friends for their participation and support.

The Strategic Report November Update was the guiding document for her presentation.

Assistant Director Andrea Tullos reported on the three paver fundraisers. The first sale in 2009 raised about $26,000, the second around $12,000, and the last one in 2014, with 57 pavers, around $5800. Additional committee reports were given, all of which can be read in the December 2014 minutes on the FOCPL

webpage:

www.co.orange.nc.us/library/friends.asp

Three new Board Members elected at the meeting were Robin Crawford, Shannon Turlington and Kathy Key. Kathy later declined membership on the Board.

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Around the Library Youth Services – March 2015 The year is off to a great start in youth services at the Orange County Public Library. In January Tiny Tots Storytime had record attendance—77 children and parents—and families have found the new time for Kids Explore a better fit for their busy schedules. In February we added a monthly Homeschool Happening programming and already have had great interest from our homeschooling community.

Between January 10 and March 14 young library visitors enjoyed the folk art exhibit from Mike’s Art Truck. Over 50 people participated in the Pete the Cat scavenger hunt, and on March 8 we raffled off one signed copy of James Dean’s latest Pete the Cat book, Cavecat Pete.

In addition to our weekly storytime and school-age programs, Youth Services hosts special events. On March 7 we hosted Seussical Saturday, where patrons of all ages enjoyed stories, games and other activities.

On March 19 we will hold a Drive-In Movie for preschoolers at 5:30 p.m. And on Saturday, April 25, Gloria Glenn will give a talk on her book Coretta: The Top Turtle in conjunction with the Friends Spring Book Sale. For more library event information, visit www.bit.ly/ocplcal

Mark your calendars now for upcoming summer events!

Our Second Annual Summer Reading Kick-off is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, and Science in the Summer returns, this year with a focus on oceanography.

Science in the Summer will run July 22-July 24 for 6th-8th graders and July 27-July 31 for 2nd-5th graders. Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, this hands-on science education program is free, but registration is limited. Registration began March 16 for 6th-8th graders and March 17 for 2nd-5th graders. For more information or to register, visit moreheadplanetarium.org/sis/home

We welcome Amber Campbell as our new youth services director. Amber transitioned to our department in January from her role as the library’s systems manager and brings more than 10 years of library experience with her to her new position. Please stop by and say hello!

Second Floor Makeover A huge thank you is due to FOCPL for their generous contribution to our recently completed second floor makeover. This makeover included a collection reconfiguration, improved signage and new and improved furniture and shelving to increase browsability and access.

Customers are enjoying a second floor that feels more spacious and is easier to navigate. cont. Page 6

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Orange County Library Book Club By Sara Levinson Our April 14 meeting will be one of our two annual reader’s choice meetings. This is when members share what they have been reading with each other and also where we get the list of books that we will vote on reading in the coming months. So many interesting books are mentioned that several members have found that this meeting helps them to choose some of their personal reading, aside from those books that we have chosen to read as a club.

On May 12th we will be reading Krakatoa: the Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester.

According to Wikipedia, he “examines the legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcanoisland of Krakatoa, which was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. Effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France, and the sound of the island’s destruction — per Winchester’s book — could be heard in Australia and India.” Janet Maslin’s review in the New York Times of 25 April, 2003, called it “a trove of wonderfully arcane information. The author has been able to attach so many tentacles to a single event—the spectacular and catastrophic eruption of the title volcano—that there seems to be nowhere he can’t go.” She adds that “he incorporates research that ranges far and wide, serving up both real and cocktail-party science. And all the while, in scattering these trails of bread crumbs, he keeps track of his story’s central path.” The book was a New York Times bestseller.

June’s selection will be chosen, along with those for the following 5 months, after April’s meeting. The information will be available on the Orange County Library’s webpage.

The Book Club meets at 6:30 on the second Tuesday of each month. The meetings are open to all, and everyone is welcome to join the group at any time.

First Monday Classics Book Club By Samantha Bryant The First Monday Classics book discussion group is celebrating its first anniversary this April. The group is co-hosted by local authors James Maxey and Nathan Kotecki and uses a discussion format to explore classic literature.

The group meets on the first Monday of each month at 6:30 in the library meeting room behind the children’s area in the main library in Hillsborough. Books are generally selected three or four months in advance.

In the first year of meetings, the group has read a range of classic novels including: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells; Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe; Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner; Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes; Dracula by Bram Stoker; Frankenstein by Mary Shelley; Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë; A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

On March 2, 2015, the group discussed Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The next book, to be discussed on April 6, is 1984 by George Orwell.

Discussions are usually begun by Maxey and Kotecki with the sharing of quotes that struck them as they read the books. Each discussion leader comes prepared with a range of discussion starting questions, though they are amenable to following the conversation where it ranges. A small but devoted group attends regularly, and a few others join in when they are especially interested in the book.

James Maxey was recently appointed the Piedmont Laureate and talked about the group in his February 2 blog post. Announcements and updates about the group are available on the Facebook group First Monday Classics.

FRIENDS’ MATTERS

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Request for Volunteers The FOCPL are requesting volunteers to help with the semi-annual book sale, the newsletter and other events. We are also recruiting a Board Member to fill a vacant at-large position. If you are interested, please email focplnc@gmail.com. Around the Library (cont.)

Programs & Events Adults: March is Women’s History Month. Partnering with the Orange County Human Relations Commission, we screened a film based on the true story of the Willmar Eight on March 14 and, on March 23, we will host a Community Read discussion of Barbara Ehrenreich’s Global Woman: Nannies, Maids and Sex Workers. On March 26 we will discuss Jane Austen’s enduring appeal to contemporary readers. Finally, on March 28 we will present a poetry reading in partnership with the North Carolina Poetry Society and the North Carolina Center for the Book featuring Joanna Imogen Davidson, a Gilbert-Chappell Student Poet, and Dr. Lynn Veach Sadler, a Central Region Gilbert- Chappell Distinguished Poet.

In addition to these special programs, the library regularly hosts several community-driven groups that focus on a shared interest. The Evening Book Club meets the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m., Chess Club meets every Thursday at 6:00 p.m., and the A Darn Good Yarn knitting group meets the first Wednesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. New members are always welcome!

Teens: March 9-13 was Teen Tech Week, and the library was ready to celebrate. This year’s theme was “Libraries are for Making…” and each afternoon that week we hosted an activity that combined technology and creating in the Teen Center.

Every month teens can enjoy two new regularly scheduled programs. “MineCraft & YourCraft” is on the second Wednesday of every month from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Minecraft is available on computers and laptops in the Teen Center, and craft materials and instructions are available at the second floor service desk. Partnering with StoriesWork, we host a writing group for ages 10-18 called “Heroes…What’s the Story?” This group meets the last Wednesday of each month and is working toward a public presentation of their work as part of this year’s Summer Reading Program.

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

Friends’ Matters A publication of the Friends of the Orange County Public Library Volume 5, Issue 1, Spring 2016 Shannon Turlington, Editor Janie Trumbull, Copy Editor and Contributor http://www.co.orange.nc.us/library/friends.asp Email: focplnc@gmail.com

Thank you!