End of June already?

 Snakes Alive! will be here on Wednesday.  Registration is full, but Children's is keeping a list of alternates in case someone cancels.  It should be a day of creepy crawly fun!  I'm sure Janice H. will be SO sorry to have missed it.


The Bill Harley concert went very well!  In case you missed the Bristol Herald Courier article on the Discovery performance, you can read about it here.

Happy Birthday!

Rebecca Dunn  June 29

Events, birthdays & Chrissie's book!

The Discover Series Business Forum was a resounding success!  There was a very good article in Wednesday's Bristol Herald about it.  Here's the link from their website: http://www2.tricities.com/news/2012/jun/05/4/business-experts-discuss-economy-bristol-library-f-ar-1967346/ Sarah has posted photos about the event at the library's Facebook page.

As we can all tell, Summer Reading Program is gearing up!  Most activities will start the week of June 12.  It should be a fantastic program this year! There was an article in the paper earlier in the week, which will probably spur more interest. 

Grammy winning singer and storyteller Bill Harley will be appearing at the library on June 19 at 7 pm.  Tickets are $20 for reserved seating; free general admission if space is available. He will also be performing for the Summer Reading Club children the next day. Refer folk to the Children's Department for further details on that performance.

The Scholastic Book Sale which was scheduled to run through Friday but had to be closed early.  This was a problem on Scholastic's end, not ours.  Darn!  I was going to do a little shopping after payday.  Christmas will be here before we know it.

FYI:  Author Lisa Alther has a new book entitled Blood Feud, about the Hatfields and McCoys.  She'll be speaking this Sunday at the Washington County Public Library  in Abingdon.  Since the popularity of the History Channel's series has spurred interest in the feud, we may get some inquiries from folk who think she'll be at BPL.

Happy Birthday!

 Michelle   June 4 

(Let's all pretend I posted this BEFORE the date, shall we?  

Sorry, Michelle!! Hope it was happy!)

Susie F.  June 7

Staff News

Nancy W. has left a thank you note on the staff bulletin board.

Former staff member Chrissie Peters Anderson is publishing a book of her stories, poems and essays! The title is Dog Days and Dragonflies.  It's not yet available but will be soon. I've read a couple of the stories and they are delightful.  Really brought back some memories of my own grandparents. Chrissie has gotten some wonderful comments from other authors, two of which I'll share with you:

“If you’re looking for brave vision in a new voice, Dog Days and Dragonflies is the book for you. Chrissie Anderson Peters’ stories of friendship, hardship, family love and betrayal will stay with you long past the last page.” ~George Ella Lyon, author of She Let Herself Go

~ ~ ~

“Imagine learning to drive an old pickup in a hayfield, your grandpa teaching you. But instead of riding beside you, Grandpa walks in front of you. Which of those three pedals do you press to stop? That tension and humor will pull you along through Chrissie Anderson Peters’ Dog Days and Dragonflies.”  ~ Jim Minick, author of The Blueberry Years

“Chrissie Anderson Peters takes us into the complicated, dark, and beautiful heart of contemporary Appalachia with these intriguing stories, essays, and poems.”  Silas House (no introduction should be needed if you read Appalachian literature!)

(George Ella Lyon is the author of several children's books as well as as adult books.  She's also a poet.  My two favorites of hers are A Regular Rolling Noah and Mama Was a Miner.  We have many of her books, including her  Don't You Remember?  A Memoir which is fascinating.  Jim Minick's The Blueberry Years is details a year in the life of a family raising organic blueberries, and yes, we have a copy.)

Here's a sneak peek at the cover:

  Chrissie also said to say hey to everyone, so consider it said!

 

June so soon??

 June is upon us, bringing many events!  On Tuesday, June 5th, at 8 am, there will be a panel discussion featuring Wells Fargo Chief Economist John Silvia.  It will be in the J. Henry Kegley Meeting Room.  Tickets are $25, which includes breakfast.  Please direct inquiries to Sarah at 276-821-6148.

Michelle & Pam have activities galore planned for the summer!  First up is the Scholastic Book Sale in the Children's Department.  It starts June 1 and will run one week.  They have some great books and gift ideas for the young and young at heart, so check out the sale!  The Summer Reading Program will start June 11th; promotional materials may be picked up in Children's or in the YA section. The Teens will have an Open House Party on June 3 to register. Some favorite events will return, including (sorry, Janice!) Snakes Alive on June 27th.

Avoca's SRP will also be divided up into three age groups to meet on different days.  Details will be available at the Avoca Branch Library. The theme is "Dream Big:  Read!"

The Discovery Series is sponsoring Storyteller & Grammy Award-winning artist Bill Harley on Tuesday, June 19th, at 7 pm.  Reserved seating is $20; otherwise, it's first come, first serve.  This will be in the J.Henry Kegley Meeting Room.   Mr. Harley will be doing a presentation for the Children's SRP the following day, at 10:30 am. Again, please direct inquiries to Sarah at 276-821-6148 or to the Children's Department for questions about the SRP presentation.

Our crafty Joyce has been hard at work the past few months on a very special project:  turning shirts into quilts!  She has made three quilts for Pam and her children using flannel shirts.  She also made flannel earrings for Pam. 

 

The Artist as One with Her Work

Speaking of art, the new exhibit in the Virgie R. Fleenor Gallery will feature the art of Barbara Carter  The display will be up June 1st-30th.

A comic of note

 Non Sequitur is one of my favorite comics.

Staff Notes

Be sure to check out the staff bulletin board next to the staff entrance for updates about insurance, city notices, etc.  Also, Susie has posted a thank you note. 

It's been like old home week with Nancy P. and Joan putting in some hours lately.  It's great to have you both here!

We have two new volunteers, Penny M. who is calling reserves and Christy H. who is with Reference to see if she wants to become a librarian.  Welcome, ladies!

 Thanks, James!

Circulation staffer James Estep put in a lot of  hard work to bring Confederate re-enactor and historian  Dave Goetz to the library.  Mr. Goetz did a wonderful presentation on John Singleton Mosby, the "Gray Ghost of the Confederacy."   All the attendees seemed to enjoy the program and we hope to have Mr. Goetz back when his book about Mosby is published later this year. Thanks also  to volunteers Kris Parker and Nancy P. who acted as hostesses for the program and who made us look really good!

Happy Birthday!

Debbie (belated!)           May 19 

Nancy W.                     May 25 

As usual, Debbie brought us a cake on HER birthday!  Thank you, Debbie, it was delicious!  It always reminds me of George, too.  

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy (and Safe!) Memorial Day, everyone!  

Condolences to Susie and Nancy W.

Susie's father passed away on Saturday.  You can read the obituary and post condolences here.

 Nancy W. lost her mother as well.  Here is the link to that obituary: Elisabeth Bo Windrow Pope

READS, Events, & Staff News!

 Reads

The READS program is proving popular!  In less than a year, from July 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012 there were over 8000 checkouts from Bristol and over 400 from Avoca. Remember, when a patron gets a card it will be 24-72 hours before the card will be active in READS.  If the card is an older one and the number still doesn't work, please let Christian know.

  Movie Weekend

The BPL Movie & Discussion series will continue on Saturday, May 12 at 2:00 pm in the J. Henry Kegley Meeting Room.  This month's feature is "Throne of Blood," the Akira Kurosawa adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth.  Spread the word!

Bristol Makes Column

Our recent guest, Sharon Randall, has mentioned Bristol twice in recent columns! You can read them online at Sharon Randall.  Click on the headings for the April 24 and May 1.

Caterpillar Crawl

Saturday, May 12 is also the Caterpillar Crawl Carnival sponsored by the Junior League!  It will run from 10:00 am until noon, and will be held in the library's Piedmont parking lot.  They will be using some of our tables which will be waiting for the Junior League members in the hall outside the large meeting room.  They will return the tables to the same spot.  If you have further questions, please see Michelle.  It should be a fun event! 

  
Bristol Historical Society Meeting

FYI: Joe Tennis will be the featured speaker at the next meeting of the Bristol Historical Society.  This will be on Monday, May 14, in the J.Henry Kegley Meeting Room at 6:30 pm. He'll be speaking about George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

Staff News

Last Saturday, the local Civitan Clubs organized folks to gather on State Street to try to set a world record for the most people in two states and two cities at the same time.  They had everyone line up down the center line.  There was at least one familiar face in the crowd:

Moira McKenzie

It will be about two months before the Guinness World Record folk will respond, so we don't know yet if the attempt will be an official record or not.

Please keep Susie and her family in your thoughts and prayers as they continue to go through a very difficult time.

Be sure and turn in all sick leave and annual leave slips to Brenda!

Go Ahead, Make My Day!

There's a card of appreciation from Barbara Neimczak on the staff bulletin board. She's writing on behalf of Art in Public Places to thank Doris and the staff of the library for helping to make the Artistic Excellence exhibit such a success.

Doris made someone's day this past week:  a patron stopped at the Reference Desk to say how much she and her son appreciated all the help Doris had given her and her son with his project, including scanning photos and emailing them.  The patron indicated that another library had not been so accommodating.  Kudos to Doris for making us look good!

Janice H. had a message on her answering machine from another patron who wanted to praise the good folks at the Literacy Academy for helping him to find a job.  He said he just wanted someone else to know what a fine job they were doing and how much he appreciated it.  A round of applause, please, for Karen, Linda, & Randall!

Joyce got a thumbs up for her hard work in getting the Frances Kegley Conference Room ready after after a group had left a difficult clean-up job.  As the patron said, "Joyce, you rock!" 

Do you know of a staff member who has made someone's day?  Let Jeanne know!  

May News & Events!

The library has purchased a new program to help people create a resume quickly.  It's Cypress Resume and it will help tailor a resume to fit the job industry desired.  To access it, people will go to our website and click on "Resources."  From the list on the left, they click on "Careers and Jobs."  Cypress Resume is the first entry. The same program will also create a cover letter and list of references. Patrons can access it from home as well as from the public computers.  They sign on by using their library card. Promotional materials will be available soon, including details of how to access the program.  Try it out by clicking here.

May Upcoming Programs

Next week is Children's Book Week and Michelle will be having special program every afternoon from 4:00-4:30 pm. On Saturday, May 12, the Caterpillar Crawl will start at 10:00 am in the Piedmont parking lot beside the library.  Be sure and stop by the Children's Department and take a look at the autographed poster and picture of Eric Carle!  He's the award-winning author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  

The BPL Movie Series will feather "Throne of Blood" on Saturday, May 12 at 2:00 pm.

Saturday, May 19,  is the Civil War presentation by Dave Goetz.  This should be a neat program! There will be some folks coming in period costume.  The program will start at 1:00 pm. 

Staff News

As many have heard, Susie's father is in the hospital.  He has a few more treatments to undergo.  Prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated.

Welcome back, Becky!  We have missed you. We all hope your hand continues to heal well.  Becky's husband Ronnie also had to have surgery recently.  As Becky said, 'It's been the wounded tending the wounded."  Continued prayers and good wishes are appreciated.