2012 Summer Reading Program......

Wondering what you should do on a picture perfect early summer morning? Heading out to the Lee State Park would be one good way to get your sunshine and fresh air.

That was exactly what Brenda and I and about 60 summer readers did last Friday when we kicked off our 2012 Summer Reading Program at the park. We had SO much fun and, as usual, learned a little more about our natural world with the help of Park Ranger Laura Kirk. Ranger Kirk did a presentation informing the crowd that it is illegal to pick leaves off the trees at the park. (Hmmmmm, didn’t know that!) Then she showed everyone how to make leaf rubbings from the leaves she provided. (Trained professionals can get leaves legally. Who knew?) Everybody made their leaf rubbings and then Ranger Laura laminated the sheets of paper. The readers then cut out the leave shape and voila: a bookmark is made. This was one of the neatest projects we have done in a long time! Everybody had a great time and I think the parents had more fun than the kids.

We all then retired to the shed for lunch. Brenda cooked up some hotdogs and we all had lunch. After lunch was a nature walk and then a marshmallow roast. The marshmallow roast was in jeopardy because all the wood was so wet from the recent rains, but Ranger Laura once again came to the rescue and had a great little fire going in the grill. All in all the day was a wonderful way to start the 2012 Summer Reading program! If you have not been to the Lee State Park recently you should make an attempt to get out there. It is a lovely area right here in our own back yard and available to everyone for free.

SC Book Festival.....

We just received our public relations material from the SC Humanities Council promoting the 16th Annual SC BookFestival. The festival will be held on May 18th – 20th at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center and has grown over the years to be one of the best festivals around. On Friday there are writer’s workshops and an opening gala – all of those require a registration and a fee, but on Saturday and Sunday all the events are free. In the past I have met Dorthea Benton Frank (funny) C. J. Box (bald) Mary Alice Monroe (sweet as sugar) Pat Conroy (funny and round) and a bunch of other great national and local authors. I have volunteered for years at this event and would encourage everyone who is interested to volunteer also. It really is a great time and kind of like a mini vacation. If you need more information please stop by the library. I should have the schedule of events by Tuesday.

Spring is busting out all over.......

Spring has sprung at the library and that means the librarians are cooking up all kind of neat projects. First up is the Annual Easter Egg Hunt. What fun! This year we will be holding it on April 5th at 11:00 AM at the Library Annex on Nettles Street. We are planning a fun experience with lots of prizes and surprises. So mark your calendars and plan to join us on April 5th at 11:00 AM.


The response to our “Sowing the Leeds of Life” basket contest has been great. Brenda and I will be taking the basket on the road this week. We are attempting to raise $200.00 to give to the Relay for Life committee. The basket is available for view at the Library. A chance to win costs $1.00. The drawing will be at “The Taste of Relay” on April 21st. The “Taste of Relay” will be held at the old Bishopville High School gym at 6:30PM and tickets are $5.00. Let’s support this cause and help the committee with its fine work.

More Partnerships.......

Another partnership we are celebrating is teaming up with “Relay for Life.’ Once again, Librarian Brenda has come forward and offered her custom crafted basket we are calling “Sow the Seeds for Life.” The basket is available for viewing at the library until April 21st, when the library will donate the proceeds to the “Relay for Life” committee and they will offer opportunity tickets for the basket at their fundraiser “Taste of Relay” to be held at the old Bishopville High Gym.

The “Taste of Relay” is a new offering to the community from the “Relay For Life” committee and it sounds like a winner. Tickets to attend will be offered to the community at a very reasonable price and if you find a special food offering you like, the recipe will be available to you. This sounds like such a win-win for the community I can’t wait to participate.

Let us not forget to support the South Carolina Quilt Show. Yikes, it’s fifteen years old. Can you believe it? Doris Winstead will be displaying quilts all over downtown Bishopville in the next week or two. The library, as in the past, will be featuring quilting books and history in the library.

Support your community in the effort to improve and enrich all of our lives. Visit the library, visit an older friend, support the efforts of others. We are all in this together!

Strong Partnerships make Strong Communities......

This morning, the staff of the Lee County Library partnered with the Lee County School District and representatives of city and county government to kick off the NEA's "Read Across American" campaign. The school district is sponsoring "Read Around Lee County" as their effort, and the day was proclaimed as such by the County Council, Bishopville City Council and various mayors around the county.

To help celebrate, the library hosted approximately 60 children from the Bishopville Primary School K4 class with a special guest appearance by our own Cat in the Hat, Brenda Brisbon. (We're talking wall-to-wall kids here!) The youngsters were thrilled to see THE CAT and had a great time talking with her and giving her lots of hugs!

Later, The Cat in the Hat with her sidekick to the Waffle House for refreshments before resuming her tour of the courthouse and the nursing homes. Needless to say, a great time was had by all!!

Strong Partnerships make stronger communities.....

You're never too old, too wacky, too wild,
To pick up a book and read with a child.
You're never too busy, too cool, or too hot,
To pick up a book and share what you've got.



Each year the National Education Association sponsors “Read Across America” a national celebration that takes place around March 2nd the birthday of Dr. Seuss. Each year thousands of schools, libraries and community centers participate by bringing together children, young adults and books.

The library is pleased to partner with the Lee County School District to participate in their unique program; “Reading Around Lee County.” The kickoff was this morning at the library where Mayor Alexander Boyd and County Chairman Charles Arthur Beasley signed a proclamation declaring the county’s participation in this national effort.

On Friday March 2nd we will be participating with sending out a special emissary to the various schools to help them celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Help us and the school district make this a successful program by stopping by the library and picking up a reading log and more information. “you’re never too old, too wacky, too wild to pick up a book and read with a child.”

What fun! The “Library Ladies” are teaming up with the Lee County Relay for Life team to help them raise money and awareness of the fight against cancer and cancer research. Crafty librarian Brenda has put together a great basket we are calling “Sow the seeds of Life.” You will have to come into the library to see this masterpiece to really appreciate it. We will be accepting donations and some lucky person may be the recipient of this wonderful basket.

As often mentioned, there are a lot of services offered at the library. Resume and homework help, research and job searches just to name a few. We have really seen an upsurge in job related requests, and to that end I will be attending a WorkSC conference in Columbia to improve my skills and network with employers and other state agencies. Debbie Tindal and I have been holding resume building and job searching classes here for almost three years. Deb and I will be going to this conference together so we can have more resources at our disposal. If you need help please do not hesitate to call the library and ask for me.

God in His infinite wisdom
Did not make me very wise-
So when my actions are stupid
They hardly take God by surprise
“Acceptance” By Langston Hughes

As we celebrate African American Month this February I thought I little verse from Langston Hughes might be appropriate. He was a great poet and had a diverse and meaningful life.
By now you have probably all heard of the book by Kathyrn Stockett “The Help.” It really is a good book – a terrific read. However it is fiction. If you are more interested in American History I would like to recommend “The Warmth of Other Suns.”
This is an epic, beautifully written masterwork. The author Isabel Wilkerson paints the picture of the great migration of African Americans from the South to the North and West. She tells the story of three individuals Ida Mae, a sharecropper’s wife moving from Mississippi to Milwaukee; George Starling, a citrus picker moving from Florida to Harlem and finally Robert Joseph Pershing Foster a talented surgeon moving from Louisiana to California.
Ms. Wilkerson weaves this epic with anecdotes and interesting side stories that keep you engrossed in this tale of the greatest migration in American History. There are times where the book is so compelling that you can’t put it down. There are other times when it is so heartbreaking that you have to put it down.
Don’t get me wrong. This is not a book you pick up Sunday afternoon and finish Sunday evening – it is non-fiction American History at its finest. Ms. Wilkerson’s ability to encapsulate 65 years of history in the stories of three people is just fascinating. Ms. Wilkerson visited Richland County Library and I had the opportunity to meet and speak with her. She herself is fascinating. She’s a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist which explains why this book is fact driven, but it is accessible because of her narrative style. She really tells a huge story within the confines of the voices of three people. If you want a satisfying view of American History in the 20th century, you cannot go wrong reading “The Warmth of Other Suns.”
The “Friends of the Lee County Library” is holding its annual membership drive. If you would like to show your support for your library consider joining. Memberships start for $10.00 and you can name an honoree or memorial if you choose. The Friends are really an asset to the library and our mission.