Best of Friends - Summer 2009

Best of Friends Friends of the Durham Library Newsletter

Summer 2009

Friends Set Up Shop at ATC

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Left to right: book sale co-chair, Jane Goodridge; American Tobacco Campus Management, Heather Gray; book sale volunteer sorter, Melissa Young

Library Awarded $100,000 Grant for Invest Your Best: College and Beyond Durham County Library and the Durham Library Foundation have been awarded a $100,000 grant by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation and the American Library Association (ALA) as a part of their Smart investing@your library® initiative. Durham County Library is one of 12 recipients of this year’s grants, which totaled nearly $882,000.

With the funds, the library will create a new, two-year long investor education program, Invest Your Best: College and Beyond, which will help young families prepare for college expenses. The program has five components: Staff training, an enhanced core collection, a dedicated web page,

n July 6, the Friends of the Library opened its fifth satellite sales unit – the first off library grounds. Please come to the American Tobacco Campus (use the Strickland Street entrance, near the new restaurant Cuban Revolution) and check it out. American Tobacco Campus management created a wonderful space for the mini-booksale, with built-in shelves and a reading nook. Al Frega, a Durham metal artist, created a whimsical donation box – for money and for books.

Books will be sold on the honor system and priced between $1 and $5, as at other satellite book sales. As with all Friends book sales, proceeds are returned to the Durham County Library in the form of programs, equipment and new books.

workshops and children’s activities. Invest Your Best: College and Beyond will launch in September 2009.

“We’re so excited to receive this grant,” said Skip Auld, library director. “An investment program at the library makes great sense for two reasons: First, the library is a safe place for people to get the kind of unbiased information that leads to good decision making. Second, the parents of the nearly 37,000 pre-school and elementary school-age children in Durham County are the primary target for this program.

Parents of young children are the library’s largest group of customers. They already use the library regularly for our story times and children’s programming. This grant will help us present information that can educate parents about investing and motivate them to save for their children’s futures.”

Friends of the Durham Library Newsletter

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Friends Summer Book Sale Another Success

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espite the heat and the humidity, the Friends of the Library staged another successful book sale the last week of June. Lots of water and extra fans were needed to cool off both shoppers and volunteers, but bags of books flew out of the garage and auditorium during the three-day sale, satisfying all. The “Intrepid Ice Cream Truck” was an added attraction – the driver saw the long line on Friday afternoon, swung into the parking lot to make some sales and then returned on Saturday. Many thanks to all the volunteers and supporters of the sale, including Harris Teeter and Whole Foods, who are always generous with their brown bags.

Top: Searching for nonfiction bargains in the garage. Above: Volunteers Ann McNally, Carol Feldman and Linda Davis take a well-deserved ice-cream break on Saturday. Down: Customers line up in the auditorium for fiction.

Join these folks at the next book sale! Volunteer to help.

A big thank you to the 60 volunteers who helped make the Friends of the Durham Library Summer Book Sale a success! This fundraising tradition of the Friends generates thousands of dollars each year to support library programs and services for the Durham community. Mark your calendar for the Fall Book Sale on October 16-18.

Volunteering a 2-hour shift as a book sale cashier is a terrific way to get involved with the Friends and the community. If you would like to be added to our list of volunteer cashiers for the next book sale, send an email to Gerry Larson (Geraldine.Larson@dpsnc.net) or Martha Scotford (scotford@ncsu.edu).

Friends of the Durham Library Call for Nominations The Friends of the Durham Library (FODL) supports our library in many ways, including: l Summer Reading Club l Wii Gaming for Teens l Discovery Mobile l Scholarships for Library Staff l LCD Projectors in Library Meeting Rooms l Book Club Kits The FODL gives over $75,000 each year to enhance the library’s programs.

FODL raises these funds through memberships, annual book sales and satellite mini-booksales.

Want to be a part of these exciting activities?

The Friends of the Durham Library has several Board openings.

Board Members attend monthly meetings, volunteer at book sales, serve on various board committees and assist with other tasks to help the library and the Friends.

For more information and an application for the FODL Board, visit http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org/friends_ board.php, or email Bobbie Walters-Brown, Nominating Chair, at bbrown@nccu.edu.

Best of Friends Summer 2009

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Foundation Photo Update $15,000 Grant from Durham Coca Cola Bottling Company sends kids to see The Color Purple at DPAC.

Willis Whichard’s service honored with new Opportunity Fund.

Incoming DLF President, Ann Craver and DLF Secretary, Placide Barada, greet students at the Durham Performing Arts Center.

A generous gift from the Durham Coca Cola Bottling Co. made it possible for the Foundation to host hundreds of students who wrote essays and submitted art work based on the book or movie, The Color Purple.

At a reception in his honor, friends of DLF Founding President, Willis Whichard, surprised him with a $5,000 donation to the Foundation to start the Willis P. Whichard Opportunity Fund, presented by Ann Craver.

A Passing of the Torch and New Faces on the Foundation Board

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fter nine years of presiding over the Durham Library Foundation, during which he provided stellar leadership, Judge Willis P. Whichard passed the gavel to incoming DLF president, Ann Craver who has served as Vice President of the Board for several years. The Foundation Board will also welcome five new members: Frances Dyer, Phil Hutchings, Lois Oliver, Elizabeth Townsend and Friends’ liaison, Angela Zoltners.

Frances Dyer A graduate of North Carolina Central University, Frances is an attorney who is heavily involved in making Durham a better community. Currently, she is the faith-based coordinator for Durham’s Partnership for Children. She also serves on the Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation Board.

Phil Hutchings Phil received his B.S. in Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1973. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. Phil serves on the Board of Directors for First Citizens Bank of Durham.

Lois Pounds Oliver Lois grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and earned three degrees at the University of Pittsburgh: B.S. in Nursing, M. Litt in Nursing Education, and M.D. She is Associate Professor of Pediatrics Emerita at Duke. Lois serves on the Board of Advisors at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens and leads a docent program at Duke University Chapel.

Elizabeth Townsend Elizabeth is a UNC graduate with a BA in Political Science.

She is a managing partner of Brightleaf Books in Brightleaf Square. As Assistant V.P. of Community Affairs and Chair of Public Affairs she helped develop the Middle School After School Program implemented in the Durham Public Schools and later adopted by Gov. Hunt as a model for the state.

Angela Zoltners Angela is on the Friends of the Durham Library Board, responsible for the satellite sale at the Parkwood Branch and a weekly sorter of the book donations. In her professional life, she is a freelance editor and also does educational consultancy work.

Friends of the Durham Library Newsletter

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First Friends Scholarship Recipients Announced

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ast year, the Friends voted to grant scholarships of up to $2,500 per year to as many as four library staff members in order to help them pursue a course of study in library science or a related curriculum.

At the spring Staff Development Day in May 2009, Roz Grace, Friends scholarship committee chair, awarded the first scholarships to two very happy and grateful recipients, Ruth Finch and Tonja Wall.

Said Tonja, “I would just like to thank the Friends for establishing the Friends of the Durham Library Scholarship Program and awarding my colleague and me the first scholarships. It’s wonderful to know that the Friends have a vested interest in staff education.”

Ruth, who works in Youth Services, has been with the library for two years. She is working on her MLS at UNC-Chapel Hill.

“I feel quite honored to be one of the inaugural recipients of this scholarship,” Ruth said. “I think continuing it from year to year is a wonderful way to bring added professionalism and new skills and ideas to the Durham County Library and to assure the staff that professional growth of all staff is a priority of the library.”

Tonja has been with the library for 21 years. She currently works in Resources and Technical Services and is pursuing her MLS at NCCU.

Tonja Wall and Ruth Finch accept the first Friends scholarships awarded to library staff.

North Carolina Collection Receives Grant to Preserve Urban Renewal Audiotapes

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he North Carolina Preservation Consortium has awarded Durham County Library’s North Carolina Collection a grant of $840. The funds will be used to preserve reelto-reel audiotape recordings of nine meetings of Durham’s Urban Renewal Commission, held in 1968 and 1969. The Urban Renewal Commission was created in 1958 to oversee Durham’s redevelopment projects.

Contents of the recordings include: • The Commission’s public meetings in the Hayti neighborhood, in which the listener hears prominent community members asking pertinent questions about plans for redevelopment and for the freeway, which was approved in the same bond issue that voted “yes” for urban renewal.

• Meetings with the mayor and city council in which the commission presents the redevelopment plan for the council to approve, reject or amend. The group discusses issues related to the feasibility of rehabbing certain buildings, and extensive information and statistics are presented.

• A city-wide public meeting required by city council and a non-public commission meeting.

Steve Weiss, sound and image librarian and head of UNCCH’s Southern Folklife Collection at Wilson Library, and

his staff assessed the tapes in December 2008 and found them to be in very good condition considering their age.

Jeff Carroll of Bluefield Mastering in Raleigh is transferring the recordings from reel-to-reel tape to CD. Copies of the CD will be made available for check out from the library.

Arrangements are being made to transcribe the tapes and post the transcriptions on the library’s North Carolina Collection web site.

Other urban renewal-related materials, including property appraisals for Durham’s urban renewal districts and an extensive collection of clippings from local papers, are available in the North Carolina Collection. The long-term goal is to have all of these materials digitized and on the web site.

This grant will benefit the community by making available tapes of meetings from one of the most historically significant eras in Durham history – the time when the urban renewal plan was taking shape. From both a personal and research standpoint, these tapes are important to many people from Durham and beyond. Scholars of history, civil rights, urban planning and other subjects; people who lived in Hayti at the time of urban renewal; architecture enthusiasts – people from many fields and walks of life come to the Durham County Library’s North Carolina Collection to use these materials. They comprise one of the most important collections the library owns.

Best of Friends Summer 2009

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Durham Reads Together Coming This Fall

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n October, the library will be launching its third one-community, one-book program called Durham Reads Together.

The idea is that everyone in the Durham community comes together to read the same book, attend programs and discussions that feature the book’s themes, and meet the author.

Thanks to a committee of library staff, we have selected this year’s book, which was written by a local author.

Something for the Pain: One Doctor’s Account of Life and Death in the ER is a nonfiction work

by Dr. Paul Austin, an emergency room doctor at Durham Regional Hospital. The book explores the everyday life of an ER doctor, the impact his job has on his family, his faith and his personal relationships, and the lessons he learns along the way. The DRT committee thought that not only is the book penned by a local author, it features lots of “local flavor” and it also has themes and issues that a wide variety of people can relate to and talk about.

Durham Reads Together will officially kick off on October 3rd when multiple copies of the book will be available for check out at every library location.

Throughout the month of October, we will offer a variety of programs that highlight the book’s themes. Durham Reads Together will culminate with an author reading on November 1st at Sarah P. Duke Gardens.

A generous grant from the Friends will make it possible to buy copies of the book, offer an author honorarium and underwrite some of the publicity for Durham Reads Together. The Foundation’s support of the Humanities Coordinator position gives this important program the dedicated staff necessary for success. This program is one of the extras that make the library so special and vital to the community.

Thanks, Friends and Foundation!

The Library Family Board of Trustees Al Roberts, Chair Elsa Woods, Vice-Chair Tatia Ash Joe Hewitt Allan Lang Dorothy Reid Michael Schoenfeld Joyce Sykes

Friends of the Durham Library Aviva Shira Starr, President Ann Wilder, Vice President Victoria Hertz, Secretary Mary Auen, Treasurer Bobbie Walters-Brown, Past President Roslyn (Roz) Grace Jeff Laufenberg Gerry Larson A. Wendell Musser, M.D. Martha Scotford Andre Vann Angela Zoltners

Durham Library Foundation Ann W. Craver, President Bessie Carrington, Treasurer Placide Barada, Secretary Willis P. Whichard, Founding President Bonnie Cox Frances Dyer Phil Hutchings W.K. Joklik

New Library Cards to Debut Soon

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ntroducing the new Durham County Library card design! The redesigned cards come with a key tag and should be available by August 2009. Current library customers can switch to the new card at no charge. The beautiful image on the card is a professional photo of our North Regional Library, taken by James West.

Lois Oliver Steve Pike Al Roberts William Self Robert S. Timmins Elizabeth Townsend Angela Zoltners Skip Auld, Library Director

Best of Friends is published in support of Durham County Library, with primary expenses for printing and distribution paid by the Friends of the Durham Library.

The newsletter is produced by the library’s Marketing & Development Division.

Manager ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Gina Rozier Graphic Designer . .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Hitoko Burke Grant Writer and Friends Liaison...........................................................................................................................................................................................Anastasia Bush Webmaster....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Jill Wagy Adult Programing and Humanities Coordinator.................................................................................................................................................................................................. Marian Fragola Development Officer........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Alice Sharpe

Friends of the Durham Library Newsletter

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This fall, Durham County Library will host two special exhibitions, both free and open to the public. Please mark your calendars and visit the library to get a first-hand look!

To enrich your experience of Harry Potter’s World, please join us for a fascinating talk by Dr. Thomas Robisheaux.

“Things Most Strange and Wondrous”: Medicine in the Renaissance Sunday, September 6 at 3:00 pm Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.

Harry Potter’s World:

Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine

Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St. (Third floor) September 2 – October 2 Durham County Library is one of twelve libraries nationwide to receive this traveling, six-banner exhibition created to explore the link between Harry Potter and the history of science. Using materials from the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine collections, the exhibition explores Harry Potter’s world, its roots in Renaissance science and the ethical questions that affected not only the wizards in J.K. Rowling’s books, but also the historical thinkers featured in the series. Featuring fifteenthand sixteenth-century views of the world and its creatures taken from the works of the period’s leading thinkers, alchemists, naturalists and occultists, the exhibition panels explore the intersection between the Harry Potter novels and Renaissance thinkers, lore, and practices.

Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine, a traveling exhibition for libraries, was organized by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. The exhibition tour is coordinated by the American Library Association Public Programs Office, Chicago.

The Renaissance was a time of great change in the study of medicine. Many physicians and scholars began to scientifically research human anatomy, improve and develop medicines and modernize surgical procedures. Magic still informed medical theories and practices, however, and wonder and awe about marvelous creatures and plants guided many as they made new discoveries about nature. In conjunction with the special exhibition, Harry Potter’s World, Dr. Thomas Robisheaux, professor of History at Duke University, will discuss how Renaissance thinkers helped transform medieval medical beliefs and create the foundations of modern medical practice.

Telling Our Stories Photography Exhibit December 10 – December 31 Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St. This exciting exhibit, presented by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and the State Library of North Carolina, will conclude its multicounty tour here in Durham. The exhibit includes Our State magazine’s 2008 Reader’s Choice photography contest winners, works by 21 of North Carolina’s gifted professional photographers and photographs from the North Carolina State Archives, on tour for the first time ever.

For more information, call 560-0268 or visit www.durhamcountylibrary.org Best of Friends Summer 2009

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Fall Book Sale — Friends of the Durham Library Find great bargains at the Friends Fall Book Sale October 16-18.

Thousands of books are categorized for easy shopping: fiction, nonfiction books, audiobooks, CDs and DVDs. Prices start at 50 cents for paperbacks and $1 for hardbacks.

Shop early for the best selection of specially priced books in gift-giving condition and support Durham County Library with your purchases.

Schedule: Friday, Oct. 16, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. Friends members only—join at the door!

Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Everyone welcome.

Sunday, Oct. 18, 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. Bag Sale $7/bag in auditorium and garage.

Location: Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St., Durham, NC 27701. For info call 560-0100.

Can’t make it to the Fall Book Sale?

Check out year-round mini-booksales at tion!

East Regional Library, 211 Lick Creek Ln., Durham ksale loca o o b iin New m mpus, Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St., Durham obacco Ca T n a c ri e Am Building Strickland Revolution North Regional Library, 221 Milton Rd., Durham n ba next to Cu Parkwood Branch, 5122 Revere Rd., Durham Stanford L. Warren Branch, 1201 Fayetteville St., Durham Your donations of books, CDs and DVDs are welcome at any library branch.

How to donate books: The Friends of the Durham Library welcomes donations of books, audiobooks, CDs and DVDs, except for: encyclopedias, magazines, cassettes and condensed books. You may take your donation to any Durham County Library location during regular hours. Please bring large donations (more than one box) to the Main Library garage on Tuesday morning between 9 and noon, when the Friends of the Durham Library are present and can help unload. For more info, visit: http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org/friends.php.

For more info call 560-0190 or visit www.durhamcountylibrary.org/friends.php

Friends of the Durham Library Newsletter

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Friends of the Durham Library Membership:

Become a member of the Friends of the Durham Library or renew your membership:

Name Phone Address City

E-Mail Zip

Type of Membership: Memberships expire in one year (except Life memberships) q Family $25 q Adult $15

Please make your check payable and mail to Friends of the Durham Library, PO Box 3809, Durham, NC 27702.

Questions: Anastasia Bush (919-560-0190 or abush@durhamcountync.gov).

q Senior (over 65) $10 q Sustaining $50 q Youth (18 and younger) $5 q Life $300

q Patron $100 q Additional gift of

To Make a Donation to the Durham Library Foundation:

Donations of $25 or more to the Foundation include membership in the Friends of the Durham Library.

Yes, a stonger library makes a stonger Durham. Here’s my contribution! q $30 q $50 q $75 q $150 q $250 q Other

Name

Phone Address City

Please make your check payable and mail to Durham Library Foundation, PO Box 3809, Durham, NC 27702.

Questions, bequests & other planned giving needs: Alice Sharpe (919-560-0193 or asharpe@durhamcountync.gov).

Donate online any time at www.durhamlibraryfoundation.org

(as you would like to see your name listed in our Annual Report) E-Mail Zip

Nonprofit org.

U.S. Postage PAID Durham, NC Permit No. 312

P.O. Box 3809 Durham, NC 27702

www.durhamcountylibrary.org

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