Friends of TCCL Newsletter - Winter 2020

@your library Volume XXVIII Number Two

DITION E Y A HOLID A NEWSLETTER OF

Winter 2020

Travel the world...from the comfort of home

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by Tara Farrar

ravel is certainly one thing we haven't done much of this year. If you, like me, are itching to get out and explore, then you'll want to join us for Travels With Tulsans in January and February. Maybe you're planning for the trip you'll take once travel restrictions are lifted and things are feeling safer, or maybe you just want to play armchair traveler. Either way, these six programs will give a glimpse into a myriad of interesting and aweinspiring destinations, close to home and farther abroad.

We're continuing our safety protocols and conducting the programs using the Zoom online meeting platform. By now, you've almost surely participated in something over Zoom, that ubiquitous entity that's become part of our 2020 vocabulary.

We've already held several programs on Zoom in the summer and fall. If you haven't attended one yet, I think you'll find that Zoom is quite easy to use. In fact, we've set up our programs so you don't even need to have a webcam or a microphone on your

Shortly after graduating from Tulane, Rev. Marlin Lavanhar went on a life-changing three-year bicycle trek across the globe. computer to watch and participate. You can also download the phone app and watch from your phone! If you miss a program, they'll be available for viewing on the library's YouTube channel.

For more details on each of the programs and to add them to your calendar, visit "Virtual Events" at www.TulsaLibrary.org. 

Travels With Tulsans

FEB. 10 | A WHIRLWIND TOUR OF NORTHERN EUROPE

Wednesdays at 12:10 p.m. on Zoom.

Presented by Dr. David Ruskoski

JAN. 20 | FOOTPRINTS THROUGH HISTORY: A TEACHER'S TRIP TO NORMANDY

FEB. 17 | TRAVELS THROUGH THE INDOCHINA PENINSULA

Presented by Janet Thomas

Presented by Richard George

JAN. 27 | JAPAN TO JERUSALEM: AROUND THE WORLD BY MOUNTAIN BIKE

FEB. 24 | ON SAFARI Presented by Ed Lindsey

Presented by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar

Email Friends@TulsaLibrary.org for a link to one or all of the presentations. Presented as webinars, you won't need a microphone or a camera to tune in on Zoom. 

FEB. 3 | TULSA AND MOBILE: PAST & PRESENT

INSIDE:

Presented by Phil Armstrong

President's Podium page 2

Author Tommy Orange to receive library award page 3

Adult Creative Writing Contest opens Feb. 1 page 3

Cozy up with a good book page 4

PRESIDENT’S PODIUM Yes, the library is still a place to gather activities in new ways. Remaining resilient, we have adapted book talks for Books Sandwiched In to Zoom webinars. Those webinars allow us to provide quality book talks that can also be recorded and housed on the Library’s YouTube channel for those who missed the talk and those who wish to revisit a talk. We know members look forward to Travels with Tulsans which will be shown via webinar beginning in January 2021; Travels will also be recorded.

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ather. A word we're used to hearing a lot this time of year. We're not gathering in person these days, but Friends and the library are bringing us together for much-needed communal

Our other efforts go on as well. Delivering books to children at Title I schools will resume in January with children receiving nine books of their very own by the time school is out for the summer.

Because of generous members like you who are reading this message, Friends has provided funds for Take Your Child to

the Library Day, supported the purchase of personal protective equipment for library staff, and continued our projects connected to literacy.

Thank you to all of you who joined Friends or renewed your membership this year.

Consider giving a gift membership this December! We are grateful for your continuing support for Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries and look forward to your joining us for a robust and stimulating 2021 as we navigate toward healthier days. Maybe soon we'll gather again the old-fashioned way. 

Dorothy Minor 2020-2021 President, Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries

Share the Love: Gift a membership

Support us with your holiday shopping

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oing more online shopping these days? Do some good while you're at it! It's easy: When you shop Amazon, make sure you're shopping at smile. amazon.com. (Bookmark the site so you don't forget!) Choose Friends of the Tulsa City County Libraries Inc. as your charity of choice. Amazon donates a portion of your purchases to Friends!

Use the Amazon phone app? You can now link the app directly to AmazonSmile! Open the app and find ’Settings’ in the main menu. Tap on ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the instructions to turn on AmazonSmile. 

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@your library | Winter 2020

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ibraries are a safe space in our communities, opening the doors to knowledge and making lifelong learning accessible for people of all ages and backgrounds. Now more than ever we see the great strides they take to bring people together, engage minds and provide needed resources. Share your love for the library by gifting a Friends membership to someone dear to you, and say thanks for all that libraries give to us.

Your gift will allow us to respond in this unprecedented time to meet new needs the library faces, like providing personal protective equipment to staff and supplying materials for branches to create take home activity kits for children and caregivers.

Use the enclosed envelope or pay by credit card at TulsaLibrary.org/Friends.

You’ll receive an “I  My Library” decal with your gift of $25 or more. You’ll also be entered to win a $100 bookstore gift card when you give any amount by Dec. 31!  We're nearly there! We have reached 62% of our fundraising goal. YOUR gift will help us get to 100%! Give the gift of membership to someone who loves the library as much as you do, or consider making an additional end-of-year gift.

$12,315

62%

CAMPAIGN GOAL: $19,750

NOTEWORTHY NEWS Author Tommy Orange to receive library award

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by Sherry Leslie

ommy Orange (Cheyenne/Arapaho) will receive the Tulsa Library Trust’s “Festival of Words Writers Award” March 6, 2021 at 10:30 a.m., during a livestream ceremony on TCCL’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/TulsaLibrary.

During the award presentation, Joy Harjo, (Muscogee Creek), will interview Orange about his life and work. Harjo was the inaugural recipient of the Festival of Words Writers Award in 2001. As an award-winning poet, author and musician, Harjo was appointed the 23rd United States Poet Laureate in 2019, the first Native American to hold the position.

Orange, born and raised in California, is the author of The New York Times bestselling novel There There, a multi-generational, relentlessly paced story about the lives of urban Native Americans. The book was one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year, and won the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and the Pen/Hemingway Award. It was also on the long list for the National Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Orange graduated from the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

“The virtual ceremony will feature our full recognition

Tommy Orange, who made a splash in 2018 with his debut novel, There There, will be honored with the Festival of Words Writers Award at a virtual awards ceremony on March 6. celebrating Tommy Orange. We will have our opening prayer, honor song and welcome introduction,” said Teresa Runnels, American Indian Resource Center Coordinator. “To have Joy Harjo return and visit with Tommy about writing will certainly be worthwhile viewing.”

Throughout March, TCCL’s American Indian Resource Center will present digital programming featuring cultural, educational and informational resources highlighting American Indian culture.

Visit, www.tulsalibrary.org/research/american-indian-resourcecenter, for updates on Festival of Words programming. 

44th Annual Adult Creative Writing Contest opens Feb. 1

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alling all writers! The 44th annual Adult Creative Writing Contest sponsored by Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries kicks off February 1 and ends March 31. Writers of poetry, short stories, essays, and children’s fiction are invited to submit their original manuscripts.

The contest is open to any person 18 and over who resides, works, or attends school in Tulsa County, or has a nonresident Tulsa City-County Library card.

First place winners in each category will receive a cash prize of $125; second place winners will receive a cash prize of $75; honorable mention winners will receive a $10 gift card and certificate. Comprehensive rules and entry forms will be available to pick up at all Tulsa City-County libraries and at www.TulsaLibrary.org beginning late January. 

Published and unpublished writers may participate in our Adult Creative Writing Contest. All entries are judged anonymously.

Encourage budding authors you know to give it a go! There is a sliding fee schedule starting at $10 for one entry. You may submit one entry to each category. Entry fees cover prize winnings.

Winter 2020 | @your library

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400 Civic Center Tulsa, OK 74103 918.549.7419 TulsaLibrary.org/Friends

Editors: Sherry Leslie & Cecilia Whitehurst Contributors: Tara Farrar, Sherry Leslie, Dorothy Minor, Cecilia Whitehurst Layout: Tara Farrar Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries (FOL) is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to aid and promote the activities and goals of the Tulsa City-County Library. @ your library is published for members four times a year.

2020-21 OFFICERS Dorothy Minor, President Peggy Wolfe, 1st Vice President Cecilia Whitehurst, 2nd Vice President Norman Bryant, Treasurer Rachel Organist, Assistant Treasurer Kathleen Kastelic, Recording Secretary Michael Nesser, Corresponding Secretary Sherry Leslie, Past President

2020-21 BOARD MEMBERS Barbara Bannon Laura Bottoms Robyn Bowman Chris Cole Courtney Cooper Doris Degner-Foster Rachel Ann Dennis Eldon Eisenach Mindy Galoob Catherine Gatchell Laurie Green Lillie Haddican Janet Henderson Don Hockenbury Arlene Johnson Rita Kirk Marty Laughlin Lisa Lawrence Carolyn McClure Cindy McDonald Rosemary Moran Diane Morrow-Kondos Elaine Olzawski Mary Olzawski Richard Parker Glad Platner April Schweikhard Marian Sexton Karen Smith Janet Thomas Karla Tomsen Mack Vanderlip

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Cozy up with a good book

The Dutch House Ann Patchett (Harper, 2019) Recommended by Mindy Galoob.

by Cecilia Whitehurst

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hether the pandemic has you in the mood for a little escapism, or you're up for more thought-provoking fare, here are some of our favorite books we've read this year. It's a great time to slow down and get in a few more good reads before the new year. 

All the Devils Are Here Louise Penny (Minotaur, 2020) Recommended by Janet Thomas & Peggy Wolfe.

The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich (Harper, 2020)

Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving Mo Rocca (Simon & Schuster, 2019)

Recommended by Kathleen Kastelic.

Recommended by Norman Bryant.

The River Peter Heller (Vintage, 2020)

Silent Bite David Rosenfelt (Minotaur, 2020)

Recommended by Carolyn McClure.

Recommended by Courtney Cooper.

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett Annie Lyons (William Morrow, 2020) Recommended by Dorothy Minor.

FROM NOV. 1 - DEC. 21, WE HAVE RECEIVED GIFTS RECOGNIZING THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS: $350 - In Memory of Dee McBride $100 - In Memory of Jim Davenport $100 - In Memory of Rosalind Hall $25 - In Memory of Carol Eames $25 - In Honor of Tara Farrar $15 - In Honor of Dorothy Minor To honor or memorialize a loved one with a gift to Friends, simply return the enclosed envelope with your gift of any amount. 

facebook.com/FOLTulsa

The Book of Lost Friends Lisa Wingate (Ballantine, 2020) Recommended by Marian Sexton.

UPCOMING LIBRARY CLOSURES Dec. 24-25 Jan. 1 Jan. 18-19 Feb. 15 No in-person services, including curbside, will be available on these dates. For a complete list of library closures and status on branch openings, visit www.TulsaLibrary.org.

Special thanks to TulsaPeople Magazine for the printing of our winter 2020 issue.