Friends of TCCL Newsletter - Winter 2022

@your library Volume XXX Number Two

DITION E Y A HOLID A NEWSLETTER OF

Winter 2022

Travel With Tulsans returns to Central Library

by Tara Farrar

I

f you're like me, you've enjoyed the last two seasons of watching Travels With Tulsans programs on Zoom and Youtube, but you're itching for "real world" activities just like you're itching to do more traveling again. You're in luck! Travels With Tulsans will return to Central Library beginning Jan. 11.

Whether you're an armchair traveler, or you're looking for inspiration for your next travel experience, the eight Travels With Tulsans programs lined up for 2023 will give a glimpse into a myriad of interesting and awe-inspiring destinations, close to home and farther abroad.

I caught the travel bug when I learned that Japan had finally reopened to US tourists beginning in October, and made plans to visit my sister and her family who've been living there since 2020.

Snow monkeys relax in the onsen (hot spring) at the popular Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park near Nagano, Japan.

(They have great timing.) I navigated the sometimes confusing travel guidelines to enjoy 10 fun-filled days of bullet trains, snow monkeys, shrines galore, and more! I look forward to sharing my trip with you when I present my own Travels program on Feb. 8. 

Travels With Tulsans

FEB. 8 | LAND OF THE RISING SUN: 10 DAYS IN JAPAN

Wednesdays at 12:10 p.m. at Central Library.

Presented by Tara Farrar

JAN. 11 | KEEPIN' IT LOCAL: EXPLORING OKLAHOMA'S NATURAL TREASURES

FEB. 15 | CAMINO DE SANTIAGO PILGRIMAGE IN PICTURES

JAN. 18 | JEWELS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

FEB. 22 | NORTHERN GERMANY: HAMBURG & THE NORTH SEA

Presented by Anitra Lavanhar

Presented by Katlin Seagraves Presented by George Moudry

Presented by Gisele McDaniel

JAN. 25 | TURKISH CULTURE: TURKEY & THE GULEN MOVEMENT

MARCH 1 | OKLAHOMA: THROUGH THE EYES OF VISITORS

Presented by Yusuf Firat

FEB. 1 | DROP DOWN INTO THE SLOT CANYONS OF UTAH

INSIDE:

Presented by Gwen Moudry

President's Podium page 2

Presented by Bob Lieser

In the event of inclement weather, programs will be presented on Zoom. Look for details in your emails from Friends. 

Stephen Graham Jones to receive library award page 3

Adult Creative Writing Contest opens Feb. 1 page 3

Our favorite reads of 2022 page 4

PRESIDENT’S PODIUM Libraries: Welcoming places to learn and connect

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t each Board meeting for the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries, I start with a quote about books, reading, and/or libraries.

The following quote by Neil Gaiman gives

a comprehensive look at what libraries mean to people: “Libraries are about freedom. Freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of communication.

They are about education (which is not a process that finishes the day we leave school or university), about entertainment, about making safe spaces, and about access to information.” As the Friends of the Library endeavor to support TCCL and literacy in Tulsa County, we bear in mind that our mission is meaningful to many.

Not only do the libraries in Tulsa County provide information, books, and movies, but they also provide safe spaces for all ages. Often that means that students stop by the library branch on their way home from school. They may check out a book, or they may simply sit down and work parts of a jigsaw puzzle together.

Older people who live alone come in

to read the newspaper as well as chat with library staff, finding a connection with other people. Parents with young children attend story times and check out books to read to their children, building a life-long love of learning. TCCL branches offer numerous activities for all ages. The Friends of the Library support many of those activities through your memberships and donations. Thank you for your continued support of the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries!

With good wishes for the holidays,

Dorothy Minor President

Share the Love: Gift a membership

L

ibraries open the doors to knowledge and make lifelong learning accessible for people of all ages and backgrounds. 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 allows us to respond to meet needs the library faces. Now more than ever we see the great strides our libraries take to bring people together, engage minds and provide much-needed resources.

Great Decisions Kickoff SUNDAY, JAN. 22

Central Library, 2:30 p.m.

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oin us for the kickoff to the 2023 Great Decisions foreign-policy discussion program. Learn more about the program, get connected with a group and pick up discussion materials.

The keynote address, "Lessons Learned: Supporting Sustainable Energy Security" will be presented by Buford Pollett, J.D., assistant professor of energy law and commerce, The University of Tulsa. 

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@your library | Winter 2022

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 $50 bookstore gift card when you give any amount by Dec. 31!

FRIENDS CAMPAIGN TRACKER 93% $20,152 $21,500 We have reached 93% 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 an additional end-of-year gift.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS Stephen Graham Jones to receive library award

S

by Sherry Leslie

tephen Graham Jones, author of The Only Good Indians and My Heart is a Chainsaw, will receive the Tulsa Library Trust’s “Festival of Words Writers Award” on March 4, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. at a ceremony at Hardesty Library Connor's Cove.

Jones is a member of the Blackfeet Tribe. He has been prolific in writing horror fiction, science fiction, crime fiction and experimental fiction. Before Jones turns 50 this year he'll have had 22 books published, along with other writings. His writings have won numerous awards, including the Bram Stoker Award, the Ray Bradbury Award, the Jesse Jones Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Texas Book Festival’s Texas Writer Award.

(He was born in Midland, Texas.)

Stephen Graham Jones, bestselling author of nearly 30 novels and collections, will be honored with the Festival of Words Writers Award at an awards ceremony on March 4. to save the world by traveling back in time to kill Christopher Columbus and prevent the creation of America.

Jones has also written for Marvel Comics, as well as magazine articles and short stories. He has written two books under the pen name P.T. Jones.

Jones has a PhD from Florida State University, won a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and is currently a professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder.

His latest novel, Men, Women and Chainsaws, was published in 2022. His new comic-book series, Earthdivers, launched in October 2022, is set in an apocalyptic near future where four Indigenous survivors embark on a bloody, one-way mission

This honor bestowed by TCCL’s American Indian Resource Center is given every other year. The honoree receives $10,000.

The award is sponsored by the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Foundation and the Tulsa Library Trust. 

46th Annual Adult Creative Writing Contest opens Feb. 1

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alling all wordsmiths 18 years old or older! It is time to start preparing your entry (or entries) for the 46th Annual Adult Creative Writing Contest. Entries will be accepted February 1 through the March 31 deadline. Writers are invited to submit their original manuscripts in the following categories: Children's Fiction, Informal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, and Young Adult Fiction.

First place winners in each category will receive a cash prize of $150; second place winners will receive $100; honorable mention winners will receive $25. Anyone who lives, works or attends school in Tulsa County may enter. Comprehensive rules and entry forms will be available at all Tulsa City-County libraries and at www.TulsaLibrary.org beginning late January. An awards ceremony to honor the winners will be held in May. 

Published and unpublished writers may participate in our Adult Creative Writing Contest. Encourage budding authors you know to give it a go! There is a sliding fee schedule starting at $10 for one entry. Entry fees cover the prize winnings. You may submit one entry to each of the five categories.

Winter 2022 | @your library

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These are a few of W our favorite things

e asked board members to share some of their favorite reads of 2022. Add these titles that made an impression on them this year to your list and cozy up with a good book! 

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

Editing and Layout: Tara Farrar Contributors: Tara Farrar, Sherry Leslie, Dorothy Minor 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.

Small Things Like These Claire Keegan (Grove Press, 2021) Recommended by Cindy McDonald.

Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt (HarperCollins, 2022) Recommended by Courtney Cooper and Diane Kondos.

2022-23 OFFICERS

The Diamond Eye Kate Quinn (William Morrow, 2022) Recommended by Glad Platner.

Lightning Strike William Kent Krueger (Atria Books, 2021) Recommended by Janet Holland.

Dorothy Minor, President Marty Laughlin, 1st Vice President Cindy McDonald, 2nd Vice President Nancy Carroll, Treasurer Lillie Haddican, Assistant Treasurer Gisele McDaniel, Recording Secretary Glad Platner, Corresponding Secretary

The World Played Chess Robert Dugoni (Lake Union, 2021)

When Women Were Dragons Kelly Barnhill (Doubleday, 2022)

2022-23 BOARD MEMBERS

Recommended by Bob Caruso.

Recommended by Dorothy Minor and Cecilia Whitehurst.

Book Lovers Emily Henry (Berkley, 2022)

Meet Me in Another Life Catriona Silvey (William Morrow, 2021)

Lin Arnett Laura Bottoms Brenda Bradshaw Bob Caruso Chris Cole Courtney Cooper Doris Degner-Foster Laura Duncombe Ros Elder Laura Frossard Karen Gaddis Mindy Galoob Catherine Gatchell Donna Hart Barry Hensley Janet Holland Marty Laughlin Randy Lewin Gabe Lowe Gisele McDaniel Elizabeth Mefford Diane Morrow-Kondos George Moudry Karen Owens Diane Pennington Virginia Richard Diane Schnell April Schweikhard Marian Sexton Karla Tomsen Dale Watts Cecilia Whitehurst

Like us on

Recommended by Laura Duncombe.

FROM OCT. 16 - DEC. 21, WE HAVE RECEIVED GIFTS RECOGNIZING THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS: $100, $50, $50 - In Memory of Sally Frasier $100, $100 - In Honor of Dorothy Minor $100, $25 - In Memory of Bob Prater $100 - In Honor of William & Donna Farrior $50 - In Honor of Leslie Dalton $25 - In Memory of Mary Lou Divelbiss $25 - In Memory of Edith Senske

facebook.com/FOLTulsa

Recommended by April Schweikhard.

To honor or memorialize a loved one with a gift to Friends, simply return the enclosed envelope with your gift of any amount. 

UPCOMING LIBRARY CLOSURES Jan. 1, Jan. 16-17 Feb. 20 Visit www.TulsaLibrary.org for a complete list of library closing dates.