Talk It Up!

The challenge this season is to read books about and by African-Americans!

Along the right side of this blog, we have given you much reading material to choose from and know that you will find something that will pique your interest...

... but where's the fun of reading a great book if you can't talk about it?!

join us for Talk It Up, and have your opportunity to talk about the books you're reading. just contact the librarian to add your name to the list of Talkers.

(there are prizes for the brave souls who do share with us!)

Family Storytimes

Bring the whole family as we read and present different characters and events important to African-Americans in the West as well as the rest of the country!

December Family Storytime~ Kwanzaa

learn about the holiday of Kwanzaa with stories and song

January Family Storytime~ Civil Rights
bring the history to life with stories about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement

February Family Storytime~ African-American Women
get to know some of the women who had the pioneering spirit and traveled West

All Family Storytimes are held at 11am and 7pm in the Storytime room with snacks and lead by the Children's Librarian, Sarah Svedin

*for more information about materials for Children , the column on the near right has some other reading suggestions, and the librarian at storytime will also have a bibliography to follow the topic

SPOTLIGHT ON...

We are so excited to have some of the area's most knowledgeable presenters come to the library for the continuing SPOTLIGHT ON series. And this season, we're focusing on the theme of pioneering African-Americans!

December: African-American Trappers and Miners

Presented by the Belmont Gem & Mineral Society... the society has researched the area for early miners and trappers, and have found many of interest--especially Edward Rose who worked in the Jackson, Wyoming area and Jim Beckwourth (pictured right)

January: York, manservant to William Clark

Presented by James Gill of the Historical Society of Belmont County. Gill gives the history of York (the only African-American on the Lewis and Clark Expedition), his time on the trail and life after the trail.

February: African-American Women in the West

Presented by Joyce Howard of the Historical Society of Belmont County. We will talk about a number of women who ventured to the West with their families, their owners and all alone. From Stagecoach Mary Fields to Biddy Mason (pictured), you will be moved by stories of struggle, success and disappointments.

Come for the stories and snacks, each funded by the Historical Society of Belmont County

(note that the talks will be presented at 7pm and 12noon in following weeks)

Want more information about the African-American pioneers from around the Mountain West? Check out the links to the left: Notable Names and Local Links

*Ed Hamilton's statue of York on the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere in Louisville, Kentucky

Mommy & Me Craft Times

calling all crafters!! Although the program is called "mommy and me," we want to encourage all kids to bring their favorite grown-up ladies to come and make fun African crafts with them at the library on the first Friday of every month!

December~ Gullah Sweetgrass Basket Weaving

Dr. Anne Scott from Belmont University’s African Studies Department will come and talk about the Sea Island Gullah people and their traditional sweetgrass baskets. We will make similar baskets with materials found here.

January ~ Shake Your Own Shekere
Jayla McDermott from Belmont University’s Early Childhood Department will help you to shake up your next celebration with a Shekere--the African percussive instrument used globally.

February ~ Adorn Your Adire Cloth
Dr. Annie Scott from Belmont University’s African Studies Department will talk with us about how the cloth is used for both decoration and communication.

there is no cost for these programs thanks to generous funding from the Friends of Belmont Community Library

Reading Goups

We are pleased to be offering two reading groups this winter--and hope that you can make one of the groups as we read and discuss Our Nig: Or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black by Harriet E. Wilson.

from publisher's comments:

First published in 1859, Our Nig is an autobiographical narrative that stands as one of the most important accounts of the life of a black woman in the antebellum North. In the story of Frado, a spirited black girl who is abused and overworked as the indentured servant to a New England family, Harriet E. Wilson tells a heartbreaking story about the resilience of the human spirit. This edition incorporates new research showing that Wilson was not only a pioneering African-American literary figure but also an entrepreneur in the black women as hair care market fifty years before Madame C. J. Walker as hair care empire made her the country as first woman millionaire.

The agenda for the reading groups is as follows:
December:
*get your free copy of the book starting December 1, while supplies last
*join either the Primetime (7pm) or Lunchtime (12pm) group and we'll begin talking about the author, the history of the book and the basic premise of the book. (check the calendars at the bottom of the blog for the exact dates for the groups)
**snacks, drinks and lunches are encouraged!

January:
*groups will discuss the book--going through as many of the discussion questions we can in the hour. please give consideration to the discussion questions
**snacks, drinks and lunches are encouraged!

February:
*groups will finish up the book's discussion questions, and {hopefully} have time for more comments and thoughts about how this book relates and correlates to the men and women who became the African-American pioneers of the West
**snacks, drinks and lunches are encouraged!

please consider joining one of the groups or dropping in when you can!

(thanks to the Friends of BCL for covering the costs of buying the book selection as well as Border's Books for donating many copies)

LIBR220 Final

Just so you know, this is a fictional library with a fictional winter reading program that includes fictional events, speakers and activities. However, the information regarding the topic is not fiction! It is very real and interesting to those of us who live in the mountain west--we hope it will also be of interest to you. Please enjoy learning more about the African-Americans who ventured to the unknown with their pioneering spirit to leave a strong legacy for future generations of African-Americans across the country...

jh