SCLENDS Upgrade Tonight and Tomorrow

• SCLENDS will be temporarily out of service 4/20/2014 9:00 pm - 4/21/2014 8:00 pm. 

 

 

The library catalog, SCLENDS, is being upgraded.  During this time, library users will not be able to pay fines, place items on hold, renew materials or access the 3M Cloud Library eBook service. After the upgrade, the library catalog will be smartphone and tablet-friendly and include faster, improved searching features including increased font sizes for vision impaired users. Beaufort County Library branches will be open during normal operating hours while the upgrade takes place.

Local Poets Reading at Beaufort Branch Library

Who: Otram Slabess Poetry Group

• Teresa Bruce, Author of The Other Mother
• Steve Johnson
• Jacquelyn Markham
• Quitman Marshall, Winner SC Poetry Book Prize, 2013
• Warren Slesinger, Winner SC Poetry Book Prize, 2012
• Olvia M. Stiffler
• and guest New York poet, James Tolan

What: Reading their Work

When: April 24, 6-8 p.m

Where: Beaufort Branch, Beaufort County Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC 29902

For more information, contact: Stacey Edmonds, Beaufort Branch Reference Librarian, sinman@bcgov.net; (843) 255-6437

Recently Identified Unknown Civil War Soldier To Be Honored

The only Confederate soldier interred in the Beaufort National Cemetery with a tombstone marked as unknown has been identified.  Pvt. Haywood Treadwell of the 61^st NC Volunteers, Co. G whose identity emerges after 150 years, will be recognized along with other Confederate soldiers on May 9^th and 10^th.

The event will include a Friday evening symposium and a Saturday formal memorial ceremony with the unveiling of the new Treadwell gravestone. During the Friday May 9^th symposium, historians will trace the life of Private Treadwell, from his years as a turpentine farmer in Sampson County, NC, to his military service, his wounding and capture during the battle for Battery Wagner in Charleston Harbor, and ultimately to his death in Union Hospital No. 4 in Beaufort and burial on September 12, 1863.

The symposium will be held at the University of South Carolina Beaufort Performing Arts Center at 7:00 P.M. Beginning at 6:00PM, there will be a dry encampment of Confederate re-enactors, an informal talk on Civil War medical practices and a live band performing Civil War era music on the grounds of the Performing Arts Center.  The symposium is free and open to the general public.

Planned for May 10^th is a formal Confederate memorial ceremony at the Beaufort National Cemetery. Beginning at 10:00 AM, it will include an honor guard of Confederate re-enactors, a cannon salute to Pvt. Treadwell and the other Confederate soldiers interred in the Cemetery and the unveiling of Pvt. Treadwell’s new gravestone by Treadwell descendants. Th Confederate memorial ceremony event is free and open to the general public.

Chairing the symposium will be Dr. Lawrence S. Rowland, Professor Emeritus, the University of South Carolina Beaufort. Speakers will include Joel Rose, President of the Sampson County Historical Society; Neil Baxley, author of No Prouder Fate: The Story of the 11th SC Volunteer Infantry; and, Penelope Holme Parker whose research on the William Wigg Barnwell House (Union Hospital #4) in Beaufort, SC for its owners Conway G. and Diane Ivy, led to the discovery of Treadwell’s identity.

Co-sponsoring the event are the Historic Beaufort Foundation, the Richard H. Anderson Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Stephen Elliott Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

For more information on the event contact: Penelope Holme Parker at pwhparker@gmail.com and Jody Henson at jodyhenson@yahoo.com.

PS:  Some of Parker's research was done here in the Beaufort District Collection and our discussion of strategies for solving her research problem led to the discovery of Treadwell's identity.  Having a competent ALA-accredited degreed librarian to talk through her research problem did make a difference in the identification process.  As they say, "A library without a librarian is just a room." 

Celebrate Libraries!

Communities nationwide will celebrate the contributions of libraries and library workers during National Library Week, April 13-19, 2014. This year’s theme is “Lives Change @ your library.”






The Pew Research Center Internet and American Life Project found that 91% of Americans believe that libraries are important to the community; 76% believe that libraries are personally important to them and their families; and perhaps to the surprise of some, that libraries are viewed as leaders in technology. 

• Think a few moments about the public library of your childhood. How has the library changed?

Public libraries are tasked with serving a broad swath of the American public, from birth to the grave, with an ever broadening variety of materials and technologies. Yes, we serve school children but we also have to serve the toddler, the mother, the great-grandfather.  We struggle to adapt to evolving needs and expectations of our community while maintaining older strategies of knowledge dissemination always under financially constricted conditions.

National Library Week is a time to stand up for libraries during a time when libraries continue to face challenges from a combination of recession-driven financial pressures,  government neglect at many levels, and the threat of elimination or de-professionalization of school and public library programs throughout the country. 

•  Do you believe that “libraries help lives change in their communities, campuses and schools?” 
•  Do you know that “librarians work to meet the changing needs of their communities, including providing resources for everyone and bringing services outside of library walls?”
• Do you believe that “libraries and librarians bring together community members to enrich and shape the community and address local issues”? 
•  Do you know that “librarians are trained, tech-savvy professionals, providing technology training and access to downloadable content like e-books”?
•  Do you know that “libraries offer programs to meet community needs, providing residents with resume writing classes, 24/7 homework help and financial planning services to teens applying for student loans to older adults planning their retirement”?
•  Do you believe that “libraries continuously grow and evolve in how they provide for the needs of every member of their communities”? 

Please take an action this week to celebrate and in support of all American libraries. 

Might we suggest at the local level:

1.      Let your County Council representative know that you value the contribution of our organization and its staff every week, day-in and day-out.
2.      Thank your district representative on the Library Board of Trustees for their service. 
3.      Drop by one of our facilities to say “Hello.”
4.      Buy a book or movie or poster from one of our Friends groups. They help us financially to offer programs and provide materials.
5.      Like our Facebook pages.    

Thank you!