28 September 2013

Bye-Bye "Civil War 150" ... but

What a fabulous and hectic time we've had bringing Civil War150 to the community. We thank the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, The Library of America, and the National Endowment for the Humanities for awarding us the opportunity to share this national traveling exhibit with you during the Sesquicentennial period. We are extremely grateful for the incredible cooperation we got from The Humanities Council of South Carolina, Beaufort County Historical Society, Arts Council of Beaufort County, Beaufort History Museum, Bluffton Historical Preservation Society, Coastal Discovery Museum, Friends of the Beaufort Library, Heritage Library Foundation, Historic Beaufort Foundation, and the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce for our part of the project. 


We know that opinions about Civil War 150  have been quite varied - as widely as the demographics of the people in our library service area should indicate.  Our goal was to support informed civic discourse and to provide an insightful barely-beyond-the-cradle-to-almost-in-the-grave enlightening experience for our diverse community. We wanted to encourage thoughtful consideration to the complex issues of the war by exposing our community to a variety of viewpoints about the Civil War (AKA War of the Rebellion, War Between the States, War of Northern Aggression, Second American Revolution) and I feel that the series thus far has certainly pushed us all in that direction.   If you participated in any of our offerings thus far and think otherwise, please speak now by commenting to this blog entry.  

The last chance to view the Civil War150 exhibit in Beaufort County is this Mon., Sept. 30, 10 am – 5 pm.  Charmaine and I pack up the exhibit and ship it out first thing on Tuesday morning.  This will also be the last chance you will have to pick up a discount voucher for select tours and exhibits from our partners.  (Remember: the vouchers expire on Halloween)We would love for you to come visit the exhibit on Monday and share any final comments or observations about this phase of the "One County Reads the Civil War" project in our guest register.  

Don't forget to view items from Dr. Robert Lisle's personal collection relating to Civil War era photography in the BDC Research Room.  

Even so, please, do not think that we are completely done with the Civil War yet!  Even the BDC has one final Civil War related event coming up in October.  

Saturday, October 12, 2013 - 2:00pm3:30pm
October is South Carolina Archives Month. To celebrate, the Beaufort District Collection staff will show participants what goes on behind the locked door – and how we work every day to safeguard, preserve, and share our community’s history and culture. This year the tour will feature significant Civil War related materials in our holdings. Free for anyone over age 12 with an interest in documents of local history and what we do here.  Limit of 30 participants. Sign up with: cseabrook@bcgov.net; 255-6468
The Library system and our partners continue providing even more programs during October.

  
  • For information about the other displays about Civil War history continuing through October (or later), click here.
  • For other lectures and presentations, many sponsored by our sister cultural heritage agencies in the Beaufort County Historical Resources Consortium, click here.  
  • For participating tours, click here.   (Discount vouchers on admission expire Oct. 31st so make your plans to use them before they run out).
  • The major Library system initiative for October is the "Let's Talk about It": Making Sense of the American Civil War" series being held Oct. 3 - 24 at the Beaufort Branch Library.  For details about this series and book and author discussions, click here.  
  • The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns series continues at Bluffton Branch Library.  St. Helena Branch Library shows Death and the Civil War, Birth of a Nation, and Midnight Ramble in their own Civil War related film series.  For the film series and discussion sessions, click here.
  • There are still Youth and Children events, too.  For details, click here.
The BDC shifts gears for October to highlight archaeology month related programs with the Beaufort County Planning Department and the Hilton Head Chapter of the Archaeological Society of South Carolina.

6:00 PM7:00 PM
Beaufort District Collection
South Carolina Archaeology Public Outreach Division (SCAPOD) co-founder Helena Ferguson will discuss the organizations highlighted on the 2013 Archaeology Month poster. Each one has chosen to share South Carolina’s amazing archaeological heritage through public education and/or outreach to the general public. Come join us to learn of the breadth and scope of archaeological research here in our own state. The free lecture is co-sponsored by the Hilton Head Chapter of the Archaeology Society of SC and Beaufort County Planning Department in honor of Archaeology Month.
1:00 PM4:00 PM
Beaufort District Collection
Two of South Carolina's most prominent archaeologists, Dr. Jon Leader and Dr. Eric Poplin, will be on hand to identify your personal mystery artifacts. Anyone owning an artifact with an unknown provenance, date of origin, or description is invited to bring it for identification. Co-sponsored by Hilton Head Chapter of the Archaeology Society of SC and Beaufort County Planning Department in honor of Archaeology Month 2013. Free. All ages welcome to bring artifacts for identification. Free.  Contact information: dwayne.pickett@gmail.com Website: http://www.assc.net/chapters/hilton-head-chapter

In November, we bring a memoir writing workshop as our contribution to the Library system's MakerSpaces Initiative.

2:00 PM3:30 PM
Beaufort District Collection
Susan Kammeraad-Campbell, publisher of Joggling Board Press, has heard just about every pitch for a memoir or family history imaginable. She's developed a technique for guiding writers through the process of writing true stories others will actually want to read. It worked for Teresa Bruce, co-presenter and author of The Other Mother: a Remoir, used the Byrne Miller papers archived in the Beaufort District Collection as both source and inspiration. Free. Anyone over age 12 is welcomed to attend. Details: cseabrook@bcgov.net; 255-6468
Find out what's on offer in the Beaufort County Library system by downloading our newsletter from our homepage.

No comments: