Local Poets: Mary Palmer Dana Shindler

Image from Ralph W. Steen Library

Mary Stanley Bunce Palmer Dana Shindler (a.k.a. Mary S. B. Dana)

Born: February 15, 1810, Beaufort, SC

Died: February 8, 1883, Nacogdoches, TX

Her religious poems reflect on themes of comfort in the struggles of life and death.  Both her young son, Charlie, and her first husband, the Rev. Charles E. Dana, died during 1840.  Later she set some of her poems to music, favoring folk tunes for the melody of her hymns.  

Learn more about her hymns on the Hymnary database website.

Among her poetry collections are:

• Southern Harp (1840)
• The Parted Family, and other Poems (1841)
• Northern Harp (1841)
• Southern Sketches (1847)   

The BDC has a vertical file about her life and several of her collections.  Please drop by and visit us during our customary hours of operation.  That is, Mondays through Fridays, 10 am until 5 pm. 

Local Poets: Robert Woodward Barnwell

http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/25761

Robert Woodward Barnwell

Born:  August 10, 1801, Beaufort, SC

Died: November 24, 1882, Columbia, SC

Interred: St. Helena Episcopal Churchyard, Beaufort, SC

Barnwell is best known as a lawyer, planter, politician, President of South Carolina College and signer of the Ordinance of Secession.  However, he also wrote poetry, many of which reflect on the lowcountry's beauty.    Here is the first three stanzas of the title poem in his small collection of verse Dawn at Daufuskie and Other Poems. : 

Dawn at Daufuskie

I saw the fainting stars pass to their death.
I heard the frolic winds pausing for breath.
As the dawn crept upward all was still.
And my heart alone knew motion and thrill.

I saw the silver sea shining as steel.
The silence was pressing its golden heel
On lizard in leaves and bird on bough:
But I heard blood throbbing from heart to brow

I saw the fleecy clouds sink -- every one.
I heard no singing bird welcome the sun.  
As the gold flashed landward glory spread, 
And I heard my heart as its pulses sped.   

Amnesty Month Ends Soon

Time is running out!  Amnesty period ends when April 2012 does.  Get those late library materials belonging to the Beaufort County Library back to one of our Branch Libraries as soon as you can.

May 1st will be too late!

Personal Digital Photograph Preservation Webinar

In honor of Preservation Week, we want to remind our readers that anyone can sign up for a free webinar Preserving Your Personal Digital Photographs sponsored by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) group.

Digital photos are fragile and require special care to keep them accessible. But preserving any kind of digital information is a new concept that most people have little experience with. Technologies change over time and become obsolete, making it difficult to access older digital photos. Learn about the nature of the problem and hear about some simple, practical tips and tools to help you keep your digital photos safe.

The online instructor is Bill LeFurgy, Digital Initiatives Manager, who has worked for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program at the Library of Congress since June 2002.

The webinar will air on Thursday, April 26, 2012 beginning at 2 pm.  It's a good idea to register TODAY - just in case there are some glitches in using your computer.  ALCTS is a Division of the American Library Association.

Here are the technical requirements: 

• Computer with Internet access (high-speed connection is best) and media player software. Headphones recommended.
• If you receive a Codec error when playing the recorded file with Windows Media Player, download the gotowebinar codec file from: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/codec?Portal=www.gotomeeting.com The Codec acts as a patch that allows the recording, which is created with a higher version of Media Player, to play in version 7. 
• For more information on playing the recording, see the FAQ. 

Register here https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/666813208

For questions or comments related to these ALCTS webinars contact Julie Reese, ALCTS Events Manager at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5034 or jreese@ala.org.

Free Online Class: Social Media for Family Researchers

Just a reminder that there's still time to register to participate in a free one- hour class "Social Networking for Genealogists" with Debbie Bloom, the Walker Local History Room Manager at Richland County Public Library.  The class will be presented live over the internet tomorrow beginning at 10 am. 

The class is a look at some of the online tools genealogist can use for research, such as blogs, readers, iGoogle, wikis and Facebook.

• Register today! at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/136972398

Got A Bridal Gown? A Cross-Stitch Sampler?

 

In honor of Preservation Week, we want to remind our readers that anyone can sign up for a free webinar Taking Care: Family Textiles sponsored by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) group. The webinar will discuss how to care for the various types of textiles found in family collections including clothing, flags and furniture coverings and framed textiles. The session will cover how to safely store and display textiles and how to determine when the services of a professional conservator are needed.

The webinar begins at 2 pm EDT tomorrow.   It's a good idea to register TODAY - just in case there are some glitches in using your computer.  ALCTS is a Division of the American Library Association.

These are the Technical Requirements given for participating in the free webinar:

• Computer with Internet access (high-speed connection is best) and media player software. Headphones recommended.
•  If you receive a Codec error when playing the recorded file with Windows Media Player, download the gotowebinar codec file from: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/codec?Portal=www.gotomeeting.com The Codec acts as a patch that allows the recording, which is created with a higher version of Media Player, to play in version 7. 
• For more information on playing the recording, see the FAQ. 

Register at  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/318517225.
 

For questions or comments related to these ALCTS webinars contact Julie Reese, ALCTS Events Manager at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5034 or jreese@ala.org. 

In Honor of Earth Day

Mark the 42nd annual Earth Day by learning a bit about local animals, plants, minerals and the ecosystems here in Beaufort County via our library's Local History & Nature web pages! 

Animals:  Lovebugs;  Snakes; Spiders

Plants: Marshes; Oak Trees;

Minerals: Beach Sand

Today also happens to be the date of the annual Parish Church of St. Helena's service held on the grounds of Old Sheldon Church.  The service has been held on the 2nd Sunday after Easter for more than half a century. For the notice about the service held in 1957, see the News & Courier clipping. The BDC has a vertical file on many of the churches formed within Beaufort (and Granville) County, including St. Helena's Episcopal and Prince William's Episcopal (Old Sheldon) churches.  Drop by the Research Room and we'll be happy to show them to you. 

Preservation Week Starts Tomorrow

I am re-posting the information provided by @ At Your Library: 

Libraries, museums, archives and other organizations work every day to preserve cultural history.  Over 4.8 billion artifacts are held in public trust by more than 30,000 archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, scientific research collections and archaeological repositories in the United States.

Why is preservation important?  Some 2.6 billion items are not protected by an emergency plan such as natural disasters, and 1.3 billion of these items are at risk of being lost. If billions of items are at risk at our heritage institutions, than plausibly trillions of items held by the general public are at risk.

To mark Preservation Week 2012, we're sharing some resources to help you preserve your family treasures and learn what to when disaster strikes. There's also an activity guide filled with fun projects to get the whole family involved.

Here are a two free webinars available this week for you to learn how to take care of specific types of family treasures:

• Taking Care: Family Textiles Tuesday, April 24, 2012 2pm Eastern 
• Register here https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/318517225
• Preserving Your Personal Digital Photographs  Thursday, April 26, 2012 2 pm Eastern
  • Register here https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/666813208  

You can access the podcast Accidents Happen: Protecting & Saving Family Treasures for free as well anytime.  

In case you're interested in learning more about what we in the BDC do to preserve that cultural heritage materials entrusted to our care, click here. 

Local Poets: William John Grayson

William John Grayson

Born: November 12, 1788, Beaufort, SC
Congressman: March 4, 1833 - March 3, 1837
Died: October 4, 1863, Newberry, SC

According to Literary South Carolina by Edwin Epps (2004), Grayson is best remembered for his pro-slavery verse, The Hireling and the Slave (1854), "where the plight of the Northern factory worker is portrayed as worse than that of the Southern slave…. Most Southerners saw Grayson’s poem as reasonably argued, mostly accurate and persuasive; Northerners … mostly ignored the poem intended as a rebuttal" to Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  

Google Books has posted The Hireling and the Slave online for anyone to read it.  You can also get to the narrative poem via the "Literature Resources from Gale" database within DISCUS. 

A quick search in the DISCUS database choosing "Literature" resources and then searching on "Hireling and the Slave" secures 4 hits of literary criticism about the poem:

1) Calhoun, Richard J. "William John Grayson." American Literary Critics and Scholars, 1850-1880. Ed. John Wilbert Rathbun and Monica M. Grecu. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 64. Literature Resource Center. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.

2) Wilkinson, C. P. Seabrook. "William John Grayson." Antebellum Writers in the South: Second Series. Ed. Kent P. Ljungquist. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 248. Literature Resource Center. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.

3) Wimsatt, Mary Ann. "Witness to Sorrow: The Antebellum Autobiography of William J. Grayson." The Mississippi Quarterly 46.2 (1993): 317+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.

4)"William John Grayson." Antebellum Writers in New York and the South. Ed. Joel Myerson. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 3. Literature Resource Center. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.

Try using DISCUS from your home or office to further your discovery of our local poet, William John Grayson or a poet of your choice in honor of National Poetry Month. You just might be surprised by the depth and breadth of the resources that the State Library provides for its residents! 

Amnesty Month Continues

Local Poets Highlighted in Display Case

The BDC Research Room display case is dedicated to the poets past and present of Beaufort County. 

The BDC has fairly extensive holdings of some of our local poets from the 19th through 20th centuries. To be eligible for the "Forever Collection," the poet must have direct ties to the former Beaufort District area as well as write poetry which reflects their personal understanding of our culture, history, and environment.

Among the poets with clear connections to Beaufort District or Beaufort County are:  Robert Woodward Barnwell, Walter Dennis, Edith Bannister Dowling, Arthur G. Foster, Robert Elliott Gonzales, William J. Grayson, Gilbert Augustus Selby, Patricia Bee,  Alice Connelly Moore, Ronald Goodwine, Jeanne Arnold, Art Cornell, Amy Jenkins Bassett and Marquetta Goodwine. There are, of course, many whom I have not listed.

Check out the items classified with 808 - 815 call numbers in the Local History Sections for collections of poetry by local poets to take home with you and savor.

You can also revisit prior Connections postings labeled "poems" and "poetry" to learn more about our local wordsmiths of poetical inclinations.  

I Belong @ My Library

In honor of National Library Week, here's another personal "Library story" I would like to share.  

My mother has been quite ill since early November.  The doctors were puzzled by her array of symptoms.  Their earliest diagnoses and treatments did not make her feel any better.  My family was puzzled, too.  More than once, we've sighed and said "Where is Dr. House when you need him?" 


After each diagnosis, I would access our Library website (from home) to locate the latest news and information about that particular medical issue. It's hard to know what to ask when you are struggling to absorb what the doctor, nurse, physical therapist, etc. just said. I ask that the diagnosis be written down - legibly - so I can use it as a search term as I go after additional information.  Armed with the diagnosis,  I then use specific databases inside both DISCUS and EBSCO to educate myself.  

Because it may well be that someone reading this needs additional information about medical and health issues they are facing, here's a step-by-step guide on how to find health and wellness information on the Library's website.   


Please note:  The material contained in any of the databases I mention below is intended for informational purposes only. The databases do not give medical advice, nor should any information contained therein be considered a replacement for medical advice given by licensed health care professionals. 

Step 1:  Go to the BCL homepage at www.beaufortcountylibrary.org.
Step 2:  Choose the 2nd tab "Online Resources."
Step 3:  Open the drop-down box.
Step 4:  Choose "Research Resources." 

You'll see a series of icons: DISCUS, EBSCO Host, Learning Express, Reference USA, La Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre, OneClick Digital, BYKI, and Ancestry Library Edition.

Let's start with the closest icon, the one for DISCUS.


Step 5: Choose DISCUS.
Step 6: Put in the diagnosis as the "Search Terms"
Step 7: Choose "Health & Medical" as the subject choice.
Step 8: Explore your hits.
Step 9: Jot down any questions you want answered by your health care professional.


Because I have no health care or medical training in my background, I find that the "Health and Wellness Resource Center" inside DISCUS is sometimes too clinical for me to absorb what is being discussed.  It's weighted towards nursing and allied health journals.  You might fare better using it because your background may be different than mine.

I prefer to start with the health and medical sources inside EBSCO Host. You go through the first 4 steps as above. 


Step 1:  Go to the BCL homepage at www.beaufortcountylibrary.org.
Step 2:  Choose the 2nd tab "Online Resources."
Step 3:  Open the drop-down box.
Step 4:  Choose "Research Resources." 

As before, you'll see a series of icons: DISCUS, EBSCO Host, Learning Express, Reference USA, La Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre, OneClick Digital, BYKI, and Ancestry Library Edition.  This time, choose the circle icon that says "EBSCO Host."
  
Step 5: Choose EBSCO Host.
Step 6: Choose your means of access:  Library or "Home/Office" 
Step 7: In the Library you won't need to put in your BCL library card number.  If you are using the database outside the library, put in your BCL library card number when prompted to do so. 
Step 8: Select the "Consumer Health Complete" database.
Step 9:  Enter the condition or diagnosis in the "Find" box. 
Step 10:  Explore your hits.  
Step 11:  Jot down any questions you'd like answered by your health care professional.


While we can't have Dr. House - Hugh Laurie just plays a doctor on TV (Wonder if he sleeps at Holiday Inn Express?)- and libraries will not and cannot  provide medical advice -- library cardholders do have access to wonderful library resources on health, wellness, and medical topics that can help us inform ourselves to ask better questions of our health care professionals!

Yet again, and at another stage of my life, the resources of my library are helping my family and me cope with a stressful life situation by providing solidly researched, vetted, and accessible information to help our family make the best choices we can given the circumstances. Beaufort County Library cardholders are so lucky that the State Library can still afford to purchase several databases of vetted health and medical information for its citizens.

Perhaps you have a library story, too.  If you'd like to share it, send me an e-mail at gracec@bcgov.net. 


Please remember that "You Belong @ Your Library" just as much as I do.  We'll be happy to see and share our array of materials, programs and services with you either in person or online!

The Library is Closed Wednesday

Wednesday, April 11th  Staff In-Service Day.

Regular hours resume Thursday, April 12th.

April is National Poetry Month

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.

Visit the website of the American Academy of Poets, www.poets.org, to explore their suggestion on ways to celebrate.

For example, "30 Ways to Celebrate" includes a variety of ways to mark the month. Here in the BDC, we are featuring local poets in the display cabinet and writing a few Connections entries about poets and poetry.  

One suggestion is to "Sign up for a poetry class or workshop."  Another unit of the BCL, the Beaufort  Branch Library, is holding a free Poetry Slam/Poetry Workshop on Saturday, April 21st, from 1 pm - 4 pm for teens, aged 12 - 18.  Call 255-6441 for details.

And, of course, we'd love to have you drop by your nearest branch library and browse the 808 - 821 sections for just the right book of poetry to help you celebrate National Poetry Month.  

Just a reminder:  All units of the Beaufort County Library are closed Wed., April 11th for Staff Development.

1940 Census Indexers are Hard at Work

Watch how the indexing of the 1940 census is proceeding at https://www.familysearch.org/1940census/.

As of Noon, Saturday, Apr. 7th - only 5 days after the National Archives released the images  -  Delaware is 100% complete; Colorado is 80% done; Virginia is 5% indexed.

We'll be holding an "Introduction to the 1940 Census" workshop here in the BDC on Fri., May 4th from 10 am until Noon.  Space is limited; Registration is required.  Call us at 255-6468 or drop by the BDC Research Room to register. 

Celebrate National Library Week April 8 - 14

Most people have a library story.  Here's the earliest of mine:

The very first place that I was allowed to go on my own was the Georgetown County Public Library.  My mother could stand in front of our apartment building and watch me walk the 2 blocks up Screven Street to the library which sat at the intersection of Screven and Highmarket Streets back then.  When I got ready to leave, the library staff would let me use the telephone to call Momma to alert her that I was on my way back to the apartment.  Even at age 6, I think I knew that I'd always belong in a library.  

Perhaps you have a library story, too.  If you'd like to share it, send me an e-mail at gracec@bcgov.net. 

Libraries are places for new beginnings. Whether you are getting your first library card, learning new skills, beginning a job search, or planning a trip, the library is the one place in a community where you belong and be comfortable, engaged, and learning regardless of age, ability, or socio-economic status.

This National Library Week, remember that "You Belong @ Your Library."  We'll be happy to see and share our array of materials, programs and services with you! Just drop by any of our locations during regular hours of operation. 

PS: National Library Week has been around as long as I have. We were both launched in 1958!

Introduction to the 1940 Census Workshop

The 1940 Census has been released on the National Archives website.  Indexers throughout the country are furiously (and, we hope accurately) compiling the list of citizens and residents so that searching for one's ancestors will be easier than searching for them within enumeration districts. 


 To help illuminate the ways and means of census taking, and how to put a census to the test of extracting information about an ancestor (or yourself, if you happen to be older than 72 years old), we will be offering a workshop on these topics the first Friday in May. 



Introduction to the 1940 Census Workshop
Beaufort District Collection 
Fri., May 4th
10:00 am -- Noon

Registration is required.

Seating is very limited for this workshop. You must pre-register in person at the Beaufort District Collection Research Room Reference desk or call 843-255-6468 to reserve a seat.

April is Amnesty Month at BCL

As most of our readers know, the Beaufort District Collection is the "forever" special collection and archives of the Beaufort County Library system.  We don't let customers take home our materials.  We are, however, responsible for stocking, selecting, and maintaining the "Local History" sections in the branch libraries.  And, quite frankly, we need our missing local history section titles returned. Bottom line: We can't share what we don't have in our possession to share.

Beaufort County Library will be providing patrons an Amnesty Month from April 1st to the 30th.  Customers  who have overdue items in their possession may return their items, fine-free, to any branch of the Beaufort County Library System. As usual, though, "the devil is in the details:"

• Applies only to Beaufort County Library owned materials
• Returned in person
• To a Circulation Representative
• During regular hours of operation at these BCL locations:
• Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, 1st floor
• Bluffton Branch Library, 120 Palmetto Way
• Hilton Head Branch Library, 11 Beach City Road
• Lobeco Branch Library, 1862 Trask Parkway
• St. Helena Branch Library, 1025 Sea Island Parkway

You'll notice that the BDC isn't listed.  Please don't try to return your overdue items to us - not even if the items are from the local history sections.  The Branch Libraries are responsible for all Amnesty Month returns. 

What this means is:

• If you have already returned items with fines, you're out of luck. You still owe the Library the fines.
• If you haven't returned an item from one of the other SCLENDS libraries, you're out of luck.You still owe the Library the fines incurred.
• If you return the item through one of our return boxes or via the RFID slot (at some of our locations), you're out of luck.  
• If you hand the item to any staff member other than a circulation representative, you may be out of luck.
• If you've lost an item and want to come clean, talk with a circulation representative at your branch library.
• If you have questions, contact your branch library for details.      

Please return any BCL owned items.  We need them!  This is the first amnesty that's been held since I joined the staff on February 15, 1999.  This may well be your first - and final - opportunity to return BCL owned items fine-free. Get those books and videos back in asap.

Want to Get on the BDC Customer E-Mail List (Again)?

When my Outlook e-mail system imploded last November, it wiped out the e-mail distribution lists that I had  compiled and maintained over the past decade.  Many of the addresses were collected at the conclusion of BDC@ the Branches programs held throughout the library system.  The implosion was, and continues to be, a serious blow to BDC communications with our customers. 

Although we've been taking stock and shifting gears to better match the Library's Strategic Plan, the BDC will be offering no less than 5 local history, archaeology, or genealogy related programs before December 31, 2012.  If you'd like to be notified about these upcoming programs via e-mail, please send your name and current e-mail address to me at gracec@bcgov.net or call us at 843-255-6468 to verbally share the information with us.

Privacy Statement:  The e-mail address you provide will not be shared with any third parties or other units within the Beaufort County Library or Beaufort County government.  It will be used solely to alert you to upcoming BDC programs and services.  You can tell us to stop sending you e-mail notices at any time and we'll stop.