2020's Version of a Summer Tradition

Because of the continuing impact of the worldwide health crisis, we cannot follow up last year's  fabulously successful summer reading program effort with a similar one this year. Instead Beaufort County Library will focus on the core of what we do, that is promote and encourage reading for all ages while our partner, the Beaufort County School District, concentrates on creating content to spread the joy of learning, reading, writing and communicating to their students.  The BCSD has chosen "Once Upon a Summer in Beaufort" as the theme for the joint campaign, June 1 through August 2, 2020. 

Summer 2020 Joint BCSD & BCL Program

The Beaufort District Collection will contribute in our own unique way by promoting reading materials in this collection. Books are the foundation of the Beaufort District Collection. We have books dating from 1760 up to those published last week to share inside the Research Room and through the Local History sections of the branch libraries. And if this were a normal year, some of those books would be the basis for BDC Author Book Talk programs. But this is not a normal year and that hurts because I do so love to see folks at our local history programs! We must deal with the reality that it may be quite some time before we can gather together to explore local history in that way again.

So what can be done and be done consistently over the course of the next several months? Librarians can look to the center of our service philosophy and practice to contribute to the well-being of our community by promoting the practice of reading. Thus, expect to see a variety of local history books and printed materials promoted here in Connections, on the Library's Local History Reading Suggestions webpage, and on the BDC's Facebook page over the course of the summer.