Finding "Adventure" in the BDC

As regular readers know, I always try to "fit" in something from the BDC during a Library system initiative. Such was the case again this year during the Summer Reading Program. Since it's all about "Adventure," I began by looking up the definition of the word. According to the online Cambridge English Dictionary, adventure is "an unusual, exciting, and possibly dangerous activity, such as a trip or experience, or the excitement produced by such an activity." Sounds exciting, doesn't it? But where could I find "adventure" lurking in the BDC's stacks? How could the BDC offer some "adventure" in our programming in June and July? What adventuresome materials should we bring to our readers' attention in the display case, the lobby board, on social media, through our programs? 

I started thinking about what we have and could perhaps do months and months ago. In here, pretty much everything starts with a search: of the catalog, or the archives inventory, or the dark recesses of my brain. Over the course of the next two months, you'll see the results. Because the BCL likes for programs to be added to the system calendar no less than 4 months in advance, thinking about local history programs coordination is normally a first step activity. 

I was glad that Deb Henderson asked me about doing something - and that I discovered a PowerPoint I created about a decade ago with lots of images and some research about the Bluffton Branch.

Editing prior work is almost invariably less intensive than crafting a presentation from scratch. The result will be "Then & Now, Bluffton Library Services: An Adventure Through Time" on Saturday, June 22nd at Bluffton Branch Library. Lecture begins at 11 AM.  I'll take care of the "then" part; Debra will handle the "now" part. We hope that attendees will learn a little history and learn something new about the library services currently available to our cardholders. 

Since Cassandra's probationary period will end soon, I asked her about devising a presentation of what she's learned so far as our contribution to SRP 2024. We decided to call her session "Adventures in the Archives ... OR BDC Treasures I've Found my first 6 months on the job."  This session is for "True History Nerds" who love research materials! 

We decided to give an evening session a try since the best attended "Behind-the-Scenes" event was on a Wednesday evening. Please note: This is not a rehash of the BTS events. She's been working on a number of projects since January so her presentation will consist of mostly "new-to-us stuff" she's discovered or re-discovered as she works through our decades long backlog of archival materials. We'll be happy to have you join us. I really think that you'll be impressed by how much she cares and enjoys working with the "stuff" here in the special collections and archives unit. This session will be in the Beaufort Branch Meeting Room, 311 Scott Street, 1st floor on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 beginning at 5:30 PM.  

A chance encounter at the Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era Symposium in April led directly to our third program related to the SRP.  Meg Gaillard and Reese Spradley of the Heritage Trust of SC DNR just happened to have the booth next to ours. In the course of casual conversation, it turned out that Meg would be doing some doctoral research at Fort Frederick the last weeks in July and it's been more than a decade since I last took BDC history nerds to that historic site. Another adventure we could share with you was born! Please note: Transportation to Fort Frederick is on your own. Parking at and near Fort Frederick is limited so consider carpooling. 

With Jalen's departure, I will once again take over the display case for a bit since I'd rather have Cassi fill in at the front desk on a regular basis. I can also get at least double mileage - and perhaps triple or quadruple mileage -  from that work. I'd have to research "adventure" in the BDC for the display case and then I can use that "adventure" research to create Facebook posts for the "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday" and "Black History Note Wednesdays" series and perhaps for a few other dates in June and July as well. The triple factor will come in if I manage to find some interesting facets to add to the lobby display board down by the elevator on the first floor; the quadruple factor will be if I can create some slides from this work to show on the Vizio monitor in the 2nd floor reception area over Ileana's desk. 

I guess only time will tell whether or not the BDC is successful in our adventuresome endeavor. You can be the judge come the end of Summer Reading 2024.