What to Expect in August 2023

The dog days of August - and the blistering heat that come with them -- are upon us.  

Update: 3:00pm 8/01/2023 - I will be filling in as the "Tea Talk" speaker at Beaufort Branch on Monday, August 7th. Someone else had to cancel - and I seldom give up a chance to tell others about the BDC. This time I'll focus on the "Virtual BDC" - all the programs and services that the BDC offers online. Come - and I think that you will leave somewhat surprised. 

There's only one local history program scheduled this month: 

"Tide of Death: The Sea Island Hurricane of 1893" with Grace Cordial | Tuesday, August 22, 2023 |  Hilton Head Branch Library, 11 Beach City Road | 1:00 PM | No registration: First Come; First Seated | Note: Seating begins at 12:30 PM 

Limited access to the Research Room continues. Be sure to contact BDC staff ahead of your proposed visit. 

Please understand that BDC does not monitor e-mail, telephone or social media requests for appointments outside or business hours - which does happen to change depending upon BDC staff availability. Sometimes the BDC is closed due to lack of staff, scheduled holidays, personal leave time, or closures caused by inclement weather conditions. Contact 843-255-6468 to leave a message or send an email requesting an appointment to bdc@bcgov.net. 

I'm taking a little R & R during August as well so it's triply important that you arrange an appointment. Though we have done some interviews for Olivia's successor, the selection, hiring and training of staff process is not quick.  In fact your best bet is to send an email bdc@bcgov.net. Just be aware: The BDC Research Room is not open evenings, Saturdays or Sundays. 

The image of the dog on the porch is from our "Phosphate, Farms, and Family: The Donner Collection." You can see it and 26 other images of dogs there to mark National Dog Day, August 26th. 

Looking even further ahead, the Library system will be closed on Monday, September 4, 2023 for Labor Day. 

The Model Trains are Back, December 14 - 18, 2021 & Holiday Schedule

Maybe we are getting back to "more" normal as the Beaufort Railroaders return Tuesday, December 14 through Saturday, December 18 at the Beaufort Branch with their model train sets for the twenty-eighth time! As frequent readers of this blog are aware, having the model trains during the Christmas Season is one of Beaufort Branch's most anticipated events each year. There are folks who otherwise never darken the Library's doors but who love to come see the model trains. Unfortunately, like most other seasonal activities, COVID-19 mitigation measures prevented us from hosting the group in 2020. Hours for the 2021 Beaufort Railroaders Exhibit are posted on the Library system's calendar.

Beaufort District has quite a history with regards to railroads - so many that I posted a list of materials about local railroads to the BDC's WordPress blog. The "All Aboard! Railroads in Beaufort District and beyond" post begins with a short history and then includes books you can check out or see online for free at your leisure. So even if you cannot make it down to see the exhibit, you can still learn at least a little something about the significant role that railroads played in America's history. (PS: There are a lot of images from our holdings included in the post.) 

As we enter the waning days of 2021, appointment opportunities are limited by staff on duty and the weekdays that the Research Room is open during December. Reservations are probably more important in December than in most other months of the year. Please make the necessary advance arrangements for a research visit by calling the BDC 843-255-6468 or be sending an email to bdc@bcgov.net. Be sure to allow up to 72 hours before getting a response. With a staff of only 1.75 persons and the fulltime person out on FMLA, it may take some time to respond to your requests.  Please note: BDC staff does not monitor business communications when the Library is closed. 

The Christmas holidays are a bit longer than usual due to the days of the week on which Christmas Eve and Christmas Day fall, usual County holiday policies, and the generosity of this County Council who upon the recommendation of the County Administrator gave employees an extra paid holiday this year.  

Thus, the Library will be closed from Thursday, December 23 through Monday, December 27th. Regular services will resume on Tuesday, December 28th, Wednesday, December 29th, and Thursday, December 30th. 

Cassi will be in the Research Room holding appointments, Tuesday, December 28 - Thursday, December 30th according to the arrangements agreed to by BDC staff on or before December 22, 2021. 

Most years the Library closes early on New Year's Eve, but in 2021, New Year's Eve falls on a Saturday. County policy states that holidays falling on a Saturday are observed on a Friday. Thus the BDC Research Room will be closed on Friday, December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2022 for New Year's Day.

When we re-open on January 3, 2022, most parts of the Library will have slightly extended hours of service. In the case of the Research Room, our first appointment of the day will begin at 9 AM should our customer want to take advantage of the parking meters being free until 11 AM each day. We'll still have three research slots per day but the first customer will have the option of as much as 3 hours of research time. Our morning customer will be asked which of these three options suit them best: 9 AM to 11 AM or 10 AM to Noon or 9 AM to Noon. That's something we'll discuss when you reach out to make an appointment. Again, please be sure to contact us ahead of time: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net to make it more likely that we can accommodate your preferred date(s) and time(s). 

On the Agenda for November 2021

Traditionally in November we commemorate World War I and Veterans Day and celebrate the many contributions of Native Americans by drawing attention to some of the many resources we have about the groups that once lived in this area, including those at the time of the European settlement. Expect to learn more about those topics later this month here and on the BDC's Facebook page. 

Programs-wise, we have two local history programs currently running: "Reading Between Lines and Across Rivers" with Dr. Mollie Barnes (which could be thought of as more of a podcast than a presentation) https://us-lti.bbcollab.com/recording/f8bb8334063a402c9994676c90cc6341 (available at least through November 9th) and "Duels in Beaufort District" with Neil Baxley https://youtu.be/Dky4QObdP1k (that we hope to keep up for even longer).  

We're going to try the BDC's first ever LIVE YouTube program about the recently published Means of Grace : A History of the Robertville Baptist Church with author Dr. Eric Plaag on 15 November. I am grateful for the cooperation of the Beaufort County Historical Society, and Carolina Historical Consulting, LLC in making this happen for us. 

To participate in the LIVE event, you will have to get the URL from us. Be sure to sign up for the BDC's e-mail distribution list to get the URL link and notice for the live stream event. This Author Book Talk will be recorded.  You will be able to access the recording through Library's YouTube Channel a day or two later. 

November is something of a short month as the Beaufort County Library closes for three holidays:  Veterans Day on November 11 and for the Thanksgiving holidays on November 25 and November 26.  Please make the appropriate entries into your calendar about these upcoming closures since we cannot accept appointments for dates when the library is closed. Please contact us: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6446 to set up an appointment to visit our Research Room. 

Please note: Your best chance of securing your preferred weekday date and time is to make these arrangements no less than several days in advance with us. No walk-ins allowed. No same day appointments. No monitoring of appointment requests on weekends, holidays, or when the BDC staff is otherwise unavailable. No exceptions.

If you're comfortable following the BDC's Facebook page, I do hope that you'll interact with what I post there. But if you're not comfortable on Facebook, the posts I make there this month will re-appear here in Connections in early December.