Library News, by David W. Keeber
Red Rock News
Date: January 4, 2008
The holidays are over and often at this time of year something of a doldrums sets in. The nights are still dark for a long time and the ground is yielding little, even in our mild climate. For some, this time of year can be pretty depressing. Your Sedona Public Library is here to offer a bit of light and color in the form of the annual quilt display. If you need a pick-me-up, come to the Library and revel in the exquisite examples of this fabric art in its highest form.
For the past thirteen years, first under the guidance of Marg Elson and now new owner Patty Krause, the Quilters Store here in Sedona has assembled a quilt show of the very finest quilts created with loving care by local quilters. Each year brings new versions of this old art form with never a repeat. To be honest, when I look at these gorgeous quilts, I can only imagine the time it would take me to make one – probably a year or more. But, each year, local thread mavens often construct more than one, each nearly perfect in its execution!
Take a look at each quilt and notice the details of its construction. Stitching is exacting, points of fabric designs come together point to point perfectly, colors blend to create images that are almost photographic – the art of quilting is indeed a high art when you see the examples here at the Library.
Some quilts are fun, some are arty. Some are big and others are small. There are quilts for children, quilts that are dedicated to someone as a memorial. Some use traditional patterns and some are a single image such as a flower or a forest. All together, there are 62 in the display, hanging from the rafters in both the main room of the Library as well as the Si Birch Community Room, and even in our display cases.
A funny thing that happens when the quilts are hanging. People come to see them and they pick up a copy of the show’s catalog. Reading it and then craning their necks upward to view each quilt puts a fair number of folks on a collision course with one another. In its own odd way, it is a form of “meet and greet” occasion as people view, collide and apologize!
Quilts have a varied history and uses. For some, they are a way to simply stay warm in bed at night. For others, they are an art form and a crafty activity in their making. But, you may not be aware of their part in the history of our nation’s progress from a slave-holding society to one in which all people are free.
During the days of the Underground Railroad, quilts served as road signs and a form of communication between organizers of the freedom road and those who traveled along its length. Some quilts announced safe haven for travelers, others signaled the route to travel. Some designs would “speak” of danger on one side of the quilt, and when turned over, tell that the way was clear. This form of “signage” was hung on clothes lines, on window sills, or over fences to inform anyone savvy enough to know the ways in which the quilts spoke. Some of these signpost quilts are treasured family heirlooms, and the patterns of many stand as testaments to the determination of average people to overcome adversity while working towards freedom for others. Whether people know the history behind the designs, many continue to be made even to this day.
Sedona Public Library offers numerous books and videos on the techniques and art of quilting, as well as the part they played in our nation’s history. Quilting books are found by doing a simple search on the term “quilts” or even “Underground Railroad.” No matter whether you wish to learn about their history, learn new techniques and designs, or simply to admire examples of the fabric arts, the books in our collection can provide you with hours of reading and viewing pleasure.
Take a bit of time to visit the Sedona Public Library between now and Friday, February 15th to view the quilt display. Even after 13 years of showings here, there is always something new to see. Enjoy the superb skills of those who have made them, as well as the colorful antidote to the dark days of winter they offer. Visit your Sedona Public Library today. Just watch where you’re going as you walk around!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
Keeber's Kolumn
Library News, by David W. Keeber
Red Rock News
Date: December 28, 2007
Fifteen hundred each day – that is the number of World War II veterans that are passing away each day. During the week prior to Christmas, one of three surviving World War I vets, aged 109 years, passed on leaving only two such vets alive. This irreplaceable trove of knowledge of America’s history at war deserves preservation. Sedona Public Library is participating in the Veterans History Project, a national effort to collect this history and preserve it at the Library of Congress and the American Folklife Center, but we need help to do this important work.
The mission of the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress is to collect the memories, accounts, and documents of war veterans from World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars, and to preserve these stories of experience and service for future generations.
By “veterans,” that means all veterans, men and women, those who served in war and in support of combat operations, all ranks in all branches of service – the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. That also includes the Merchant Marine, those involved in home front activities and citizens who supported the armed services. The first priority is to focus on the most senior veterans and those who served in support of them, especially those from World Wars I and II, and the Korean War.
James Billington, Librarian of Congress said, “We owe our wartime veterans a profound appreciation for their sacrifice and service to our nation and its future. We also owe all our citizens an opportunity to appreciate and honor those men and women who have protected our nation in the gravest of times. Together, with the help of all Americans, we can honor our war veterans and create a lasting body of documentary materials that will inform and educate our citizens in the decades ahead.”
The Sedona Public Library’s Board of Trustees have determined that Sedona Public Library shall serve as a participating partner in the Veterans History Project, whose intent is to honor our nation’s war veterans and those who served in support of them. This is done by collecting their stories. In so doing, we will assist in creating a lasting legacy of recorded interviews and other documents chronicling veterans’and other citizens’ wartime experiences and how those experiences affected their lives and America itself.
Your Library has assembled a cadre of volunteers who regularly meet to interview veterans, videotaping them and then passing the information on to the Library of Congress. The veteran receives a copy of the interview and a copy goes on to the American Folklife Center for archiving. These interviews are the personal testimonies of the war experience of the vets and their families.
The material is to be made available to anyone who cares to research it via the Library of Congress. If you have access to the Internet, visit the Veterans History Project site at www.loc.gov/folklife/vets. By searching that site, you can learn more about the project itself, search for individual interviewees and even read their interviews and see documents and photographs.
To date, the Sedona Library’s volunteer team has gathered more than 30 interviews, and there are at least 50 more interviewees waiting their turn. They are a dedicated and active cadre, but they are shorthanded. That’s where you come in.
We need the help of people who see this work as vital. Help is needed to do the actual interviews (there is training for this portion, in case you think you would have no idea how to proceed), running the video and audio equipment during the interviews, assisting with completion of the necessary forms, and other tasks. The time necessary to do these tasks is adjustable, ranging from a few hours per week to whatever you care to provide. The need is great based on the rate of loss of our World War II veterans and the number of new veterans arriving home each day.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Anthony J. Principi says, “I urge all Americans to participate in the Veterans History Project. Capturing stories of those who served in uniform in their own words will provide the inspiration future generations will need when it is their turn to defend the nation Abraham Lincoln once called ‘the last best hope on earth.’”
If you are a veteran, or know a veteran, or anyone who fits the description above, encourage them to tell their story by contacting your Sedona Public Library.
Please consider giving your time to this vital national archiving project. You can experience the extreme gratification of helping preserve history, as well as the gratitude of the soldiers who are finally able to tell and preserve their stories. Call the Sedona Public Library to sign up. Make it your New Years resolution to help!
Red Rock News
Date: December 28, 2007
Fifteen hundred each day – that is the number of World War II veterans that are passing away each day. During the week prior to Christmas, one of three surviving World War I vets, aged 109 years, passed on leaving only two such vets alive. This irreplaceable trove of knowledge of America’s history at war deserves preservation. Sedona Public Library is participating in the Veterans History Project, a national effort to collect this history and preserve it at the Library of Congress and the American Folklife Center, but we need help to do this important work.
The mission of the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress is to collect the memories, accounts, and documents of war veterans from World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars, and to preserve these stories of experience and service for future generations.
By “veterans,” that means all veterans, men and women, those who served in war and in support of combat operations, all ranks in all branches of service – the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. That also includes the Merchant Marine, those involved in home front activities and citizens who supported the armed services. The first priority is to focus on the most senior veterans and those who served in support of them, especially those from World Wars I and II, and the Korean War.
James Billington, Librarian of Congress said, “We owe our wartime veterans a profound appreciation for their sacrifice and service to our nation and its future. We also owe all our citizens an opportunity to appreciate and honor those men and women who have protected our nation in the gravest of times. Together, with the help of all Americans, we can honor our war veterans and create a lasting body of documentary materials that will inform and educate our citizens in the decades ahead.”
The Sedona Public Library’s Board of Trustees have determined that Sedona Public Library shall serve as a participating partner in the Veterans History Project, whose intent is to honor our nation’s war veterans and those who served in support of them. This is done by collecting their stories. In so doing, we will assist in creating a lasting legacy of recorded interviews and other documents chronicling veterans’and other citizens’ wartime experiences and how those experiences affected their lives and America itself.
Your Library has assembled a cadre of volunteers who regularly meet to interview veterans, videotaping them and then passing the information on to the Library of Congress. The veteran receives a copy of the interview and a copy goes on to the American Folklife Center for archiving. These interviews are the personal testimonies of the war experience of the vets and their families.
The material is to be made available to anyone who cares to research it via the Library of Congress. If you have access to the Internet, visit the Veterans History Project site at www.loc.gov/folklife/vets. By searching that site, you can learn more about the project itself, search for individual interviewees and even read their interviews and see documents and photographs.
To date, the Sedona Library’s volunteer team has gathered more than 30 interviews, and there are at least 50 more interviewees waiting their turn. They are a dedicated and active cadre, but they are shorthanded. That’s where you come in.
We need the help of people who see this work as vital. Help is needed to do the actual interviews (there is training for this portion, in case you think you would have no idea how to proceed), running the video and audio equipment during the interviews, assisting with completion of the necessary forms, and other tasks. The time necessary to do these tasks is adjustable, ranging from a few hours per week to whatever you care to provide. The need is great based on the rate of loss of our World War II veterans and the number of new veterans arriving home each day.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Anthony J. Principi says, “I urge all Americans to participate in the Veterans History Project. Capturing stories of those who served in uniform in their own words will provide the inspiration future generations will need when it is their turn to defend the nation Abraham Lincoln once called ‘the last best hope on earth.’”
If you are a veteran, or know a veteran, or anyone who fits the description above, encourage them to tell their story by contacting your Sedona Public Library.
Please consider giving your time to this vital national archiving project. You can experience the extreme gratification of helping preserve history, as well as the gratitude of the soldiers who are finally able to tell and preserve their stories. Call the Sedona Public Library to sign up. Make it your New Years resolution to help!
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