Author: librarian

Boy, do we have a festival planned for Radford! On Saturday, July 12, from 10 to 5. Authors, storytellers, performers and musicians will invade Glencoe Museum and regale us with their stories and hijinks. Take a look at some of the folks who will be here: Beth Macy, Ralph Berrier, Charlotte Rogan, Jan Neuharth, Kathryn Starke, Tim Jackson, Roland Lazenby, Michael Abraham, Fred First, Madelyn Rosenberg, storyteller Wally Scott and our very special guest Bil Lepp who has appeared on Comedy Central–a cross between Bill Cosby and Jeff Foxworthy! That’s somebody you don’t want to miss. The Java Brothers music will be our finale. There will also be workshops on storytelling and archiving your family’s histories, story times for the kids and juggler/street performer Cyrus Pynn. This festival is the first for Radford and southwest Virginia. Thanks to the generous donation of the Rockwell family in memory of their mother, Jean Rockwell, who attended the Festival of the Book in Charlottesville every year. Her daughter Susan says, “My Mom was an avid reader her entire life. She so enjoyed the 20+ years she spent working at the Radford Public Library and interacting with the Radford community, and always looked forward to attending the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville each year. The Radford Literary Festival is a fitting way to both honor her memory, as well as a way to give back to the city of Radford and the New River Valley area.”
So mark your calendars for Saturday, July 12. Go to the library’s website and click on Radford Reads Literary Festival. There will be a live radio broadcast on Wednesday, July 2nd from noon until 1:00 pm. To participate in the radio show on July 2nd, call 347-327-9168 to find out more about it. Summer reading program is well under way from birth to infinity. You’re not too old or too young to benefit from reading in the summer. Today is the first day for our new youth services librarian Hannah Pierce. Drop in and say hello. She would love to meet you. Story time starts again Tuesday, June 24th 10:00 for the wee ones. 11:00 for toddlers. Any questions? Give us a call at 731 3621 or text us on your smart phone by calling 66746 and precede your initial question with askradford.

There’s nothing like extreme weather to bring you closer to books. Whether it’s in front of a roaring fire, or sitting on the porch with an iced tea, winter and summer are perfect opportunities to slow down and dive into a great book. I understand the challenge of finding the perfect book that can transport you into a completely different time and place. I have found the one. This is a book I’ve heard about from other readers. I have read this author before and enjoyed his quirky novels. They have made movies from them: The World According to Garp, and Cider House Rules. John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany is the book I’m solidly in the middle of reading. Here is a line from the novel:

I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.

Irving is an author who delves into the deeper subjects. This is not a light book or one you might carry with you to the beach. But if you are itching for travel and you have a library card, you may be lucky enough to find a book that will make you remember one of the reasons you learned to read and the joy you had as a child when you found that book that transported you. Which book gave you that feeling that you were living in the story and you never wanted it to end?

At last night’s Ruritan Club meeting, the library’s own Brack Stovall read Ray Bradbury’s short story, “All Summer in a Day.” In this tale, a young girl is locked in a closet on the one day of the year that the sun shines. Bradbury, who died last month, was another author who had no fear of examining the darker side of life. He knew that the stories that take us to the edge are the ones that stay with us.

Check with your Radford library staff for suggestions on books you may want—subjects light and dark.

The summer reading program is in full swing now, and we’d like to thank the sponsors for contributing to the plethora of prizes we have to offer this year.

• Brewin’ Around
• Crumb & Get It
• Flower Pot
• Garrett’s & Megs
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 26
• La Quinta Inn & Suites
• Lamplighters—Friends of the Library
• Nesselrod on the New
• Pulaski Mariners
• Randolph Park
• Sharkey’s Wing & Rib Joint
• Tangent Outfitters
• Vintage Cellar

We also have two individuals, Sharon Oliver and John Phillips, who have contributed to the new weekly knitting group for adults, the Knit Wits.

I was treated to an interview with Mr. John Phillips a couple of weeks ago. If you’ve noticed the lovely artwork that is now on display throughout the library, you may thank John Phillips who has donated several pieces of original artwork from his personal collection. Mr. Phillips was born and raised in Snowville where he attended a one room school house, complete with a black, pot bellied stove and outdoor facilities. He served in the military from 1954 to 1958. After being released, he moved to New York City where he completed his master’s and doctorate degrees in nursing. Over the years, he worked at the famous Bellview Hospital, taught at Hunter College and NYU.

In 2008, he returned home to Radford. Mr. Phillips really values the culture in the area as he was accustomed to attending operas, art museums, concerts and auctions in Manhatten. He says there is not really that much difference when you think about it between Radford and the big city. We are fortunate to have cultural diversity in our community.

To that end, please come enjoy the next summer concert series at the library. We will have a jazz performance from The Graduates on Friday, July 6th at 7pm. And be sure to thank our sponsors for their donations to Radford’s culture.