Bringing the community together through music

One of the best ways to bring a community together is through music. Music can have the power to transcend racial, cultural, religious and generational barriers, just to name a few. In the past few years, librarians all over the world have discovered different ways to use music as a way to share ideas and bring people together through their September Projects. Here are a few examples:

• Last year Terrebonne Parish Library hosted a community band concert of patriotic songs after surviving back-to-back hurricanes, Gustav and Ike.  Along with photographs of the USS New York (built from melted down scrap metal from the World Trade Center), Terrebonne Parish Library used music to unite and to overcome hard times.

• Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA celebrated Constitution Day with a musical presentation by their student choral group, led by Cheryl Anderson. They used the music in association with talks by several esteemed professors on constitutional topics.
• La Biblioteca Centro Lincoln and Instituto Cultural Argentino Norteamericano showed Elvis Presley’s 25th anniversary concert and the documentaries Flashing on the Sixties and Empire of the Industry at the Auditorium. Ricardo Poyo Castro talked about jazz and African American music.  Peter Bronzini, Roberto Moreno’s Quartet and James Murray and Proscenio also performed live shows. In this case, music was used as entertainment and as a tool to educate particpants on history and other cultures.

Musical presentation at La Biblioteca Centro Lincoln

These are just a few of the many musical TSP events hosted by librarians. We’re excited to hear more about musical events for TSP 2009 in the upcoming weeks! If you have any ideas, don’t hesitate to drop us a line and share them!

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Terrebonne (LA) perseveres and participates

The Terrebonne Parish Library has seen some tough times the past few years. Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike have all been unwelcome visitors to the community the library serves, and each year, Terrebonne comes back, a bit shaken, but strong.

We were so delighted to hear from Lauren Ledet once again, proof that her community and her library can overcome, can unite, and can persevere again and again. I’ve said it many times before: Welcome back, Terrebonne, we’re glad you’re safe.

Here’s Lauren’s report:

Hi friends,

After the last two weeks, Terrebonne has finally gotten back on its feet and is ready to (partially-fully) participate in the September Project.

Much like the 2005 hurricane season featuring Katrina and Rita, Terrebonne Parish witnessed back-to-back hurricane’s that nearly devastated the parish. First, Gustav made a direct hit on our parish with the eye making landfall on our coast and basically traveling up the entire parish. Our damages were thankfully minor (trees, power lines, roofs, and the worst: no electricity for nearly two weeks).

Then, we dodged Ike’s direct hit, but were inundated by his storm surge. Over half our parish was underwater due to the storm surge caused by Ike. In some homes, the water level reached over five feet. Luckily, no libraries were directly affected by the storm surge. For Gustav, however, we did see windows blown out and roof damage to branches, and that eventually resulted in mold growth. That’s being dealt with currently. Of our nine branches, four are back up and running, one being our book mobile!

So, because of our shortage of branches and our reopening to the public only this week, we are really having a condensed version of the program this year. On September 28 the community band will play a patriotic concert at the Main Library. Other than that, we will have a display of photographs of the USS New York, built of scrap metal from the World Trade Center that was melted down in a foundry in Amite, Louisiana, about 100 miles from Houma. We had many things scheduled here (a voter registration drive, broadcasts of presidential debates, and library card sign ups with a diplomatic twist), but I think, for now, we’ll make do with our safety, our lives, and our libraries!

Thanks,

Lauren

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A lively discussion with music as a complement: Cabrillo College Library (CA)

It is with great pleasure that we read the post from Topsy Smalley, Instruction Librarian, where she shared news with us that Cabrillo College Library, a longtime participant in the project, was again organizing a September Project event. Read on:

The September Project at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, is being combined with recognition of Constitution Day. The event takes place on September 17, from 2-4 pm in the historic Sesnon House on the campus.

Brian King, the college President, will introduce the program. History professor Michael Mangin will moderate. Cheryl Anderson, Director of Choral Activities, and choral students will give a musical presentation. Other presentations include professor emeritus Morton Marcus speaking on Threats to the Constitution; Political Science professor Bill Hill speaking on the Electoral College; and Political Science Sandi Davie speaking on Changes to the Electoral College.

We expect a lively discussion to follow.”

And we hope to hear more about what happened at the event, and here’s hoping it truly is lively!

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September Project events for children, teens, and adults at all eight branches of Arapahoe (CO) Library District

All eight branches of the Arapahoe Library District, a public library system serving more than 200,000 residents living in Arapahoe County and other major suburban counties that make up the greater metropolitan area surrounding Denver, Colorado, are participating in this year’s September Project in a big way. It’s exciting when entire library systems get involved in the September Project, especially when each of the branches organizes different events for their different communities.

On a map, Arapahoe Library District’s participation in the September Project looks like this:

Librarians at Arapahoe Library District have decided to dedicate the whole month of September to Democracy @ Your Library and will be having voter registration and will be distributing constitution booklets at four of their branches. Further, all eight libraries will sponsor September Projects. As Cindy Mares, Program Coordinator at Arapahoe Library District, posted to the September Project listserv, their children, teen, and adult September Project events include:

Children’s Programs:
Wheels Parade and Crafts for Kids – Bring your decorated bike, wagon, or stroller for a patriotic parade around the parking lot! Make a craft to take home and top off the fun with cookies and lemonade!
Red, White and Blue Wreath – Make a wreath of red, white and blue foam and listen to a patriotic story. Ages 4+
Beaded Patriotic Pin Craft – Make a patriotic pin to wear and listen to a story about America. Ages 6-11.
Presidential Plane Race – Build a red, white and blue airplane to race for prizes and listen to a story about our country.
National Treasure: Two groups race to steal the Declaration of Independence and outwit each other and the FBI in order to find hidden treasure. A great action movie!
Shooting Star Memory Box – Keep your American memories in a sparkly box you decorate yourself.

Teen Programs:
Movie Night:
First Daughter:  Samantha wants to be a normal college student, but with the Secret Service protecting her, it doesn’t look likely.
Book Club:
First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover: Sameera, adopted Pakistani daughter of a Presidential candidate, is getting a makeover to make her appear more “American”. But what makes someone an American?  (A copy of the book will be available to the first 10 teens who register.)
Program:
Win Your Argument!  Do you like to debate multiple topics with your friends, teachers or parents? Learn the great art of successful persuasion; then apply those techniques to the issues that affect your life!

Adult Programs:
Ballot Speak – Learn about the issues that will be on the Colorado Ballot in November. The League of Women Voters will present an objective view that will help you make informed decisions.
Highline Silver Cornet Band – Enjoy lively patriotic music from the late 19th Century with the Highline Silver Cornet Band.
UltraSoniX Quartet – Members of the Denver MountainAires Barbershop Chapter present a patriotic tableau of soul-stirring red, white and blue tunes with a special tribute to Bob Hope’s USO Shows that toured the armed forces at a time when worldwide freedom was in peril.
Health Care: Issues & Options – With over 40 million uninsured Americans and spiraling health care costs, the need for a better health care system is clear to most Americans. Join Active Minds to look at our options, including how other nations of the world address the issue of health care for their citizens.

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overview of open doors

as we blogged about last week, la biblioteca centro lincoln collaborated with el instituto cultural argentino norteamericano (ICANA) to produce “puertas abiertas,” a multi-dimensioned series of events in buenos aires to enjoy the languages, food, and culture of each country.

ICANA’s esperanza sanchez reports about the event:

“Visitors received a piece of stencil art by Simulacro group from Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas. They were exposed to art in several exhibitions: Historia con Zapatos and Tiempos Inhumanos, by the artist Malena Gainza.

Professor Julio Manjovsky lectured on four great twentieth century American photographers: Dorotea Lange, Lewis Hine, Dianne Arbus, and Eugene Smith.

Regarding music, there was projection of Elvis Presley’s 25th Anniversary Concert, and the documentaries Flashing on the Sixties and Empire of the Industry at the Auditorium.

Ricardo Poyo Castro delivered a talk on jazz and African American music. Participants could also enjoy some live music shows performed by Peter Bronzini and its duet and Roberto Moreno’s Quartet. James Murray and Proscenio presented some Broadway musicals.”

thank you, esperanza, for the excellent summary and photographs!

update: here is a new image of Tiempos Inhumanos:

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