A THANK YOU GATHERING FOR OUR MEMBERS AND DONORS

"SIPPING THROUGH THE STACKS"


 Donors and members of the St. Tammany Library Foundation were treated to an afternoon gathering in the Walker Percy Room of the Madisonville branch before the opening of "The Big Read."   Wine, appetizers, and an opportunity to chat with the keynote speaker, Julie Rivette, was sponsored by the Foundation as a way to say "THANK YOU" for your support, encouragement and loyalty. 

The National Endowment for the Arts awarded the St. Tammany Parish Library a $ 10,000 grant to launch the celebration of "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett.  Julie Rivette, an author in her own right, spoke on her grandfather's life.  It was a rivetting talk.

The activities are still going on in all branches of the Library.  If you wish to see the John Huston's 1941 motion picture, The Maltese Falcon, featuring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor, come to the Madisonville Branch  on Wednesday, April 9th at 5:30 p.m.

Go to the Library's website - www.sttammanylibrary.org for more information on other films, activities for children, teens, and adults, and a Film Noir series on Wednesday evenings in April.

The Foundation hopes to have more informal gatherings for our members in the future!

OUR PRESIDENT, ARGIRO MORGAN, WINS A NATIONAL AWARD

Two weeks ago, Donald Westmoreland, the Director of the St. Tammany Library, received a call and a letter from United for Libraries, the division of the American Library Association for Friends and Foundations.  He beamed when he heard that the President of both the Library Board of Control and the St. Tammany Library Foundation, Argiro Morgan, won the 2014 Trustee of the Year Award.  This Award is given annually to an outstanding community leader who has given exceptional service to a public library system.  Argiro has served for four years on the Board of the Louisiana State Library with distinction and has recently been reappointed to the Board by the Honorable Lt. Governor of Louisiana, Jay Dardenne.

Her leadership was evident in getting the library system up and running after Katrina, in working assiduously with others to construct the St. Tammany's system newest state-of-the-art library, in helping other branches improve their footprint in their communities, in lobbying for libraries at the State Capitol,  in working with the Director of the State Library, Rebecca Hamilton, and in undertaking the permanent memorial for the Northshore's most esteemed writers of the second half of the 20th century - Walker Percy.

There are over 60,000 trustees in America, all of which work to improve the services and the status of public libraries by voluntary leadership.  Argiro was totally surprised by the honor.  She will receive the Award in July in Las Vegas at the Annual Convention of the American Library Association.

Just another kudos for your St. Tammany Library Foundation.

HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME AT THE WALKER PERCY DINNER

CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF WALKER PERCY

  The March 6 dinner at Keith Young's Steak House to celebrate the legacy of the acclaimed writer Walker Percy was a stunning success. The Foundation had the maximum number of guests that could be accommodated.  The food was superb, as well as the guest speaker,  Lt. Governor, Jay Dardenne.

Lt. Governor Dardenne, always a captivating raconteur, told the story of Louisiana from Poverty Point to the present, speaking of its rich heritage of blended cultures, and quoting from Percy's books to illustrate the uniqueness of our state.  The Lt. Governor's office's is in charge of Culture, Tourism, and Recreation - and our state could not have anyone who could know and love our state and its people more.

The Foundation was ecstatic to have the daughters of Walker Percy attend the event.  Ann Moores, her husband David, and her husband John traveled from Texas to be there.  Her son, Dr. David Moores, and his wife Celeste accompanied his parents. Ann was once the owner of the charming bookstore, the Kumquat, on Lee Lane.   Mary Pratt Lobdell, Percy's oldest daughter, and a St. Tammany public school teacher, was accompanied by her son, John Walker Lobdell.  The daughters only regretted that their mother was not there to share their joy.  Mrs. Percy, known affectionately as Bunt, died the past year.

Many dignataries attended.  Among those who attended were Secretary of State Tom Schedler and his wife Stephanie, State Representative John Schroder, Charles C. Fot, former Attorney General of Louisiana, and St. Tammany Mayors Mike Cooper of Covington, Peter Gitz of Madisonville, and Donald Villere of Mandeville. Also present were Lane Carson, Director of the LA Department of Veterans Affairs and a former State Representative and his wife Laura, Susan Strain representing her husband Mike Strain, Commissioner of Agriculture.  Eric Skrmetta, member of the Public Service Commission, was not able to attend but a member of his staff represented his office.

Dr. Morgan was pleased to also recognize two of the architects who designed the new library and the Walker Parker Circle - Billy Sizeler and John Owens.  The St. Tammany Library Foundation's first benefactors, Lewis Kahn, Mihael Swick and Charles Foti of the law firm KSF were honored.  Benefactors and Sustaining members, prominent attendees, and members of the STLF were feted at a wine reception prior to the dinner.

At the evening, the Foundation launched its drive to sell laser engraved pavers for both the pathway to the library and for the Percy Circle.  Pathway bricks will cost $ 50.00.  Bricks for the Circle run from $ 250.00 $ 150.00 and $ 100.00.  The donor can chose to honor loved ones, beloved mentors, their church or school, business establishment, authors, artists, and musicians.

Energy, enthusiasm, and commitment radiated from those who attended the stellar evening.
It was a splendid event, enjoyed by all. 

WALKER PERCY WEEKEND IN ST. FRANCISVILLE

 ST. FRANCISVILLE,  LOUISIANA PLANS A WALKER PERCY FESTIVAL

The weekend of June 6-7, 2014 will be the place to be if you are interested in Walker Percy.

The Festival will open with a crawfish boil on Friday, and on Saturday during the day there will be panel discussions in the morning and early afternoon.

The topics are intriguing.  "Moviegoing and The Meaning of Life,"  "Is Science Enough Without Religion?," "The Jewish People as Sign,"  "Walker Percy and the Search for Home."  

The director of the conference is Rod Dreher.  Go to www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher or follow the festival on Twitter at @walkerpercyfest.  Also the festival is featured in Country Roads.  Go to www.countryroadsmagazine.com for the article on the doings in St. Francisville.

Additionally, there will be tours of St. Francisville on Saturday.

At night on Saturday also there will be more Louisiana food and a chance to enjoy Walker's favorite drink, "Bourbon."

As Rod wrote, "very little is as delightful as sitting around in the shade of an oak tree, drinking cold beer and talking about the South, and books, and ideas with other people who love them as much as I do."   He considers Walker Percy's literary legacy a "cultural treasure," and so do we - and Percy's books were written right here in Covington in St.Tammany Parish. 

The Festival should be lots of fun and it will followour own celebration the previous Sunday, April 27.  It will be a great way to celebrate Spring!

GREAT NEWS FROM OUR LIBRARY

SO MUCH TO LEARN, SO MANY THINGS TO DO AT OUR LIBRARY

SO MUCH TO LEARN, SO MANY THINGS TO DO AT OUR LIBRARY

Have you been following the news releases on the crowded schedule at our libraries around the parish?  There is something for everyone – East to West – throughout our libraries.

·      Interested in reading and discussing a book with other readers?  Every branch has an active book club meeting monthly.  Check with your nearest library for dates and times.

·      Even though we have had a spat of very cold weather, thoughts have turned to spring and gardening.   The Covington and Folsom Branches are having informational gathering on growing vegetables from seed.

·     Do you love words?  Scrabble games are on the menu at the Lacombe and Mandeville Branch Libraries.  Check out the schedule.

·      Children are exploring the art of the Caldecott winner picture books and are having guided art lessons based  on the illustrations of the winners of this prestigious award. 

·      And if you check the calendar at the libraries web site – www.stpl.us/event calendar you will find activities for teens and even babies!

·      The Madisonville Branch is hosting biographies of Louisiana characters through a RELIC Grant the St. Tammany Library won from the Louisianan Endowment for the Humanities.  The program will last for six weeks.  The six biographies that will be discussed pertain to Baroness Pontalba, Lafitte the Pirate, Kate Chopin, Huey Long, Louis Armstrong, and “the Last Madam.”  The Madisonville Library has all the materials you need to read and to join the discussion.  Congratulations to the St. Tammany Library for winning another RELIC  (Readings in Literature and Culture) from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Grant

·      Our Library is absolutely WONDERFUL – and our FOUNDATION HOPES TO MAKE IT EVEN MORE SPECIAL!