Me and you, your momma, and your cousin too...

It's hot, it's rainy, and now the elevators are dead.  The minsis horribilis continues.  SCE&G has swapped a transformer on our block, and until we get compatible motors, our elevators are just a pair of storage closets with electrically actuated doors.  Oh well: the good folks at SCE&G are on top of it, so the elevators should be back posthaste.

But the bitter always comes with the better.  Butter.  Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.  How many boards could the Mongols hoard if the Mongol hordes got bored.  Irish wristwatch.  Arg!

Okay, no more of that rubbish.  The better = Unedited: A Concert Series with Laura Ball and Friends, which premiers about a month from now on September the 9th.  A series of seven unique concerts, Unedited will present a wide spectrum of artists and styles, captained by inimitable soprano Laura Ball.  September 9th is Favorite Arias and Duets, featuring a selection of film soundtrack favorites.  Single event tickets are $15, and series tickets are $85 (about a twenty percent discount from single event price).  Get 'em via paypal through our website, linked above, or call us, 843.723.9912.

"A thousand twangling instruments / Will hum about mine ears..."

At least that's how Caliban put it in The Tempest.  And it's not just true on Shakespeare's windswept isle, but true as well in the Library's Research and Writing Center.  The Center is being thoroughly renovated, with new offices and reading bays in their own private, quiet space.  The project is on schedule, and should be completed and ready for use by next week.

Until then, the twangling of power tools and hanging drywall and painting will hum about your ears, if you're in the other half of the Research and Writing Center.  The rest of the Library, including the Main Reading Room, is as calm as ever.


In "The Spirit of Music", Geddy Lee reminded us the "machinery making modern music / can still be open-hearted, / not so coldly charted; / It's really just a question of your honesty."  And- honestly- that little snippet of Canadian prog-rock might describe the renovation even better than the Bard.  And, it's what the construction workers were listening to yesterday, so it's stuck in my head...

Rush: Canada's Shakespeare

Still waiting for our first Bar Mitzvah...

Hotter than hades outside, fewer patrons inside, and no events on the calendar 'till September: summertime means project time around the Library.  Latest result:

 

That's the front room of the Barnwell Annex, once home to audio books and lots and lots of beige.  Now?  It's a snazzy conference room; home to the Library's collection of French books; our 1825 Jean Alexandre Bouchon map of South Carolina; and this fall, home to our restored Mouzon map of South Carolina.  It's a great space finally getting put to great use.

Speaking of using space around here, there is now a dedicated page on our website covering the basics of renting our rooms for your events.  The info is also available in the downloadable .pdf on said page, if you'd prefer it that way.  We've hosted parties, investment groups, genealogical conferences, a couple of weddings, and all sorts of other stuff here before: if you've got a get together, we'd love to host it.

It's not like our event calendar isn't free at the moment.

"We're rich! Richer than astronauts!"

Well, near perfect weather, lots of cheerful volunteers, and a few months worth of our harping all came together for our most successful book sale yet!  By the time we locked the door of the Barnwell Annex on Sunday evening, we had brought in a couple of hundred dollars over our pre-sale projections, and beaten our own sales records to boot.  Thank you, to all of our donors, our customers, and especially to our volunteers for creating this success.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention last week's marvelous concert from the Charleston Academy of Music.  Besides being one of the best-attended events your loyal blogger has ever seen the Library host, it was certainly one of the most enjoyable.  With individual performances by Nicholas Bentz and Shannon Fitzhenry on strings, and Micah McLaurin on the piano, and a orchestral showcase by Kidzymphony, the evening was nothing short of fantastic.  We here at the Society can't wait until the next time we can host the CAM.



As for that other noise around here (the bad kind): the scraping is, mostly, over!  Restoration work continues at a remarkable pace.  Painting has begun in earnest, and also on the window trim.  Hopefully this idyllic weather will hold and we'll have a productive week of work around the place.  We can do without more rain mid-November hurricanes...


Don't forget: The Library Society will be closed from Wednesday the 25th until Saturday the 28th.  Regular Library hours resume on Monday the 30th.
Also: Twenty-five days until Pat Conroy's here!

Free, convenient parking downtown: the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.

Notes (re)compiled while wondering why this blog didn't post the first two times I clicked "Publish Post".

As most of you know, Eric left his position here at the Society early this month, and is busy bringing the skillful leadership to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, (http://scdah.sc.gov/), one of the most prestigious history jobs in the state. We all wish him the best of luck.

Anne Cleveland is now Executive Director of the Library Society. Her handiwork here is already readily apparent (not to mention awesome). If you haven't been by in a while, now is the time to visit. Everything is clean and smells like lemons! And there are rugs and lamps and thoughtful decor! We're all very excited.

Decor changes bring me to the next topic- our fund raising campaign for new furniture! The Society wants to thank everyone who has participated so far. Your donations have been as speedy as they have been generous, and the new furniture should be here soon. I hope everyone's in the mood for a good sit!

Finally, the news y'all have been waiting for: the driveway is now open! Our segment of the streetscaping project has passed, leaving a lovely bluestone sidewalk, bricks across the driveway, and a renewed appreciation for on-site parking! A month of parking in the garage and walking in the August heat will do that to you. This is also a good time to remind everyone that when you park in the rear, you do not have to walk around to the front: just press the buzzer at the back door, and we're more than happy to let you in.

Papalaka-papalaka-papalaka-boo! Digariga-digariga-digariga-doo!

Today, August the fourth, is Saint Sithney's Day- the obscure Breton saint of mad dogs (if you ever contract rabies, he's your man). And, as Noel Coward taught us, only Mad Dogs and Englishmen are out on a day like today, when the heat index is at 98 degrees.

"In tropical climes there are certain times of day,
When all the citizens retire,
to tear their clothes off and perspire.
It's one of those rules that the biggest fools obey,
Because the sun is much too sultry and one must avoid
its ultry-violet ray..."
- Sir Noël Coward

So the synthesis of our little ecclesiastical and musical history lesson and weather report is this: if you're coming into the Library Society today, look out for rabid canines. (The Englishmen should be fairly harmless unless they are soccer hooligans, or they try to convince you that British food is suitable for human consumption. It is not.)

The driveway is still blocked off due to streetscaping: visitors may park in the 93 Queen Street garage for free if their ticket is validated at the front desk. We'll let you know when (if?) the situation improves.

ALSO COMING SOON: Fall book sale: October 17th and 18th November! Mark your calendar. Now.

Sorry, no snappy title today due do a sudden rush of patrons (weird, right?)

The CLS has been, if not overwhelmed, at least very, very whelmed by how quickly our call for new seating was answered. There must be some very dedicated sitters amongst you! All the club chairs have now been accounted for, as have twelve of the library chairs. That leaves us with just a dozen chairs left! These chairs are 150 dollars each: for more information, or to pay by credit card, call 843.723.9912.

Also, though we know y'all love the Library Society with a deep and abiding love, like that of a young John Hinckley for Jodie Foster, we're going to be a little hard-to-reach until the end of the month. We are now sans driveway and sidewalk thanks to ongoing streetscaping. The Society can still be reached via the Gateway Walk, and folks who drive to to library can park at the City of Charleston garage on Queen Street for free. Just make sure to get your pass validated at the front desk. We plan on remaining open and maintaining normal hours throughout this phase of construction.

Oh, streetscaping, so truly the bimetallism of our day...

Just some quick news on this, the 113th anniversary of the "Cross of Gold" speech, and the 29th birthday of Irish footballer Robbie Keane: Ongoing streetscaping will close the parking lot of the Society until late July. The Library will remain open. Patrons and Visitors may park at the City's Queen Street garage for free if their pass is validated at the Main Desk. The backdoor will still be open and the handicapped access ramp available via the Gateway Walk. If you have any questions, please call us at (843) 723 9912.

(It's also Osama Bin Laden's birthday... but let's not get into that.)

Happy Purim! We here at Shh! would like to thank the City of Charleston for bringing some non-traditional ra'ashan... er, noisemakers, in the form of jackhammers and Sawzalls and front-end loaders and the like. These guests should still be around long after the holiday has passed...

We hope you've been able to make it to one of our late-winter events: both the Ken Burger and Marjorie Wentworth book signings proved entertaining, interactive, and very well-attended. If you haven't been able to make it to an event recently, we hope you'll join us Monday (yes, Monday- not Thursday) the 16th (St. Pat's eve!) for Jack Bass and W. Scott Poole as they discuss and sign copies of their new book, The Palmetto State: The Making of Modern South Carolina.

Also on the horizon... a major event celebrating Edgar Allan Poe, mid-April murder mysteries, and, yes- the Spring Book Sale (April 4th-5th... get the word out now)!