Summertime hours = the living is now 8.75% easier.

  Over 130 people in attendance for two events, one quite hastily announced, in one week, in the middle of summer. Last week's event schedule was a pleasant revelation of just how many folks are willing to come out for lectures and events in the face of torrid temperatures and hellish humidity. Many thanks to everyone who came out to the great events with Robert Rosen and Charlie Geer.

  Though, to be fair, those events were air conditioned. Attendance for last week's Carolina Day parade was not so... robust. Your loyal blogger says if our noble forefathers could fight off the Redcoats in 93 degree weather, we can put on striped suits and walk down Meeting Street. 

  And if you disagree, General Moultrie would be disappointed in you.

  Oh well. As long as we're discussing Library events and our Revolutionary-era predecessors, it's a good time to mention our Bastille Day Lecture next week. Alan Hoffman, president of the Massachusetts Lafayette Society, will discuss the work he's recently translated, Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825. This work was the diary of Auguste Levasseur, Lafayette's secretary, and recounts the major general's trip around the young American republic (including his time here in Charleston). Things start here in the Main Reading Room at 7PM, Thursday July 14th. There's no charge for the event, though we do ask you RSVP by emailing us or giving us a call (843.723.9912). A light reception will follow the lecture.

  Also, new summertime hours start this week! Monday-Thursday remains the same (9:30-5:30), while Friday gets trimmed down to "Saturday Size", (9:30-2:00), enabling our staff to get home in time for dinner for once.

  Finally, we're having a dry-run, get-the-kinks-out, first go at a trivia night this Thursday at 7PM. Cover is $5, beer & snacks are provided, and there'll be a little prize for the winning team. Get some folks together- groups of 2-5 might be best - and join us for a little beer and brainteasing! If you'd like more info, fire us an email.

Only a few more months 'till we get Bernard back...

For those of you who missed his excellent speech at this year's Annual Meeting of the Library Society, here's part-time Charleston resident, full time friend of the Library Society, and all-around awesome guy Bernard Cornwell, delivering the commencement speech for Emerson College. Not many commencement speakers manage to keep their audience awake... Bernard got them on their feet, earning a standing ovation by the end of his address. If you've got ten minutes, spend it watching this:

Celebrating Thomas Jefferson's birthday with a little paper chasin'...

Event news: Gordon Rhea will be here Thursday evening at 6:00 PM for a lecture on Charles Whilden, an unsung hero of the War Between the States, and about whom Rhea chronicled in Carrying the Flag. The lecture is free; copies of the book will be available for $17.

Non-"events" event news: the Library Society has recently received an anonymous pledge to match up to $25,000 worth of giving!

The aim of the gift is to both increase membership, and to increase the giving of existing membership levels. Any giving above the normal $75 Friend of the Library membership level counts towards the matching pledge. So, if you're currently a Friend of the Library, consider throwing in an extra $25 bucks and upgrading to the Beatrice Witte Ravenel Circle.

To better recognize and facilitate this giving, we've split the Beatrice Witte Ravenel Circle of giving (formerly $100-$499) and created the John Bennett Circle for gifts of $250-$499. Not only does this honor a great Charleston novelist and poet, it's a great way to help the Library meet this challenge grant. Call with a credit card, stop by or mail in a check, or you can always donate via Paypal here. We hope you will consider helping the Library take full advantage of this $25,000 opportunity!

"Thanks to Heinz Baked Beans, every day is a super day!"

John Avlon has sold out.

Not "sold out" like the Stones during the Windows 95 launch, or Dennis Hopper with those blasted Ameriprise commercials, or Led Zeppelin selling Cadillacs, mind you.  There are just no longer tickets available for his event here at the CLS on the 11th.  Sorry, Charlie, should have RSVP'ed sooner.

"Sorry, Charlie" copyright StarKist Co.  

Mmm... StarKist Tuna, the official tuna of the Charleston Library Society.  Buy some, today!

From the collections: clandestine plug edition.

After spending half of last fall, and the whole of January on display, we're returning DuBose Heyward's original handwritten manuscript for "Porgy" to the vault this week.  If you haven't seen it, look at the image directly above... not as satisfying as coming in to see the real thing, is it?  Well, it's still out today, so hurry by.

Other things to come and see: John Avlon (more of a person than a thing, really) will be here to discuss his new book on political wingnuts (more things than persons, really), memorably entitled Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America.  7 PM, March 11th: tickets are selling briskly, so RSVP now.  A week later on March 18th, we'll be hosting the New England Genealogical and Historical Society for a day of conferences.  Registration is $30 (if postmarked before March 1, 2010); $40 (if postmarked after March 1, 2010).  Contact NEHGS's Joshua Taylor, Director of Education and Programs by phone, 617-227-1226, or e-mail, jtaylor@nehgs.org, for more info.

MMX

It's 2010, and we're back! We hope you've all had a wonderful holiday season, and are as excited about the new year as we are. First, a look back at one of our favourite 2009 memories, thanks to Heirloom Creative Photography: photos from December's Pat Conroy event.

We're already ready for a new year even better than the last (and, as you could see from those pictures, the last one was pretty good around here). This week, we've got a book signing with Quentin Whitwell this Thursday at 7, and we're hosting an event of the Poetry Society of South Carolina (PSSC members only, please) Friday at 7.

Next week is the start of two new programs: the CLS Writing Salon with Bret Lott, and Toddler Tuesdays with the Gibbes Museum. The salon is a ten week course led by NYT bestselling, Oprah Book Club picked, former editor of the Southern Review, Bret Lott. Mr. Lott will be guiding a small group to improve their own writing through discussion and critique of participant's individual work. For more info on the salon, contact Anne Cleveland here at the CLS, 843.723.9912. Toddler Tuesdays is a new storytime and activity program for 3-5 year olds every Tuesday here at the Library. It will run from 10:15-11:00 AM, and starts on the 12th. The program is free for CLS and Gibbes members, and children must be accompanied by an adult. For more info, contact Rebecca Williams at 843.722.2706 extension 41.

Tuesday the 26th of this month is the 262nd (I think) Annual Meeting of the Library Society. All members are invited to attend. This year's guest speaker is Bernard Cornwell. Yes, that Bernard Cornwell. Sharpe's, the Saxon Stories, Agincourt, about ten billion novels sold, et cetera, et cetera. Very exciting.

If you're not planning to attend the Annual Meeting, we will send Richard Sharpe to get you.

Notes following two weeks of craziness. Painful, Tom-Cruise-on-Oprah level craziness...

It's been two crazy weeks since your loyal blogger last posted.  Despite 261 years of existence, I'm not sure if the Library Society has ever hosted back-to-back weekends of major events before... with good reason.

First was the Membership Libraries Group conference: every year the Library Society meets with the other American membership libraries to discuss library management, fundraising, governance, programs, and a range of other issues where we share common ground.  The meetings were not just enlightening, but very, very enjoyable, thanks to the wonderful librarians and directors in attendance.  Besides, it's always nice to hang out with the small handful of people who know the pain of explaining what a "non-governmental public library" is to slackjawed visitors, over and over again...

Second was yesterday's lecture by Doctor Lisa Sanders, internist at Yale and technical advisor for the show "House".  Doctor Sanders' event was extremely well attended, which is always exciting.  Increasing the excitement was the large difference between the RSVP list and the number of attendees.  While RSVPs certainly were not an absolute necessity, the lack of them did make the event standing-room only.  Like I said earlier- it's been a hectic few weeks.

November should be much less hectic.  Coming up on the calendar, our monthly Young Professionals Group meeting is this Thursday, November 5th- Guy Fawkes Night!- so we hope you'll be able to swing by the Library, have a drink, and meet up with other local professionals from their mid-twenties to mid-forties.  Our first concert is coming up soon, too: the Charleston Academy of Music is having a benefit concert, hosted here, at 5:00 PM on Thursday, November 12th.  Fall Book Sale is the 14th and 15th.  Relative to October, this month looks almost devoid of activity.

Remember, you can call 843.723.9912 or email us at rsvp@charlestonlibrarysociety.org for more information or to make event reservations.  Please, please do.

Also, now that Halloween is over, I feel free plugging our merchandise as GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS.  We've just got a new run of notecards featuring the original architectural drawing of our front elevation: they're available for purchase at the front desk now, and should be in the online store shortly.  In the pipeline, our handwritten manuscript of John Locke's Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina is being prepared for limited run of hardbound reproductions...  we're still not sure when they will be ready, but they will certainly be a unique piece of both Caroliniana and Society history.

It's not lupus. It's NEVER lupus.

Confirmed News: Lisa Sanders, faculty of Yale School of Medicine, NY Times Magazine columnist, inspiration for and technical advisor to the television show House, and author of Every Patient Tells a Story : Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis, will be talking at the Library Society on November 1st. This lecture should be informative and entertaining in equal measure, and the CLS is quite privileged to host it. More information-will be available soon.  The event starts at 5:00 PM and there is no admission charge.



Unconfirmed news: Hugh Laurie will also be along, singing novelty songs from A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and doing readings from Blackadder.

Okay, I just made the Hugh Laurie bit up. He's not coming. Though we would love to have him: I'm sure the man who claimed "[P.G.] Wodehouse Saved My Life" would be right at home here at a library where Jeeves and Wooster novels still fly off the shelf, sixty years after their publication.


ALSO: In much the same way that Generalissimo Francisco Franco remains dead, The Pat Conroy event is still sold out. Call or email, and we'll be happy to put you on the waiting list should tickets become available...

Dies iræ! Dies illa!

Day of wrath! O day of mourning! Pat is sold out, booked, packed to the gills, jammed full. All seats have been accounted for by pre-sales to members. There are no more tickets; there is still much more demand...

This coming Thursday is the first day of sales to non-members, and we've already been informed, many times, "My whole book club is ready to come get tickets, first thing on the 15th" or "Everyone I know is chomping at the bit to get tickets" or "All my friends are calling at 9:30 on the 15th!", et cetera, et cetera.

Your loyal blogger -the Library staffer who sits closest to the telephone- feels he is about to become a very unpopular person. The general public might have no shot at tickets: hopefully they won't have a shot at me, instead.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus.
-Requiem, Tridentine Mass

Okay, enough lamentation, let's be positive: y'all sold out an event in a week's time. About two thirds of tickets were gone in the first 48 hours. With pre-sale available for members only, membership has jumped. Best of all, I had enough to handle last week concerning this event that I had to put off all the old work stacked on my desk. We knew that Pat Conroy is a draw second to none, but still, this is impressive.

If you haven't got your tickets yet, don't lament (but don't delay, either). Call us now, and we'll put you on our waiting list if tickets become available. It's a long time until December 10th...

Your Michaelmas present: Pat Conroy's coming!

Happy Michaelmas, the third most painfully English of holidays (just behind St. George's Day and Guy Fawkes Night, but slightly ahead of Plough Sunday and Remembrance Day)! We can't cook you a goose or bring bannock bread, so this'll have to do:

Pat Conroy is coming to the Library Society.

To mercilessly crib John Keats; we wish a more exciting word than excited, a more thrilling word than thrilled, to express our regard for so wonderful a writer. Our pleasure in hosting this event cannot be contained.

So, yeah, we're a little hyped up over it. And y'all are too: twenty-four hours after the Post and Courier wrote about the coming fundraiser- more than two weeks before tickets will be on sale- the Society was receiving phone calls about the event. Personally, I've received about a dozen calls and emails looking for tickets, and thereby learned that hanging out with Pat Conroy is a great way to get reacquainted with old friends and distant relations (and then disappoint them terribly).

Tickets will be available after October 15th: priority reservations will be available to Society members, and tickets will be limited. Hard details- exact times and prices- will not be released until sometime next week... so be patient.

While on the topic of events, I would be remiss to neglect the fantastic one we hosted last week. Bret Lott, bestselling author of Jewel and The Hunt Club and about a half-dozen other books delivered a terrific lecture to a very large crowd of members and guests. It was a great kickoff for our Fall events season, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom-friend of the maturing sun... sorry, sorry, more Keats. Anyhow, Bret not only gave a great talk; he supplied the A's in an insightful Q and A session (that could have lasted all evening, had it been allowed); and stuck around for an hour on top of that, talking to attendees personally and fielding lord-only-knows how many more questions. As folks who know him- even those who met him just last Thursday- know, Bret is as wonderful a person as he is a writer, and the Society is always pleased to have him here.

Fall Events are Here!

Next Thursday, September 24th, bestselling author Bret Lott will give a lecture entitled "Southern Writing and Southern Editing: My Life and The Southern Review". Mr. Lott was named editor of The Southern Review in 2004: he returned to Charleston last year, and now teaches English and creative writing at The College. He is the author of a dozen books, including The Hunt Club and Jewel, an Oprah Book Club pick and major motion picture.

Also, for those of you yet to stop by since we've started remodeling, a picture of part of the improved reading area in the Main Reading Room. The old green vinyl chairs have been happily relegated to the bowels of the building, and our casual reading space has never looked better or felt more relaxing. Stop by soon!

Did you know that "Cinco de Mayo" is Spanish for "Bring your Favourite Librarians some Dos Equis Day"?

It's Cinco de Mayo! Little more than a local day of remembrance in Mexico, the anniversary (this one is the 147th) of the Battle of Puebla has grown into a major celebration of Mexico and its culture on the north side of the border. As St. Patrick's Day and Oktoberfest have taught us, Americans are quick to adopt other cultures' holidays and traditions, so long as they mostly consist of drinking, eating, and dancing. This is why Leif Erikson Day, with its lutefisk, mashed peas, and Ringes beer just hasn't been all that popular outside of Wisconsin. Norwegian Americans, I am truly sorry.

The Library Society has a few upcoming events you'll want to mark on your calendar (we'll even have wine and hors d'oeuvres at a few of them- though none are scheduled to involve dancing...). Next Thursday, May 14th, we are scheduled to host Dr. Edmund Drago for a lecture and book signing. Dr. Drago, a historian at The College of the Charleston, will be discussing his Confederate Phoenix: Rebel Children and Their Families in South Carolina. The first full account of white children and their families in South Carolina during the Civil War. Drago's book shows how the War transformed the domestic world of the white South, through deprivation, disease, and death. Call us at 843.723.9912 for reservations or more information, or email us at rsvp@charlestonlibrarysociety.org.

Also, one of Charleston's own major local holidays (and we do have a few, don't we?) will be here soon: Piccolo Spoleto. The CLS will again be hosting the international arts festival's Southern Literary Festival, a series of lectures and book signings from some of the South's most beloved and well-respected authors. This year's scheduled guests include Nicole Seitz, Cassandra King, Ron Daise, Janna McMahan, Bret Lott, and Anne Rivers Siddons.

I'm just sad 'cause there's still six months of baseball left...

XJSes roll around town with their tops down, polychrome sails push scores of dinghies back and forth across the harbor, tourists form an unplanned human chain Meeting and Market Streets in a kind of casual protest against all politeness. Yes, its springtime in Charleston. Which at the Library Society can only mean one thing... the Spring Book Sale!

Which was last weekend, so, you missed it. Way to go. For the record, it was excellent, which is a polite way of saying we made a little money with it. Thanks to all the members, Bridge Runners, tourists, and sundry passers-by who stopped in; an even bigger thanks to the volunteers who kept the sale sailing along.

So with the Book Sale out of the way, springtime at the library must mean it's time for something else... and that something is murder! On Thursday, April 16th, at 7:00 PM, we will host Writing Murder Mysteries of the Carolinas, a lecture and book signing with authors Carolyn Hart and Margaret Maron. These two nationally-recognized authors will be providing insights into their creative process. It's sure to be an exciting night- doubly so if they disclose their "creative process" for penning murder mysteries (over fifty between the two!) to be autobiographical. RSVP now.

Don't forget, the Edgar Allan Poe exhibit is still here: if you can't make it to the Murder Mysteries event, you can still get in a little vernal morbidity- if you come before the 20th of April.

ACTUAL LIBRARY NEWS: the Library Society will be closed this Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th. We will return to normal hours Easter Monday because we're the only country in the Western world that doesn't get the day off...

(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)!