The rush before the rush...

Strolling up King Street today, dear readers, your loyal blogger heard it. He knew it was coming, but today was the day. Through the crisp air came the rhythmic ringing of the Salvation Army bell, from the ringer and the little red kettle in front of Charleston Place hotel: the first sound that's always sure to signal the holiday season in my mind.

Of course, the big-box stores have been hanging tinsel and blaring Adult Contemporary Christmas music for a few weeks now, but I've been more-or-less successful at tuning that out. But the Salvation Army bell tells me that it really is time for people other than Sam Walton and Charles J. Kmart to be thinking about Christmas presents. (Good thing for your loyal blogger that I got most of my Christmas shopping done in the late summer.)

Still, we are not letting thoughts of sugarplum fairies invade our thoughts here at the Library (though we've got all sorts of great CLS gifts you might like to consder!), or at least not yet. Look at the list of events we've got before Thanksgiving rolls around: Amanda Foreman is lecturing tonight, there's a Bourbon Tasting on Wednesday, Wes Jackson's lecturing on sustainable agriculture on Thursday evening, Edward Ball is speaking at Friday's Wide Angle Lunch, and then on Saturday and Sunday we host our annual Fall Book Sale. (As always check out our upcoming events here.)

So give yourself (and your mind!) an early present - come to a library event this week!

Notes from the middle of Fall events season

I suppose almost two months of hiatus should tell you a little something about how busy things have been here at the Charleston Library Society. So there's no time like the present (doubly so because this particular present is Pat Conroy's birthday!) to offer my apologies, sit down at the keyboard, and crank out another post.

Since September, the Library's events calendar has been in full swing. Unedited's second and Wide Angle's third series have started off as smashing successes. Beatles Bach & Beer was even more fun this year, with special thanks to Westbrook Brewing for providing two excellent kegs, and to the Bachstars and Ward Williams for providing some excellent tunes. The first two Wide Angle lectures, featuring historian Mark Smith and poet Susan Kinsolving were equally stellar. Other than that things have been fairly quiet... just some small events like hosting country music icon Marshall Chapman, New York Times bestseller Dorothea Benton Frank, kicking off our great new Discussion Group, and little things like that. Like I said, fairly quiet.

All that activity is not slowing down anytime soon, either. Tonight will bring us Mary Boykin Chesnut's Long Lost Civil War Photo Album, which is teetering right on the happy edge of being totally sold-out. Next week we will host actor Clarence Felder and Chamber Music Charleston for the concert/musical theater event Beethoven: His Women and His Music, the show's first appearance back in the States since touring internationally. Then our Speakers Series lights up: Simon Winchester will be here November 8th, and Amanda Foreman on November 14th. Both are bestselling authors and really, consider getting your tickets now... these are going to be big events.

Also in November, we'll have everybody's favourite event: it's Book Sale time again! Join us Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th for great bargains on books of all types. It's a great way to get a head start on holiday gift buying, or to just find something stimulating for yourself.

[Please note, though, that while we love when you donate your used books to us, we can no longer take paperbacks due to space and processing constraints. Many thanks.]

So that's a quick look back and a quick heads up... don't forget that more information on all upcoming events can be found at our website, and tickets for most events can be purchased by phone at 1.888.718.4253.

Slouching toward Bethlehem... (or at least trying to figure out where to put a Christmas tree in here...)

The tide is loosed, and everywhere the Society's events season's hours come round at last...

Monday was the Verdura jewelry lecture and exhibition, when your loyal blogger played with Cole Porter's "Night and Day" cufflinks (and now regrets not wearing French cuffs so that he might try them on).  Thursday was the end of Bret Lott's writing salon, and the start of the second session of Nan Morrison's Shakespeare course.  Wednesday, the end of the "Cocktail Party of Ideas".  Thursday, the end of the first series of Wide Angle Lunches (look for them again come March), and a fully packed-to-the-gills, turning-people-away-at-the-doors Unedited concert.  And tonight, mere minutes from now, the Poetry Society of South Carolina will have their monthly meeting with Michael McFee.

[Which reminds me, in case you haven't heard, Billy Collins will be the special guest for the PSSC's January Meeting / 90th Anniversary Spectacular.  Which isn't exactly what the Poetry Society is calling it, but we're talking national Poet Laureate... that's pretty spectacular.

Also spectacular: tickets for Mr. Collins are totally free.  All you have to do is be a member of the Poetry Society, and make a request for tickets.  Which you can do here.  $25 for an individual.  Not too shabby.]

And next week?  9 AM tomorrow the Fall Book Sale starts, and runs 'till 5PM, then again from 1PM-5PM Sunday.  Independent Lens Film Series is 4:30 this Sunday.  Jack Weatherford, author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (and recipient of the Order of the Polar Star) rounds out our Authors Series next Thursday at 7PM.  Our long fall events schedule continues to turn and turn in the widening gyre, moving its slow thighs towards the two ultimate happenings of the Society's season: our next Unedited concert (link goes to tickets.  Get them now.), and A Special Evening with Bernard Cornwell, our second annual December fundraiser.

A blog post inspired by a terrible demotivational poster.  A new low for your loyal blogger.

When the seersuckers come back to St. Phillip's...

"When the swallows come back to Capistrano,
That's the day I pray that you'll come back to me"
                             -"When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano", Leon René

It's St. Joseph's Day, the day the cliff swallows (in theory) return to San Juan Capistrano.  Charleston might not have petrochelidon pyrrhonota punctually popping in, but we do have our own sure signs of the season... Mr. Michaux's camellias start to bloom; tourists clot every crosswalk; CofC coeds treat Marion Square like a beach teach Wendell Gilliard about the first amendment...

Leon René might never have written a song about the onset of spring here in the Holy City, but it is very nice nonetheless.  Also nice?  Upcoming Library Society Events!

NEXT WEEKEND: Book Sale!

NEXT MONTH:  CSO Brass Ensemble, evening of the 9th.  Later, on April 15th, we're hosting a talk by attorney, author, and guy-who-knows-more-about-Grant-and-Lee's-Overland Campaign-than-anyone-else-on-the-planet, Gordon Rhea.  Mr. Rhea will be sharing the story of Charles Whildon.  An unsung hero during the American Civil War, Whilden grew up on Magazine Street, and his father was editor of the Carolina Gazette, begun in about 1820. Whilden fought in Virginia and his story was movingly told in Rhea's book, Carrying the Flag.  More info soon.

"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!

I wish there was "A Thanksgiving Carol". Or at least a "Ghost of Thanksgivings Past"...

Forty two days left until Christmas, and the Library Society just received its first Christmas card.  Like the first robin of spring, or the first mosquito bites of summer, receiving the first Christmas card of the season is always a touching moment.  It would have been even more touching had it not been addressed to "Occupant", and if a note begging for money hadn't fallen out of it.  I suppose we are entering into that "time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices."

Are there no prisons?  Are there no workhouses?


(Please do not mistake your loyal blogger's badmouthing of specific charities [who send Christmas cards weeks too early] as a denigration of giving to nonprofits more generally.  And liberally.  And frequently.  'Cause we're bringing back the New York Times, and man is it expensive!  Also, do remember, you can't fit a whole library society into a Victorian workhouse, and even if you could, I doubt we'd be much good running their treadmills or crushing up boulders.  Too many elderly members.  And I'm sure old Ebeneezer was a generous donor to the London Library without the prompting of any ghostly apparitions. )

(Pictured left to right) Generous Library Donor; Rotund, Otherworldly Fundraising Volunteer

Anyhow, with the dawn of the Christmas Card season, your loyal blogger now feels free to a) plug the book sale this weekend as a great place to buy gifts, and, b) present the first events of 2010.  Starting on January 12th, the Library Society and the Gibbes Muesum of Art are having Toddler Tuesdays.  Free for all CLS and Gibbes members, this will be a fun story time for children ages three to five (with an adult).  Toddler Tuesdays should run from 10:15 to 11:00 in the morning, every Tuesday, with no reservations required.  We've also got a book signing on Thursday, January 7th with Quentin Whitwell, author of If By Whiskey.  We promise no overlap between Mr. Whitwell's story a sorority girl at Ole Miss, and our toddler story hour selections.

Though we do have the 1940's Curious George books where George smokes a pipe, and discovers ether...

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.

Dispatches from the Chalerston Lybrary Societye

Hopefully, some of you are familiar with the continuously wonderful "group complaint about law, liberty, and leisure" that is Popehat.com. It's a site your devoted author frequents regularly and never fails to enjoy. A highlight of the blog is the "Road To Popehat", a regular feature showcasing some of the exact search terms that brought people to the blog, and then musing upon their weirdness.

So, now I'm appropriating the bit for Shh! Here are a few (thoroughly weird) items y'all put into Google that eventually led you to us:


"Chalreston", or "Charlestun", or "Chareston", or "Chalerston", or "Chereleston"
Hopefully these visitors went to Savanuh instead.

old library + king street + savannah
Yup. They did.

murder in Charleston, SC
Might I suggest Romney Street?

The Brick + Charleston, SC + Hours
5 PM to 2 AM, thank you. And in my experience, they're real strict about the 2 AM part.

"free jackhammer" and "damn+jackhammer"
Two folks after my own heart.

Library Society charleston parking
It's a little known fact that we've had a parking lot behind the library for the past 97 years. It's free for patrons and guests!

Dr. King + Halloween Party + Charleston
I'm not touching that one with a ten foot pole.

the charleston library society is
Deep statement, young grasshopper.

charleston library society 29407
It would make my drive to work a little shorter.

what is the oldest and smallest instituion in society?
This feels like a riddle... I'm guessing the Libertarians.

charleston library society + myspace
We're not a band or a paedophile, so MySpace isn't much use to us, thanks. However, do feel free to follow our Facebook group!


Anyhow, that's enough of me being a wisearse. If nothing else, this has been a very insightful exercise: apparently we're not focusing on the illiterate and mildly mentally handicapped... and they are very interested in the "Charlee Lybray King stret".

For those of you who are not only fully literate and in possession of their mental faculties (that's you dear reader!), we have a host of events coming up soon. Bret Lott is here in one week: RSVP now, at rsvp@charlestonlibrarysociety.org, or by calling 843.723.9912. The Fall Book Sale is here in just under two months, so there's still plenty of time to drop by with donations. Remember, we're the "Charlee Lybray" behind the "old+ginko trees+29401", and once again, there is "free parking + Charleston Library". See you soon!




P.S.: To the ten people who have been searching "Clifford Jacobs on Facebook", (quite flattering, thank you) that's just a pen name... so you'll have search harder.

P.P.S.: If you're not a cute, available redhead between the ages of 19 and 35 (or someone looking to pay a freelance blogger), Clifford sez: feel free to stop trying altogether.

A brimful of Asha...

Quick tip for confused patrons: your new books are all still here, they've just moved twelve feet. The passageway gallery (!) between the Main Reading Room and the Barnwell Annex is now the home to all our new nonfiction, fiction and mysteries, along with our esoteric collection of non-accessioned books. Feel free to grab a few good volumes and have a seat in our new chairs or couches.

Our fine collection of East Indian art is now on display in the passageway. Though they have been out since 1990, we hope their new place in the passageway brings renewed interest in these wonderful pieces. The Society has many American colonial-era works, and even a few late medieval documents, but none of our written materials compare age to our Indic art. Reflecting on these Jain and Hindu carvings- some over eight centuries old when the Society was founded- makes one pause before calling the CLS a "venerable" institution (still, 1748's pretty good by American standards- even for Charleston!)

Don't forget- CLS Fall Book sale, mid-November. The Bhagavad Gita teaches,

"Worn-out garments are shed by the body; Worn-out bodies are shed by the dweller within the body. New bodies are donned by the dweller, like garments." -Bhagavad Gita II.22

Well, our book sale is exactly like that. Just instead of worn-out bodies, think of worn-out books. And the immortal atman of cash from resale moves through the samsāra of being exchanged for new books. Or something like that. Anyhow, stop by soon, and bring books- it's good for your soul.

Labor Day Weekend: more proof Grover Cleveland was our greatest president...

The start of September; the end of summer; the start of football season; the end of having large print books in the front room of the Barnwell Annex... it's an eventful time indeed. Labor Day weekend is here, unless you're one of the 6,335,000,000 or so people who don't live in the United States, Canada, or Bermuda. (Remember, they all celebrate Labor Day on May Day, better known as "Commie Christmas".) Which reminds me, I'm pretty sure the City of Minneapolis officially regards the first of May as "Labor Day". So there's another 330,000 or so folks not celebrating Labor Day this weekend, either.

For the record the Charleston Library Society is taking the holiday off- we're closed this coming Saturday and Monday. I'll personally celebrate the proletariat's struggle against capitalist running-dog lackeys by watching the Bulldogs of UGA (in red, no less) run a football down Mike Gundy's throat; glory, glory, and to hell with Oklahoma State.

Other goings on: Don't forget, we're only a month-and-a-half away from the Fall Book Sale, so stop by with your donations. The new library chairs are in, as are new lamps and some more stylish seating in the Main Reading Room.

"Maybe the cabin is the place inside each of us, created by our goodwill and teamwork... Nah, they said there'd be sandwiches."

"Oh, yes, sitting... the great leveler. From the mightiest pharaoh, to the lowliest peasant, who doesn't enjoy a good sit?"
-Charles Montgomery Burns


As many of you already know, of the best sits in town is to be had in the Main Reading Room here at the Library Society. Whether at the research tables, digging into a hundred-year old manuscript or a brand-new magazine; or sunk deep in the club chairs taking in a new novel or some non-fiction, the peace and quiet in here is pretty hard to beat (though the streetscaping crews outside occasionally try).

If you know first-hand how relaxing a spell in the CLS can be, though, then you're likely also aware that our chairs have seen better days. If you had been around through two World Wars, Prohibition, eight-and-a-half decades of the Red Sox losing, the Atomic Age, the Jet Age, Nixonomics, Billy Beer, seven decades of the Soviet Union, telegraphs, telegrams, telephones, the internet, the mobile phone, mobile internet, and the collective posteriors of maybe a quarter-million "sits"... you might be a little worse for wear too. (Come to think of it, a signifigant number of our members have lived through two World Wars, Prohibition, eight-and-a-half decades of the Red Sox losing, the Atomic Age, the Jet Age, Nixonomics, Billy Beer, almost-seven decades of the Soviet Union, telegraphs, telegrams, telephones, the internet, the mobile phone, and mobile internet. As for being sat on 250,000 times, I'd rather not know.)

The Society is, therefore, looking* to replace our tired, squeaking, mismatched seating with twenty four new wooden library chairs and four new club chairs. Library chairs can be purchased for a donation of $150, club chairs for $300. A brass plaque of dedication is included if desired. For more information, or to pay by credit card, call 843-723-9912.

ALSO COMING SOON: June 27th is the Carolina Day Parade, come march with us (under our new flag)! Washington Park, 11:00 AM: we're near the front. July 2nd is the Lowcountry Launch Party for Dorothea Benton Frank's new novel, Return to Sullivans Island. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served, and a complimentary signed copy of the book comes with every ticket ($75). There will be sandwiches. Also, spread the word: our first Summer Book Sale, mid-July!


*ha, I audaciously split an infinitive! Take that, 5th grade English class!