March 11, 2015
Bolivar County Library System
The LePoint Cassibry Smith Newsletter
Special points of
interest:
•
Volume IX, Issue 3
Director’s Corner—Renewing Our Skills to Help Our Communities Bloom
Library Now
Offers FREE
Driver’s Permit
Practice Tests
•
Introduction to
BCLS Board of
Trustees
•
Heart of Black
History Program
•
Book Recommendations
•
eBooks Are Available for Check-Out
at the Library
With March comes the official
beginning of spring.
After the
cold, wet winter that we have had,
spring can’t come fast enough for
me. As the land renews itself with
daffodils sending tentative shoots
out of the ground and the daylight
growing each day, spring brings the
perfect opportunity to shake off
the physical and mental sluggishness of winter. At the Bolivar
County Library System we’ll be
shaking off our own mental
cobwebs on March 25th at an
in-service, staff development day.
Although our libraries will be
closed that day, your librarians will
be hard at work renewing our own
skills to better serve our
communities.
Training at the staff development
day will focus on the many digital
services that BCLS already
provides, but that many of our
patrons don’t even know about. For
instance, did you know that your
BCLS library card provides you
Inside this issue:
BCLS Board of
Trustees
2
March Calendar /
eBooks Available
2
PBS Writers Contest / Driver’s...
2
drivers for the CDL, and
job seekers prepare for
interviews. All of these
services are
already
freely available to our
communities; our staff
development day will
help the BCLS staff
become more expert at
helping you use these
services.
February 27th was Alphabet “S”
Storyhour—for Sunglasses!
free access to online courses in
over 13 foreign languages and sign
language?
And for genealogy
enthusiasts your BCLS library card
provides access to Heritage Quest
Online from any internet
connection while Ancestry Library
is available in every branch library.
Learning Express Library has
practice tests that help prepare
students for the ACT, commercial
As the BCLS staff
focuses on the renewal
of our skills with these services, I
would like to invite you to take
advantage of these services if you
haven’t done so recently. Spring is
not only the perfect time for
renewal; it’s also the perfect time
to begin the practice of something
new.
Whether your needs are
educational, recreational, or
cultural, we have the library
resources to help your mind and
sprit bloom.
Luncheon With Books Featuring Ron Kattawar
The Friends of the
Library were proud
to welcome Mississippi author and
Greenville
native
Ron Kattawar as
guest speaker for
the Luncheon With
Books program on
TAG Hosts Heart of 3
Black History
Trustees (Cont.)
3
Looking for a Good
Book?
3
March 10th.
Community Events
4
Mr. Kattawar shared that after a
satisfying 38-year career with
Southern Airlines, he chose to
retire and pursue his life-time
passion of writing. He went on to
amuse the audience with his
experiences attempting to interest
Hollywood in his screenplays and
later writing essays about growing
up in the Delta, especially
Greenville.
He stated that his
essays, which were featured in the
local newspaper, were so popular,
he decided to publish them as a
collection—first Cornbread
Memories: Growing Up in the
Mississippi Delta and the follow-up
Cornbread Memories 2.
Following the success of these
books, he decided to start novelizing his screenplays and self-publish
them with the goal in 2015 of
publishing one book a month. His
other books—so far—are 27 Break,
The Autograph, Strength of
Goliath, and forthcoming in April
The Shroud of Natchez.
Page 2
BCLS Administrative Board of Trustees
From left, Geraldine Grammer,
John Raymond Bassie, Natalie
Peeler, Rebecca Taylor Lewis, and
Deloris Johnson.
In the state of Mississippi public
libraries are governed
by an Administrative
Board
of
Trustees
responsible
for
the
orderly and efficient
management and control
of
the
library.
Members of the Administrative
Board
of
Trustees are appointed
public
officials
who
serve their community
for no financial compensation. The
Bolivar County Library System is
fortunate to have an Administrative Board of Trustees that is
dedicated to providing the
residents of Bolivar County with
outstanding, progressive library
service. Here is a short introduc-
tion to our Board of Trustees:
counselor at Shaw High School.
Deloris Johnson, from Cleveland, is
married to Lee Johnson, owner of
Johnson Trucking & Construction
Co., and they have four daughters,
two sons-in-law, and fourteen
grandchildren. She is a graduate
of Alcorn State University with a
BS Degree in Home Economics and
has graduated twice from Delta
State University with Masters
Degrees in Guidance & Counseling
and Educational Administration.
Ms. Johnson retired after working
as an educator for 30 years from
West Bolivar County School
District. Since retirement, she has
worked eight years as a counselor
for the Hollandale School District
and is currently working as a
Rebecca Taylor Lewis, from and
born in Rosedale, graduated from
West Bolivar High School and
Belhaven College. She works as an
administrator in her husband’s
medical practice in Rosedale and is
the mother of two sons and two
daughters, and has four grandchildren—and another one on the way!
She states, “I am honored to be a
member of the BCLS Board. I am
proud to serve on the decisionmaking team that keeps all of the
libraries in our county strong and
active. My board position is one of
the most rewarding things I do
with my volunteer time. Through
this position I can see a difference
in my own community library, as well
Contined Page 3 at “Trustees”
March Calendar
"When you reread a
classic you do
not see more in the
book than you did
before; you see
more in you
than was there
before."
~Clifton Fadiman~
Author, Radio &
Television
Personality
March 20th, 27th & April 10th—
Preschool Storyhour at 10 a.m.—
Registration Required at Robinson
-Carpenter
March 18th—Cleveland Library
Commission Meeting at 10:00 a.m.
—Open to the Public at RobinsonCarpenter
March 18th—Board of Trustees
Meeting at 1:30 p.m.—Open to
the Public at Robinson-Carpenter
eBooks Available
for Staff Training
April 3rd—Good Friday—Library
and All Branches Closed
April 4th—Easter—Library and
All Branches Closed
Just a “Heads Up”:
April 30th—May 2nd—Friends of
the Library Annual Book Sale—
Details Forthcoming!
March 25th—Staff Meeting—
Library and All Branches Closed
PBS Writers Contest
Don’t forget the PBS Writers
Contest is still open! Calling all
kindergarten through 3rd grade
patrons! Try your hand at being an
author or illustrator by entering
into the PBS Kids Writers contest.
Enter your own stories (fact or
fiction) or poems with illustrations
for a chance to win prizes and your
story published online.
The
deadline to enter is March 31,
2015.
Contact Mrs. Bobbie at (662) 8432774 x105 for more details about
the contest and how to enter.
The library has eBooks and audio
eBooks available for check-out!
Visit our “Magic Wall” by clicking on
the Axis360 icon at our homepage
<www.bolivar.lib.ms.us>.
At the
“Magic Wall” click on “App Zone” to
download the appropriate apps for
compatible devices, including
Android mobile devices, Nook/HD/
HD+, Kindle Fire/HD/HDX, Apple
iOS mobile devices, and Windows
(Computers). Please don’t hesitate
to contact the library if you need
assistance choosing and/or installing the proper app, checking out
eBooks, or if you have questions.
Library Offers FREE Driving Permit Tests
The
li b ra ry
system
is
delighted
to
offer a new
FREE service to our patrons in
partnership with Driving-Tests.org,
one of the nation’s top sites for
driving permit practice tests.
The driving practice tests are
available for automobiles, motorcycles, and CDL licenses and the
website has the MS Handbooks for
all three, as well.
The site is user friendly and offers
great options for all needs,
including translating the text and
reading it aloud in English, Spanish,
German, French, and many more
languages, increasing the size of
the text, and converting the text
to an MP3.
To access Driving-Tests.org just
visit our website at <www.bolivar.
lib.ms.us>, scroll down, and then
click on the banner (like the one at
the beginning of this article) or
“Click here” link.
If you have
questions or need help using the
text options, contact the library at
(662) 843-2774 for assistance.
Page 3
Volume IX, Issue 3
TAG Hosts Heart of Black History Program
In observance of Black History
Month, The Teen Advisory Group
(TAG) sponsored the annual
Heart of Black History Program
at Robinson-Carpenter Memorial
Library in Cleveland.
TAG presented a varied program
that included an audience participation game of Guess Who This
Famous African American Icon Is
with Starburst candies as
incentives, a young and an older
Gabby Douglas showing off their
skills in gymnastics, and the
closing of the program with the
singing of Lift Every Voice and
Sing.
Mrs. Bobbie
Trustees (Continued)
as the others we represent.”
Throughout her life, Geraldine C.
Grammer has served in leadership
roles for numerous community
organizations in Shelby and Bolivar
County including the Shelby
Chamber of Commerce, Seniors’
Outreach program in Shelby,
Bolivar County United Way, and Chi
Mu Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority. In 2012, she
received the Governor’s Initiative
Award for volunteer excellence in
her community. Ms. Grammer
states, “I agreed to serve on the
board to make sure Shelby’s
Library, students and adults would
receive and maintain a quality
education through the use of
books, computers, magazines, workshops and other informative
media.”
Natalie Peeler, a retired schoolteacher, was born in Washington,
D.C. and raised in Birmingham,
Alabama. She attended Auburn and
Samford Universities, earning her
BS E.Ed, and DSU, where she
earned her Masters in E.Ed and
Reading Specialist. She is married
to Dr. Joseph G. Peeler and has one
daughter. Ms. Peeler is active in
her community where she is active
in the Shaw Baptist Church and is a
member of the David Holmes
Chapter of DAR, Master Gardner—
Indianola, and in the Indianola
Garden Club. Ms. Peeler shares, “I
am very proud of our staff at all
our libraries.
It has been a
pleasure to work with them and
they have helped our system
become one of the top in the State
of Mississippi.”
John Raymond Bassie, a long-time
Bolivar County resident, has served
with dedication on the Board since
February 2007.
Looking for a Good Book?
Martha: Rescue Me (Second
Chance Ranch # 2) by Catherine
Mann. This is a romance novel, but
so much more. The family in this
series has a dog rescue and the
series deals with not only the
family’s problems, but also with the
problems that some of the dogs
have. Ms. Mann writes another
great book that is relevant to the
times. If you want a real heartwarming read, pick this one up.
(Fiction—Request Through ILL)
Tamara: The Silence of the
Library (A Cat in the Stacks
Mystery) by Miranda James (pen
name for Dean James), who incidentally will be our guest speaker
at the April Luncheon With Books
program. Librarian Charlie Harris,
who lives in Athena, Mississippi, is
an amateur sleuth who solves
crimes with the help of his rescued
Maine coon cat named Diesel.
When the library he works for
plans to honor a famous novelist
who created a beloved “girl detective” series, Charlie and Diesel are
soon fending off rabid book fans—
and a murderer... This is a delight-
ful, humorous cozy mystery series.
I loved it. (Fiction—Print)
Double Fudge Brownie
Murder (A Hannah Swensen
Mystery #18) by Joanne Fluke.
Tamara:
There’s a lot going on in Hannah’s
life: her mother is getting married,
old friend Ross Barton is back, and
she’s facing prosecution for vehicular manslaughter. Then things get
really complicated when she finds
another body… As usual, there’s a
mystery about her cat Moishe and
recipes, of course.
I love this
series. Great fun! (Fiction—Print)
"All you need in life
is truth and beauty
and you can find
both at the Public
Library."
~Studs Terkel~
Author, Historian,
Actor, &
Broadcaster
Celebrating 56 Years of Service to Bolivar County!
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Bolivar County Library System
104 South Leflore Avenue
Cleveland, MS 38732-2607
March 1-31st from 8 a.m.—5 p.m. M-F—Jim Lucas: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement in
Mississippi, 1964-1968 (Exhibit)—DSU, Capps Archives & Museum
Hours: Monday-Thursday 9:00—6:00
Friday
9:00—5:00
Saturday
9:00—1:00
March 10th, 17th, 24th from 1-5 p.m.—Master Gardener Training—MS Extension Services Bolivar
County Office—For More Information Contact Laura Giaccaglia at <[email protected]>
Closed Sundays & All Legal Holidays
March 17th @ 7:30 p.m.—Faculty Recital—BPAC, Recital Hall
Phone:
Toll-Free:
Fax:
Email:
March 19th at 6:30 p.m.—H Squared Spring Fashion Show—Grover’s Corner, Cleveland
(622) 843-2774
(888) 268-8076
(662) 843-4701
[email protected]
Individual phone numbers and email
addresses may be found at our website.
“Like” us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/1bcls; you may also
access the page from our website.
March 19th—April 24th from 8 a.m.—8:30 p.m. T-Th & 8 a.m.—4:30 p.m. F—Annual Juried Student
Exhibition—Wright Art Gallery, Cleveland
March 24th from 7:30-9 p.m.—The Heart Behind the Music—BPAC
March 28th from 2 p.m.—12 a.m.—Fourth Annual Anotherfest—Cleveland—See schedule at
<http://www.keepclevelandboring.com/#/anotherfest/> for more information
March 31st from 6-9 p.m.—International Business Symposium—DSU, Jobe Auditorium
April 1st from 8 a.m. 12 p.m.—International Business Symposium—DSU, Jobe Auditorium
April 2nd from 5-8 p.m.—Art in the Alley—Alley Next to Mosquito Burrito
Contact the Friends:
Phone: (662) 843-2774
Email: [email protected]
April 2nd from 5-8 p.m.—First Thursdays—Downtown Cleveland—For more information contact Lisa
Cooley at <[email protected]>
April 4th from 9 a.m.—12 p.m.—Team Cleveland Easter Egg Hunt—Cleveland Green Strip & Pavilion
We’re on the Web
@
www.bolivar.lib.ms.us
Bolivar County Library System Information:
Board of Trustees:
Library Staff:
Ms. Geraldine Grammer, Chair
Jennifer Wann, Director
Marie Shorter, Shelby
Mr. John Raymond Bassie,
Vice-Chair
Sharon Williamson, Assistant
Director
Kanesha Collins, Shaw
Bobbie Matheney, Youth Svcs
Clara, Housekeeping
Ms. Deloris Johnson,
Secretary
Ms. Natalie Peeler
Seated (L to R): Sharon, Nan, Board Member Geraldine Grammer,
Megan; Standing (L to R): Clara, Board Member Natalie Peeler,
Melanie, LaShaunda, Tamara, Former Director Lynn Shurden,
J.R., Martha, Bobbie, Terrye (partially obscured), Board Member
Deloris Johnson, and Brett.
Terrye Jackson, ILL/Special
Services
Ms. Rebecca Lewis
Melanie Free, Systems
Administrator
Cleveland Commission:
Tamara Blackwell, Reference
Svcs / Newsletter Editor
Ms. Jurist Green, Chair
Brett Jordan, Technical
Services
Ms. Dorothy Tolliver, ViceChair
Louarian Wadlington, Circulation
Ms. Weegie Walker,
Secretary
Jasmina Norris, Circulation
Ms. Carol Tatum
LaShaunda Evans, Circulation
Ms. Cheryl Line
Nan Williamson, Benoit
Megan Fleming, Circulation
Bethany Brooks, Circulation
Martha Lawson, Rosedale/
Gunnison
Evelyn Brown, Merigold
Branch Information:
Benoit (662) 742-3112
Hours M & Th 9—1
Gunnison (662) 747-2201
Hours T & Th 1—5
Merigold (662) 748-2105 (ph) /
(662) 748-2596 (fax)
Hours M, T, W & Th 1—5
Mound Bayou—Closed Until
Further Notice
Rosedale (662) 759-6332
Hours M & W 10—5, F 12—5
Shaw—Closed Until Further
Notice
Shelby (662) 398-7748
Hours M & W 10—5, F 12—5