Nashville Public Library’s job classes on Fox17
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Resume help and job searching services featured on Fox17.
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Nashville Reads Set to Launch in March
By Renuka, January 30, 2013 3:37 pm
Jan. 30 – Yahoo! News, World’s Luxury Guide, The News Tribune, CBSnews.com, AM 740 KVOR, WorldNews.com
Citywide Read to Kickoff with Yann Martel, author of ‘Life of Pi’
Nashville Public Library this spring will launch the second Nashville Reads, a citywide reading campaign to encourage teens and adults to read the same book at the same time to create a shared experience of reading in the city.
“Life of Pi,” a novel by internationally acclaimed author Yann Martel, is the book selection for Nashville Reads. Martel will present a lecture March 2 from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Nashville Public Library as a kickoff to the event.
“This vibrant novel is a great example of a book that sparks both imagination and contemplation,” Mayor Karl Dean said. “It’s a great read, and I encourage teens and adults to join me in Nashville Reads and participate in community events and discussions.”
Nashville Reads is a program of the Nashville Public Library and is supported by many community institutions. It is a partnership between the office of Mayor Karl Dean, Parnassus Books, Humanities Tennessee, Houghton Mifflin and the Nashville Public Library Foundation.
The campaign will take place March 2 thru April 13 and will consist of moderated book discussions and other events around “The Life of Pi,” along with a movie showing. A grand finale will be held at the Nashville Zoo.
“It is exciting to continue Nashville Reads with such a timely and thoughtful piece of literature,” said Kent Oliver, Nashville Public Library director. “The library will once again be center stage as we delve into a wonderful piece of storytelling.”
Last year’s inaugural Nashville Reads selection was “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a novel by internationally acclaimed author Margaret Atwood. Atwood was the recipient of the 2012 Nashville Public Library Literary Award, and she delivered a free public lecture last fall.
About Yann Martel
Yann Martel was born in Spain in 1963 of Canadian parents. Life of Pi won the 2002 Man Booker Prize and has been translated into more than 40 languages. A #1 New York Times bestseller, it spent sixty-nine weeks on the list and was adapted to the screen by Ang Lee. He is also the author of the novels Beatrice and Virgil and Self, the collection of stories The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, and a collection of letters to the prime minister of Canada, 101 Letters to a Prime Minister. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada.
About the Nashville Public Library Foundation
The Nashville Public Library Foundation, established in 1997, has raised more than $25 million to enhance the programs, facilities and collections of the Nashville Public Library, including enhancing the exquisite Grand Reading Room, the Bridgestone/Firestone Conference Center, the beautiful Robinson Courtyard, the Civil Rights Room and adding more than 150,000 items to library collections. The Foundation also supports the award winning preschool literacy program, Bringing Books to Life, funds art exhibits, a job search lab and presents the Nashville International Puppet Festival.
About the Nashville Public Library
The Nashville Public Library maintains a collection of more than 1.6 million items, including books, periodicals, DVDs, CDs, audio books and downloadable audio books. The library also offers more than 600 public-use computers and free art exhibits, educational programs, and events for all ages. NPL also offers 24/7 reference assistance, online databases, interlibrary loans and special collections, including the Metropolitan Archives and The Nashville Room. For more information, call (615) 862-5800 or visit http://www.library.nashville.org.
‘Because of You’: A movement emerges in Nashville
By Renuka, January 27, 2013 3:25 pm
Jan. 27, The Tennessean
NPL is sponsoring a series of Tennessean articles about local civil rights leaders.
Public Library’s Andrea Blackman Receives Edwina Hefner Community Leadership Award
By Renuka, January 24, 2013 3:14 pm
Jan. 24, Tennessee Tribune
NASHVILLE, TN — On Sunday, January 20, the Nashville Symphony presented the Edwina Hefner Community Leadership Award to Andrea Blackman, Division Manager for the Special Collections Division of the Nashville Public Library. Each year, in conjunction with the Regions Let Freedom Sing! Concert honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, the Nashville Symphony presented this award to a member of the community whose work exemplifies Dr. King’s legacy.
In 2003, after 11 years of consulting and teaching in both Florida and Tennessee, Blackman began coordinating the library’s nationally recognized Civil Rights Room and Collection. She regularly speaks in the community and in academia on multicultural education, library services and oral history methodologies. Blackman has been recognized for her professional achievements with the Civil Rights Oral History Project and the library’s most recent endeavor of chronicling the events of the May 2010 flood. Under her leadership, the Nashville Public Library has launched four successful oral history projects: Civil Rights, Veterans History, Nashville Business Leaders and the 2010 Flood Digital Project.
Nashville Symphony Director of Education and Community Engagement Blair Bodine says, “It is so inspiring to see the impact that Andrea’s continuing work has had in the Middle Tennessee area. She has captured the stories, voices and visions of our community. Her passion for sharing the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and her contribution as an educator is truly motivating to all.”
The Nashville Symphony’s Community Leadership Award was created in 2007 to recognize Edwina Hefner, an active volunteer with Let Freedom Sing! for 14 years, for her outstanding leadership and her numerous efforts throughout the Nashville community. The award recognizes individuals helping to make the world a better place through their leadership efforts.
Library presents puppet show, ‘Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings’
By Renuka, January 23, 2013 3:35 pm
Jan. 23, Tennessean, Jenn Todd
The story of the Little Rabbit in “The Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings” comes to life for the final time this weekend.
In this local puppet show, Little Rabbit learns a valuable lesson when his wish comes true. The story and marionettes were created by the late Tom Tichenor, a local master puppeteer who worked for several years at the downtown public library.
The show is 30 minutes long, with showings at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. today and Saturday. It is free to attend, and all ages are welcome.
The Nashville Public Library is at 615 Church St. For more information, visit library.nashville.org or call 615-862-5785.
Ms. Cheap: Nashville library will help make you more tech savvy
By Renuka, January 23, 2013 3:26 pm
Jan. 23, Tennessean, Mary Hance
These days everybody is getting techy and the Nashville Public Library is offering to help us learn more about the apps and services it has for electronic devices like iPads and Kindles. You can learn how to get e-books, music and more. I’m hoping to go to one of the classes and write a column about it in my ongoing quest to be more tech savvy.
There are free sessions at 10 a.m. on Thursday at the Hermitage branch, at 10 a.m. on Jan. 29 at the Green Hills branch and at 5 p.m. on Jan. 31 at the Edmondson Pike branch. www.library.nashville.org
• Here is a cool new family program from the folks at the Warner Park Nature Center. It is called “StoryWalk for Families,” and the idea is to incorporate children’s literature into the great outdoors with a “self-guided” fitness and literacy experience for families.
You can just meander along short trails with stopping points along the way where one or two pages of a storybook will be posted for reading. As the hike progresses along the trail, the story line reveals itself! Each book — the first one is “When Winter Comes” by Nancy Van Laan — will remain on the trail for two months. This is a year-round program. Details: 615-352-6299
• There’s a great free exhibit that you history lovers should not miss — “In the Footsteps of Sergeant York,” which is a wonderful World War I exhibit in the military museum that is housed in the War Memorial Building branch of the Tennessee State Museum.
Native Tennessean Alvin York received the Medal of Honor, but the circumstances surrounding that cold and foggy day in October 1918 have been clouded for almost a century by a combination of contradictions, the deification of York, the lack of critical analysis and time.
The exhibit, researched by Thomas J. Nolan and designed by David Currey, is the result of years of international work to uncover the whole story. Currey says it “gives audiences for the first time the most complete and comprehensive understanding to date about the life of Alvin York, the events of Oct. 8, 1918, the other members of the patrol who fought and died in the fire fight and how science gives us new opportunities to explore the past.” Here is a link to the museum website: www.tnmuseum.org/custpage.cfm/frm/49682/sec_id/49682
Sponsored by the Museum of the American Military Experience, the exhibit will be at War Memorial through May 9, when it moves to Memphis for a six-month stay at the Pink Palace. Hours are 10 a.m.- 1:30 p.m. and 2:30-5 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
When the circus comes to town, people always want to know the best deals. And with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus coming to Bridgestone Arena this week, there are two good discounts.
The Friday night show has $13 tickets and $1 of each ticket goes to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. To order these tickets, go to childrenshospital.vanderbilt.org/circus.
Even better is the $44 four-ticket deal that you can get for the 10:30 a.m. Friday show by using the code 4FOR44 online at Ticketmaster or by calling 1-800-745-3000 or at the box office, which is the cheapest since you avoid the service charges of online and phone purchases. The code is valid on the $26, $20 and $15 ticket. The $44 price does not include taxes.
Be sure to take advantage of the free preshow entertainment, which is one hour before the show, where you can meet the animals and performers.
• The Ms. Cheap Penny Drive for Second Harvest is winding down but there is still time to contribute your stray coins and dollars to the cause, and help feed the hungry in Middle Tennessee. Remember, one dollar can be made into four meals through Second Harvest. Contributions and penny drive cans can be turned in at any Avenue Bank branch or at Second Harvest in MetroCenter.
Thanks to all who contributed or collected for the Penny Drive. We will report back on how much the drive raised as soon as we can.
Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or mscheap@tennessean.com. Check her out at about:www.facebook.com/mscheap; @Ms_Cheap on Twitter; and on her blog at Tennessean.com/mscheap. Catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5’s “Talk of the Town.”
Tiger, Burning Bright: Life of Pi’s Yann Martel in Nashville March 2 for Citywide Read
By Renuka, January 23, 2013 3:25 pm
Jan. 23, Nashville Scene, Jim Ridley
Last fall, the Nashville Public Library launched its Nashville Reads program, conducting a citywide read of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and bringing Atwood to Nashville to speak. It was a gutsy choice handpicked by Mayor Karl Dean: a dystopian fiction about reproductive and individual rights whose eerily topical concerns sparked vigorous debate. It was also a major success, an engaging way to promote literacy and the library’s standing as a cornerstone of the city’s intellectual life.
The library’s second choice for Nashville Reads, also approved by Dean, may prove even more popular — and generate as much or more discussion. It’s Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the source of Ang Lee’s current Best Picture nominee and one of the most widely read philosophical novels of recent decades. Translated into more than 40 languages and a staple of The New York Times best-seller list for 69 weeks, it’s an adventure story framed in flashback about a 16-year-old Indian boy using his wits and scruples to survive adrift on the high seas … with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
What makes Life of Pi an interesting choice, like The Handmaid’s Tale, is its relevance to a topic of ongoing local concern: the coexistence of Christianity and Islam. The protagonist Pi, though raised a Hindu, weighs the relative values of the three religions and concludes that no one faith addresses all his spiritual beliefs — but elements of each just might. Given persistent controversies over Middle Tennessee’s mosques in recent years, the book might generate reasonable open discussion rather than fear-mongering and flame wars.
Novelist, essayist and short-story author Martel (like Atwood, a Canadian) will give a lecture in conjunction with the citywide event March 2 at the downtown Nashville Public Library. Nashville Reads is a partnership between the office of Mayor Karl Dean, Parnassus Books, Humanities Tennessee, Houghton Mifflin and the Nashville Public Library Foundation. Watch for information in coming weeks about tickets and related events, including a screening of the film.
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