August 15, 2008
Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library Book Club 

Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library Book Club will meet on Tuesday, September 2nd at 6:45 pm in the Reeves Gallery at the library.  The book selection is  “The Thirteenth Tale”  by Diane Setterfield (Fiction). 

Former academic Setterfield pays tribute in her debut to Brontë and du Maurier heroines: a plain girl gets wrapped up in a dark, haunted ruin of a house, which guards family secrets that are not hers and that she must discover at her peril. Margaret Lea, a London bookseller's daughter, has written an obscure biography that suggests deep understanding of siblings. She is contacted by renowned aging author Vida Winter, who finally wishes to tell her own, long-hidden, life story. Margaret travels to Yorkshire, where she interviews the dying writer, walks the remains of her estate at Angelfield and tries to verify the old woman's tale of a governess, a ghost and more than one abandoned baby. With the aid of colorful Aurelius Love, Margaret puzzles out generations of Angelfield: destructive Uncle Charlie; his elusive sister, Isabelle; their unhappy parents; Isabelle's twin daughters, Adeline and Emmeline; and the children's caretakers. Contending with ghosts and with a (mostly) scary bunch of living people, Setterfield's sensible heroine is, like Jane Eyre, full of repressed feeling—and is unprepared for both heartache and romance. And like Jane, she's a real reader and makes a terrific narrator. That's where the comparisons end, but Setterfield, who lives in Yorkshire, offers graceful storytelling that has its own pleasures.

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May 23, 2008
Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library Book Club

Join us for the June meeting of the Pittsboro Library Book Club.  It will meet on Tuesday, June 3rd at 6:45 pm in the Reeves Gallery at the library. The book is "The Madonnas of Leningrad" by Debra Dean.

Her granddaughter's wedding should be a time of happiness for Marina Buriakov. But the Russian emigre's descent into Alzheimer's has her and her family experiencing more anxiety than joy. As the details of her present-day life slip mysteriously away, Marina's recollections of her early years as a docent at the State Hermitage Museum become increasingly vivid. When Leningrad came under siege at the beginning of World War II, museum workers--whose families were provided shelter in the building's basement--stowed away countless treasures, leaving the paintings' frames in place as a hopeful symbol of their ultimate return. Amid the chaos, Marina found solace in the creation of a "memory palace," in which she envisioned the brush stroke of every painting and each statue's line and curve. Gracefully shifting between the Soviet Union and the contemporary Pacific Northwest, first-time novelist Dean renders a poignant tale about the power of memory. Dean eloquently describes the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, and Raphael, but she is at her best illuminating aging Marina's precarious state of mind: "It is like disappearing for a few moments at a time, like a switch
being turned off," she writes. "A short while later, the switch mysteriously flips again." Allison Block

You might want to look at www.hermitagemuseum.org
 

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April 21, 2008
Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library Book Club

Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library Book Club will meet on Tuesday, May 6 at 6:45 pm in the Reeves Gallery at the library.  The book selection is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (non-fiction).

Three Cups of Tea is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time.  When Greg Mortenson failed to climb K2, he was sheltered and nursed in a remote Pakistani village in the Baltistan region of Northern Pakistan.  Out of gratitude he promised to build a school for the children.  Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools especially for girls.  Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.  The book's title and central theme is derived from a Baltistan proverb:  The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you are an honored guest. The third time you become family.
 

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April 16, 2008

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March 13, 2008

"North Carolina Photography"  Works by Mark Bashista (March 1 – March 29) 

The Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library (www.pittsborolibraryfriends.org) is pleased to welcome accomplished photographer, Mark Bashista – as he invites the viewer into the breathtaking scenes of North Carolina’s natural landscapes. Through March 29th in the Reeves Gallery at the library, 158 West St., Pittsboro (542-3524). The exhibit may be viewed during Library hours (Mon 10-6, Tue10-8, Wed 10-6, Thu 10-6, Fri 10-6, Sat 9-5). 

“My goal as a landscape photographer is to bring the viewer into the scene with me. I accomplish this by shooting with large and medium format cameras using transparency film. My method is challenging (working with these cameras is completely manual and transparency film needs to be exposed within a 1/3 stop of perfection or it is useless), satisfying (nothing compares to placing a 4x5 inch, properly exposed, positive piece of film on a light table) and accurate (I do not manipulate my images, the transparency film captures the scene exactly as I see it and I am able to match my print to the film). I often print my images large; the film I shoot and cameras I use allow me to do this without affecting the quality. I then frame them with high quality moldings. I make some of the frames myself from antique heart pine. 

I’ve been published in many national and regional magazines and have done over 50 exhibitions and shows in the last ten years.  

North Carolina is an amazing state. It has a little bit of everything for the photographer. My work is concentrated in the center of the state, where I live, and in the mountains. I hope that my photos will in some way help preserve the natural beauty and pastoral quality of this state.” 

If you have an interest in exhibiting your artwork or have questions about the exhibit or reception, please contact Leslie Palmer, Gallery Coordinator.  (LesPalmer@aol.com or 919-929-9268).

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January 22, 2008

January 22, 2008

January 22, 2008

 

 

December 20, 2007

December 19, 2007

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December 2, 2007

November 26, 2007

October 26, 2007

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October 26, 2007

September 28, 2007

September 17, 2007

 

September 17, 2007

September 12, 2007

 

 

This is a terrific opportunity to get educated about the green features of the new library—Chatham’s first public building designed with LEED certification to save energy and resources. The Friends took a lead in encouraging the county in this direction, and The Abundance Foundation is our generous sponsor for this event. We hope to eventually raise $7500 or more for Green Building features.

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September 6, 2007
Five bands this Saturday evening at Central Carolina Community  
College at the SoulJourn Music Fest -- all benefiting the new Chatham 
Community Library.

Two Gospel bands kick off at  5:00: Southland and The Fishermen. At 
6:30 p.m, it's Bluegrass with The Rocky River Ramblers, then it's 
time to rock with Silver and Full  Moon Pie at 7:30. And you have 
Barney's Famous Hot Dogs, Ice Cream and Sodas to go with the music.

Each year gracepoint - www.gracepointcommunity - and now the  
SoulJourn Campus Team at CCCC, brings a music fest to Pittsboro for  
the benefit of the community. All five bands are donating their,  
time, travel, talent and equipment.  Barney's Hot Dog's will also  be 
kicking into the cause. "This is all about the new library and  
having a solid evening of music,"  said Jimmy Overton of the Fisherman."

Tickets are now just $2.50 (those who have purchased a full price  
ticket will get another free at the fest) and kids under 12 are 
free.  Bring a lawn chair and Barney says come hungry 'cause he's got 
lots  of dogs and all the fixins!
 

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September 5, 2007

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August 25, 2007

August 25, 2007

August 22, 2007

August 8, 2007

August 2, 2007
Press Release

Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library

P.O. Box 1108

Pittsboro, NC 27312

www.pittsborolibraryfriends.org

For immediate release

Contact: Margaret Tiano

919-542-0391

ptgs2@earthlink.net
 

Friends Sponsor Second Scholarship
 

The Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library (www.pittsborolibraryfriends.org) have doubled their scholarship outreach again, in collaboration with CCCC (www.cccc.edu) and Chatham County Libraries (www.chathamlibraries.org).  In addition to renewing their pledge to the CCCC Foundation for a second year, they have established a new scholarship they named the "Director's Scholarship."  The first scholarship is for the CCCC Foundation to award to a student in their library program.  The second scholarship is for the Chatham County Libraries Director to distribute to county library employees who wish to further their education by taking library and information technology courses through CCCC.
 

Reece Jones, President of the Friends, describes the Friends' commitment to the future: "We are really pleased that we are able to partner with the Community College and encourage both CCCC students and Chatham County library staff to participate in CCCC's library program."
 

The first scholarship was awarded to Heather Vernier, Cameron resident, military wife, mother of four, and full-time distance education student with CCCC. Heather also works, operating a family child care home part time.  Distance learning is the only practical option for her, especially with her husband currently serving in Afghanistan.  Heather explains: "It gives me the flexibility to take full-time DE courses and be where I need to be for my children whenever I need to be there...I can go to school in my pajamas at midnight...or I can attend for half an hour and come back later."

 

The second scholarship was awarded to two library employees, also for distance learning courses in CCCC's library program.

 

Karen Allen, CCCC Provost for Chatham County, is delighted: "On behalf of CCCC, I thank the Friends organization for their support of the professional development of librarians and library technicians. This is a wise investment in the future of our libraries and our communities, as these professionals further our desire for new knowledge and skills as well as help support our love for reading as pleasure."