Submitted by Joanie Goforth
Here is a small selection of recaps from some wonderful programs across the system that took place from November 7–November 14:
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| Local author Barry Pancek with a young attendee after Operation Tailwind |
Teen Writers’ Club at Cumming Library
8 teens
"We had two special guests talk to the teens about their careers as comic book and video game writers and illustrators. Rachel has a degree in sequential art and storyboarding and works on the video game “Brawlhalla”. Amber, one of our CSAs, has been publishing her original online comic Backlash for 10 years now and she is self taught. She is a freelance comic creator and was recently approached by a company to expand her idea. As experts in visual art and storytelling, Amber and Rachel gave us a great look into their creative process, how they storyboard with index cards and particular software as well as their experiences working with an editor and different kinds of project collaborations. They stressed that creatives need to be self-motivated and need to get into the habit of finishing projects and encouraged breaking down projects into small parts. One teen asked if they get burned out by having a job that involves creativity and they confessed to creative fatigue being a definite thing they deal with. I loved how Amber stressed that the teens need to read a lot of whatever genre they write and that you learn by the art of making. I am grateful for Amber and Rachel for sharing with the teens and I believe we all were impressed and inspired!" –hosted by Holly Raus
Ready, Set, Preschool! at Hampton Park Library
20 adults, 25 children
"Today's theme was science! I read What is Science?, and when Elephant came out to say he had forgotten to brush his teeth, that called for a science experiment: elephant toothpaste! The kids were amazed at the chemical reaction! After group time, I let them head over to today's centers: *Muffin Tin Coding”, in which kids were tasked with using arrows to make a path from one minifigure to the other, “Marble Maze”, where kids used strips of paper and pipe cleaners on a paper plate to make their own mazes, “Fizzing Ice Cubes”, “Sensory Bin Investigation”:, where kids observed things up close with a magnifying glass, “Microscope Science”, “Giant LEGOs”, and “Magnet Play”. Many thanks to Kelly for her help today!” –hosted by LeAnne Craig
Post Road Writers’ Group at Post Road Library
8 adults
“Our November Post Road Writers’ Group had six submissions and 8 people attending. We had a diverse group, with a range of ages, and included an English teacher, an attorney, and several retirees. This was one of our best discussions, with everyone contributing to the critiques. Our submissions were another chapter of a fantasy book, a short story, two action-adventure stories for middle school kids, and a paranormal romance. There was controversy about one of the submissions, with one attendee saying that the submission, if submitted for publication, would never pass a sensitivity review. The writer insisted the submission was part of the larger story and said the submission would stay as is. Everyone attending had come to previous meetings and had their critiques ready to go, so we filled up the entire two hours with an interesting back-and-forth discussion” –hosted by Angie Robbins
Operation Tailwind: A Marine's Experience in the Vietnam War at Sharon Forks Library
1 child, 21 adults
"We had a great turnout for our Veterans Day program featuring author and former Marine Barry Pencek.His presentation began with a brief overview of the marine's footprint in the Vietnam War as well as America's strategy against the North Vietnamese. Pencek was a great storyteller, adding humorous anecdotes alongside factual information he gathered during the research of his book. He showed us photos of various aircraft used by the marines in the War as well as maps showing movements and plans. After giving a day-by-day account of the Operation Tailwind mission, he transitioned to the CNN documentary that debuted 25 years after the operation. CNN falsely accused the marines involved of war crimes, saying they voluntarily murdered women and children during their involvement in Vietnam. Pencek explained how CNN had not checked its sources before running the documentary. The network apologized days later for running the story, "but they did not acknowledge that they accused us of war crimes," Pencek said. When a patron asked him why he wrote this book, Pencek replied "this story needed to be told." After the presentation ended, I asked all of the veterans present (about half the attendees) to please stand as we all thanked them for their service and gave a round of applause. As a mother waited for Pencek to sign her copy of the book, I took her daughter to the children’s area to choose her own juvenile Vietnam War book. We settled on What was the Vietnam War and she proudly showed it off next to Pencek with his book. I received a lot of positive feedback about the program. One parent whose son is about to study the Vietnam War in school suggested having Pencek back to talk to the middle-schoolers about his experience in the War. I know all of those who attended walked away learning something new!" –hosted by Jessica Doss
Library Presentation at Villas of Canterfield
12 Adults
“The library services program at the Villas at Canterfield was a lot of fun! We had 12 residents attend, they were all involved and asked a lot of questions! They had no idea that the library offers so many programs and that we have so many E-resources. I highlighted Flipster, Craft and Hobby, Georgia Historic Newspapers, Learning Express, Mango, and briefly mentioned the Genealogy websites. They were happy to learn about the Museum and Park Passes as well. They are planning a field trip to some of our craft programs! I took a brochure with the craft and book clubs listed at each branch and showed them how to look up events on our website, but they might want us to bring a brochure each month.” –contributed by Jeanine Thompson
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