National Library Week: April 4-10, 2021

CMRLS Celebrates Mississippi Authors

Libraries have celebrated National Library Week in April since 1958. For 62 years, during this week, libraries across the country have held receptions and luncheons; brought in authors, elected officials, or local celebrities to tout the benefits of the library for a thriving community. Library staff planned special programs for all ages. Civic clubs invited Library directors to give “State of the Library” addresses. That is… until… COVID!

How is CMRLS celebrating this year? We are celebrating Mississippi authors… virtually. John Grisham, Greg Iles, Charlaine Harris, Janet Ferguson, and Katina Rankin are all considered successful Mississippi authors and extremely popular authors with CMRLS patrons! The lineup for this celebrated week:

·         Monday, April 5 – John Grisham (Recorded, Library of Congress) The first winner of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction (2009), John Grisham is America’s most popular writer of legal thrillers. The Guardians (Doubleday) is his hair-raising thriller about wrongful convictions. Watch this interview with Marie Arana, literary director of the Library of Congress, for the 2020 National Book Festival.

·         Tuesday, April 6 – Greg Iles (Recorded, Mississippi Public Broadcasting) Novelist Greg Iles of Natchez is interviewed in 2017 by Marshall Ramsey for Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Iles' most recent book is Cemetery Road, out in 2019, discusses here the third installment in his trilogy of books that began with the New York bestseller Natchez Burning. Ramsey talks to Greg about Mississippi Blood and what the future holds in store now for this prolific writer.

·         Wednesday, April 7 – Charlaine Harris (Recorded, Library of Congress) Charlaine Harris appears at the 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival. Harris is the author of the Sookie Stackhouse book series that was turned into the popular HBO series True Blood. Her newest series is the Gunnie Rose series which includes 3 titles including the 2021 release of The Russian Cage.

·         Thursday, April 8, 6:30 p.m. – Janet Ferguson (Live, ZOOM meeting) Join us for a live discussion with Mississippi author Janet Ferguson whose series Southern Hearts and Coastal Hearts are well received in our CMRLS libraries. Ferguson is a Grace Award winner, FHL Readers Choice Winner, and a Christy Award finalist. She grew up in Mississippi and received a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Mississippi. She has served as a children’s minister and a church youth volunteer. An avid reader, she worked as a librarian at a large public high school. She writes humorous inspirational fiction for people with real lives and real problems. Janet and her husband have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space.

·         Friday, April 9 – Katina Rankin (Recorded, Meet My Mississippi) Katina Rankin, on-air personality, author, and humanitarian, is interviewed by Patricia Neely Dorsey from Hill Country Network and Meet My Mississippi. Rankin, who grew up in Magee, discusses her career and her children's book Up North Down South / City Folk Meet Country Folk.

We hope you enjoy hearing this group of authors discuss their work and a bit about their personal lives. Most of all, we want you to appreciate the talent that comes from Mississippi. These represent just a fraction of the literary legacy on which Mississippi can boast.

Happy National Library Week 2021!

The Pearl Library's March Madness Outreach Continues!

Wow! I’ve been many places since Monday. But since my last post was so long and rambling, I’m going to try something a little shorter and to the point with this one: in short, I will make a list of everywhere I went for March Madness on Wednesday and of the people I met AND of the things I thought about in each place. Be prepared, library goers of Mississippi! It’s about to get real up in this blog post.

Without Further Ado:

1. (This one was a ribbon cutting, so it doesn’t technically count as part of “March Madness,” but I’m listing it anyway!) Holiday Inn Express: Here, I met many people, including Aleksandra, the Assistant General Manager, and I got to go on a tour of the rooms and facilities. This is a gorgeous hotel, and it’s just the beginning of a new development in Pearl.  I can’t wait to see more!
   2. Jose’s Tamales. I met Diane here, and I fought back the urge to order tamales, chips, and salsa. This is on Pearson Road, and I think that I know what I want to eat during my next lunch break!
   3. Glow Tan and Salon. I met Carrie Wheat here. Glow has only been open for a few weeks, so you should know that it’s not just a good place to get a tan; it also has a hair salon AND a little retail space that features some very cute purses!
   4. Papa’s Pizza and Subs. Here, Andy convinced me that my next pizza will be a Papa’s pizza. In our Brown Bag last month, I learned/talked about how tomatoes (and tomato sauce!) are a superfood…which means that delicious pizza is super-healthy, right? Right!
   5. Solar Nails. I only got a chance to run in here and drop off a flyer, since everyone here was busy working, giving manicures and pedicures. This reminded me that I need a spa day, ASAP!
   6. Kobe Japanese. Mr. To, the owner, greeted me here. He will be helping us in May when we do our Asian and Pacific Island Heritage potluck! I love that Kobe is so close—my favorite thing to eat here is the Teriyaki Chicken bento box with a California roll. Yum!
   7. That Special Touch. I spoke with Richard Bailey, the manager here. Before I started working in Pearl, I knew about That Special Touch. All of my friends use this bakery to cater special events like baby showers and bridal showers. In fact, the cake for my baby shower came from here, and I ate A LOT of it. Seriously, SUCH GOOD CAKES (and cupcakes) (and cookies) (and donuts! They actually donated a bunch of donuts to us for Come in from the Cold in February)!
   8. Save A Lot. I talked to Mark here. I had no idea what good-looking produce and other stuff Save A Lot carries. I will be stopping here for some fruit the next time I head out to buy things for the library!
   9. Dollar Tree. Here, I talked to Widley, the manager. The Pearl Library frequents the Dollar Tree to get decorations and prizes for different library events. Dollar Tree has used our big meeting room for some of their events, and we have a great partnership with them!
   10. Pearl Parent Teacher Community Resource Center. I talked to Janice here. She and Alfongelia always welcome us here to make signs and to cut out decorations for the library. But the resource center has so much more! The staff here serve many educational needs, including teaching English to Spanish-speakers and providing teaching resources to parents and educators. We’re so lucky to be located next to the PTCRC!
   
   
   What a day! And now, I'm getting ready for today's Computer Class--every day holds something exciting at the Pearl Library! See you soon!

Great Quotes for National Library Week!

Libraries will get you through times of NO money better than money will get you through times of NO Libraries. ~Anne Herbert, The Whole Earth Catalog

CUTS to Libraries during a recession are just like CUTS to hospitals during a plague! ~Eleanor Crumblehulme via Twitter

Whatever the cost of our Libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation. ~Walter Cronkite

The three most important documents a free society gives are a birth certificate, a passport, and a Library card. ~E. L. Doctorow, New York Times, March 27, 1994

A Library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert. ~Andrew Carnegie


The public Library is the only public agency which serves the minds of ALL of the population, one individual at a time. ~Unknown

We are the only planet, so far as we know, to have invented a communal memory stored neither in our genes or our brains. The warehouse of that memory is called a Library. ~Carl Sagan

More than a building that houses books and data, the Library has always been a window to a larger world–a place where we’ve always come to discover big ideas and profound concepts that help move the American story forward. . . . . Libraries remind us that truth isn’t about who yells the loudest, but who has the right information. Because even as we’re the most religious of people, America’s innovative genius has always been preserved because we also have a deep faith in facts. And so the moment we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold into a Library, we’ve changed their lives forever, and for the better. This is an enormous force for good. ~President-elect Barack Obama in a speech at the American Library Association annual conference in June 2005

Celebrate Libraries!
Communities Thrive @ your Library!