Library Invites Everyone to "Tell Us a Story"
You’re invited to come to the library and tell us a story.
Just a short one – a memory of your first kiss, your favorite hangout during the 60s. Some of you can go back further: What was it like to attend a one-room school in the Ozarks, or grow up during the Great Depression?
During March, we’d love to hear and capture these stories on audio during our oral history project, “Recollections and Connections.” Seven libraries in the Springfield-Greene County District will have recording equipment and a place to sit and share a 5- to 15-minute story. Participation is free and open to the public.
In the style of other popular oral history projects, individuals may come alone, or a child can interview a parent; a son can interview his aging father; sisters can interview sisters. Need ideas to get started? We’ll have a list of possible questions and topics.
The stories will be posted later on the Library Web site, and public radio station KSMU will select some to air each Friday in April.
Recollections and Connections kicks off the library’s annual Big Read. The April project promotes reading and literacy by encouraging people of all ages to read and discuss the same book, and this year’s celebration includes a month of movies, music, storytelling and an outdoor chautauqua.
The 2010 Big Read selection is “A Long Way from Chicago,” by Richard Peck, who's coming to Springfield in April. His book is set in the Depression, and touches on themes of family ties and coming of age in another era – a logical tie-in for the oral history project. Recordings will be conducted March 1-14 at select branches. For details, call your nearest library branch, or go to the Big Read Web site.
If national Heart Month has you searching for reliable health information, look to your library for help. The reference staff offers these sources for starters:
Books and DVDs
American Heart Association Complete Guide to Women’s Heart Health
The Hidden Epidemic: Heart Disease in America (DVD)
Tai Chi: Exercise for Lifelong Health and Well-being (DVD)
Databases
Health and Wellness Resource Center *
Health Reference Center Academic *
Kathleen O’Dell is community relations director of the Springfield-Greene County Library District.
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