Message to the community from Luren E. Dickinson:
April
is an event-filled month. It is National Fair Housing Month and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Fair Housing Act by
Lyndon B. Johnson (April 11, 1968). Shaker
Library salutes the City of Shaker Heights for their pro-integrative efforts
with a resolution, book display and booklist. It is also Jazz Appreciation
Month, which we will celebrate with a performance by Shaker resident, Mark
Grey, and the Northcoast Jazz Collective at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 13. It’s also
National Poetry Month, and we are proud to offer the longest running library
poetry series in Northeast Ohio. If you have not attended one of our programs,
you might want to stroll over to Woods Branch April 22 to hear Dan Rourke and Joe
Toner perform their poetry.
We
cannot forget that April is the time we celebrate National Library Week. 2008
is the 50th Anniversary of National Library Week, which is
celebrated this year April 13 through April 19. The American Library
Association created this annual observance in 1958 as a way to promote
libraries. How appropriate that Friends of the Shaker Library will hold its
Spring Book Sale April 17 – 20. The sale is a fine opportunity for Shaker
readers to fill their personal library shelves with a variety of good books at
affordable prices.
The
Library Board will hold its regular meeting Monday, April 14 when we will
welcome new Board member, Chad Anderson. Mr. Anderson and his wife have three
children and have lived in the community for five years. They are residents of the Mercer
neighborhood and live close to our Bertram Woods Branch. Chad has an MBA from
the University of Chicago and is currently a strategic planning executive with
American Greetings. We are delighted that he will add both expertise and a
younger perspective to our Library Board!
I
have a few anniversaries of my own to commemorate this year. I will be
completing a third of a century working in libraries since taking my first
position as a paraprofessional assistant to a branch librarian back in
1975. This spring also marks my 30th
anniversary as a professional librarian since earning my MLS in 1978. To top it
off, I am finishing my third year here with the Shaker Library!
As
usual, we will offer a full slate of programs, not just during National Library
Week, but also throughout the month of April. Highlights include “What and
Where in the World?” a program for children in grades two through five on April
2 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Main Library. The Cleveland Museum of Art will
bring some unusual artifacts from around the world to the Library and
participants will guess what part of the world the objects come from, and what
purpose they served. On the afternoon of April 30, Continental Airlines pilot,
Ron McLin, will speak to children about the aviation industry and how the world
looks from his bird’s eye view
“The
Coupon Guy” will make an appearance at Main Library Monday evening, April 21.
Northeast Ohio’s favorite penny pincher, also known as Joe Daugirdas, will share
his money-saving secrets and tell us how he often saves 70 to 80 per cent on
his grocery bill!
Our
“Meet-the-Author” series continues at Woods Branch Wednesday, April 23 with the
“Accessible Gourmet” chef, Michael Lyons. He will speak about his book, A Cook
at Heart: A Recipe for Transforming Your Life, and talk about his career
change from the business world and boardroom to the culinary arts and the
kitchen.
Shaker
Library will host its Third Annual Teen Volunteer Fair, that same evening, from
6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Main Library.
This event offers teens and their parents an opportunity to meet with a
variety of representatives from nonprofit organizations to see where they can
volunteer their talents to support worthy causes and to gain experience that
may help them in choosing a career.
Finally,
I was pleased to preside with former library director, Barbara Luton, over the
library’s 9th Annual Art Competition. This year’s juror, Daniel
Levin, spoke eloquently about the choices he made. This year’s winner is Shaker
resident Mary Ryan and the library has purchased her photograph entitled Doan Brook. The art is on display
through May 9 on the second floor of the Main Library and a portion of the
proceeds benefits the library. I hope you will get a chance to enjoy the art
selected.
Luren
E. Dickinson, Director
dickinson@shakerlibrary.org