Georgia Public Library Service news, Vol. 13, no. 2 (Oct. 2015)

A newsletter for friends and employees of Georgia's public libraries

volume 13, issue 2 I October 2015

2016 PINNACLE class includes 22 librarians

Georgia Public Library Service has selected 22 Georgia
librarians to participate in the 2015-2016 of PINNACLE, the agency's comprehensive leadership program. "By providing carefully designed training on numerous important and library-specific topics, PINNACLE is instrumental in our effort to prepare many talented individuals to take the next step in their careers and become our future public library leaders," said State Librarian Julie Walker.
Working with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, another unit of the University System of Georgia, GPLS designed and held the first Public Library Institute for New and Creative Leadership Education in 2007. More than half of PINNACLE's graduates have gone on to serve as library system directors.

Members of the 2015-2016 class include Pauline Abbide, director of the Dougherty County Public Library; Alexandra Beswick, central region manager for the Cobb County Public Library System; Elaine Black, director of youth services for GPLS; Katie Burnett, branch manager of Chattahoochee Valley Libraries' North Columbus branch; Leslie Clark, branch manager for the Gwinnett County Public Library; Kristin Eberhart, outreach services manager for the Augusta-Richmond
See PINNACLE, page 2

Staff Staff

529 finale
Thanks to his participation in this year's Path2College 529 Plan Sweepstakes, Joshua Cornett won $5,529 for his future education, and his home library -- the Gwinnett County Public Library's (GCPL) Duluth branch -- received $1,529 to support its children's materials and programming. Mitch Seabaugh, director of the state's Path2College 529 Plan, presented checks to this year's library sweepstakes grandprize winners at Sept. 1 ceremonies at Chattahoochee Elementary School in Duluth. From left are Seabaugh; Joshua with mother Amy, sister Kylie and father Bryan; Orlando Jordan, Duluth branch manager ; and Liz Forster, GCPL deputy director. This year's regional $1,529 winners were Kendall Harris of Conyers, Katelyn Atkins of Richmond Hill, Tayshaun Dunnum of Sparks and Jaedyn Bryant of Loganville.

Home Run `Read-In'
Much fun was had before the Atlanta Braves' Sept. 20 game as team members, Homer the mascot, and State Librarian Julie Walker joined to help more than 200 children celebrate the Home Run Readers program with a game-filled "Read-In" on the Turner Field patio. "H-O-M-E-R" bingo and raffle prizes included Braves bobbleheads, caps and t-shirts, along with photos, caps and baseballs autographed by several Braves players, including all-star first baseman and Home Run Readers spokesman Freddie Freeman. In a pregame interview on the stadium's jumbotron, Walker and catcher Ryan Lavarnway talked about the benefits of reading before the Braves' 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Front row (from left) are Kerry Wingate of Ludowici with children Brady, Gracie and Trip; and Pharoah Glenn of Atlanta. Back row are Jennifer Cross of Perry; Lavarnway; Justin McCord of Hampton; Levi Holland and Ben Gleason of Rome; Braves pitcher Andrew McKirihan; and Walker.

PINNACLE
Continued from page 1 County Library System; Denise Funk, principal librarian for DeKalb County Public library; Oscar Gittemeier, librarian for the AtlantaFulton Public Library System; Richard Groves, director of the Catoosa County Library System; Machelle Hill, library manager for the Coweta County Public Library; and Stephen Houser, director of

Abbide

Beswick

the Milledgeville-based Twin Lakes Library System.
Also participating in this year's class are Adrianne Junius, youth services director for the Hall County Library System; Cynthia Kilby, director of the Manchester-based Pine Mountain Regional Library System; Jennifer Lautzenheiser, director of the Macon-based Middle Georgia Regional Library System; Jean Mead, assistant director of the Hart County Library System; Micah Newsome, young adult librarian for Evans-based Greater Clarks Hill Regional Libraries; Leslie Partridge, assistant director of the Lee County Library; Martha Powers-Jones, director of the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Library; Julia Simpson, branch manager for the Jeffersonbased Piedmont Regional Library

System; Angela Stanley, Heritage Room librarian for the Athens Regional Library System; Miguel Vicente, director of the Valdostabased South Georgia Regional Library System; and Teneka Williams, manager of the GLASS Distribution Center in Morrow.
PINNACLE 2015-16 begins the last week of this month and will include six three-day sessions during the coming year. I

Mead

Newsome

Black

Burnett

Groves

Hill

Partridge

Powers-Jones

Clark

Eberhart

Houser

Junius

Simpson

Stanley

Funk

Gittemeier

Kilby

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Georgia Public Library Service News October 2015

Lautzenheiser

Vicente

Williams

Center announces 2015 Books All Georgians Should Read

The Georgia Center for the Book has selected the works
of 24 prize-winning authors and illustrators with Georgia connections for its 2015 lists of Books All Georgians Should Read and Books All Young Georgians Should Read. The authors and illustrators were recognized Aug. 13 at a public ceremony in the Decatur Library's auditorium.

I Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine by Dr. Louis W. Sullivan
I The Southern Poetry Anthology Volume V: Georgia, edited by William Wright
I Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island by Will Harlan
I Those Bones Are Not My Child by Toni Cade Bambara

"These lists are a wonderful way for us to honor the extraordinary talent we have right here in Georgia," said Joe Davich, director of the center. "They give us the opportunity Davich to inform readers across our state about the diverse body of work being produced that celebrates Georgia's literary heritage, and they are valuable assets for parents, teachers, librarians and readers of all ages."
The 2015 Books All Georgians Should Read are:
I A Clear View of the Southern Sky: Stories by Mary Hood
I A Prayer Journal by Flannery O'Connor, edited by W.A. Sessions
I Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson
I Suffer & Grow Strong: The Life of Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas, 1834-1907 by Carolyn Newton Curry
I Blood Ties & Brown Liquor by Sean Hill
I The Cherokee Rose: A Novel of Gardens and Ghosts by Tiya Miles

The 2015 Books All Young Georgians Should Read are: I I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison,
illustrated by Frank Morrison I Philip Reid Saves the Statue of Freedom, illustrated by
R. Gregory Christie I Circle, Square, Moose by Kelly Bingham I Missy's Super Duper Royal Deluxe: Class Pets by Susan
Nees I Revolution: The Sixties Trilogy by Deborah Wiles I Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder I A Bird on Water Street by Elizabeth Dulemba I Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy I All Those Broken Angels by Peter Adam Salomon I March: Book Two by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin,
illustrated by Nate Powell
Both 2015 lists are the result of months of discussions by the center's advisory council, which considered more than 100 books in making their final selections.I

Nominations sought for outstanding library service awards

GPLS is now accepting nominations
for its inaugural awards honoring the outstanding service and achievements of Georgia's public libraries, librarians and library champions during 2015.
Georgia Public Library of the Year will be presented to an individual facility whose staff best exemplifies the qualities needed to positively impact the lives of residents in the communities it serves.
Georgia Public Librarian of the Year will be presented to a full-time and professionally licensed practicing

or retired public librarian whose innovative and creative talents are instrumental in the delivery of outstanding library service to his or her library and the communities it serves, as well as dedication and commitment to the state and to the profession as a whole.
Georgia Public Library Champion of the Year will be presented to an outstanding advocate whose support significantly raised the profile of libraries and improved services during the award year. Honorees may include, but are not limited to, elected officials, authors, library

board members or members of Friends of Georgia Libraries or local Friends groups who were not employed in any capacity by a library during the award year.
Nominations may be submitted from public library directors, trustees, members of recognized Friends groups and GPLS staff members.
Please send submissions to Wendy Cornelisen (wcornelisen @georgialibraries.org), assistant state librarian for library innovation and collaboration. Nominations must be received no later than Oct. 31. I

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October 2015 Georgia Public Library Service News

Sue Stephens

Sequoyah library patrons coloring outside the lines

Growing up and letting go of
childhood activities are not mutually exclusive. Patrons of the Cantonbased Sequoyah Regional Library System are a definitive case in point.

Laura Bradley Courtesy Thomas County Public Library

Every week, adult patrons and some staff members on break gather for a few hours of quiet conversation and coloring -- yes, coloring. They spend hours with crayons, colored pencils, markers and a dizzying array of coloring sheets trying to stay within the lines. "We approach it as a stress reliever and as an opportunity to express a little creativity," said Angela Glowcheski, public services director for the system.

Adult coloring classes are growing in popularity at the Woodstock Public Library.

Adult coloring gained worldwide popularity in 2013 with the publication of illustrator Johanna Basford's Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book. Since then, programs featuring coloring have steadily sprung up in libraries, institutes of higher education, adult summer camps, mental health facilities and other institutions in near endless iterations.
The program at Sequoyah arose as a possible program idea during conversations between Glowcheski and other library employees last summer. The notion quickly gained momentum and enthusiasm, leading staff members to make plans for just how to pull it off. Scant weeks later, in August, the program debuted at the Woodstock Public Library with 14 adults in attendance. Initial positive response from participants made it obvious that the project was something the system could, and should, explore further.

and materials supplied by the library. For three hours once a week, grownups can come in, calm their minds, converse, color and get lost in their own imaginations and creativity.
Adult coloring is currently offered at the Woodstock, R.T. Jones Memorial and Hickory Flat libraries. Plans are in place for more of the system's branches to follow. Said Glowcheski, "As long as the public continues to come out and color, we will continue to offer the program to our communities." I

Enlightenment
For the fourth year, the Thomas County Public Library (TCPL) and Pebble Hill Plantation are collaborating on "Enlightening Bites," a lecture series that focuses on the cultural heritage of Thomasville. To open this year's events, author and playwright Bob Rogers (center) presented his one-act play, "Lieutenant Flipper's Trial," about the courtmartial of the first African-American to graduate from West Point. Rogers is joined by TCPL Director Nancy Tillinghast (left) and Circulation Manager Kathryn Sawyer.

"A coloring page and crayons equal happiness," said Jody Simpson, adult services coordinator for the Woodstock branch. "It has been fun! Some people come every week, and at each session someone new has joined."
The Woodstock program features soft background music, tables decorated to inspire creativity

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Georgia Public Library Service News October 2015

A little `Help'
Mary Helen McGruder (left), chair of the Forsyth County Public Library board of trustees, welcomes The Help author Kathryn Stockett to the Forsyth Conference Center in Cumming on Sept. 15. Stockett's appearance and book signing were part of the Forsyth County Public Library's annual Forsyth Reads Together program. Almost 800 readers attend the event, making it the library's alltime most popular author event.

GPLS provides six staff travel grants for conferences

Holly Phillips

One of the line items hit hardest by
library budget constraints is frequently travel, and this, unfortunately, keeps many library employees from attending professional development events that are not local. To combat this, GPLS is providing six travel grants to public library staff around the state, enabling them to attend conferences and training sessions in Georgia.
The travel grants were open to all staff members in Georgia's 400plus public libraries and service outlets. Applicants vied for the opportunity to attend the Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy (GICIL) held in
Story Time in the Park
The Moultrie-Colquitt County Library is using a community impact grant from the United Way to bring library activities outdoors to nearby parks. "It's really about forming these partnerships and bringing these library services out in the community so that people realize the library can offer so much," said Michele Croft, children and youth librarian. As part of the "Story Time in the Park" outreach program, local children have been able to listen to stories, sing songs, learn rhymes and participate in arts and crafts in public parks. Upcoming programs will feature professional puppeteers, ventriloquists and storytellers. "Creepy Critters," which is scheduled for late October, will include animals such as an Egyptian fruit bat, an emperor scorpion, a Brazilian salmon pink birdeater tarantula and a Madagascar hissing cockroach.

September in Savannah; and, with the stipulation it be their first time attending, the Georgia Council of Media Organizations (COMO) Conference in Athens. Winners receive reimbursement of conference-related expenses, including registration and lodging, for up to $500.
After months of poring over the applications, Julie Walker, state librarian; Jessica Everingham, assistant state librarian for library development and support; and Wendy Cornelisen, assistant state librarian for library innovation and collaboration, awarded grants to five COMO entries and one for GICIL.
Alisa Claytor, computer specialist with Athens Regional Library System, attended GICIL, and the five COMO first-time attendees are: Tim York of the LaFayettebased Cherokee Regional Library; Kasey Lynn of the Jesup-based Three Rivers Regional Library System; Judith Malone of Houston County Public Libraries; Sarah Edmonds of the Clarkesville-based Northeast Georgia Regional Library; and Ashley Pearson of the ConyersRockdale Library System.
The selection process was a difficult one, said Cornelisen. "Our goal was to select the most deserving candidate based on their written responses to an essay question," she said, "and we were hoping for winners from a broad spectrum of places in Georgia, from single- to multicounty and urban to rural."
Those goals were reached, and the grant recipients do not lack for enthusiasm. "I am very excited and grateful to have been chosen; COMO has been on my professional `to-do' list from the moment I started working at Nancy Guinn

Memorial Library," said Pearson. "My game plan is to do absolutely everything!"

Malone mirrors her sentiments. "I'm excited to have this opportunity," she said. "I plan to take in as much information as possible. I'm
sure the events will educate and provide me with new ideas."

The

attendees all

have their

respective

Edmonds

library's best interests at heart

with a shared

purpose of bringing back home and

sharing what knowledge they gain

to make a positive impact on as

many people as possible. "I'm

looking forward to all of the

workshops," said Edmonds. "I hope

to contribute to our library's purpose

by expanding my knowledge at

COMO!"

York also expressed his goals: "I'm interested in how we, as a small-town library, can take advantage of today's evolving technology and help bridge our community with the rest of the state's library community; I want to hear how other libraries network and support each other's efforts."

Cornelisen noted she has high hopes that GPLS will be able to offer this type of grant again in the coming years, and possibly on a regular basis. "There is so much to be gained from hands-on education, but lack of funds can be a legitimate obstacle for library staff to attend professional development events," she said. "We are committed to providing as much assistance as we can." I

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October 2015 Georgia Public Library Service News

NEWS IN BRIEF



Missy Braden

The board of trustees of the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Library has named Martha Powers-Jones to the position of director, effective Nov. 1. Powers-Jones currently serves as director of the Vidalia-based Ohoopee Regional Library System. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master's degree in library and information science from Kent State University. She has worked in libraries since 2001.
Matthew Stembridge has joined the Ohoopee Regional Library System as librarian for the Tattnall County Library. Originally from Fitzgerald, Stembridge he earned an associate degree in business administration from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, a bachelor's degree in history and political science from Georgia State University and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Valdosta State University. Previously, he served as librarian and interim dean for library services at Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro.
Daphne Register has joined the Middle Georgia Regional Library System in Macon as marketing coordinator. She previously served as a communica- Register tions professor at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville. Register earned a bachelor's degree in mass

communication from the University of West Georgia and a master's degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Georgia.

Elizabeth

McKinney, PINES

program director

for GPLS, has

been elected vice

president/

president-elect of

the Georgia

Library

Association

McKinney

(GLA). GLA co-

sponsors the annual Georgia COMO

conference and provides librarians

with resources for professional

development, training, networking

and advocacy. McKinney joined GPLS

in November 2001.

The science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) organization Women in Technology has named Emily Almond, director of information technology for GPLS, among the finalists for its Women of the Year Awards. Sponsored by Cox Automotive, the awards honor the accomplishments of Georgia's top female leaders in STEM and the impact they have made in Georgia communities. Winners from each of three categories will be announced Nov. 19 in Atlanta. Almond has been with GPLS since October 2008.

The Georgia Center for the Book and the Georgia Humanities Council will sponsor the 2015 Georgia Literary Festival Nov. 6-8 at Georgia Regents University in Augusta. The festival will honor hometown authors Frank Yerby and Berry Fleming, along with Tobacco Road author Erskine Caldwell. The festival will also feature readings and panel discussions by various authors from around the state. I

Jessica Wilson

First steps to reading
First Steps volunteer and Newton County Library System (NCLS) board member Lee Aldridge (right) delivers the library's first Every Child Ready to Read/B4 early literacy kit to 1-day old Ariyana Lashawn Kelley and mom Jamie Tarpkins on Aug. 5. As part of a new partnership with Newton Medical Center, First Steps presents first-time mothers with a goody bag containing first-year calendar, growth chart, tub tester and several other items to make a their jobs a little easier.
Wall of fame
Children's librarian Ann Dickinson of the Roddenbery Memorial Library in Cairo shows off the Wall of Fame she helped organize for the library's Hometown Heroes events this summer. In addition to autographed photos and memorabilia from notables such as baseball great Jackie Robinson and Starship vocalist Mickey Thomas,visitors had the opportunity to view more than 100 additional photos of Cairo's local heroes.

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Georgia Public Library Service News October 2015



Staff

Photos courtesy Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System

Mack Freeman

Check mates
On Sept. 17 in Decatur, Nathan Rall (top left), GPLS's director of library planning and construction, and State Librarian Julie Walker (top right) presented ceremonial checks of $2 million each to representatives of four public library systems that received state funding for construction projects this year. Accepting the checks are (from left) Keith Schuermann, director of the Troup-Harris Regional Library; Anna Lyle, assistant director of the Forsyth County Public Library; Mary Lin Maner, director of the Evans-based Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System; and Roni Tewksbury, director of the West Georgia Regional Library System.

Golden effort
A crowd including city leaders and staff from West Georgia Regional Library (WGRL) System came together on Aug. 5 for a groundbreaking ceremony for a new, 16,370-square-foot Villa Rica library. From left are: Martha Goodson, WGRL assistant director; Vicki Anderson, Carroll County commissioner; Brenda Gray, chair of the Villa Rica Public Library advisory board; Kelley Springer, Villa Rica Public Library branch manager; Matt Brass, field representative for U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland; Tom Worthan, Douglas County Commission chair; Rep. Micah Gravley; Danny England, Rutledge-Alcock Architects; Mike Williamson, Villa Rica City Council; Mayor J. Allen Collins; Clint Chance, WGRL board chair; Larry Wood, former Villa Rica city manager; Rep. Dusty Hightower; Verland Best and Leslie McPherson of the Villa Rica City Council; Bonnie Boles, Tanner Medical Center of Villa Rica administrator; Theresa Fisher of Sugar Foods Corporation; Nathan Rall, GPLS's director of library planning and construction; and Susan Wright of BB&T Corporation.

Triple header
Three of eight new Atlanta-Fulton Public Library (AFPL) System branches that voters supported when they approved a $275 million library construction bond in 2008 opened this summer. "We are thrilled to have opened Northwest Library at Scotts Crossing, Milton Library and Alpharetta Library in the same month," said Gayle Holloman, AFPL's interim director of Library, Arts and Culture. "Each is unique, based on what its community wanted, and patron response has been overwhelming." Top photo: Welcoming residents to the Northwest Library at Scotts Crossing on July 17 are (from left): Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves, Fulton County Commissioner Joan Garner, AFPL board Chair Stephanie Moody, AFPL trustee John Thomas, Fulton County Commissioner Emma Darnell and Atlanta City Council member Felicia Moore. Center photo: Fulton County District 2 Commissioner Bob Ellis (fourth from right) and Moody (center) welcomed numerous other dignitaries and an overflow crowd to the July 16 grand opening of the new 25,000-square-foot Milton Library, which is providing service to an area of the county that previously had no branch library. Bottom photo: Eaves, Moody and Holloman (second from right) also led the July 30 ribbon-cutting event at the Alpharetta Library, which drew nearly 300 local residents.
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October 2015 Georgia Public Library Service News

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Georgia Public Library Service 1800 Century Place, Suite 150 Atlanta, GA 30345-4304 404.235.7200 404.235.7201 fax www.georgialibraries.org

Julie Walker, state librarian David Baker, editor Dustin Landrum, assistant

Georgia Public Library Service News (ISSN 1546-511X) is published bimonthly by the Georgia Public Library Service, the state agency that supports public libraries and works with them to improve the quality and variety of library services available to Georgia citizens of all ages.
This publication is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Georgia Public Library Service under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.
Information presented in this newsletter will be provided in alternative formats on request. For more information about Georgia's libraries and literary events, or to post an event, visit our online calendar at www.georgialibraries.org

Friends in Fayette
In late August, the Fayette County Board of County Commissioners officially recognized the advocacy efforts of the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library and the library's board members, including Jean White (seated), the senior member of the board. White, a retired media specialist with Fayette County schools, was presented with a plaque for her 19 years of service. The Friends group held its annual book sale on Sept. 18. The Fayette County Public Library is part of the Griffin-based Flint River Regional Library.