The Carnegie Public Library, in partnership with the Coahoma County Higher Education Center (CCHEC), will offer a 7-part community lecture series titled “Community Book Talks” beginning Friday, January 27, at the Cutrer Mansion on the campus of the CCHEC. The series will kick off with a lecture by renowned poet and children’s author Nikki Giovanni. The program is sponsored by a $20,000 grant from the Gone Giving Circle of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
“We are so pleased to receive this grant,” said Sarah Crisler-Ruskey, assistant director of the Carnegie Library. “Missie Craig, former director of the library, and Jen Waller, director of the CCHEC, started working on this project some time ago, and I am very excited to be engaged in a partnership that will bring quality programming to Coahoma County.”
Both the CCHEC and the Carnegie Public Library are local institutions dedicated to helping improve Clarksdale and Coahoma County through education; therefore, the leaders of the two institutions decided that a partnership made sense.
“As the proposal came together, we saw this lecture series as an opportunity to develop an innovative, educational program that would offer something positive to the entire community,” said Ruskey. “We really want to create and support an atmosphere in Clarksdale that encourages lifelong learning.”
The writers for the lecture series were selected based on their appeal to a variety of audiences. The series will cover varied topics from current events to history, politics, food, gardening, and sports.
“Our goal is to bring writers into our community who will not only be interesting, but will also enlighten us, inspire us, and challenge us to become better individuals,” said CCHEC Director Jen Waller. “Personal growth is an important way to contribute to the growth of a community, and education – which obviously includes reading – is a key to personal growth.”
Many of the speakers have also agreed to hold workshops with students focused on their area of expertise before the evening reception.
“We believe that it is very important to inspire young people within our community to dream big,” said Ruskey. “Offering students these opportunities to be exposed to and engaged with these writers, thinkers, and creative people allows us to encourage reading, education, and a higher quality of life.”
The organizers of the lecture series see fostering community spirit as a key goal of the event. As part of this effort, they are reaching out to local businesses in the community to see if they would like to host one of the lectures at their venue, prepare hors d’oeuvres for the pre-event reception, or support the growth and sustainability of the lecture series with a contribution or sponsorship.
“We ultimately want this series to continue beyond the year 2012 and to touch as many people in the community as possible,” said Waller. “We want this project to be one more way to show that strong partnerships focused on education and business will strengthen all of us in the long run.”
The “Community Book Talks” lecture series begins on Friday, January 27 at the Cutrer Mansion. The first speaker is the renowned poet and children’s author, Nikki Giovanni. The event begins with an opening reception at 5:00 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres prepared by Chris Card from the Ranchero. The author is scheduled to speak at 5:30 p.m. and will conclude with a question and answer session around 6:30 p.m. A limited number of books by the author will be available for purchase.
The date and details for the remainder of the lecture series are listed below:
• FEBRUARY – TH Feb. 23 – 5 to 7 p.m. – Speaker: Curtis Wilkie
• MARCH – TH, March 22 – 5 to 7 p.m – Speaker: Martha Foose
• APRIL – TH, April 26 – 5 to 7 p.m. – Speaker: Felder Rushing
• AUGUST – TH, Aug. 30 – 5 to 7 p.m. – Speaker: Carolyn Haines
• SEPTEMBER – TH, Sept. 27 – 5 to 7 p.m. – Speaker: Marshall Chapman
• OCTOBER – TH, Oct. 25 – 5 to 7 p.m. – Speaker: Wright Thompson
For more information on the Community Book Talks Lecture Series, contact Sarah Ruskey at the Carnegie Public Library at (662) 627-7341or at sruskey@cplclarksdale.lib.ms.us.
The purpose of the Carnegie Public Library is to provide opportunities for information, education, culture, and recreation through books, computers, videos, and other materials as well as offer library services, to the people of Clarksdale and Coahoma County. Service is available to all citizens of Coahoma County through tax support from the City of Clarksdale and the County Board of Supervisors.
The Coahoma County Higher Education Center (CCHEC) was designed to enhance the outreach capabilities of Delta State University and Coahoma Community College. The partnership between the two institutions encourages regional growth and development by expanding educational opportunities for the people of Coahoma County, and the surrounding counties. The central location of the CCHEC campus gives the people of Coahoma County an advantage by offering a variety of educational opportunities to explore. Both institutions support programs at the CCHEC that target high needs in the area and spur growth and development within the region. The programs offered at the CCHEC focus on education and teacher quality; health and wellness; computer skills and technology; cultural literacy and culinary arts.
