News from March, 2010

March 10, 2010 -- Arrowhead Library System hosted dance programs around the region as their inaugural series of Arts and Cultural Heritage events.  Check the YouTube video with Terrence Smith calling an intergenerational folk dance in Babbit, Minnesota.

In addition to the folk dancing events, ALS has also sponsored musical performances by students of the Perpich Center for the Arts, as well as 11 concerts by the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and just launched their Library and Museum/Events Pass Program.  ALS shared information with area legislators on Library Legislative Day, February 24 about each of these Library Legacy services and a brief examples of individual project outcomes.

March 11, 2010 -- A new artistic presentation by Traverse des Sioux Library System (TdS) entitled Storytellers will bring three notable individuals to the area to discuss their lives, contributions and experiences in a variety of fields appealing to a wide range of interests.  The TdS Storytellers will be:  Harmon Killebrew, Annie Griffiths Belt, and Jeannette Walls.

March 12, 2010 -- The SELCO Legacy Review Committee allocated a total of $11,611 for four Library Legacy projects as part of their Arts and Culture Live! initiative.   The next grant round deadline is March 25, 2010.  The SELCO website offers more detailsabout the specific programs, as well a complete list of grant materials.

March 15, 2010 -- With an eye toward quality and an ability to accurately report on the impact of Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds (ACHF), the Arrowhead Library System (ALS) is sharing samples of evaluation forms distributed at recent ALS sponsored events.  While similar, each evaluation is tailored to the individual event , whether dance or symphony, for children, adults, or intergenerational.  Library systems around Minnesota may use and modify the text as needed.  Samples include:

• Folk Dance

• Lollipop Bus Concert

• Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra 1

• Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra 2

March 15, 2010 -- Participants of "Musical Story Times" presented by the MacPhail Center for Music will learn new ways to enhance library story times with the addition of music. Hands-on activities will help library staff gain new ideas. The two workshops designed specifically for library staff will be held on April 27 and May 6.  The sessions will be presented by Dianna Babcock, Director of Early Childhood Music and Cheryl Henningsgaard, Faculty Member, MacPhail Center for Music. The free workshops are open to all library workers in Minnesota.  The workshop will be recorded and posted online.

Registration links:

MacPhail Center for Music workshop -- April 27

Tuesday, April 27, 9 a.m.-noon, Maplewood Library, 3025 Southlawn Drive, Maplewood

MacPhail Center for Music workshop -- May 6

Thursday, May 6, 9 a.m.-noon, Ridgedale Library, Ridgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Drive, Minnetonka

March 15, 2010 -- A detailed summary of recent Arts and Cultural Heritage Library Legacy activities in the Northwest Regional Library.

March 15, 2010 -- Four plays were commissioned for the Minnesota's Greatest Generation Project. Each playwright used primary source documents as inspiration.  The Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) will provide scripts of the plays to the libraries. The library acts as producer, casting local actors or teens. Plays were written to be performed in small spaces with minimal or no props and can easily adapt to any library or stage setting.

Parachute Silk

     Cast: two female actors
Two factory girls discuss their fears and hopes about marrying their returning GI fiancés, while making wedding dresses out of parachute silk.

Parachute Silk Script

Parachute Silk Staging Notes and Information

The Secret Storm

     Cast: one female, three male actors
A housewife in the 1950s watches a soap opera that has an eerie way of crossing into her own life---and bringing up issues of lost loves, divorce and survivor's guilt

The Secret Storm Script

The Secret Storm Staging Notes and Information

Swell!

      Cast: one female, one male actor and a narrator
The story of two different teenagers and their worries during the Depression, as seen through their diary entires.

Swell! Script

Swell! Staging Notes and Information

The Amazing Adventures of Stuart Lindman!

     Cast: two male actors
The life story of Minnesota's Greatest Generation member Stuart Lindman, told as an old time radio show.

[The Amazing Adventures of Stuart Lindman! Script|^Stuart Lindman final[1].pdf]

The Amazing Adventures of Stuart Lindman! Staging Notes and Information

LIBRARY LOGISTICS:
Libraries must provide:

• Library or community staff to produce the play (cast actors, rehearse, etc.)
• Seating for audience
• Props and costumes (optional)

For more information contact Ginny Brodeen, CRPLSA/MHS Library Coordinator

March 15, 2010 -- Great River Regional Library (GRRL) will offer a "Cartoon Art Workshop" at a variety of branch locations as part of its Arts and Cultural Heritage Library Legacy program schedule.  This workshop will include character and story outline development, comic drawing techniques, and layout options. Participants will look and learn about comic book history and artists for examples. It will be useful if students bring a short story to work with and/or any existing artwork that they may want to use. Basic materials will be provided.

The workshop will be presented by Shayann Hoffer, a freelance artist and educator who works with youth in the areas of drawing, painting, cartooning, still-clip animation and sculpture. She received her BFA in painting from St. Cloud State University and did post-baccalaureate studies in art at the University of Oregon.

March 16, 2010 -- The State Librarian, Suzanne Miller, presented a mid-project report to the State of Minnesota and the Minnesota Legislature on the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Funding for Regional Public Library Systems.  In addition to the printed report, the Cultural and Outdoor Resources Finance Division in the Minnesota House of Representatives, chaired by Representative Mary Murphy (06B) with Ranking Minority Member, Representative Greg Davids (31B) took testimony on March 15.

March 16, 2010 -- The Regional Library partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) offers local libraries and community members unique opportunities to collect, preserve, share and learn about the stories of Minnesota's Greatest Generation (MGG). This is exciting news and people around the state want to know about it!  To help get the word out, a marketing expert, Suzanne Fedoruk, created  publicity, marketing information and templates for the MGG programming specifically for libraries.  Everything was developed with ease and simplicity in mind and can be found in the MGG How-To Guide for Promoting your Programs.

March 31, 2010 -- Great River Regional Library (GRRL) uses the Adult form for events that are primarily for teens/adults  such as author visits, art workshops, Guthrie classes, and concerts. They use the Children's version for the Minnesota Zoo visits and art workshops for kids. GRRL reports having received many positive comments via these forms, and also helpful suggestions (a complaint is a gift!) and the GRRL Communications Department has been able to use some of the data collected as well, for example in response to the question, "How did you learn about this program?".

GRRL Adult Evaluation Form for Arts and Cultural Heritage Library Legacy Programs

GRRL Children's Evaluation Form for Arts and Cultural Heritage Library Legacy Programs

March 31, 2010 -- As you consider how to fill your calendar for the upcoming month - don't forget about MGG in the Libraries programming. This programming is designed for ease of use and is free to your library! Below, we've highlighted key dates and holidays in April, and offered suggestions for tie-in programs.  Specifically for April:

Friday April 2nd: International Children's Book Day

Programming Ideas:

• Feature children's books written during the 30s, 40s, and 50s by Minnesota authors like Wanda Ga'g and Emma L. Brock
• Feature children's books written about the 30s, 40s, and 50s
  • Prairie Train by Marsha Wilson Chall, 2003
  • Potato: A Tale of the Great Depression by Kate Lied, 1997
  • Wind Flyers by Angela Johnson, 2007

Thursday, April 22nd: Earth Day

Programming Ideas:

• Lecture: Barbara W. Sommer, Author of Hard Work and a Good Deal
  • Learn how members of the Minnesota CCC planted trees, improved parks, and shaped outdoor recreation for future residents
• On the Home Front Family Day Kit
  • Check out the kit from your region's headquarters and have a day of decorating seed packets, recycling scraps into new fashion accessories, and reading books about Victory Gardens.
• Feature books written during the 30s, 40s, and 50s by Minnesota authors that celebrate the Minnesota's natural wonders
  • Salute to Spring and Other Stories by Meridel Le Sueur, non-fiction, 1940
  • Minnesota: A State Guide  prepared by the Works Progress Administration, non-fiction, 1938
  • Canoeing with the Cree by Arnold Eric Sevareid, non-fiction, 1935
  • Books by Sigurd Olson or Francis Lee Jaques and Florence Page Jaques

Suggestions from Maren Levad, Minnesota Historical Society Statewide Library Legacy Coordinator