SAGE
SOCIETY MINUTES
Date: April 12, 2022
Location:
Pat Conroy Literary Center, Beaufort, SC
Members in attendance:
Atkins,
Sandi
Bomar,
Lex
Gallagher,
Diane
Hathaway,
Barbara
Robertson,
Alvesta
Stewart,
Catherine
Stocks,
Jerry
Thomas,
Melba
Weeks, Martha
Koolkin,
Larry
Guests: Saskia Amaro, Vicki Mix
Barbara
Hathaway called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm
Member
update: Catherine Stewart was introduced as a new member and given her badge
Approval
of minutes of the March 8, 2022 meeting
General
business discussed:
Sandi
Atkins updated the members regarding the donation to Hopeful Horizons. Thanks to contributions of books from Holy
Trinity Classical Christian School and the Friends of the Beaufort Library, as
well as donations of books from members, we will have quite a sizable library
to deliver to the shelter. Sandi will
order a rug for the room and has already purchased stuffed animals and coloring
books, to be added to those donated by members.
We hope to deliver to the shelter by the end of May and help them set up
the children’s library. There is also
interest in creating a library for the women in the shelter which we will
follow up on after May.
Presentation by Barbara
Hathaway
Topic: Bookmobiles – Libraries Coming to You
Barbara
presented a wonderful history of bookmobiles from their inception in the early
1900s to present. The idea of
bookmobiles was conceived to provide access to books to unserved or
inadequately served populations. In
cities they served local neighborhoods and in more rural areas they extended
out to reach people who lived in less populated communities.
Barbara
presented a fascinating pictorial history of the conveyances used, from early
horse drawn wagons, converted buses, and all types of motorized vehicles from
both the US and internationally.
Initially, the books were displayed on the outside of the vehicle but
were later moved to the inside so patrons could enter the vehicle and browse at
their leisure. Current bookmobiles, such
as those owned in Beaufort County, have lifts to make them handicap accessible,
are air-conditioned and have access to technology.
She
recommended two books that provide fictional accounts of libraries in rural
America in the mid-1900s using women to deliver books on horseback. One is The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes and
the other is The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.
There
is currently a decreased demand for bookmobiles due to the rise of
technology and digital access to books.
Meeting adjourned: 4:50 pm
Next regular meeting will be on
Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 4 pm
Updated list of presenters:
May 10:
Debbie Gray – Forgotten Survivors: Widowed Servicemen’s Wives of WWII
September 13: Melba Thomas
October 11:
Carla Marsj
November 8: Jen Moneagle
Respectfully
submitted by Sandi Atkins, Secretary, on April 15, 2022
