The McCormick County Library will launch a month long program in the fall that aims to draw local citizens into the art and history of America. The program will feature engaging speakers, lively book and film discussions, and the public display of the Picturing America Collection both in the library and at the McCormick Arts Council.

In June 2010 the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded $2,000 to the McCormick County Library as part of the national Picturing America initiative. The McCormick County Library is the only library in SC and one of only 30 libraries nationwide selected to receive the award. This initiative aims to give Americans a deeper appreciation for our country’s history by introducing them to its great art. The Picturing America Collection (PAC)  is composed of forty, carefully selected works of art spanning several centuries — all by American painters, sculptors, photographers, and architects. The NEH has distributed large, high-quality reproductions of these images to schools and libraries nationwide and made them available online.

The grant will enable the McCormick County Library to bring several presenters to the community. Bill Brockington, retired professor of history at USC, will draw upon the various references to railroads in the PAC and describe how railroads and other transportation systems shaped settlement patterns, economic growth and the evolution of South Carolina’s cultural infrastructure. Joseph McGill, Program Officer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Civil War reenactor, will present the history of the 54^th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry regiment as depicted in the 54th Regiment Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The presentation will be given in a Civil War uniform and will include a first-person characterization. Tom Pitts, associate professor of art history at Lander University, will preside over an evening reception at the McCormick Arts Council gallery where the PAC will be displayed. Pitts will informally share his knowledge of various pieces in the collection and will deliver a lecture entitled: “John Singleton Copley: America’s First Great Painter.”

Other activities will include a book and film discussion moderated by author and local historian Bobby F. Edmonds. The grant will also fund the addition of approximately thirty related books to the library collection. All dates and times are to be announced.

Picturing America is a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, distributed in cooperation with the American Library Association. The Institute of Museum and Library Services has provided major support for Picturing America programs in public libraries. This program is also sponsored by The Humanities Council of SC, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities; inspiring, engaging and enriching South Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture and heritage.

**The Summer Reading Program is sponsored by the

Friends of the McCormick Library** 

The Kill-A-Watt monitors have been provided by the SC Energy Office in cooperation with the SC State Library. They are available free-of-charge to library card holders and can be checked out for a three week time period.

Mark DeVerges, Spring Bonanza, McCormick

Its tax time again and this year free tax preparation will be offered in McCormick by the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). The VITA Program offers free tax help to low and moderate income (generally $49,000 and below) people who cannot prepare their own tax returns. Volunteers are trained and certified by the IRS to help prepare basic tax returns in communities across the country.

VITA assistance will be available at the McCormick County Library every Wednesday from 4:30 until 7:30 pm starting on Febuary 3^rd and continuing through April 7^th. For more information please see the program description posted near the tax forms at the McCormick County Library. A variety of tax forms are freely available at the library and other tax forms can be printed using library computers at a charge of 15 cents per page. Library employees can help citizens locate and print tax forms but cannot provide any help or advice with tax return preparation.

The McCormick County Library wants parents to know about a fun, new learning opportunity for their children at the library. A unique computer workstation, called an Early Literacy Station or “ELS”, is now available with more than forty-five educational software titles for kids ages 2-10. The workstation offers children a safe, standalone computer not connected to the internet that is age-appropriate, engaging, and academically relevant for children. The ELS is located near the children’s area and is equipped with both a small mouse and a touchscreen to promote easy learning and discovery.

“The Early Literacy Station is an invaluable resource for introducing young children to computers and for providing kids with a fun way to learn,” says library director Paul Brown. The educational software covers seven curricular areas: reading, math, science, social studies, writing, arts and music, and reference. Software titles include:

Millie’s Math House            

JumpStartPreSchool                                

Kidspiration                       

SpongeBob SquarePants Typing          

Reader Rabbit Phonics           

USA Explorer                                               

My Amazing Human Body     

Sesame Street First Steps

And many more!                            

A library card is needed in order to use the ELS or take advantage of the many other services and materials provided at the library. Library cards are free but do require a parent’s permission/signature for children. For more information contact the library at 852-2821 or mccormicklibrary@hotmail.com.

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Terry has spent his adult life soldiering, studying, lawyering and writing, in that order. He was born in Waycross, Georgia, and at age twelve moved to Sanford, Florida. Upon graduation from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and after three years of active duty, began his studies at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Upon graduation from law school, Terry returned to Central Florida where he practiced law for 38 years until his retirement. Terry and his wife, Jean, live in Longboat Key and Maitland, Florida.

 All four mysteries written by Griffin feature his character Matt Royal, a burned out trial lawyer who lives in an island paradise in Florida and who has been described by one reviewer as “Travis McGee with a law degree.” Griffin’s novels are all available for check out from the McCormick Library.