SAVE THE DATE: June 29th, at 1:30 p.m. in the large meeting room of the Humboldt County Library, 1313 3rd Street, Eureka. This is the time for election of new officers and Friends of the Redwood Libraries Board members, to hear about the State of the Library, to enjoy an outstanding speaker, have refreshments, and win (or try to win) great door prizes!
THE NEWS IS OUT: The Guest Speaker for our upcoming Annual Meeting will be Katherine Longshore, author of GILT, a story of friendship and betrayal set in the court of Henry VIII; and TARNISH, the story of young Anne Boleyn. Katherine grew up in Arcata. Attending HSU, she created her own major in Cross-cultural Studies and Communications, planning to travel and write. Forever. Four years, six continents and countless pairs of shoes later, she went to England for two weeks, stayed five years and discovered history. She now lives in another part of California with her husband and two children. She’s still writing.
Romantic Times commented regarding GILT, “Longshore takes readers into the dangerous and enchanting circle of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII...this book’s look into courtly intrigue will delight teen readers.”
We invite our young friends to come and hear Katherine’s presentation, since the books are directed toward teenagers. Of course, adults enjoy them as well!
TARNISH will appear for the first time on June 18, so this would be a good time to have your “hot off the presses” copy autographed by the author!
COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: The FRL Board has selected Frances Rapin to receive this year’s Community Service Award. A check in the amount of $2,000 will be presented to the Library in her name, to be used as she specifies.
Over the years Frances has been an innovator and an advocate for the Friends and for the Library. Under her leadership we conducted our Hi-$5 Campaign, which raised $45,000 to restore hours that budget cuts had eliminated from the Library’s schedule. We opened our Serendipity Book Store in October 1999, a project that originated with Frances and one that she worked tirelessly to bring about. Anyone who was involved knows very well that it would not have happened without Frances’ direction hard work.
She continues to be involved behind the scenes, especially in overseeing our sorting activities in the back room as well as organizing the fiction area of our book sales. She is always on the lookout for donations, both of books and money, to support the Library. The Community Service Award was another of her ideas. It has provided a way for us to make the public aware not only of our volunteers but also other community members who have supported the Library in a variety of ways.
During the entire time she has been so active with the Friends, she has been equally involved with the Humboldt County Historical Society. She has served for many years as their Program Chair and is the person responsible for organizing the great programs sponsored jointly by HCHS and the Library.
In recent years Frances has been responsible for recruiting and scheduling the docents who serve in the Humboldt Room. This has relieved the Reference Department of the task of making sure there is someone on duty whenever the Library is open.
It is impossible to overstate what Frances has meant to the Friends and to the Library. It is with great affection and admiration that we present her with this richly deserved recognition.
help with the unpacking and sorting of
donated books. Most of this activity takes place on Tuesday
and Thursday mornings.