 We miss baseball! My husband Gary and I are lifelong baseball fans. There may be no crying in baseball, but there is crying when you don’t have your favorite sport. We always attend spring training in Goodyear, and when it was suddenly cancelled, we were at a loss. Since the regular season has yet to begin, we decided to watch our favorite baseball movies to fill the void.
Here are a few suggestions for baseball movies available from the Library. Gary is a student of the game, so he provided the content. I hope you enjoy Gary’s narrative with titles of baseball movies. How many baseball films can you find? To challenge you, I intentionally omitted capitalization and punctuation of movie titles. The answer appears in the last paragraph of this article. A virus has robbed me of the game of my youth. I have to close my eyes and force myself to see my field of dreams. From the bad news bears stumbling around the sandlot to the minor leagues of bull durham, all the way to the major league, baseball players are in a league of their own. I conjure up images of the show. In Cleveland, they bang the drum slowly in homage to America’s greatest pastime. I so miss the numbers of moneyball, from eight men out to 61 to 42 and mr. 3,000. I miss those damn yankees, and I still cry during the pride of the yankees. The rookie had his moment, and the natural could knock the lights out of the park with one swing of the bat. Last fall we took a tour of Fenway Park. It was not a game day, so the Green Monster stood lonely without fans, as if a harbinger of our future. We also visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, where we honored the presence of the babe, cobb, and mr. baseball. None of the greats had much trouble with the curve. We eagerly await next year because we know it happens every spring. The scout will advise us of the next million dollar arm; then, we will truly believe in the angels in the outfield. I close my eyes and whisper, “For the love of the game. For the love of the game. For the love of the game.” All films mentioned above are available in DVD format from the Yavapai Library Network, with the exception of “It Happens Every Spring.” This 1949 comedy starring Ray Milland is available through interlibrary loan. There is a $3 fee if an ILL comes from a library outside Arizona. If you need assistance placing a hold, please contact the Library. We may not be able to take you out to the ball game, so buy your peanuts and Cracker Jack, sit back, relax, and enjoy a movie about America’s favorite pastime. It’s not like being at the ballpark, but it’s better than no baseball. By the way, there are 25 different baseball films mentioned in this article. Play ball! Sedona Public Library Column for May 29, 2020 Written by: Cheryl L. Yeatts, Manager of Sedona Public Library in the Village  Smooth road, smooth road, bumpy road, hole! Remember that old knee-bounce rhyme? Here in the youth department, we are feeling the bumpy road but avoiding holes when we can. As we explore ways to continue library services for youth and families, communication is a key. What is going on with the Library? The weekly library column is a great way to find out. Here is the latest news from the youth services department.
StoryWalk has a new story! The paved trail starts at the toddler playground at Sunset Park, 655 Sunset Drive. Children and adults will love the new book about a little boy being totally enthralled with the natural world as he watches from his window. As you read “Little Green,” by Keith Baker, be sure to have your child look for a tiny caterpillar on every page. Many local families visit StoryWalk often, finding different things to talk about each time. It has become an outdoor habit that is building a fond memory. The trail, which takes you over two bridges, loops back to the park and provides about 15 minutes of walking and reading in the wild. Curbside book pickup is happening! Choose the titles that you would like us to gather for your children. You can choose from the online catalog and immediately place the titles on hold with your library card number and pin, or you can phone youth services, 928-282-7714, ext.119, and we will place your choices, or our suggestions, on hold for you. You will get an email or phone call when your books are ready for a curbside pickup in the library parking lot. Give it a try! Come for curbside pickup when you’ve been notified that your items are available to pick up: Main library on White Bear Road
Village library in Bell Rock Plaza
Story time continues online. We also have a robust array of educational and entertaining resources newly available through our website. Thanks for watching online. We miss the real story time experience and, of course, YOU and all the learning and laughing that happened every day at the Library. Online service is different, as many things are right now. Remember Mono? Karen will do the smooth road, bumpy road rhyme with Mono next week for story time. Join us at sedonalibrary.org for some interim fun. Story time sessions are easy to find on the library website and Facebook, and will stay up for about six weeks. The 2020 Summer Reading challenge is coming soon for ages 0–18. Can you read or listen to books for 1,000 minutes during June and July? The Library will help you keep track. Online sign-up starts on June 1, with both paper and online tracking options available. For paper reading logs, with stickers and added activities, contact the library youth department, where Summer Reading packets will be available. Summer Reading packets will also be at food-sharing and other venues around Sedona. Thanks to a project supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, we will soon have 250 brand-new paperback books to give to children ages 0–12 this summer. Summer Reading packets will now include a book! For updates on Sedona Public Library, please check the newspaper and visit our website regularly. Sedona Public Library Column for May 22, 2020 Written by Karen Mack, Youth Services Librarian  In this column I pay tribute to strong women. There are many wonderful books about amazing women from the past and the present, and here are a few of my reading recommendations:
The books listed above are available in various formats from the Yavapai Library Network. If you need assistance placing a hold, please contact the Library. Sedona Public Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Visit the Library’s website at sedonalibrary.org/donate to make an online donation. Sedona Public Library Column for May 15, 2020 Written by Cheryl L. Yeatts, Manager of Sedona Public Library in the Village  With Mother’s Day on their minds, Sedona Library Board members shared stories about their mothers for a column in 2014. A common theme emerged: how all were first introduced to their local libraries thanks to their mothers.
We’re sharing two of the stories again – one from New York City and one from a very small town in upstate New York. Despite coming from diverse backgrounds, these individuals share similar childhood experiences at their libraries that are cherished memories. The first was written by Paul Schwartz. He served on the Library’s board of trustees for three years, and he was very active in the community as a preservationist, publisher, musician, writer, and poet. He was, in no uncertain terms, passionate about literature and the written word. Sedona lost a remarkable storyteller when Paul died suddenly in 2018. I hope you enjoy his tribute to his mother: “My mother was the oldest child of immigrants, born in New York's teeming Lower East Side in 1914. English was not her first language. Her mother was illiterate and her father read only Yiddish. She learned English cold turkey in public school, read everything she could get her hands on at the public library, and, being very intelligent, did well in school. But the older children of immigrant families in those days were expected to go to work so that the youngest could get an education. This was an unwritten law. My mother was not allowed to finish high school and went to work at age 15. Still, she continued reading all of her life—library books, of course—instilled a love of reading in me, and got me my first library card when I was seven. Incidentally, our library was a one-room storefront next to a Chinese laundry. We called it the ‘liberry’." Harvey Bershader shared the next story. Harvey served on the Library’s board of trustees for six years and is currently a member of the Library’s Donor Relations Committee and a volunteer at the Friends of the Library’s book store. Harvey’s commitment to this community is endless and he currently serves on Verde Valley Caregivers' board. This story of his town’s library is similar to Sedona Public Library’s history. I loved talking to Harvey about this and I hope you enjoy reading it: “I grew up in a very small town of less than one thousand people, but the leaders were quite visionary, creating all types of opportunities one would not expect in a town that size. When a new fire station was built in 1950, the old station was determined to be just the right place to create a library. The people turned out and with their own labor and funding, converted the upstairs space into a small library. My mother and others acted as the librarians, checking out books and adding to the collection with donated books from the townspeople. I would go to the library with my mother, on rainy days, to help her with restacking returned books and sweeping the floor. I was often surprised at how busy the small library was, as it was also a place where people could come and share in the latest gossip. These memories of being a help to my mother are truly special.” We hope you’ve enjoyed these touching and powerful stories. We invite all community members, including families with children of all ages, to create new memories at Sedona Public Library. And most importantly, Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers who are creating wonderful memories for their children! The Library is a 501(c) (3) corporation, supported by donations and grants. Pleases consider honoring your mother on Mother’s Day with a donation to Sedona Public Library, 3250 White Bear Road, Sedona, AZ 86336 or online at sedonalibrary.org/donate. Sedona Public Library Column for May 8, 2020 Written by Virginia Volkman, Director  Today is the first day of a new month, and there is much to plan and anticipate, with hope and optimism, as we move slowly towards reopening Arizona, Sedona, and your library. Likewise, it is a great time to review the past month and all the exciting things that April brought our way, even while our doors are closed. We’ve had opportunity for celebration.
First, and foremost, last week was National Volunteer Week, and all we can say is THANK YOU! We are truly grateful for our 120 active volunteers who committed a total of 16,735 hours, completing any of 30 different tasks at the Library and Friends of the Library bookstore last year. Their commitment helps keep the Library running smoothly and with a smile! The value of those hours? An amazing $425,571. Now, that’s worth celebrating! We can’t wait to re-schedule our official celebration, but in the meantime, we celebrate all of you, always, in our hearts. Secondly, as April was National Poetry Month, Sedona Public Library celebrated with a first ever digital poetry festival: “Pop-Up Poetry Online” presented on our Facebook page. On April 23 we posted poems by poets and readers from as far away as Brooklyn, New York, and as close as the Library itself, where two staff members recorded themselves reading a poem in our very, very quiet library. We are grateful to all 25 participants. A poem was posted every 20 minutes over eight hours on our Facebook page. Poets read from greats like Shakespeare and Yeats, or well-known children’s poets like Hilaire Belloc and Laura E. Richards. A couple of poets read their own work including the well-known former Tucson poet laureate, William Pitt Root, and Sedona’s own Roger Blakiston. Poets and readers, ranging in age from 11 to 76 years old, joined the fun and provided hilarious, and serious, poetic perspectives. Now that’s worth celebrating. And if you missed it, feel free to visit Sedona Public Library’s YouTube channel, where you can see all of the poets and readers. And stay tuned as we will soon post these poems to our website and to our upcoming BilbioBoard collection. And, last but not least, we celebrated the Library on Library Giving Day! Thank you to more than 150 donors for making this national day of library giving a success, especially in light of our library being closed! We are grateful for more than $52,000 contributed to Sedona Public Library, and we are especially grateful to our two matching donors, Gordon Reiter from the Village of Oak Creek, and an anonymous volunteer. Your gifts served the campaign well as our donors loved doubling their money. And special thanks to Rayna Griffin who again donated beautiful, hand-painted bookmarks that were gifted to donors of $75 or more. Thanks everyone for another successful Library Giving Day! Our lives changed significantly last month, and Sedona Public Library offers its condolences and best wishes to those who have, and continue to, struggle during this pandemic. As we move into a new month, we are grateful, and we are hopeful. Please take care of yourselves, and each other. Hug those you can often. Thanks to everyone for celebrating with us despite the difficult times. We’ll see you online, 24/7, and we’ll see you back at the Library soon. Remember, it’s never too late to support your library at sedonalibrary.org/donate. Sedona Public Library Column for May 1, 2020 Written by Anne Marie Mackler, Development Director |
