For this week’s column, the last of 2018, I thought I would share with you what I believe is the absolute most important, and fun, thing that I do as the development director at Sedona Public Library. No, not ask for support, although it is certainly related, and fun. Instead, I’d like to show you what is at the crux of any good fundraising endeavor, and that is the story.
 
You see, every week we fill the lines of this weekly column with announcements about the array of services and programs we excitedly offer, and with statistics we proudly report the number of patrons who have visited, how many items are in our collection, and the many community groups that partner with us. But all of that means nothing until we color it with you, your voice and your words as you tell us why this library is so important to you and to this community.
 
We’ve been gathering your stories all year in celebration of our 60th anniversary. There is simply no better way to celebrate, and yes, to ask for support, than by sharing your stories. Thus, in making a request for your new, continued, online, or monthly support, let me first share the following.

• “You definitely are a jewel, and we are proud to show you off. Always beautiful as a public building; shining with bright new books; full of friendly, helpful staff; people of all ages smiling with books under their arms; so many community services. You sparkle brightly and enrich us! Thank you from a 40-year resident.” Rayna, Sedona.
•  “We are staying with our four grandchildren in Sedona using our Diamond Resort membership.  This is the best children’s library we have ever seen. I am a retired attorney, reading specialist, and proud grandmother. My daughter is an MD/PHD.  Congratulations to your staff for a job well done.” Susan, Tucson.
•  “Youth services helped me find new books that I like, and my true potential in reading. The first time I entered the Library I was amazed at how many books there were and how big the building was, and now I always feel relaxed and happy when I enter.” Pradhumna, Sedona.
• “With everything that I owned packed in my Honda Civic, I moved to Sedona to pursue my life as an abstract artist and poet. I used the Library computers, instead of buying my own, to check emails and create fliers for my art workshops. The Library offered an avenue to share my work with the world, and I have self-published 40 books to date.”  Marita, Sedona.
• “It’s SO awesome to have a library in VOC. Everyone is so helpful and friendly, they always go the extra mile, especially when my husband was so sick. They helped me find information on the computer and ran copies for me.” Princess, VOC.
•  “I’ve lived here since the 1980s when the Library was uptown. I lived nearby so I used it for everything – including meeting clients so they didn’t visit my messy studio! I like the new Library, and Monday Night Movies rock!” V. Norton, Sedona.
•  “Library events have opened a whole new world for me and added a fun and interesting dimension to my life.” Arla, Cornville.
• “I’ve used many good libraries, but this is the first great one. It’s my all-inclusive entertainment resource—books, videos, presentations.” Karen, Sedona.

Thank you for your support, your stories, and your enthusiasm. We are humbled by the breadth of your praise, and we are proud to do all that we do, for this community, for free.
 
It is my job to assure you that we couldn’t do it without support from individuals like you, the City of Sedona, the Friends of the Sedona Library, and property tax dollars we receive from Yavapai and Coconino Counties.
 
It is also my job, and my pleasure, to ask you to please remember the Library when you consider your year-end giving. We’ve made it easy at sedonalibrary.org/donate. Thanks, and Happy New Year!

​Sedona Public Library
Column for December 28, 2018
Written by Anne Marie Mackler, Development Director

The calendar tells us that winter is here, but recently when I walked through the City of Sedona’s Sunset Park it felt less like winter and more like autumn.  The trees still have yellow leaves, and the walking path was the perfect setting to read “In the Middle of Fall,” by Kevin Henkes, displayed on 18 panels along the path.
 
“In the middle of fall, it takes only one gust of wind to turn the whole world yellow and red and orange.” Caldecott Medalist and award-winning author Kevin Henkes’s striking text introduces basic concepts of language and the unique beauty of the fall season.  Acclaimed painter Laura Dronzek’s expressive paintings illuminate pumpkins, apples, falling leaves, busy squirrels, and the transformation from colorful autumn to frosty winter.
 
Before the trees are bare, make your way to Sunset Park and enjoy the leafy trees that are the perfect backdrop for the Library’s StoryWalk.  The story will delight young and old alike and you’ll stop just long enough at each station to take in your surroundings and marvel that the pages are so tuned in to the Sedona setting.  Start your walk at the Sunset Drive entrance to the park, just down the stairs that take you from the parking lot into the park.  You’ll end up at the Shelby Drive entrance.
 
Accompanying the pages of the book are tips and “try it” suggestions in both English and Spanish.  What a fun way to develop reading skills and enjoy the outdoors!  (StoryWalk is trademarked by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont and developed with the support of Kellogg-Hubbard Library.  Sedona’s project is funded by Goldenstein Gallery, the Arizona Community Foundation, and the Langston Family Foundation; and supported by the City of Sedona)
 
When the sun goes down, look up to see the Winter Hexagon, a big circle of bright stars that includes the easy-to-identify Orion constellation.  It's an asterism, or recognizable star pattern.
 
The Winter Hexagon is made up of some of the brightest stars in the sky: Capella in the constellation of Auriga, Aldebaran in Taurus, Rigel in Orion, Sirius in Canis Major, Procyon in Canis Minor, and Castor in Gemini.  Once you’ve found the hexagon you’ll always have a reason to anticipate the change in seasons.
 
A good online resource to help you identify what’s visible in the night sky is Sky & Telescope’s This Week's Sky at a Glance.  The Library has a variety of magazines and books to get you started on your way to being an amateur astronomer and hosts meetings of the Sirius Lookers astronomy club on the third Wednesday of the month in the Library’s Quiet Study room.
 
As Dennis Young, club president says, “Anyone with an interest in looking up is welcome to attend the meetings of the Sirius Lookers, a free astronomy club, with no membership dues or fees.”  For more information visit their website: siriuslookers.org
 
Best wishes from all of us at Sedona Public Library for a stellar holiday season and we hope that you take the opportunity to get out and enjoy the great outdoors!
 
Please remember the Library and all of its free programs, services, and resources when you consider your year-end giving. In fact, consider a monthly gift to help the Library build sustainable revenue; we’ve made it easy at sedonalibrary.org/donate. 

​Sedona Public Library
Column for December 21, 2018
Written by: Virginia Volkman, Director

It’s here! Sedona Public Library has opened its permanent and public early literacy project: StoryWalk. Now you can stroll with your kids through Sunset Park and read the pages of the children’s book  In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes.
 
Residents and visitors alike are welcome to enjoy this children’s story book while walking along the half-mile, paved, accessible path where every thirty feet you will find another frame showing two more pages of the story. Each of the eighteen frames also offers a tip for how adults can help young readers engage in the story.
 
This free project combines favorite Sedona activities—walking and reading—making it a perfect match for the Sedona Public Library. StoryWalk is a trademarked project that has inspired children and adults to read together in all 50 states and 11 other countries.
 
A dad was spotted on the StoryWalk last Sunday with his two young children. Our Youth Services Director, Karen Mack, spoke with him and he said that it was as if the kids were on a treasure hunt. “They can’t wait to find the next set of pages.” He was also impressed with the literacy tips. Overall, he said, “It’s beautiful.”
 
The target audience for StoryWalk includes in-home child care providers and families with small children. Sedona Public Library hopes to reach the youngest children of the youngest parents, giving parents another opportunity to be their children’s first and best teacher.
 
Arizona suffers low test scores for elementary and high school students and low literacy rates for all ages. Early, public access supporting the fun and importance of reading is one of the most successful ways to improve literacy levels in a community. In perfect alignment with its mission, Sedona Public Library enthusiastically embraces the opportunity to offer another premier program to the community and to help children read more, and read well.
 
StoryWalk serves as an extension of the Library, and we encourage local schools, businesses, and other groups to visit StoryWalk exhibits and submit group comments. Schools might consider having students write letters to the Library expressing their response to the exhibit.
 
Please share your StoryWalk experience on social media with photos, comments and suggestions or contact the Library directly. Your input is vital to the growth and success of this project, and you can enjoy StoryWalk year round with new story exhibits four times a year.
 
StoryWalk is made possible through a partnership with the City of Sedona Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments, as well as the generosity of donors who prioritize literacy, fitness, and Sedona’s landscape: Goldenstein Gallery, the Arizona Community Foundation, and the Langston Family Foundation. Thank you for helping bring StoryWalk to Sedona!
 
Please remember the Library and all of its free programs, services, and resources when you consider your year-end giving. In fact, consider a monthly gift to help the Library build sustainable revenue; we’ve made it easy at sedonalibrary.org/donate.
 
(StoryWalk is trademarked by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont and developed with the support of Kellogg-Hubbard Library.)

Sedona Public Library
Column for December 14, 2018
Written by Anne Marie Mackler, Development Director

Imagine living in Arizona in the 1870s. Martha Summerhayes, the young bride of an Army lieutenant, did just that and shared her adventures in her book “Vanished Arizona:  Recollections of the Army Life of a New England Woman.” This classic book was first published in 1908 and reprinted several times.  Martha’s book is still being read, discussed, and enjoyed today.

To learn more about Martha Summerhayes, join Wayne Ranney for an Arizona Humanities presentation “In the Footsteps of Martha Summerhayes” on Monday, December 10, at 1:30 p.m. at the Church of the Nazarene, 55 Rojo Drive in the Village of Oak Creek.  This program, sponsored by Arizona Humanities and Friends of Sedona Public Library, is free and open to the public. Ranney has a personal connection to the Summerhayes family, which he shares during his lecture.

Martha “Mattie” Dunham Summerhayes was born October 21, 1844, to a prosperous family in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Martha was a refined, educated New England woman. From 1871 to 1873, she spent two years studying literature in Germany.
 
Shortly after she returned from Germany, she married Lt. Jack Summerhayes, a veteran of the American Civil War. In 1874 Martha accompanied her husband to the Arizona Territory, where he was serving in General George Crook’s military expedition against the Apache Indians. Traveling in horrific conditions and dreadful heat, she soon despised the wild and untamed land.

During their time in the Arizona Territory, from 1874 to 1878, the Summerhayes were posted at Fort Apache, Fort Whipple, Fort McDowell, Camp Ehrenberg, and Fort Verde. Martha shared in her memoir, “I had cast my lot with a soldier and where he was, was home to me.”

Gradually, Martha’s attitude toward the desert changed.  She soon came to love the starry nights, the clear air, and the simplicity of its inhabitants.

In her memoir, Martha chronicles these and other experiences during the 1870s in the Arizona Territory. If you would like to read “Vanished Arizona” before Ranney’s presentation, the book is available in regular print and large type from the Yavapai Library Network.  You may also download the book to your e-reader device from www.gutenberg.org Call the Library if you need assistance placing a hold or downloading the ebook.

Wayne Ranney, the presenter, is a dynamic speaker and an award-winning author of numerous books. A resident of Arizona since 1975, Wayne worked as a backcountry ranger in the Grand Canyon before attaining degrees in geology from Northern Arizona University. In addition to writing and lecturing, he offers educational adventures in the Southwest and around the world.
​
For more information please call Cheryl Yeatts, Manager of Sedona Public Library in the Village, at 928-284-1603, or email voc@sedonalibrary.org. Thank you for supporting library services.  Giving is easy at sedonalibrary.org/donate.

Sedona Public Library
Column for December 7, 2018
Written by Cheryl L. Yeatts, Manager of Sedona Public Library in the Village