How to "do history" with a mountain bike and some great databases!

I got a chance to chat with local historian Richard Wright yesterday at the library, and we got to talking about how he started researching the history of this region. He knows so much about southern Appalachia and its past, it might surprise you that he doesn't have a degree in history. What he does have is a mountain bike, a pair of hiking boots and more than a kayak-full of natural curiosity! (A friendly relationship with the library doesn't hurt).

"I backpack and I mountain bike the whole Appalachian region from Charlotte on down," Wright said. He wondered about things he would see on his travels, and started asking questions about them. He quickly found that a lot of information he saw in history books was inaccurate or just plain wrong. For example, in the case of former Georgia governor Joe Brown, a Canton resident, Wright said the biographies are very inaccurate about his life in Cherokee County.

"His biographers have never been here. They're very inaccurate about his early life," Wright said. "In some of the biographies, Canton even isn't in the index." It didn't help that the politician fudged his own history, describing himself as a farmer when a large part of his income came from mining--something that should have been obvious to anyone who knew the topography of his property.

"You really have to put yourself where he was to really get a picture of who he was."

Compounding the problem of most southern historians is the loss of records kept before the Civil War. The war was so devastating, Wright said, that most histories of the area tend to start there. Wright is hoping to change that with his own project.

"I'm working on a history of the southern Appalachians up until the Civil War," Wright said, starting in 1787 when the first land was ceded by the British after the American Revolution. "That gives us a starting point. At that point you couldn't settle west of the Appalachians." This area was the western frontier,and,according to Wright, became very prosperous.

"The Etowah and Chattahoochee rivers are the first ones that do not flow into the Atlantic," Wright said. River trade made this area boom. Before the river traffic was supplanted by the railroad, Canton was a larger city than Atlanta. Its heyday, which Wright said fell somewhere between 1832 and 1850,unfortunately hasn't really been chronicled before now.

So how does Wright plan to research (or "do history" as he calls it), when the history books give him so little to go on? By finding his own primary sources. In a lot of cases, that involves tapping a resource that hasn't been given its proper due by historians before now: our own people. Wright knocks on doors, talking to genealogists and family historians who have done their own painstaking research, and sometimes have amazing documents in their possession. He's found local people who are still living on the property their ancestors owned, in the houses their forebears built.

"I've found local people who are passionate about history and have amassed huge amounts of primary documents," Wright said, and he would like to see them get the respect they deserve.

And where does our library come in? I bet you thought I'd never get to that. It's our databases Wright loves. From Georgia Historic Newspapers to Vanishing Georgia to Southeastern Native American Documents to JSTOR, Wright says he's been very impressed by what we have available, a wealth of searchable documents at one's fingertips. They are just the thing for a researcher, whether he's a historian or just the average student working on a term paper.

I hope to share more with you about Wright and his research in blogs to come! Cheers!

"Teaser" for tomorrow's blog

Hello all!

I recently had a fascinating conversation with one of our patrons--a local historian who has made great use of our databases to track down primary sources for his research. I'm going to blog more about our talk tomorrow--stay tuned!

Leisure reading, and suggestions?

Did you know there's an online form you can fill out to suggest books and media for the library's collection? Here's the link. You can also post a comment to this blog to let us know what you'd like to see.

We recently got a new shipment of books from McNaughton. Basically, these are books that our library rents for the collection, usually best-sellers and popular fiction and nonfiction titles. You can find these books near the front double doors on the second floor, and they have green labels on their spines. You can find good reads here, and they're only available for a limited time, so take advantage of them!

For me, it's just like Christmas when the McNaughton books come in! I just finished Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani, the author of Big Stone Gap, and it was great! Next, I'm going to read the latest Dresden Files novel by Jim Butcher (I love this series about an urban wizard. Entertainment Weekly describes it as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe.)" We also have the latest from Maeve Binchy (excellent), J.D. Robb, Alexander McCall Smith and many others. We have nonfiction books too, such as Joe Torre's account of his time with the Yankees and What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis. We also have audiobooks for your road trips this summer.

Enjoy the chance to read some good books during summer break. Just try not to get too much sand in them if you take them to the beach!

All That Jazz

Hey, hep cats!
I'm staying cool today in the library, grooving to another great library database. Did you know your Reinhardt College library has access to the Jazz Music Library from Alexander Street Press? They're the same cats that brought us the Contemporary World Music and American Song databases, among others. The Jazz Music Library was recently updated to include 1,955 albums and 18,922 tracks, and it's still growing. Alexander Street claims the jazz Music Library is going to be the largest and most comprehensive collection of jazz available online, with thousands of jazz artists, ensembles, albums, and genres. You can browse by song title, artist, album or genre, and listen to jazz right on your computer. (I could get a cappuchino from Quiktrip and pretend the archive room is a trendy little coffeehouse).
I started out by listening to Ella Fitzgerald, one of my favorites. I found 83 of Ella's tracks on the database, which could keep me happy for quite a while! After that, I'm going to be adventures and seek out new artists. You can find the greats on here: Coltrane, Monk, Davis, Rosemary Clooney, and others; ranging from classic performers of the past to artists currently performing and recording today. You can build your own playlist. The album liner notes are even available in pdf format.
Whether you're a serious student of jazz (hi, Reggie) or a relative novice, I suggest you give this database a listen.

(I'll leave you with this fun sample I just found. See if you can name this tune. Stay cool)!

Commencement speaker pitch-perfect on Saturday

The Reinhardt College class of 2009 was given a major-league sendoff at last Saturday's graduation ceremonies. After graduate Briana Lee Moody charged her fellow classmates to change the world and to "bring hope...whenever possible," Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood introduced the keynote speaker: "a man who is much more than just his fastball," Mr. John Smoltz.

Smoltz, a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox organization (but beloved in this town for his 20 years with the Atlanta Braves), drew applause and cheers when he stated that his heart "will always be in Atlanta."

Smoltz, who noted that Saturday was the first time he'd worn a college cap and gown (he was drafted straight out of high school by the Detroit Tigers), spoke from the heart as he encouraged his audience to pursue "success in Christ," not worldly success. He told about his decision at the age of 7 to pursue a career as a major league baseball pitcher, and the internal drive he felt to be the very best he could. "I wanted to play baseball because I loved it," he said, but he alluded to the temptations some feel when they pursue success for the wrong reasons.

"I stand before you a blessed man, a protected man," he said, speaking of how he avoided the pitfalls of drugs and cheating in professional sports. "I had this map for my life. I got over the hurdles and avoided the issues that were going to get me off that track. Some of my peers have failed...I believe whatever it is they're seeking is not enough."

He shared the stress he used to feel whenever he would fail. "I felt that I had let down my family, let down my team...I was so consumed by the desire to be the best, I was missing the boat." Since he became a born-again Christian in 1996, Smoltz said, "The desire to be the best is still there, but now I have an underlying peace." He urged his listeners not to be afraid of failure, telling them that failure is an essential ingredient in success: "You must fail and learn from your failures."

Ultimate success, he said, is assured through Christ. "When troubles and pressures arise, we are tempted to think that success is unavailable." But for us to be ultimately defeated, he said, we would have to be separated from Christ, and that is impossible.

"What has sealed my success is that apart from anything else, I am sanctified and set apart. In the midst of all your chaos, you can have victory and success, because nothing can separate you from your heavenly Maker. Your God-centered faith will give you the pathway to true, ultimate success." He encouraged his listeners to "know who [their] Master is...everything else is circumstantial."

"Thank you for having me," he said in conclusion, "and I pray for your success."

The Reinhardt College graduates and their guests gave Smoltz a standing ovation, and Dr. Isherwood presented him with a Reinhardt baseball cap to commemorate his visit.

Diplomas were then awarded to those who had earned associate degrees, and then to those who had earned bachelor's degrees. Then Reinhardt history was made with the hooding of the recipients of the college's first master's degrees! It was a momentous day not only for our graduates, but for our entire school, and I for one was very proud to have been present to witness it!

Congratulations again to all the graduates, and thank you again to Mr. John Smoltz for being such a big part of the day and for sharing his "success story" with us.

Library staff and student workers representin' at Commencement

(#1: Those are librarians Karen Preslock and Michael Martinez sporting the lemon-yellow hoods in the faculty procession. Trust me, they looked great, despite the bad lighting in this picture. #2: Our great student worker Chris Williams serving in his capacity as student usher. #3: Hooray! Our wonderful FORMER student worker Amy Ross on her big day. #4: Another great FORMER student worker Shawn Springsted looks proud of his accomplishment. #5: CONGRATULATIONS Amy and Shawn! We'll miss you! Next year's student workers have BIG shoes to fill! Love, your library staff)

Update on Sully's Library Books!

Hey, remember Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, who heroically brought his plane to a safe landing in the Hudson River back in January? I posted earlier about what an incredibly responsible library patron he is. He's now recorded a PSA for the San Francisco Public Library about their Fine Amnesty event. In this video, he also talks about the lengths being taken to recover his lost library books from the Hudson River.

Do you have overdue library materials? Don't let fear of the fines keep you from using and enjoying your library. Here at the Hill Freeman Library and Spruill Learning Center, we're willing to work with you to find a way to pay your fines. Come talk with us. We can work out a payment plan, and in some cases, we will even accept donations of canned food in lieu of cash. The food goes to feed the needy (yay), we get our items back so that other patrons can use them, and you get a clean library record AND peace of mind.

Remember to check the sticker on the front of your book for the due date. You can always call us during library hours to renew your books over the telephone. Our circulation number is (770) 720-9120.

Thanks!