Bacchanalian Libraries, Part 2

Okay -- so there's not really anything particularly salacious about centennial celebration events at Oklahoma public libraries, but I thought I'd get a little more mileage out of that singularly oxymoronic title . . .

With all the Oklahoma centennial hubbub dying down, I wanted to take a second to reflect on what a great year it has been to be a public librarian. After a Potter-rific summer which saw the release of Deathly Hallows and the movie version of Order of the Phoenix -- and the wealth of Wizard Rock tours that followed in its wake -- my library system then shifted to the celebration of Oklahoma's 100th birthday, and there were events galore. I had the good fortune to be asked to play some instrumental music at several of these, and got to revisit the bluegrass and southern gospel tunes of my youth. The most fun was a kids' party where the attendees were also honored with cookies and lemonade for their participation in the Summer Reading Program ; there was some very kinetic clogging and jigging at that one!

So, once again, hats off to public libraries and their roles as community centers and celebrators of local culture. I'm very grateful to be a part of it.