TCCL News & Events

Link: http://www.tulsalibrary.org/eventguide/events/09_charney.php

To give young poets the confidence to recite poetry in a public setting, Tulsa City-County Library presents the Harold Charney Poetry Festival for Children each April during National Poetry Month. Fourth- and fifth-graders who are schooled in Tulsa County may enter the contest for their chance at winning cash. Contestants only can enter at one of the locations.

• April 18, 2 p.m., Owasso Performing Arts Center, 12901 E. 86th St. N. Deadline to enter the contest at the Owasso Performing Arts Center is April 10.
• April 25, 2 p.m., Martin Regional Library, 2601 S. Garnett Road. Featuring categories in Spanish and English. Deadline to enter the contest at Martin Regional Library is April 17.

Children may write their own poem to recite or recite one from their favorite poetry book. Contestants are judged solely on voice, diction and engagement with the audience. Recital time is limited to two minutes.

At each location, judges will award $50 for first place, $35 for second place and $20 for third place in each category. Entry forms are available at all TCCL locations and the library’s Web site, www.tulsalibrary.org. Contestants may return their completed entry forms to any TCCL location.

“Young, aspiring poets looking to sharpen their public speaking skills in a low-stress setting are encouraged to participate in the annual poetry festival,” said Sara Martinez, TCCL’s Hispanic Resource Center coordinator. “Judging is based on performance and presentation. It is important for children to lose their reservations about public speaking and connect with the audience.”

The Harold Charney Poetry Festival for Children was established by his family on Harold Charney’s 70th birthday as a tribute to his lifelong love of poetry and the spoken word. The festival is made possible by a donation from the Charney Family, and co-sponsored by Hispano de Tulsa, Tulsa Library Trust and Tulsa Kids.

For more information on library programming, call the AskUs Hotline, 596-7977, or visit the library’s Web site, www.tulsalibrary.org.

In 1930, Oklahoma’s first bookmobile hit the streets in Tulsa bringing library service to customers across the town. Tulsa City-County Library’s bookmobile has evolved considerably over the years and now makes weekly or bi-weekly stops at 25 locations in Tulsa County providing area children and their families with a wide variety of books, videos, audios and magazines.

To celebrate almost 80 years of bookmobile service, Tulsa City-County Library’s Outreach Services and Readers’ Library departments are planning an exhibit, “Bookmobile: Past, Present, Future,” to display in January 2009 at the Central Library, Fourth Street and Denver Avenue.

For the exhibit, the library is compiling stories from adults who used the bookmobile when they were kids. If you were one of the thousands of children in the Tulsa area who counted the bookmobile as your personal library, Tulsa City-County Library would like to hear from you. Tell us:

• Where did you visit the bookmobile? What years?
• What do you remember best about your experience?
• What did the bookmobile service mean to you? What impact did it have on your life?
• Based on your experience, why is it important that the Tulsa City-County Library keep the bookmobile service?

Please e-mail your responses to os@tulsalibrary.org, or call 596-7922, or mail to: Tulsa City-County Library, Outreach Services, 400 Civic Center, Tulsa, Okla., 74103.

In addition to stories of the past, the library is in inviting children to design the bookmobile of the future. The “Design the Bookmobile of the Future!” contest is open to ages 5-12 and features prizes in three age categories: 5-6, 7-9 and 10-12. Children are asked to draw a picture of what they think the bookmobile will look like 80 years from now. Entry forms are available on the library’s Web site and on the bookmobile. The library will display the entries in the “Bookmobile: Past, Present, Future” exhibit.

Deadline to enter the contest and for story submissions is Nov. 30. For more information about the bookmobile exhibit or contest, contact the library at 596-7977 or visit the library’s Web site at www.tulsalibrary.org.