FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Cara Burton, 757-787-3400

LIBRARY INVITES EXHIBITORS AT MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Above:  Cascading Carlos returns to perform at the library’s Celebrate Us multicultural festival on May 5.

(ACCOMAC, VIRGINIA) February 14, 2019 – Eastern Shore Public Library will be hosting a multicultural festival on Sunday, May 5, 2019, at the site of the future regional library in Parksley, Virginia.  “Celebrate Us” will be an outdoor family event with local nonprofits, individuals, and entertainers showcasing the diverse cultures present on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  The event will be free and open to the public.  Organizations or individuals wishing to demonstrate a craft, game, artwork, or other activity related to a culture or wanting to have an information booth, please contact Janice Felker, Youth Services Librarian, at youthservices@espl.org or by calling (757) 787-3400.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Cara Burton, 757-787-3400

LIBRARY ANNOUNCES LATIMER ORAL HISTORY CONTEST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo above.

(ACCOMAC, VIRGINIA) February 14, 2019 – Eastern Shore Public Library will host the 2019 Frances Bibbins Latimer Oral History Contest.  All Eastern Shore of Virginia middle and high school students are invited to video or audio record an interview with someone fifty years of age or older.  The fifteen to twenty minute interviews will cover the life of the person during their younger years.  Cash prizes will be awarded with first place for each age group being $500.  Contest packets are available at area schools and on the library’s website, espl.org.

The collection of oral histories will be stored for future generations at the Eastern Shore Public Library’s future Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center to be built within the new regional library in Parksley.  The contest was named after Francis Bibbins Latimer, a renowned local historian.  Latimer’s family donated her archives collection, rich with African American materials, to the Eastern Shore Public Library, and it is currently being processed for future public access.

The library would like to thank the following sponsors:  Eastern Shore Public Library Foundation, Boggs Water & Sewage Inc, Club Chautauqua, the Cosmos Club of Northampton County, Edward Jones, Holden’s Residential Rental, Kiwanis Club of Accomack, Northampton County High School Alumni Association, Devon Mack State Farm Insurance, and the Center for Community and Family Development.

For more information, call the Youth Services Librarian, Janice Felker, at (757) 787-3400.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Cara Burton, 757-787-3400

LIBRARY PROGRAMS FOCUS ON HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY HELP

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo above:  Lifestyle Nutritionist Jeremy Holman returns on Thursday, April 4 at 3:00 p.m. to Eastern Shore Public Library to cap off the Lifestyle Challenge program series.

(ACCOMAC, VIRGINIA) February 14, 2019 – The Eastern Shore Public Library will be offering programs promoting improved health and your knowledge of computer technology.  The Lifestyle Challenge continues with programs held on Thursdays at 3:00 p.m.  “Less Sugar, Less Sodium” will be the topic on February 21 presented by Virginia Cooperative Extension.  On March 7, “Tranquility in Technique:  The Beauty of Arabic Calligraphy” will introduce you to the stress relieving benefits of artistic expression by creating you own rendering of Arabic script.  The health benefits of artistic expression continue with “Sea Shell Painting” on March 21.  The last Lifestyle Challenge program will bring back, by popular demand, lifestyle nutritionist Jeremy Holman on April 4.  You do not need to be enrolled in the Lifestyle Challenge to attend and it is not too late to sign-up for the Challenge.

Every Thursday at 1:00 pm, the library’s Adult Services Specialist, Wells Gregoire, hosts a Tech Hour.  This is an opportunity to learn a new technology skill and to ask him questions about your personal devices and how to use them.  Social networking is the topic for the next few weeks.  Learn the basics of starting to use Facebook on February 21 and 28.  Instagram basics will be taught on March 7 and 14.

These programs are free and open to the public with no registration required.  They are designed for adult audiences and will be held at the Eastern Shore Public Library in Accomac.  Call 787-3400 for more information or visit the library’s online calendar at www.espl.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Cara Burton, (757) 787-3400

EASTERN SHORE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 10^TH YEAR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo above:  ESPL Foundation volunteers stuff envelopes for a capital campaign mailing.

(ACCOMAC, VIRGINIA) January 22, 2019 – The Eastern Shore Public Library Foundation is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2019.  Incorporated on August 5, 2009, the Foundation was formed to assist the library board of trustees to secure funds to support the library system in ways the annual operating income did not.  The Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a volunteer board of directors.

After realizing the Accomac library building was needing expensive repairs, the library Friends and the Trustees began to talk about the need for a study of library services on the Eastern Shore of Virginia as a whole.  In 2007 the Trustees engaged Dr. John Moorman, a respected library consultant, to do such a study. The Friends paid $6,000 for the study, which was delivered in 2008.

As a result of the Moorman Report, the Trustees began to discuss the possibility of a new regional library. The Trustees decided that creating a foundation would be of assistance as the Library launched efforts for a new library, and, eventually, for building an endowment. In particular, a foundation would be a recognized vehicle for applying for corporate and government grants.  After filing Articles of Incorporation with the Commonwealth of Virginia in November, 2009, the Foundation held an organizational meeting to adopt bylaws and elect directors and officers.  The Foundation applied for and received tax-exempt status from the IRS in May, 2010.

Since then, the Foundation has raised money for the Eastern Shore Public Library through a variety of means including fundraisers, private and corporate donations, grants, and planned giving. They continue to raise funds for the new regional library and the Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center to be built in Parksley.  Foundation volunteers will be celebrating their tenth anniversary throughout 2019 as they reach their fundraising goals for the building project.

One of the anniversary events will be the Groundbreaking ceremony in spring 2019.  Generous contributors offering the largest donations will be given special recognition at the Groundbreaking and Grand Opening ceremonies. The ESPL Foundation also plans to recognize substantial donors by engraving their names on the donor recognition walls.  One wall will be for library contributors and another donor wall will recognize donors to the ESVA Heritage Center.  Those wishing to commemorate or memorialize family members will have the opportunity to name components of the new Heritage Center in their honor.

The ESPL Foundation will hold its Raising the Green for the New Regional Library fundraiser on Saturday, March 16 at the Island House Restaurant.  To purchase tickets call (757) 787-2500.  To donate to the new library or the Heritage Center, please send donations to ESPL Foundation, PO Box 554, Accomac, VA 23301.  Those wishing to discuss naming opportunities, pledges spread over a number of years, or gifts of stock or other property please contact the ESPL Foundation President Colette Nelson at (757) 787-2500.

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