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Popular
‘Roadshow” Appraiser Headlines “Appraisal
Day”
by
Earlene Chelf
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| Because
of extensive knowledge of antiques and collectibles, Ken
Farmer (above) is known as the “go to” guy
on PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow,” where
he has been a guest appraiser for ten years |
Ken
Farmer, one of the most popular and highly respected appraisers
on PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow,” was the featured
appraiser at the Kentucky Library and Museum’s second
annual “Appraisal Day,” 10am – 3pm, Saturday,
May 21, at the Kentucky Building.
This
year, appraisals were given on “Tools, Toys and Textiles,”
and Farmer appraised mainly tools, even though he is also
qualified to appraise musical instruments, furniture, art,
folk art and decorative arts. Farmer was assisted by David
Chelf, certified appraiser and owner of David Chelf Auctions/Real
Estate, Smiths Grove.
Toy
appraisals was handled by two people: Eric Jodlbaur, who is
with the Cecil County Historical Society, Elkton, Md., and
Timothy Mullin, head of WKU’s Library Special Collections.
Textile appraisers was Helen Thompson, from Lexington, Ky.,
who appraised quilts and coverlets, and Mary Teloh, from Nashville,
who specializes in a variety of textiles and vintage clothing.
Sandy Staebell, Kentucky Museum Registrar, assisted the textile
appraisers.
There
was more! At 7pm, Ken Farmer was featured at an informal gathering
so sponsors, Library/Museum Associates and other special guests
could have an additional opportunity to interact with him.
Following the reception and dinner, Farmer appraised a limited
number of items for sponsors and talked about his experiences
on the “Antiques Roadshow,” where he has been
a guest appraiser since 1995.
There
was more still! To begin positioning this annual event as
a full-blown antiques show – with appraisals –
invitations have been sent to area antique dealers, inviting
them to set up booths and sell antiques. This year, dealers
were limited to five and display space went to the first responders.
Next year, the show will be expanded to include dozens of
antique dealers.
Kentucky
Literary Awards Honor the Commonwealth's Writers
by
Jonathan Jeffrey
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| From
left to right: Jo Anna Holt-Watson, James Baker Hall,
Silas House, and Jonathan Jeffrey, Chairman of the Kentucky
Literary Awards. |
The
Kentucky Literary Awards for excellence in fiction, nonfiction
and poetry were announced on Friday, April 15, at WKU's Carroll
Knicely Conference Center.
The winners were:
Fiction: Silas House for The Coal Tattoo,
winner; Joey Goebel for Torture the Artist, finalist.
Nonfiction: Jo Anna Holt-Watson for Taste of the Sweet
Apple, winner; Karen Salyer McElmurray for Surrendered
Child, finalist.
Poetry: James Baker Hall for The Total Light Process,
winner; Mark Jarman for To the Green Man, finalist.
Each winner received a handsome commemorative plaque and a
$1,000 prize.
"Our
stellar panel of judges has once again sifted through a record
number of Kentucky Literary Award nominations and have made
outstanding selections," commented Jonathan Jeffrey,
Chair of the Kentucky Literary Awards Selection Committee.
"This year the panel was able to proceed one step farther
in its deliberations, as it was selecting a winner and a finalist
in each category," concluded Jeffrey.
The Kentucky Literary Awards were initiated in 2002, and past
winners read like a list of Kentucky literati: Bobby Ann Mason,
Silas House, Charles Semones, and Z.Z. Packer, to name a few.
Nominations for the 2005 Kentucky Literary Awards are now
being accepted. Eligible books must have been written by a
Kentucky author or have a Kentucky-related theme and have
been published within the 2005 calendar year. The guidelines
for the awards can be found at the Southern
Kentucky BookFest's website. Nominations may be submitted
in writing, by e-mail, fax, or by using the online
form on the above website.
The
partners for the Southern Kentucky Book Fest gratefully acknowledge
Integra Bank for underwriting the awards this past year and
WKU Dining Services for providing an outstanding awards luncheon.
Cravens
Elevator Renovations
by
Dan Forrest and Matt Bogard
In
November, 2004, both elevators in the Cravens tower were temporarily
out of service for complete restoration. With the help of
ABC Elevator Company we were able to use one elevator on a
limited basis in the mornings to move books and packages.
Patrons unable to traverse the stairs could be assisted by
staff in circulation. By April, 2005, the first elevator was
restored to service for floors 4—9. The second elevator
was initially planned to be finished weeks later. The total
cost of the project has been estimated to be around $279,000.
The new elevators have improved lighting, a nice new wood
panel on the sides and attractive tile floors.
New
Furniture for Helm and Cravens
by
Matthew Bogard
WKU
Libraries has received classroom improvement funds totaling
$49,654. Two areas that are being improved by this funding
include Helm room 100 and Cravens floors 7-9. While Cravens
7-9 will receive new love seats and chairs with upgraded fabric
patterns, perhaps the most interesting project will be the
conversion of Helm room 100 into a modern leisure reading
room. This room has been used to store older periodicals in
the past but now will be an open space with new furnishings,
including what we anticipate to be the most comfortable chairs
in the library.
Java
City Noontime Concert Series
by
Jack Montgomery
Java
City, the University Libraries new coffeehouse, located in
the old Helm Library lobby, has just completed its 2005 noontime
concert series. The series featured local and regional musicians
performing during the noontime lunch period. Recent artists
have included an ole-time dulcimer band, a harpist, Irish
balladeer, as well as a bluegrass trio and an alternative
rock band. The series has become very popular and usually
draws a large crowd to the Java City facility and the Main
Library.
WKU
Libraries Participates in Civil War Center’s Development
by
Earlene Chelf
The
refrain of a well known spiritual goes, “Ain’t
gonna study war no more, ain’t gonna study war no more.”
This is not the theme, however, for Western Kentucky University’s
History Department, which, with the help of several other
University departments and administrators, has established
a research center to encourage the study of war—specifically,
the Civil War, and more specifically, the Western Theater.
Andrew
McMichael, assistant professor of history, along with departmental
colleagues Robert Dietle and Marion Lucas, were instrumental
in the Center’s coming to Western. According to McMichael,
the research center, located in the Kentucky Library, will
be “a place where scholars come to do research on the
Civil War in "the West,” with “the West”
defined as the states bordering the Mississippi River and
on west.
At
present the nucleus of the research center is an extensive
microfilm collection of Old South, Civil War, and Gilded Age
documents and manuscripts, including: Records of Antebellum
Southern Plantations from the Revolution through the Civil
War; Records of Southern Plantations from Emancipation to
the Great Migration; Letters Received by the Attorney General;
Civil War Battles and Campaigns; Civil War Unit Histories:
Regimental Histories and Personal Narratives; Confederate
Military Manuscripts; Papers of Union Staff Officers, 1861-1865;
and the Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States
of America. These materials were collected from a variety
of sources over the years by LexisNexis and purchased from
them.
The
microfilm augments rather extensive existing Civil War collections
of secondary works, newspapers and government documents in
WKU's Main Library, plus the Kentucky Library’s collections
on the Old South and the Civil War, which also includes secondary
sources and newspapers, plus soldiers’ letters, diaries,
maps, unit histories, photographs of Civil War officers, broadsides
and more.
A
news release announcing the Center’s coming to Western
states that the goals of the center are: (1) to increase public
awareness of the historical importance of the Western Theater
in the outcome of the Civil War; (2) to establish WKU as a
center of Civil War research; (3) to build stronger ties with
area schools; and (4) to enhance the History Department’s
graduate program. To achieve these goals, the History Department
has developed both short- and long-term goals.
Short-term
plans are to open the microfilm collection to researchers
in June, 2005 with a major opening event in September. Long-term
plans are to use the Frockt Family Professorship in History
endowment to hire a Civil War specialist to “anchor”
the Center, to offer weekend seminars and summer workshops,
and ultimately to host a scholarly conference in 2008.
Kentucky
Writers Conference 2005
By
Sean Kinder
The second annual Kentucky Writers Conference took place at
the Bowling Green Community College on April 14-15, 2005, and
proved to be a rousing success. With nearly 400 people in attendance,
this year’s conference offered WKU students, faculty,
staff, community members, and local area high school students
a wide variety of talented writers and presenters. Among the
participants: children’s book author Jerrie Oughton, illustrators
Christopher and Jeannette Canyon, journalists Keith Runyon and
Wade Hall, songwriters Mark Melloan and Heidi Howe, novelists
Teresa Medeiros and Scott Elliott, poets Steven Cope and Jennifer
Gresham, and playwright Mary Hall Surface, just to name a few.
This
conference, which is a collaborative effort between Western
Kentucky University Libraries, WKU English Department, and
WKU Bookstore, was overseen by Dr. Michael Binder, Dean of
Libraries, and Jayne Pelaski, Assistant to the Dean for Community
Outreach. Kentucky Writers Conference committee members were
David Coverdale, Dory Hudspeth, Tom Hunley (co-chair), Anna
Jo Johnson, Sean Kinder, Diana McQuady (co-chair), Jack Montgomery,
Jayne Pelaski, Portia Pennington, and Roxanne Spencer (co-chair).
Hoping
to build on the success of the conference’s first two
years, organizers are already planning next year’s event,
which is scheduled for April 6-7, 2006, at the Bowling Green
Community College.
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