>The New Bern-Craven County Public Library received a $3,000 grant from the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to host “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War,” a five-part reading and discussion series.
The library is one of 65 public libraries nationwide receiving grants to host the series which will encourage participants to consider the legacy of the Civil War and emancipation. Local support for the series is provided by the Friends of the Library.
Books to be discussed include: “March” by Geraldine Brooks
• “Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam” by James McPherson
• “America’s War: Talking About the Civil War and Emancipation on Their 150th Anniversaries,” an anthology of historical fiction, speeches, diaries, memoirs, biography, and short stories, edited by national project scholar Edward L. Ayers and co-published by NEH and ALA.
The Let’s Talk About It series will meet every three weeks on Monday evenings beginning Monday, January 23. Dr. Gerald Prokopowicz, Chair of the History Department at ECU will lead a discussion of the book at each session. Prokopowicz served for nine years as the Lincoln Scholar at the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His current research interests include public perceptions of Abraham Lincoln and Civil War military tactics.
Registration will begin December 15. A complete schedule of events will be posted on the library’s website http://newbern.cpclib.org. Contact the Library Information Desk at 638-7807 or reference@nbccpl.org for more details.
Submitted by: Joanne Straight, Librarian, New Bern-Craven County Library, 400 Johnson St., New Bern, 252-638-7800