Summer Reading Sign-Up Starts Now!

BISBEE, AZ – Kids and caregivers looking for fun, exciting – and free! – Summer activities should head down to the Copper Queen Library today to sign up for the library’s Summer Reading Program (SRP).

Sponsored by the City of Bisbee and the Friends of the Copper Queen Library, SRP starts June 6 and runs every Wednesday until July 25, with an end-of-program pool party celebrating reading slated for July 28 on Higgins Hill.

Both the morning “Get A Clue!” events, which run from 10:30-11:30am for children up to age 8, and the afternoon “You Never Know!” events, which run from 2:30-3:30pm for children ages 9 and up, are related to this summer’s reading theme of “Mysteries.”

Special presenters include puppeteer Sylvia Dawkins on “The Mystery of Puppetry,” “The Mystery of Costumes,” and “The Mystery of Marionettes,” with participants creating their own mystery story and enacting it with their own puppet creations; mystery writer Jinx Schwartz on “The Mystery of Writing Mysteries;” ventriloquist Jim Nolander with “How Does He Do That?” and folk singer Ted Warmbrand on “The Mystery of History,” showing how songs are often related to actual historical events.

In two final programs, Detective Echave from the Bisbee Police Department will show participants “How to Solve a Mystery With the Police,” and a representative from the Border Patrol will be on hand to discuss the value of fingerprints as evidence in solving mysteries and to provide free fingerprinting for interested children (for the family’s personal records only).

Throughout the summer, the library will highlight areas of the fiction and non-fiction collections related to solving riddles, puzzles, and mysteries, and participants may set their own reading goals and choose their own titles.

In addition to attending “Get A Clue!” and “You Never Know!” programs, there are other ways to participate in the Summer Reading Program. One that might be of interest to those caring for younger children is the “Read-to-Me” program. This program offers the “summer reading” concept to infants, young children, and older children with various learning styles. In “Read to Me,” each family sets individual goals using the “Parents as Reading Partners” contract. Then, parents or caregivers read aloud to the child and record what has been read, enabling the child to participate in the game element of the summer reading program.

An option that might be of interest to older participants is the “Independent Reader” program. Independent readers set their own goals in terms of time or pages read and keep a record on time logs or on “counting pages” or “counting books” reading logs. Independent readers may read all sorts of materials – books, magazines, brochures, newspapers, online sites, and graphic novels.

Of course, children who are participating in “Read to Me” or “Independent Reader” and children who are summer visitors or whose schedules prevent attending every SRP session are also welcome to attend any event on a drop-in basis.

For further information on the Summer Reading Program, pick up an SRP brochure at the Library Circulation Desk, call the library at 432-4232, or check the library’s website for a schedule of events (log on to the City of Bisbee's website at www.cityofbisbee.com and click the library's photo).

Doty Leads “Copper Collar” Discussion

BISBEE, AZ – To continue the Copper Queen Library’s “6 Main Centennial Celebration” programming – which highlights events related to Bisbee’s history and the history of the West – and to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Bisbee Deportation, Arizona Humanities Scholar Dr. John Doty will lead a book discussion on James Byrkit’s Forging the Copper Collar on June 20 at 6:30pm.

According to Doty, Forging the Copper Collar “explores the 1917 Bisbee Deportation as the climax of the conflict between labor and management in Arizona from 1901 to 1921. In a rigorously documented study, he examines the setting, the influence of Eastern business over Western interests, and the effects of the Deportation, which crushed union organizing for many years. The work demonstrates how fear, innuendo, and false reporting manipulated the populace of Bisbee and prevented a clear-sighted analysis of events.”

Because special arrangements must be made to obtain enough reading copies of Forging the Copper Collar, those interested in participating in the discussion are asked to reserve a copy of the book at the Circulation Desk by June 1.

The discussion, sponsored by the Friends of the Copper Queen Library, is free and open to the public and, since the book’s topic is such an important part of Bisbee’s history, drop-ins who might not have finished reading the book are also welcome to attend.

For further information, please contact the library at 432-4232.

AHC Scholar Leong Discusses AZ Asian-Americans

BISBEE, AZ – To commemorate Asian-American History Month during May, the Copper Queen Library will present three films as part of its Monday Night “Did You Know? …” Documentary Film Series and host Arizona Humanities Council Scholar Dr. Karen J. Leong as she discusses “Asian Americans in Arizona.”

Dr. Leong, scheduled to speak on May 23 at 6:30pm, will introduce her audience to a general history of Asian Americans in Arizona from the 19th century to the present, including their motivations for coming to the Southwest and the unique community patterns that have developed over time. This talk also addresses certain federal and state policies that have shaped this community over time and suggests key challenges to be faced in the future.

Leong is an Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies and Asian Pacific American Studies and Director of Asian Pacific American Studies at Arizona State University, Tempe. In addition to several book chapters and articles, University of California Press published her book, The China Mystique: Pearl S. Buck, Anna May Wong, Mayling Soong, and the Transformation of American Orientalism (2005). She is co-coordinator of the "Japanese Americans in Arizona Oral History Project," a collaboration with the JACL Arizona Chapter, and is working on her next book project, Asian American Masculinity and the United States Film Industry.

May’s documentary films, The Ancestors in America (Parts 1 & 2) and Rabbit in the Moon, will be screened the first three Mondays in May at 5:30pm.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Library at 432-4232.

Friends Book Sale Set for Mothers' Day Weekend

BISBEE, AZ – The Friends of the Copper Queen Library will hold their annual Mother's Day Book Sale on Saturday, May 12, from 10am - 3pm at the Copper Queen Library, 6 Main Street, Old Bisbee.

The many, many selections include cookbooks, crafts books, gardening books, children's books, mysteries, fantasies, romances, science fiction and fantasy, and many other fiction and non-fiction titles, both in paperback and hardbound editions. Book prices start at only 25 cents! Friends’ t-shirts, mugs, book bags, and note cards will also be available.

Come on down and browse! Find that perfect gift for Mom, and maybe even discover that book you've been looking for yourself!

All proceeds go to support the Library’s children’s and cultural programming.

Damion Reads from “Rubáiyát” May 12

BISBEE, AZ – “… a jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and Thou…”

Local resident Damion will present a dramatic recitation of “The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám” at a special Mothers’ Day Tea set for Saturday, May 12, at 1:00pm at the Copper Queen Library, 6 Main Street, Old Bisbee.

Attributed to the Persian mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyám (1048–1123), the “Rubáiyát” (derived from the Arabic root word for the number four) is a collection of approximately one thousand quatrains – verses of four lines – originally written in the Persian language.

Of the many translations in existence, the best known in English are the hundred verses translated in the 19th century by Edward Fitzgerald (including the one quoted above).

The recitation is free and open to the public.