Sojourner Truth Library celebrates National Library Week

NEW PALTZ — The State University of New York at New Paltz’s Sojourner Truth Library will celebrate National Library Week, April 11 – 15, with a series of free public events.

On Tuesday, April 12, a panel of magazine insiders will discuss local publishing opportunities for local writers in a presentation, titled “Writing for Magazines: How, What, Where, and Why Not You?” Reed and Polly Sparling, editor-in-chief and senior editor of Hudson Valley Magazine, will join Elaine Fernandez, publisher of The Citizen, and Howard Good, magazine writer, book author and professor of Communication and Media at SUNY New Paltz, to share insights and advice for aspiring writers. The presentation will take place at 5 p.m.

Book artist Ed Hutchins will lead a hands-on workshop on creating pop-up and movable books from 1-3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13. “The Secrets of Paper Animation” will teach participants to make moving pictures with interconnected mechanical parts that make heads wiggle, people flip-flop and objects fly across the page. All the action pages will be assembled into a charming, movable book at the end of the session. Workshop materials are provided, but space is limited. Participants must register in advance by calling (845) 257-3716 or by e-mail at alessid@newpaltz.edu.

An Open Mic Coffeehouse will wrap up the week at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 15. Writers of all literary genres are invited to join SUNY New Paltz faculty and students in sharing their poetry, prose and other creative work in a relaxed, friendly setting.

Beginning on April 11 and running through the end of the month, the community is encouraged to visit the National Library Week poster exhibit, “What We Read: Notable New Paltz Alumni Share their Favorite Books,” on view in the Sojourner Truth Library Gallery. The exhibit features both locally and nationally-known SUNY New Paltz graduates, including Craig Shankles of PDQ Business Centers; Kingston Daily Freeman publisher Ira Fusfeld; Ann Kalmbach, executive director of Women’s Studio Workshop; Everton Henriques, co-founder of Panasonic Plasma Display Laboratory of America; author Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X; U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey, and many others.

All events take place at the Sojourner Truth Library on the SUNY New Paltz campus. Directions to campus can be found at www.newpaltz.edu/about/directions.html. For more information, contact Barbara Petruzzelli, assistant library director, at (845) 257-3677 or visit the library Web site at http://lib.newpaltz.edu.