Gene Brunson, BCLS Library Director

Berkeley County Library System Welcomes New Director Gene Brunson

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We are excited to say that after a nationwide search, the next director for BCLS is one of our own. Please join us in welcoming Gene Brunson as the new director of BCLS. Gene has served BCLS as

Gene Brunson, BCLS Library Director

Gene Brunson, BCLS Library Director

the Technology Director for more than 22 years. His extensive background in the library industry started when he was a freshman at the College of Charleston working as an intern for Charleston County Library where he worked for the next four years in various departments of the library and served as a regional manager for Charleston County Library System under his mentor, Cynthia Hurd, one of the Emanuel AME victims.

He has also worked in the school library at MUSC and in the medical library at USC School of Medicine while he earned his Masters of Library Science and Information from USC. In his introduction to County Council members on Jan. 9th, BCLS board chair Patricia Richards explained the unanimous vote for Brunson.“Gene was a fabulous fit for the position as director because … he not only handled all the technology but he touched virtually every aspect of the library,” Richards said.

From cataloging, to shelving, to reference, and working on the bookmobile, he has done it all. Under his leadership, BCLS will continue to move forward, setting the standards for the “library of tomorrow.” When Brunson took office in January he wasted no time assessing the critical needs of BCLS, which included meeting with department heads of county administration. He also began looking for new opportunities to expand and add library services to new and vastly growing communities. In his first meeting with BCLS’s leadership team, which consist of all the library branch managers and department heads, he asked each of them to describe their idea of their “library of tomorrow.”

Leadership members took turns writing down their thoughts and then placed them into a box. Brunson then gathered the box and ceremoniously “threw” the box out the door, thus encouraging his team to work together and to think “outside the box” or realize “there is no box” at all. The ideas generated by this exercise will be revisited as a team, with all BCLS staff members, other library systems statewide and throughout the nation, as well as with community members and county administration in an effort to take the BCLS and Berkeley County to the next level of library services.

Storyboard America Will Host Workshops at 3rd Annual TLC

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Join us at the 3rd Annual TLC for Storyboard workshops! Whether you consider yourself a writer or not, you have a story. Storyboard workshops take the scary out of writing. We offer pathways and creative tools to help you get to your own memories, to still points in your life that help you share yourself with others. It all begins with a single moment….. Read More

About Storyboard America (source: storyboardamerica.com)

Storyboard grew out of Susan Kammeraad-Campbell’s conviction that humans are hard-wired for story, that our need for story is as compelling as our need for food and companionship. What began as a project of her publishing company Joggling Board Press has developed into a library-based initiative that is currently being tested and piloted in South Carolina and Ohio. The vision is to create Storyboard communities across the country. Says Kammeraad-Campbell, “Our stories help us make sense of our world — they tell us who we are and who we can be.”

Storyboard is still in the pilot stage, and we invite you to get involved on the ground floor. Ultimately this space will evolve into a highly interactive community of story writers and readers, lovers of words who will not only be able to submit their stories, but will be able to interact, comment, and work with others to transform their stories into work to be shared in published anthologies and on public radio.

Storyboard. It’s not a widget. It’s a movement. It’s a way to help people think more deeply about themselves, about their own stories. Writing about defining moments of our lives is different than experiencing them, different than talking about them. Writing opens the door to contemplation. And contemplation is a path to shape perspective, to find meaning, to gain understanding, and to build more united communities.

 

 

Winter Celebrations @ Your Library

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The books have been read, the pages have been tallied, and now we want to celebrate! Bring your family and enjoy a time of celebration about families, community, and diversity at each of our locations.

Hanahan’s Winter Celebration is all about the love of reading and the people in your community. This festival will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4th, at 9:30 am. Sangaree is taking an international twist by celebrating the end of the Chinese New Year with a Chinese Lantern Festival. Come enjoy stories and make your own decorative lantern to take home! The library is hosting this event on Saturday, Feb. 11th, at 9:30 am.

The day before Valentine’s Day, Goose Creek invites you to show your creative side as you express what love means to you. This celebration will be held on Monday, Feb. 13th, at 5 pm. Daniel Island is taking a journey around the world. Enjoy games, puzzles, crafts, and more at every place you “visit.” Don’t forget your passport to the celebration on Wednesday, Feb. 15th, at 3:30 pm.

Moncks Corner’s staff will be celebrating Black History month with their very first “pop-up” choir! Joining them will be children reciting speeches, poems, and other works of literature. This event will be held on Sunday, Feb. 19th, at 3:00 pm. And finally, at St. Stephen, learn about fairy tales from around the world as you make your own shadow puppets based off these stories. This last Winter Celebration will be on Thursday, Feb. 23rd, at 4:30 pm.

You won’t want to miss our multi-cultural celebration of stories, reading, and community. Here at BCLS, new experiences are just a book away.

Holiday Events @ Your Library

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Where does the magic happen this Holiday season? Your local library. BCLS is proud to host a wide array of events for the whole family during the month of December. Here’s what’s going on at a branch near you.

Pictures with Santa: Tired of long lines to see Santa at the mall? Why not come see him at a local library branch? So grab your camera and take a picture with the jolly guy!

Monday, December 19th – St. Stephen – 11 am to noon.   Moncks Corner – 2 to 3:30 pm .

Tuesday, December 20th –  Goose Creek – 10:30 am to noon.  Sangaree  – 3:30 – 4:30 pm.

Wednesday, December 21st – Daniel Island – 10:30 to 11:30 am. Hanahan – 1:30 – 3 pm.

Holiday Crafts:

Hanahan is hosting Christmas Crafting with Altered Materials. You can create unique Christmas ornaments from discarded library materials! That will be on Wednesday, Dec. 7th, from 3 – 4 pm.

St. Stephen is holding a Holiday Open House Party on Saturday, Dec. 10th, from 5:30 – 7 pm. Drop in to hear music, eat holiday treats, and fellowship with your community!

Sangaree is hosting a Holiday Craft workshop on Friday, Dec. 16th, from 2 – 3:30 pm. You can eat some tasty treats and create fun holiday decorations!

Holiday Free Family Film:

And don’t forget to catch a free showing of “Arthur Christmas” at Hananan Library on Saturday, Dec. 17th at 2:30 pm.

As you can see, BCLS has a lot going on this December. We can’t wait to see you here!