According
to the Encyclopedia Mythica, “Janus is the god of beginnings and endings
. . . and hence represented by a double-faced head, each looking in opposite
directions.” In 2013, the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Libraries, with
its programming, will be doing a similar theme. Programs such as Robert E. Lee
in January, and Grace O’Malley in March, will focus on history and historical
figures while programs on e-readers and preparing for the unexpected will
concentrate on the future.
In
June we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of statehood for West Virginia. By collaborating with local historical
sites such as the Adam Stephen House, we can discuss history; and, by working
with Main Street Martinsburg, we can look to the future of this city. Other branches
will be doing comparable programs, looking at past events of importance to the
area and to the future. The MBCPL will also be involved in the West Virginia
Library Commission’s “WV Reads 150” and will be challenging local
organizations, companies and book discussion groups to read, as a group, 150
books (or listen to them) in 2013. Promotional material will be available soon.
The
theme for both the adult and children’s summer reading program is “This land is
your land,” based on Woody Guthrie’s song which will be 101 years old in 2013. Programs will not only focus on the environment,
but will also focus on the history of this country. From Edmund Burke to Kurt
Vonnegut to Lemony Snicket, authors and politicians have commented that “Those
who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it” or some version of that quote.
If they are right, understanding the past will enable you to change your future.
