LAKEPORT >> The Lake County community is invited to participate in the Lake County Library’s Book-to-Action series of events, featuring the book “The Oral History Workshop” by Cynthia Hart and Lisa Samson, to be held during April at several locations around Lake County.
Discussions of The Oral History Workshop will take place at two branches of the Lake County Library on Saturday, both at 2 p.m. One discussion will be at Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St. led by Amy Patton. At Middletown Library, 21256 Washington St., Christopher Veach will lead a discussion. The public can sign up to participate in the Book-to-Action program and get a free copy of the book at the discussions. All Book-to-Action events are free.
Residents will discuss The Oral History Workshop, which explains how to open the door to memories and record those vivid stories for future generations. Share with other readers your favorite aspects of the book, and pose questions you’d like to discuss. Get ideas about how you can get involved in volunteer oral history projects in Lake County.
Fire survivors may be looking for a way to record their stories. People interested in conducting interviews may not know how to help with that process. An oral history project may seem intimidating if one isn’t sure about how to do it. Book-to-Action will bring together people in both categories and help them conduct interviews.
The Oral History Workshop breaks down an oral history project into a series of easily-managed tasks so even beginners can start their own projects. More than a how-to manual, the book is also a why-to-do-it guide. Author Cynthia Hart drew on her own family’s history for stories that illustrate why oral history is important.
Copies of The Oral History Workshop are free and available at all Lake County Library branches and both Lake County museums in April as long as supplies last. Come to any branch to get a book and a schedule of events
Library branches are located at 1425 N. High St. in Lakeport, 14785 Burns Valley Road in Clearlake, 21256 Washington St. in Middletown and 310 Second St. in Upper Lake. The Lake County museums are the Historic Courthouse Museum, located at 255 N. Main St. in Lakeport, and the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum at 16435 Morgan Valley Road in Lower Lake.
Events will include workshops and book discussion where participants will learn how to do oral history and then record oral history interviews. Other events will feature people telling their Valley Fire stories. Book-to-Action culminates in a five-hour recording session on April 23 at the schoolhouse museum in Lower Lake. The full calendar of events is available at all Lake County Library branches and both Lake County museums, and is posted on the Internet at library.lakecountyca.gov.
People who have stories to tell can contact the Lake County Library at (707) 263-8817 if they want to be interviewed or to share their stories about the recent fires. They will be matched with trained interviewers to record their stories.
The Book-to-Action program is a variation on the traditional library book group — it offers participants not only the opportunity to collectively read and discuss a book, but also to put their newfound knowledge into action by engaging in a community service project or activity related to the book’s topic. Book-to-Action is a project of the California State Library in partnership with the California Center for the Book, and it is being implemented in libraries throughout the state. The project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the state librarian.
The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at Facebook.com/lakecountylibrary. The Lake County museums are on the Internet at http://museums.lakecountyca.gov.
