Carnegie Center Garners Prestigious Prize

Outstanding news and congratulations to our friends at the Carnegie Center for Art and History, New Albany's chrysalis-like center for culture. If you haven't been by there lately, pick a day and I'll pay your admission fee! ;)

The Carnegie Center is pleased to announce it is the recipient of a 2007 MUSE Bronze Award in the Teaching and Outreach category. A MUSE award recognizes achievement in museum media, and is conferred by the Media and Technology Standing Professional Committee of the American Association of Museums. Winning entries were expected to demonstrate outstanding achievement in content quality, interface design, functionality, production quality, visual appeal and the user’s experience.

The Carnegie Center’s award was given for its newest permanent exhibit, “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage: Men and Women of the Underground Railroad in the Indiana and Kentucky Borderland” which was designed by Solid Light, Inc. of Louisville, KY. It is a unique interactive learning experience, which enhances awareness of the deep political and ideological divisions experienced throughout the Ohio River Valley as a result of slavery. Focusing on local citizens – barbers, ferrymen, ministers, freed people – who risked their lives, welfare and freedom to help runaways, the exhibit illustrates individual acts of resistance in undermining the institution of slavery.

In commenting on the project, the judges noted it is “a beautiful and moving presentation that heightens understanding of a portion of the Underground Railroad. The DVD is very engaging and full of deep, rich content, offering viewers a slightly different perspective to gain new understanding of the complexity of the issue. The technology was user-friendly and enabled the delivery of a powerful narrative. The production quality was very high using photographs, historical documents, drawings, voiceover, and reenactments in an impressive and aesthetically pleasing manner.”

The MUSE Awards competition received nearly 200 applications from a wide variety of museums in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Nick Honeysett, Chair of AAM’s Media & Technology Committee said, “The quality and diversity of entries has been exceptional. The ingenuity and creativity of the people who conceptualize and build these projects never ceases to amaze me.”

Carnegie Center Director Sally Newkirk was on hand to receive the award at the 2007 American Association of Museums Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 13. She said, “ It is an honor and privilege to accept the award on behalf of all who were involved throughout the development of our exhibit. Competitors for this award represent a Who’s Who in the museum field, and the Carnegie Center has earned its rightful place on this international platform.”

She noted the outstanding financial support from Caesars Foundation of Floyd County, the Carnegie Center for Art & History, Inc., the New Albany/Floyd County Public Library, the U.S. Dept. of Interior National Park Service, Dr. Curt & Pam Peters, Cinergy Foundation, Paul V. Ogle Foundation, James & Phyllis Robinson, National City, Tri Kappa, Nu Chapter, Vectren Foundation, Aebersold Charitable Trust, and numerous individual contributors. She also expressed gratitude to the members of the Advisory Committee for their vision, professional expertise and wise counsel to ensure sensitivity and historical integrity in the telling of this important story.

A regional art gallery and local history museum, the Carnegie Center for Art & History is a department of the New Albany/Floyd County Public Library. It is located at 201 E. Spring Street in downtown New Albany and open Tuesday through Saturday, 10-5:30. Admission is free. Visit the website at www.carnegiecenter.org.

What's the "books hook," you ask? Pam Peters' The Underground Railroad in Floyd County, Indiana was a critical research tool in developing the multi-media exhibit. Pam's book continues to sell well and is a requirement for any Indiana history bookshelf. It recently went to a second printing.

So Many Books

Crippled by a balky Internet connection, I’ve been forced to use “work” time to keep the blog going on a daily basis. The other option is to run the risk of not getting anything up until later in the day. Recognizing that most of you will be looking for new content in the a.m., I’ve been posting in the evening when I can to make sure something new is up by the time the store opens. So, sometimes you’ll be able to read “tomorrow’s” posting today.

I continue to invite you to contribute content and commentary, whether by e-mail or by using the handy “comment” button at the end of each post. You might find that you like it.

A new books season is upon us, and the good ones are coming in faster than I can possibly cover them. Today I’m going with quick hits. I may come back to some of these later with a fuller preview. So here goes.

First up is The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting, by Darren Wershler-Henry. Populated with characters as diverse and separated in time as Bram Stoker, Jack Kerouac, and David Letterman, the book is an “intelligent, irreverent, and humorous history of writing culture and technology.” ISBN 9780801445866 Cornell University Press $29.95 321pp.

Next is Jan Pienkowski’s The Fairy Tales. This is a lavishly illustrated (color and black-and-white) telling of four classic tales from Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Hansel and Gretel. It’s of such high quality it’s sure to be a treasure handed down from generation to generation. ISBN 9780141382241 Viking $19.99 186 pp.

A brand-new series of games has just been released by Dr. I.B. Wrongo that makes learning fun. Yeah, that’s a cliché, but wait until you hear about this. That's Right, That's Wrong! This trivia game awards points for correctly identifying the wrong answer. “Where is Des Moines? Iowa or Indiana? If you said Iowa, that would be right. But in this game, we’re looking for the wrong answer. No points for you!” Alan Katz is the author and the game actually makes you smarter by giving you additional facts to help you remember why the answer is wrong. We’re rolling out the first sets for grades 1-4 right now (the above question was for second-graders). ISBN 9781416906728 Little Simon $9.99.

Remember Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral? It was a huge hit here and everywhere. Part recipe book, part etiquette book, and a gut-bustingly funny book all around, the sequel from Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays is here – Somebody is Going to Die if Lilly Beth Doesn’t Catch That Bouquet: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Wedding. ISBN 9781401302955 Hyperion $19.95 258pp.

Also just released or back in stock:Randy Wayne White’s Hunter’s Moon, a Doc Ford/Sanibel Island thriller. Doc saves the life of an ex-President vacationing on Florida's Gulf Coast, but that's just the start of the mystery. ISBN 9780399153709 Putnam $24.95 377 pp.

Finding the Next Starbucks: How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow, by Michael Moe. A top research stock analyst shares his tips for identifying those companies who’ll grow from tiny acorns to giant oaks. ISBN 9781591841340 Portfolio (Penguin) $26.95 374 pp.

Infidel, the autobiography of the Islamic woman who became a Dutch parliamentarian, only to become a target for Islamist terrorists. Her honesty is called unpalatable by millions, and lauded by equal numbers. ISBN 9780743289689 Free Press $26 353 pp.

American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever is back in stock. It’s subtitle reads Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work. ISBN 9780743264617 Simon & Schuster $26 223 pp.

Recently featured on WFPL’s State of Affairs was Elizabeth Hickey’s The Wayward Muse. The Louisville-educated author has put forward her second art-themed historical novel after The Painted Kiss. This time, it’s Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris and the story of their love triangle with Jane Burden. ISBN 9780743273145 Atria $24 293 pp.

Previously on the marquee:
The Power of a Positive No by William Ury (say not, but still get to yes)
Blackwater by Jeremy Scahill (world's mercenary army)
Evolution for Everyone by David Sloan Wilson (science and religion)
When the Light Goes by Larry McMurtry (more from Last Picture Show country)
Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride by Michael Wallis
Deep Economy by Bill McKibben (a durable future)