蜜桃视频

蜜桃视频 College held an in-person Friends of the Library dinner on Tuesday, April 7, for the first time since 2019. The Friends of the Library, an organization that provides support to the Carlyle Campbell Library, welcomed author David Menconi as the featured speaker.

The Friends of the Library in-person events were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, and were replaced for a time with virtual events. Carrie Nichols, interim co-dean of the library, and Samantha Cibelli, Friends board chair, are in the process of rebuilding the organization鈥檚 programming.

David Menconi, a North Carolina journalist and author of five non-fiction books centered on the state’s music and history, spoke to those in attendance about his experiences covering North Carolina鈥檚 rich music scene as The News & Observer鈥檚 music critic and author.

鈥淭hirty-five years ago, I came to North Carolina not knowing a soul, hired to be the music critic at The News & Observer,鈥� Menconi recalled. He shared a story of hearing the same overplayed classic rock song on two radio stations at the same time, and wondering what he had gotten himself into. The saving grace for him was the range of music found at the lower end of the radio dial, on stations run by local colleges and universities.

Menconi shared insights from his book, Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk. As the book鈥檚 subtitle shows, it covers the wide variety of musical artists from North Carolina and the genres they influenced. The book is described as 鈥渁 love letter to the artists, scenes, and sounds defining North Carolina鈥檚 extraordinary contributions to American popular music.鈥澛�

After reading excerpts from his books, Menconi took questions from the audience. He was asked how he came to interview some of the musical artists in his books, and how he gathered the stories featured. Many of them came from asking one last question.

鈥淭he best last question of an interview is 鈥業s there anything else you want to say?鈥�, Menconi said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 frequently going to give you the best part you can get, because you get what鈥檚 on their mind.鈥�

In addition to Menconi鈥檚 presentation, Nichols and Cibelli shared updates on improvements to 蜜桃视频鈥檚 library that were supported through the Friends of the Library organization.聽

Among these have been updates to the library鈥檚 physical space, including changing seating available on the library鈥檚 main floor.聽

鈥淭hese updates have created a flexible, welcoming environment, and are part of our commitment to making the library a space where every student feels supported.鈥�

蜜桃视频 community members interested in becoming involved in the Friends of the Library are encouraged to contact Nichols at nicholsc@meredith.edu.