High Point Public Library

The Heritage Research Center of the High Point Public Library (High Point, N.C.) sponsors the Heritage Book Club, moderated by Larry W. Cates.  Roughly quarterly, the club chooses fiction and/or non-fiction books related to a particular historical issue or topic that would be of interest to genealogists exploring ancestors in the Southeastern United States.

Sometimes participants will all be reading the same book or books.  Sometimes they will have the option to pick from a list of books and bring the the information from their individual choice to share with others on the forums.  One need not always read the books recommended.  As long as a book is directly related to the topic, members may suggest their own selections.

Our in-person meetings will focus on how the various books we are reading relate to one another and the topic we’ve chosen.  We will also reflect upon the circumstances, challenges and decisions faced by our ancestors.  It is very important that we connect what we are reading to our family history research.

NONFICTION

• We will learn about key events and processes in the social, economic and political history of the Southeastern U.S.
• We will then apply our knowledge to the circumstances of our ancestors.
• We will identify the sources employed by the author and use these or similar sources in our personal research.

FICTION

• We will assess the accuracy of the author in portraying historical details, and evaluate his/her effectiveness in creating atmosphere and context using these details.
• We will learn to empathize with the circumstances of ancestors by inhabiting the world created by novelists.
• We will determine how plausible fictional narratives are by comparing them with known historical information.

PARTICIPATION: The Heritage Book Club is open to anyone with an interest in the history of the American South and how it applies to the family history of that region.  You need not live in or near High Point to participate.  In fact, we hope, eventually, to attract participation from across the country.

All visitors to the site have access to all the posted content, but may not post until they have registered.

ACCESS TO THE BOOKS: Book titles will be announced in ample time for participants to obtain copies of them.  You may do this through any number of on-line retailers or by ordering through your local bookstore.

For those who live in the vicinity of High Point, we will obtain a few copies of each book to keep in the Heritage Research Center and loan to participants, informally, in addition to any lending copies that may be available on the nonfiction or fiction shelves.  You need not have a library card to borrow one of the HRC copies.  But the copies in the regular collection require you to obtain a library card before borrowing.  Remember to reserve one of the four or five copies available in the library early, if you don’t want to purchase your own.

THE BLOG: The book club website is divided into a blog (which you are currently viewing) and a message board, linked to the blog.  The blog is a place where the moderators will post general information about the club and an on-going calendar of reading assignments and events.

Members will use the linked message board to discuss books with one another.  To post here, each member will have to establish a user name and password and specify a valid e-mail account.  You can do this by following the link to the message board and clicking on the “Register” option, providing the requested information, and agreeing to the terms. 

The message board is divided into two segments–one for fiction and one for nonfiction.  Topics and points of discussion will be posted weekly by the moderator.  Book club members are encouraged to respond to the moderator’s comments and to those of other members.  Everyone is also welcome to create new topics.

COURTESY: Our club members will not be surprised to learn that discussions about historical subjects sometimes arouse the passions of the participants.  Often they even tend to bleed into hot topics facing Americans today.  Passion is certainly good up to a point and it is certainly valid to use history to guide our understanding of present circumstances.  We simply ask that everyone who posts here:

(1)  Frame his/her postings in measured, respectful language–allowing that he/she may not necessarily have all the answers or the correct and only way of viewing a situation.

(2)  Avoid obscenities.

(3)  Avoid assuming that others will agree with his/her interpretations of the past or how it applies to the present, and thereby, respect the integrity and good faith of those who disagree.

(4) Try to avoid letting the discussion drift entirely into one about current events–understanding that our principle goal here is to understand the world of our ancestors, their behavior, and their stories.  If sufficent interest is shown, and participants request, the moderators will create a “current events,” forum, so those posts will not interrupt the historical comments.

CONSEQUENCES: The moderators reserve the right to remove any posting which contains obscenities or personally abusive language.  They also are empowered to issue warnings to individuals or deny them access to the boards.   The moderators will use this power sparingly.

ARCHIVING: When a discussion is finished, the old message boards will fall to the bottom of the list.  They will be locked so that no one may post new information to them, but they will still be available for viewing so that future readers interested in old topics can read the books and think about the issues raised by previous readers.