CCPL & USC Launch Teen Book Club in honor of beloved librarian
from Staff Reports
Last month, the Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) honored the memory of Cynthia Graham Hurd, a 31-year veteran of CCPL who most recently worked in West Ashley at the St Andrews Regional Library, which now bares her name, by launching a new book club for teens in her name.
Hurd was killed in the Mother Emanuel AME shooting in 2015. This year- long program is in collaboration with the South Carolina Collaborative for Race and Reconciliation and part of the South Carolina Youth Collective.
“Cynthia was very passionate about providing equitable access to education,” said Darlene Jackson, a colleague of Cynthia’s and the Deputy Director of CCPL. “We believe this will continue to keep her legacy alive in enhancing literacy and the understanding of social and community issues.”
Participants in grades 6-12, will highlight literary works that focus on social justice issues and the book club will run between Sept. 2019 and Sept. 2020. The Race and Reconciliation Collaborative will provide free copies of the books for the teens registered in the program. The participants will have six weeks to read each book and then discuss the books at their chosen location, the Main Library, located at 68 Calhoun St., or the Hurd/St. Andrews Library at 1735 N. Woodmere Dr. in Charleston.
This program is also in partnership with the Cynthia Graham Hurd Foundation, led by Malcolm Graham, Cynthia’s brother, and also possible by Melvin Graham, who is another brother of Cynthia Graham Hurd.
For more information about the book club and to find out how to register, visit www.ccpl.org/cghbookclub.
