Cazenovia Public Library

Book Sale!

2010-07-16T16:18:00.000-04:00

Our 37th annual book sale is next weekend, July 24th and 25th. It is a very busy, hectic time for the library. Many people donate books, and the Friends of the Library sort them so that they are easier for people to find when it comes time to buy. The barn is so full. I believe that there are more books in there then I have ever seen before. Isn’t that great? I am really looking forward to everyone coming to the library next weekend and perusing the tent, barn, and Community Room for buried treasures in the form of a good book.

Spring Time

2010-04-13T16:09:00.001-04:00

Spring is in the air here at the Cazenovia Public Library! The flowers are blooming, Page, the library cat, is so restless that we’ve decided she can go outside, and the building is getting a fresh coat of paint. Oh, and the summer reading program is coming up. This year’s theme is “Make a Splash, Read!” They’ll be many water themed activities and a big celebration so stay tuned for more information.

Dr. Stuart Tyson Smith, Egyptologist and Professor of Anthropology at the University of California-Santa Barbara, gave a talk about the Kushites here at the library recently (see my last post). He took a tour of the museum afterwards. It was very enjoyable and informative to hear what he had to say about me and my friends the cat, ibis and falcon.

It was also lovely to see the Burton Street second graders from Cazenovia! I hope that they had a great visit!

An Interesting Speaker!

2010-03-17T14:36:00.003-04:00

We are having a guest speaker at the library soon. He's going to talk about Egypt. I can't wait! Here's the news article:

Egyptian Dig Presentation at the Cazenovia Public Library

Egyptian enthusiasts will not want to miss an exciting presentation “The Kushites Strike Back!” by Dr. Stuart Tyson Smith, Egyptologist and Professor of Anthropology at the University of California-Santa Barbara. All are invited to join him in the Cazenovia Public Library Community Room on Friday, April 2nd at 7:00 P.M. as he sheds light on the complex cultural and political dynamics that emerged at the beginning of the first millennium BC.
Known as the “Pharaoh of UCSB,” Smith has worked on five archaeological expeditions to Egypt, including the Nile Delta, Middle Egypt, and Luxor’s Theban Necropolis. His current research and most recent book Wretched Kush (2003) explores the rise of the Napatan Kingdom of Kush, who turned the tables on their conquerors and became Pharaohs of Egypt’s 25th Dynasty (1050-750 BC).
In “The Kushites Strike Back,” Smith will focus on Tombos, a New Kingdom (1500-1070 BC) colony in Nubia, now present day Sudan. Here both Egyptians and locals apparently shared the rule. Using stable isotope analysis, investigations have probed the idea about who had the controls.
This cultural entanglement in Egypt’s New Kingdom Empire and Nubian ascendancy is typically viewed as a transfer of culture. But, does recent evidence instead represent the creation of a cultural hybrid? From his winter 2010 expedition to Tombos, Smith will provide some new evidence.
Taking a break from the academic world, Smith taught Hollywood how to speak ancient Egyptian. He became the Egyptological Consultant on the hit MGM movie Stargate, giving advice on the script, sets and costumes, and recreating spoken ancient Egyptian for about half the movie’s dialogue.
He again consulted on the script and dialogue for another hit movie, the Universal remake of The Mummy, and continued this work in 2000 with the sequel The Mummy Returns.
Visit www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/stsmith/ for more information on the amazing career of Dr. Stuart Tyson Smith.
This event was made possible through the efforts of Christopher DeCorse, Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. With their sponsorship and the generosity of the Friends of the Cazenovia Public Library, this event is free and open to the public.
For more information, call 655-9322 or visit www.midyork.org/cazenovia.

Winter

2010-01-29T14:04:00.003-05:00

Winter is usually my least favorite time of the year because not many school children stop by the museum, but this year has been very eventful.
The snow in Cazenovia is piling up. On days when the sun comes out it is very beautiful. Today it’s actually very cold and windy. Probably not a good day to do much but sit inside with a cup of hot chocolate or tea and read a good book. I can recommend a few if anyone is interested. The Help by Kathryn Stockett has been very popular.
Our library cat, Page, is getting along great with absolutely everyone. She is very lovable and playful. One of her favorite activities is running all around the library chasing a ball made of scrap paper. I think her other favorite activity is laying on the front desk and being petted by everyone who walks in. Page also likes to eat and sleep. I think she may be getting a little rounder around her middle, now that I think about it.
We had an art exhibit here for the past two months featuring a local artist named Merrill Bailey. He taught here in Cazenovia. The exhibit featured his watercolors, postcards and sketches. This brought many people into the library right up to the very last day of the exhibit.
The library is also working on a brand new website, and the Friends of the Library purchased a television. The television is running a slideshow of old pictures of Cazenovia for all to see.
I cannot wait to see what the coming months will bring. I think the cat and I are getting spring fever!

A New Cat

2009-11-25T15:06:00.003-05:00

Recently the library has adopted a new library cat! Her name is Page (get it, Page! haha!) and she is very friendly and playful. She loves everyone that comes in and greets them with a 'meow!'

Cazenovia School Sixth Graders

2009-11-23T11:40:00.002-05:00

The Cazenovia School sixth graders have been visiting these past few days. They have been learning all about me and listening to the new presentation that our museum educators put together. It has been great seeing how enthusiastic they have been. I hope they come again!

Jessie

2009-05-06T15:36:00.002-04:00

The library has lost a dear friend. Jessie, the library cat, will be forever in our hearts. We will miss you.

Renovations

2009-05-06T15:28:00.000-04:00

The museum renovation is complete! It looks wonderful here in my new home. Everyone deserves a big thank you for all the hard work that they did. The falcon mummy is looking down at me right now. The new panels are informative and the touch screen gives the story of how I got to the Cazenovia Public Library beautifully. Here is a link to a press release all about it: http://www.syracuse.com/madison/index.ssf?/base/news-13/124125453533570.xml&coll=1. Here is another link to a blog: http://blog.syracuse.com/east/2009/05/cazenovia_public_library_unvei.html.

Saturdays’ Re-Dedication ceremony great. 70 people came out to see me and the updated museum. Thank you all for attending!

The Museum Renovations!

2009-04-28T16:30:00.003-04:00

Exciting new things are happening here in the museum. This past week has been very busy because Exhibition Alliance of Hamilton, New York and museum volunteers have been renovating and updating the cases! They have created new educational displays featuring stunning period graphics, low-impact lighting, and a state-of-the-art computerized information center called a DIG (digital information gateway).

New pieces were also added to the collection. These include new jewelry and a mummified falcon. The falcon was placed in tombs to help assist the departed into the afterlife.

The DIG will feature the story of Robert James Hubbard. It will tell, through pictures and spoken word, the story of how he traveled to Egypt in 1894 in order to collect artifacts for the museum at the Cazenovia Public Library.

Come welcome the falcon and the other new artifacts to the library on Saturday, May 2 from 1 – 3 p.m. (2009). The Gallery Re-Dedication Ceremony will include activities for families, and refreshments will be served. Richard Walker’s photo exhibition— Out of the Tomb, Into the Light — will also be open for viewing in the library’s art gallery and continue through May 28, 2009. Walker photographed the library’s entire Egyptian collection last fall and has displayed 20 of his favorite images for the exhibition.

Funding for the project was provided by the Central New York Community Foundation, the Friends of Cazenovia Public Library, and the Robert Constable Trust.

Take My Picture!

2008-11-19T15:40:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful photographer at the library last month. His name was Richard Walker. Do you know what he came to do? You guessed it! He came to take pictures of me, the cat mummy, and many of the other objects in the museum. Why? Well, it's in preparation for a new update that's going to be taking place on the museum in the coming months. Isn't that exciting? Make sure you come and see! If you want to look at his photos, his site is richardwalkerphoto.com. This update was made possible by the Central New York Community Foundation, which the library is very thankful for.

Students!

2008-11-19T15:37:00.003-05:00

The Cazenovia Middle School 6th graders stopped by last Friday and this Monday. There were a lot of them! They were very interested in learning all about me, and they asked really good questions. I was impressed. I hope they come back again soon!

The Students Are Back!

2008-10-01T14:35:00.000-04:00

Some exciting news: the students are back! I had 52 students from West Genesee come to see me! They were very excited and really loved learning all about Ancient Egypt. I hope to see them all back again soon.

Why Did I Die?

2008-06-18T16:39:00.001-04:00

I was 25 years old when it was time for me to go on to the afterlife. You may think that this was a young age, and for your time it is. The people of Ancient Egypt only have an average lifespan of 29 years, although some could reach 50. There were many diseases we could get that infected our lungs. Breathing in sand and dust all day was difficult, and many times the water made us sick.1 We also didn’t have the same medicine as you do today. The medicine now is much better and more advanced. There were doctors in Ancient Egypt, and they did know how to do some things such as set broken bones or apply a bandage, but we didn’t have antibiotics, which make you feel better, like there are now.
But anyway, last year I was taken in an ambulance to the hospital where a doctor did a CT scan on me. A CT scan lets the doctors see what’s inside of my wrappings. From this procedure they found out many new and interesting things about what my life might have been like and when I lived. They also found out that I had died from a cancerous bone tumor on the side of my leg. This would have made if very painful for me to walk. If I walked at all, I had a very bad limp. I can tell you that I probably didn’t even know what was wrong with my leg, only that it hurt a lot. There were no x-ray’s then, so there was no way to take a picture of the inside of my leg to see what was wrong. With the medicine now, something like this could be cured. The CT scan revealed many other interesting things about my life and my culture. I’ll share them all with you in the next entries.
1Streissguth, Thomas. (2001). Life in Ancient Egypt. Lucent Books, Inc.

How Did I Get to the Cazenovia Public Library?

2008-06-12T14:08:00.002-04:00

In 1890, a very generous and wealthy Cazenovia resident named Robert James Hubbard established the first permanent home for the library. He then took a Grand Tour of Europe and the Middle East, with the intent on purchasing a mummy and other Ancient Egyptian artifacts for a museum within the library. In 1894, Mr. Hubbard went to Cairo, Egypt, the whole time documenting his trip in a diary. While he was there he purchased me, a mummy cat, and a few other objects that are on display. I cost him 20 British Pounds, which was today’s equivalent of about $2000. I should tell you that today a person cannot go to Egypt and buy a mummy. But anyway, I was then shipped back to the United States (for another $2000 by Wells Fargo Co.), to the library where I was placed in a glass case on the second floor. I was received with quite a welcoming, too. A “Mummy Tea” was given, with the price of 10 cents per person, which raised $35. At that time, that was a lot of money. During the “Mummy Tea” people came dressed very fancily to celebrate my arrival and they ate small treats and drank tea.
I remained on the second floor for 104 years! Now, as you may know, I currently reside in the wonderful Egyptian Room on the first floor of the library. Throughout this entire time, while I was upstairs and now that I’m downstairs, whole families of people have been coming to see me. Take for example Betsy Kennedy, the Library Director. Did you know that when she was a little girl, her father used to bring her to the museum to visit me? Now she’s all grown up!

2008-05-29T15:50:00.000-04:00

"Each mummy tells us a story of the people." - Hawass