Petersburgh Public Library

Our exhibit for February and March is photographs by Barbara Toll who “…mostly sees the world through a photographer’s lens, searching for that scene or detail whose beauty can be exposed only by bringing it into focus.” Ms. Toll goes on to say: “The process of noticing the overlooked and transforming it into an object of beauty or reflection in its own right has always called to me. I love the process of working in a darkroom and watching an image appear in the tray before me. All of the black and white images and many of the color photographs were produced the old-fashioned way -working in a darkroom, touching the image as it comes to life. I have yet to give up my darkroom to this day.

In more recent years I have begun to produce more digital images as the technology has improved. The canvas prints in this exhibit are my latest digital project. using a high dynamic range process I have created these photographs of depth and detail. My intent, as always, is to present the vehicles in these images in a way the viewer has not noticed them before.

I can be reached at barbaratoll@gmail.com if you would like further information about any of the images in this exhibit. Prints are always available. All comments are welcome.”

Be sure to check out our display case when you visit the Library. Charlotte Neaton has arranged a wonderful selection of old milk bottles, soda bottles, medicine bottles and perfume bottles for your viewing enjoyment. When was the last time you saw one of the little glass cream bottles that came with your cup of coffee at the restaurant?

On Monday evening, March 8th at 7:30 PM, Donald Lindsay will present a program of bagpipe music as well as a series of related landscapes and portraits. Donald will play examples which illustrate how the pieces were constructed. He will also demonstrate the method of singing the tunes to transmit them from one pipe to another. The program is co-sponsored by the Petersburgh Public Library and the Petersburgh Veterans Memorial Community Center(PVMCC). It will be held next door to the Library at the PVMCC.

Pibroch (pronounced pee’ brock) will be the main theme of the program. We often hear bagpipes in parades and at weddings, but this is an aspect of the music which many music enthusiasts know very little. Some of the compositions were created as far back as the 11th century. Most pibroch is a direct reflection of the history of the Scottish clans and the beauty and challenge of the Scottish people.

Donald Lindsay is currently the director of the Invermark College of Piping. Invermark was founded by James Lindsay, in Petersburgh. The construction was completed by Art Smith, Jr, of North Petersburgh in 1961.

From 1962 to the present, Invermark has hosted several of the world’s leading pipers as guest instructors at the various summer programs, including the late Robert Brown and Robert Nicol, pipers to the royal family.

Donald performed regularly at the Fox Hollow Festival in Petersburgh. Donald Lindsay has won awards for his piping throughout the U.S., Canada and Scotland. He is recognized worldwide as a teacher, performer and author. He continues to run teaching programs through Invermark in the US, Canada, and Scotland.

On Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 7:00 PM Bernard Cognon and Ray Bogucki, two astronomers from the Albany Area Amateur Astronomers, will discuss where stars come from, how they change over time, and why and how they end — some quietly and others more spectacularly. They will also describe methods that sky watchers can use to acquaint themselves with some of the stellar constellations, and the fascinating objects such as star clusters, nebulas and galaxies that can be found within their boundaries in the dark night skies of Petersburgh, as well as the current positions of all the visible planets in our Solar System.