Technology Saved the Day!

Every age has seen its "modernization" improve upon the last. In our time, we have experienced rapid advances in communication that would have held our grandparents in awe! Something as seemingly simple as clicking an app on a computer can bring people together from widely different locations. One obvious example is that we have been able to continue being productive during the changes we have had to make because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That technology saved what could have been a lost opportunity for a most interesting and timely program planned a year in advance by the Murrysville Area AAUW (American Association of University Women). With very short notice, guest speaker Superintendent Stephen Clark of the Flight 93 Memorial informed us that he could not travel because of COVID-19 restrictions.

How fortunate we were to have the answer right in the Murrysville Community Library! The TechNook area of the MCL, generously funded by a memorial contribution by Chet and Anita Smolenski in honor of their daughter Kathleen, was the perfect solution, and the presentation was held virtually with great success. Mr. Clark was streamed from his home facility to center stage on the large area display overlooking the live audience of more than 30 people. After his planned presentation, the members of the audience were able to interact directly with him and participate together in a question and answer session. It was as good as having him live in the same room!

Going forward, the AAUW can breathe a little easier in hosting future programs in partnership with the Library. The next program, on Thursday, October 14, is titled, "Suffrage: The Road to the Vote for American Women," with guest speaker Judy Sutton from the Senator John Heinz History Center. Judy is a volunteer docent, a History Center Affiliates Program volunteer, and a History Center Ambassador. In the last role, she regularly delivers lectures and programs on various topics.

In advance of her presentation, she provided us with several references to prepare us for her talk. They include:

Walton, Mary, “A Woman's Crusade: Alice Paul and the Battle for the Ballot,” New York: Palgrave Macmillan: (2010).

MacDonald, Flora, “You Wouldn’t Want to be a Suffragist!,” New York: Franklin Watts (2009).

Sandler, Martin W., “1919 the Year that Changed America,” New York: Bloomsbury Children’s Books (2019).

Your WLN Library card is access to all three, as always.