Finney County Public Library Kicks off the 2008 Kansas Reads In Cold Blood

On Sunday, January 27, 2008, from 2:00 to 4:00, Finney County Public Library hosted the kick off of Kansas Reads In Cold Blood with a Black & White Tea. This format was chosen because Mr. Capote returned to Kansas in 1966 following the publication of his book for an Author's Tea at the library. He autographed copies of In Cold Blood for attendees. Many residents (and the library) possess autographed copies signed during this event.

More than 100 people attended Sunday's kick off , enjoying tea and cookies, viewing exhibits, and listening to speakers. Concurrent to the presentations, the library ran the 2006 movie, "Infamous", in the Kansas Room.

Dr. Sarah Jane Richter, a professor of literature from Oklahoma Panhandle State University, began the program with an informative and lively discussion of Mr. Capote's early formative life, his literary contributions prior to writing In Cold Blood, and the place of In Cold Blood in American literature. She also talked about the universal themes in the book which have contributed to its timelessness and popularity. Dr. Richter's presentation was made possible through a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council.

Clifford and Dolores Hope, the first Garden City residents to invite Mr. Capote into their home (knowing that he and Ms. Lee would have no where to eat Christmas dinner), related many fascinating personal stories and anecdotes providing insight into the personalities of both Truman Capote and Nelle Harper Lee. Mr. Hope had been the attorney for Mr. Clutter, arranged for him to view the Clutter house, and did legal work for Mr. Capote related to obtaining releases for the movie version of In Cold Blood. The Hopes remained in contact with Mr. Capote for some time after the publication of the book, and correspondwith Harper Lee to this day.

A discussion session covered topics such as the grip of fear felt by residents following the murders and the influence that the book had on public feelings toward capital punishment. Mr. Roy Bird, director of the Kansas Center for the Book, informed attendees about the Kansas Reads program and the reasons for selecting In Cold Blood as the 2008 title.

On exhibit were letters relating to arrangement for the Capote tea, newspaper clippings related to the crime and its investigation and trial, a New Yorker magazine from 1965 with one of the installments of In Cold Blood, and more.

Two more events are planned for Finney County, a double feature of In Cold Blood and a documentary on Truman Capote, to be held on February 22 at 6:00, and a book discussion to be held the following Sunday, February 24, at 2:00.

Denise Galarraga
Finney County Public Library

Kansas Reads IN COLD BLOOD at Hutchinson Public Library

Hutchinson Public Library and Hutchinson/Reno Arts & Humanities Council will sponsor their third one book project, beginning with an opening event movie viewing of Infamous. The DVD will be shown in the library's recently updated auditorium Saturday, January 26th at 2:00. Plenty of popcorn and refreshments will complete the movie viewing experience.
We will be holding a drawing for a limited number of paperback copies of IN COLD BLOOD the day of the movie and we also have plenty of copies to check out, in preparation for our two book discussions in February. The evening of February 21st we will meet at Stringer Fine Arts on the Hutchinson Community College campus where HCC English Instructor Ryan Diehl will lead the discussion. On February 25th at 6:30 pm a group will meet at Hutchinson Public Library with discussion leader Clark Killion from Dodge City Community College. Killion's appearance is made possible through a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council.
In addition to the programs, we have a display set up with other books written by Capote and books written about him which may be checked out.
All events are free and open to the public. For further information, visit our web site at www.hutchpl.org or call the library at 620-663-5441.

El Dorado Reads! "In Cold Blood" with the State

This is the fifth year of our program which selects one book for the community to read and discuss together. To be honest...we were a little dismayed when the state librarian chose "In Cold Blood." Upon reflection, it's a good choice for El Dorado, with the prison holding BTK here in the community, and the death of Emily Sandler just two months ago. Murder, capital punishment, the criminal mind, small towns in Kansas... well, you get the picture.

Here's the events at the Public Library; they have public performance rights for the film showings:

1) We’ve ordered 15 copies of In Cold Blood, so there will be plenty of copies to work with, if we want to add that information to the poster or site.

2) Our first movie is Tuesday the 29th. We’ll be doing a small “kickoff” for OBOC with refreshments and we’ll be showing Capote with discussion of the movie to follow.

3) The second movie, In Cold Blood is Tuesday the 5th. There will be refreshments and discussion of the movie after.

4) Our last movie will be Tuesday the 12th. We’ll be showing Infamous, again with discussion of the movie and refreshments. Anyone with an interest in Harper Lee is also encouraged to attend.

All the movies will be shown at 6pm in the Clymer room. Everyone is welcome, but the movies are rated R, so minors will need to be accompanied. Reading the book isn’t necessary for participation in the movie events but we hope they’ll consider checking out a copy. Contact Tammy at 321-3363 for more information.

Here in the Butler Community College library, Martha Gregg will lead a book discussion at 12 noon on Feb. 21 in the L.W. Nixon library on the second floor of the 600 building. All are welcome. We have 6 books to loan out, and copies of the movies for personal viewings on DVD.

Manhattan Public Library presents.....

.....the 2008 Kansas Reads In Cold Blood by Truman Capote!

The Manhattan Public Library has finalized plans for this year's Kansas Reads.

On Saturday February 16th at 2:00 p.m the library will be showing the movie In Cold Blood in our "state of the art" auditorium. On Sunday February 17th we are proud to announce that Ande Parks, the Kansas author of Capote in Kansas, will be here to speak about his book, graphic novels, Truman Capote, and basically anything we want him to. (Luckily, he is a friend of my wife's best friend from high school, so I will be going out on the town with Ande the night before he speaks.)

I highly encourage you to contact Ande Parks, he is very personable and is willing to discuss whatever it is you want him to discuss.

Upcoming "In Cold Blood" events at Morrill Library, Hiawatha

Morrill Library's Wednesday Book Club is discussing the book on February 13. Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library staff are facilitating the discussion, and will provide a program. This informal group meets the second Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of the library at 9:30 a.m. Group members choose the books for discussion. Refreshments served.

Film Cafe at Morrill Library will be showing Capote on February 4 for its "Based on the Book" Film Series. Call Morrill Library at 785-742-3831, or email morrill@hiawathalibrary.org for more information. Everyone is welcome.

Bargain Programming

After a successful run with last year's 'Kansas Reads The Learning Tree', I'm even more excited about this year's program with 'In Cold Blood'". Pittsburg Public Library is fortunate to have a very generous Friends of the Library group who funds our programming but I'm always on the lookout for inexpensive speakers--and suspect that's the case for many librarians out there. So here's an idea I'm passing along.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has a lab located in our community and has provided speakers in the past about forensic science so I immediately thought of them as a source for an In Cold Blood tie-in. When I spoke to an officer earlier this week, he mentioned that the Clutter murders are always used in their training so all the officers are familiar with that particular case and that the local lab would be happy to speak at the library in February about forensic science techniques and how they have changed since 1959.

Not only will I get a well-researched program that will be very popular with patrons of all ages, the library will only be out the cost of refreshments since state employees can't charge for their services. If you don't have KBI offices in your area, you might check with Kansas Highway Patrol or your local law enforcement to see if they can provide programming for your library.

Carol Ann Robb
Pittsburg Public Library