What do twelve New Lebanon notables have in common? They are avid readers, and they are featured in the New Lebanon READ poster campaign which kicked off this Memorial Day weekend. NL READ, inspired by the American Library Association READ campaign, promotes reading and the use of
library services through a poster campaign of local citizens.
Over the next year, one or more of New Lebanon’s distinguished denizens will appear on a poster reading their favorite book. Rose Orenstein, the subject of the campaign’s first poster, is seen reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Rose, who with her hats is a fixture at the New Lebanon Supermarket and the Sunday flea market, said about Wicked, “This book dares people to be different, to accept themselves and to understand that there are two (actually, three) sides to every story. I keep those thoughts in my mind each day.”
Brenda Adams, Chairperson of the NL Library’s Construction Fundraising Committee, commented, “Each person featured in the poster campaign has chosen their own book and each of the choices has demonstrated something essential about the person we as a community have come to love and respect. As we approach achieving our fundraising goal for the Library renovation project, our thanks go out to the poster volunteers for their support of reading and the Library. We are also especially thrilled that such an accomplished photographer as Jane Feldman volunteered her time and talent to make the NL READ campaign a reality.”
Local photojournalist and author Jane Feldman said, “It is an honor to be entrusted with photographing members of our local community for NL READ. Anything that promotes literacy and community has my support. In these challenging economic times, the Library is even more essential to the community than ever before.”
Jane Feldman is an award winning photojournalist and social activist. She is the co-author/photographer of Jefferson’s Children: the Story of One American Family (Random House), and author/photographer of four books in the Young Dreamers Series (Random House). As an international activist for human rights, peace and the environment, her portraits include Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Maya Angelou and the Dalai Lama. Feldman’s work has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, TIME magazine and has been featured in documentaries shown on PBS’s Frontline and the History Channel. She is currently traveling the globe with a documentary film crew working on a movie and companion book, titled The Shift (the trailer can be viewed at theshiftmovie.com). Locally, Jane’s photographic work was featured at the Andrew DeVries Gallery in Lenox, and her photographic work is frequently featured in Berkshire Living Magazine. She works with the prestigious School of Visual Arts Summer Art Institute in the Berkshires at Darrow School, now entering its fifth year.