Friends of Brown Library

10/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BRDjMLX3a/

10/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Fefo76zEA/

Bite of History: The Shot Heard ‘Round the World: Exploring and Explaining the Onset of the American Revolution

Thursday, October 8th, 2 pm
Brown Library @ 122 Van Norden St.
(252) 946-4300 for questions
Limited seating

The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution has sparked renewed interest in the causes of the war and the actions the patriots took during the early years of the conflict. Inaccurate historical accounts abound, perpetuating and expanding on stories while obscuring the truth. Robert Jacob will clarify it all, debunk some popular myths, and set the record straight as he explains the many causes of the American Revolution and details the early battles.

Robert Jacob's passion for history led to his induction into the International Pirate Hall of Fame. The renowned author’s presentations are sought after by community organizations, museums, and The History Channel. In 2013, Robert retired from the US Marine Corps as a CWO5 and currently resides in Palm Harbor, Florida.

10/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19bCHqH9xh/

🌟 FOBL Board Spotlight! Say hello to Verna Motteler, the Recording Secretary for the Friends of Brown Library Board.

🔥 Rapid-Fire Round 🔥
🫖 Coffee or tea? Tea
📺 Favorite TV show? Jeopardy
🍭 Spicy or sweet? Sweet

🌊 Where is your hometown? Washington, NC

📚 How long have you been coming to the library? Over 70 years

💗 What is your favorite thing about the library? The people who work there and the care they give you.

🪻 Do you have a favorite book from childhood? The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

🍪 What is one fun fact about you that most people don’t know? I love to bake cookies and have over 100 cookie cutters.

🍫 What's your favorite food? Multi-layered chocolate cake

🌟 What are three words that best describe you? Honest, trustworthy, detail-oriented

✈️ If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? Istanbul, Turkey, or Spain

👩‍🏫 What was your childhood dream job? I always wanted to be a teacher. I got my Boston Terrier in 3rd grade, and I would come home from school and sit her at my little table and chairs. I had a blackboard, and I would teach her all I knew! I may have also wanted to be a librarian. I put slips of paper for checkout cards in the backs of all the books on our bookshelves in the den. My best friend and I would take turns being the librarian and checking out the books. I found one of those slips still in a book when I was clearing out my mother's house twenty years ago!!

09/16/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CcpZsxV4s/

The women in this photograph were entering one of the few intellectual professions Victorian society was beginning to open to them, but there was a reason employers were suddenly so willing to let them in.

Women were cheaper.

During the late 19th century, expanding public and academic libraries created thousands of new jobs. For educated women who wanted lives beyond marriage, domestic service or teaching, library work offered something remarkable: books, scholarship, professional training and a respectable place in public life.

But opportunity came with a catch.

Women could routinely be hired for lower salaries than men. Library administrators sometimes openly promoted female workers as economical employees, while arguments persisted that the most prestigious and best-paid leadership positions should remain male.

Women entered anyway.

By the turn of the 20th century, they were transforming the profession. They catalogued enormous collections, staffed reference desks, organized children’s departments and developed expertise that institutions increasingly depended upon. Some eventually became department heads and library directors.

The irony was extraordinary.

Employers helped open librarianship to women partly because they believed female labor would save money. Instead, they helped create a profession in which women could earn their own income, build intellectual careers and claim authority over the preservation and organization of knowledge.

The exact library and identities of the women in this photograph still need to be confirmed, so they should not be presented as known individuals.

But the world they represent is unmistakable.

They entered through a door that was opened only halfway.

Then they changed what was on the other side.

06/18/2026

Paid for by FOBL. 😍
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DDHXLanGf/

04/17/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17GJhXAtTJ/

04/08/2026