Library announces new book exhibit

Russellville Public Library will be hosting two programs during the month of February instead of the usual once-a-month Thursday adult program. There will also be two exhibits set up during the first week of February for patrons to enjoy.

The Wade Hall Postcard Exhibit will remain on display for library patrons to peruse until Feb. 8. Starting Jan. 28, the Tennessee River and Northwest Alabama Book Exhibit will also be on display, and it will continue until Feb. 8.

Carolyn Barske Crawford, co-author of “The Tennessee River and Northwest Alabama,” will lead a presentation Feb. 7 about the book and the process that went into creating it.

Library director Ashley Cummins said she found out about the book and exhibit when the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area sent out information.

“We were so excited when we found out about it. We scheduled the presentation immediately,” Cummins said.

Cummins said the history of the Tennessee River in northwest Alabama isn’t a topic she personally knows much about in-depth, which is why she was excited about the opportunity to learn more. She said she hopes others will be excited to learn about it, as well.

“People think the Shoals area doesn’t apply to Franklin County, but if you know the history, you know Franklin County’s borders used to encompass that area,” she said.

The book addresses the history of the area, including the “earliest people who lived in the area through European settlement, the Civil War, Muscle Shoals nitrate facilities, TVA and to the present,” according to MSNHA.

Crawford is the director of MSNHA, and her co-author Brian Murphy is a curator at the Florence Indian Mound Museum.

“This is another thing that falls in line with our celebration of the bicentennial,” Cummins said.

Crawford’s presentation will be Feb. 7 at 10:30 a.m.