CHARLESTON, S.C. - Thanks to everyone who voted for The Charleston Time Machine Podcast this year in Charleston City Paper's Best of Charleston. It's CCPL's first win ever, so it's a great feeling to find out how many people have become fans of our local history podcast!
Make sure you pick up a copy -- we even have some at our libraries -- (or head to the City paper's website) to read Nic Butler's profile and see all the winners.
If you're checking out the Time Machine for the first time after seeing the City Paper, new episodes are released every Friday afternoon. This coming Friday's podcast will mark the 110th episode with the continuation of Abraham the Unstoppable's story. Abraham was a slave in the mid-1700s who earned his freedom for running messages and news of the fate of South Carolinians holed up in forts in the Indian Territory to the west as tensions between colonists and Indians rose. In the podcast archives you'll find stories about George Washington, steamboats, the cycling community, the beginnings of Charleston's police force, and plenty of stories about pirates.
The Charleston Time Machine can be heard on every week's blog, as well as on most popular podcast platforms, including iTunes, Google Play, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn.
The critics also selected the South Carolina Room in the Main Library as the "Best way to geek out over local history (for free)." The South Carolina Room houses a non-circulating collection of books, maps, microfilm and other research materials on the second floor of the Main Library. Our mission is to collect, preserve and provide access to materials that focus on the history and genealogy of South Carolina, with special emphasis on Charleston and the Lowcountry. If you've never checked out the South Carolina Room and have an interest in history or genealogy, make plans to spend a Saturday perusing records that date back to colonial days!
And CCPL pulled in a second critics choice this year: The Saul Alexander Gallery is the Best Place to See Free Art. The Saul Alexander Gallery provides space for juried solo or group art exhibitions at the Main Library. Each local artist selected for installations will have their art on display for a month, and the library hosts a free "meet the artist" at the start of each new exhibit. Featured artists are selected by a jury of local art professionals, and the CCPL Gallery Committee selects artists and craftsmen on the basis of the quality of their work and its suitability for the space. Artists have ranged from high school students to professional photographers to activists.
Thank you again for your support! We love sharing these great stories with our fans and community, and can't wait to share more stories. And congratulations to all the other winners this year!