Come Celebrate NCpedia September 13

Did you know that Craven County was once home to a self-kicking machine? That Tarboro had a refrigerated outdoor pool in the 1930s? Or that the state laid claim to the world’s longest beard?

North Carolina’s history and more unusual stories will be celebrated at “Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories Found in NCpedia,” a free event at the North Carolina Museum of History, 5 E. Edenton St., Raleigh, on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Come learn more about NCpedia and talk with content partners. There will be something for the entire family, including children’s activities and hands-on crafts.

History enthusiasts will not want to miss the 1:30 p.m. presentation in Daniels Auditorium. A panel of experts will share lesser known, entertaining stories from North Carolina’s history. Panelists include:

• Kelly Agan, Digital Media Librarian, Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina;
• Robert Anthony, Curator, North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill;
• B. J. Davis, Education Section Chief, North Carolina Museum of History;
• Michael Hill, Head, Research Branch, North Carolina Office of Archives and History;
• Dr. William S. Price Jr., Former Director of the N.C. Division of Archives and History and Former Kenan Professor of History, Meredith College; and
• Mark Simpson-Vos, Editorial Director, University of North Carolina Press

NCpedia is North Carolina’s online encyclopedia and highlights the state’s unique resources, people, and culture to enrich, educate, and inform. It is coordinated and managed by the Government & Heritage Library at the State Library of North Carolina, a part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

This event celebrates the expansion of NCpedia with publication of thousands of articles from the University of North Carolina Press’s Encyclopedia of North Carolina, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, and North Carolina Gazetteer; the Research Branch of the N.C. Office of Archives and History; the Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine; UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries; and more!

NCpedia’s expansion with content from UNC Press has been funded through a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.

For more information on the event please call (919) 807-7450 or email slnc.reference@ncdcr.gov — and visit NCpedia.org.

For information about the N.C. Museum of History, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, call 919-807-7900 or visit www.ncmuseumofhistory.org.