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Coming events, displays, new museum passes and more in the latest library newsletter!

Harp Concert Sunday April 28th at 4pm

Piper Runnion Bareford

Piper Runnion Bareford will perform a varied classical program in the Community Room this Sunday April 28th at 4pm. Runnion Bareford studied at the Royal College of Music in London and the Curtis Institute and has performed with the Baltimore Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra and throughout New Hampshire. Join us for this special program!

New Gallery Exhibit: The Enduring People and Lands of Afghanistan

Our latest gallery exhibit features the amazing photography of local resident Bob LaPree.  Come check it out!

An influential village elder from the Bagram District

During October of 2010 I went on assignment for the New Hampshire Union Leader to cover the combat missions of our National Guard soldiers in Charlie Company of the 172^nd Mountain Infantry.  Part of the perspective I wanted to provide our readers was the interaction between our troops and the people who they are trying to protect. The Afghan culture is ancient and varied among its distinct regional and tribal characteristics. All societies change and evolve over time and circumstance.

  Much of Afghanistan  still follows the traditional ways. Traveling in the remote mountainous countryside that is unlike anything in America takes one back in time, sometimes seeming like the Middle Ages. The interaction between the modern and ancient is fascinating to observe. As a side project I decided to make portraits and candid photos of the many Afghanis I was able to meet. With much of the assignment involving covering the Guard conducting combat patrols and searches for weapons and insurgents the interaction with the local inhabitants was often tense. The courtesy of gesturing for permission to make a portrait most often produced a pleased expression and direct contact with photographer and ultimately the viewer. Throughout my 40 + years as a photojournalist I’ve felt these types of images provide the viewer with a strong empathy with the subject.

   This collection of images came out of a much larger exhibit that chronicled the 18 months of Charlie Company’s deployment to Afghanistan and its return home. Some of the captions refer to the storyline of the previous exhibit. It is a rare opportunity to share a distant and disappearing culture through the medium of photography and I am very pleased to share these images with you.

Bob LaPree April 2013