Pat Riedinger is chairwoman of the Burke Centre Library Time Capsule Committee. The committee is planning how to stock a capsule that will disappear within the walls of the library until 2038. The group is seeking fourstudent essays that forecast what the world will be like in that year. Riedinger is a retired systems engineer. The library is set to open in July.
What sort of materials are going into the capsule?
We have three classes of materials: One is “a day in the life of a librarian,” and these will be everyday items, some related to the library and what goes in at a library today. ..The second category is the history of the Burke Centre Library; there have actually been several incarnations of the library. And the third is an essay contest that we’re conducting in the local schools — everybody from kindergarten up through high school.
Whose idea was this?
It was [Braddock District Supervisor] Sharon Bulova’s idea. She has one in the wall of her supervisor’s office. She enjoyed that project so much that she suggested it for the library, and we all thought it was a good idea too.
How are you judging the essays?
The Braddock District member of the School Board is going to put together a membership of teachers and whoever to judge them. I guess you could say it will be judged by professionals.
What do you want to convey to people in 2038?
We just want them to understand how things were now, today, and how they compare to the way things are in 2038. It’s also quite likely that some of the people who helped contribute to this time capsule will still be around to see what’s in the time capsule. That will be interesting too, because they will have lived through that.
