We hope you’re planning to join us for a great time with Ragtime Jack on Friday, Aug. 17, as he performs ragtime hits from 6 to 7 p.m. on the lawn.

I had only a vague sense of what constitutes “ragtime” before we booked Ragtime Jack, so I did some research (working in a library makes this super easy. And yeah, I used some Wikipedia and Spotify).

I learned that ragtime music was popular in the U.S. during the turn of the 20th century, but was quickly overshadowed by/evolved into jazz and big band and largely fell out of the public eye.

I also learned that a man named Scott Joplin took ragtime to the next level with his “Maple Leaf Rag,” which heavily influenced the next decade of ragtime music. Joplin also wrote a piece called “The Entertainer” that kept popping up in my research, but the title didn’t ring any bells.

Then I pulled it up on Spotify to give it a listen. Duh. Everyone knows “The Entertainer!” It’s super catchy, and after giving it a listen, I’m even more excited for Friday’s performance.

Ragtime experienced a revival in the early 1940s, again in the 1950s, and then its biggest revival in the 1970s when (among other things) the New York Public Library released a two-volume set of the collected work of Scott Joplin (go libraries!).

“The Sting,” which we’re showing as our Fair Weather Film at 8 p.m. on the 17th, was released in 1973 and features a Marvin Hamlisch ragtime soundtrack. Hamlisch’s rendition of Joplin’s “The Entertainer” won an Academy Award that year, and the tune hit #3 in the American Top 40 in 1974 (a spot which, at this very moment, is held by Mine by Bazzi, which I’ve also never heard of).

Ragtime Jack will move inside our Great Room in the event of rain; the film is fair-weather only.

Upcoming events

Storytime Picnic: Thursdays, Harold Clifford Playground, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Friday Story Hour: Hear a story, make a craft, and sing a song with Miss Harolyn. 10:15 a.m., ages birth to 5.

Fair Weather Films: Friday, Aug. 17, 8 p.m. “The Sting.”

Life music: Ragtime Jack: Friday, Aug. 17, 6-7 p.m., Library Lawn.

One-on-One Tech Help: Tuesdays, 2-4 p.m., Wednesdays 6-7 p.m., and Saturdays 1-2 p.m. Call 633-3112 or email desiree@bbhlibrary.org to make an appointment.