And They’re Off!

Just in case you weren’t here for the Read to the People kickoff, here’s a small sample of what you’ve missed!

Senator Jay Costa reading from Andrew Carnegie

After Senator Costa’s opening remarks, the reading was on. And on, and on, and on!  So far today we’ve heard snippets of Lord of the Flies, The Skin I’m In, The Vagina Monologues, and other titles both classic and contemporary.  Between bouts of rain, the sun is shining fiercely, and the readers and volunteers remain undaunted.

 

To keep up with the deluge of photos we’re uploading, check out our Flickr set!  And if you’re a video fan, you’ll want to keep an eye on our YouTube channel.  If you’re coming to the Read-Aloud and want to upload your own video to YouTube, please tag your creation with the phrase “read to the people.”  And if you’re more of the photo-sharing kind, please tag us on Facebook as Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.  Twitter user?  Tag your tweet #read1440, and don’t forget to follow @OLOFPA.

 

Leigh Anne

whose favorite reading so far today was Brian O’Neill’s excerpts from his own work, The Paris of Appalachia.

 

9 more days…

… until we kick off the Winter Read-a-Thon!

What is the Winter Read-a-Thon, you ask?  The Winter Read-a-Thon is like a walk-a-thon, but instead of walking on one day in the summer, you raise money for the collections at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh by reading as much as you can for six weeks of winter! Register in person or drop off your online registration confirmation and $5 registration fee, and get your pledge packet and a handy, dandy bookmark clock. 

Your handy, dandy bookmark clock

Get your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors to pledge you — they can pledge by the hour, or a single amount for the whole six weeks. Then you read, read, read between January 8th and February 19th. If you get hourly pledges, keep track of how much time you spend reading, and collect your pledges when the reading period is over. Turn them in by March 7 and collect a prize! You may even qualify for your own, customized READ poster!

Where do you begin?  At one of our kick-off parties, going on all around the city. At the Main Library, you can come to hear four different authors read from their work, curl up and read in one of our comfy reading chairs, talk to other readers, enjoy a cup of cocoa and win cool prizes! Or you can head to Beechview, Squirrel Hill, Mt. Washington, the Hill District, Woods Run, or West End to join in the city-wide community “Read In.”  Can’t make it on the 8th? Head to Lawrenceville on the 15th, or attend one of these other events.  This reading celebration goes on for 6 whole weeks!

Any time you come to a reading event or a book discussion, it counts as reading, as does reading blogs, newspapers and magazines, reading to your kids or grandkids, and listening to audiobooks. Don’t know what to read?  Our librarians can give you a personal recommendation, or you can browse our many lists of suggestions!

Really, it’s the easiest, and coziest, fundraiser ever, and all the money you raise helps us buy more books and other reading materials for you! How else would you rather spend these dark, cold winter months?

– Kaarin

 

Share the History: Celebrate Black History Month

Here at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, we are very excited to Share the History this month!  In branches all over the city, there are programs for adults, teens, children and families to celebrate Black History Month. 

At the Main library, the special events include a lecture and discussion on Pittsburgh’s Underground Railroad, presented by Soldiers and Sailors Museum historian John L. Ford, and a workshop on The History of African American Beauty and Culture in Pittsburgh, featuring Celeta Hickman, oral historian for the Teenie Harris collection at the Carnegie Museum of Art.  These two programs are in addition to the regularly-scheduled Sunday Afternoon Music, World Kaleidoscope!, and Books in the Afternoon book discussions, which this month will feature hip hop artists Lucid Music, Shona Sharif African Drum & Dance Ensemble, and The Time of Our Singing, by Richard Powers, respectively.

At our Downtown & Business location, several lunchtime programs include film screenings of documentaries on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Zora Neale Hurston, as well as a classic film starring Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Sidney Portier; a book discussion of Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama; and a live presentation entitled The Souls of Black Baseball: Barnstorming the Keystone State, which examines the rich history of black baseball in Pennsylvania.

In other locations, we have a discussion of African American music at the Carrick library, an opportunity to share your favorite memory at the Hill District branch, a film screening and discussion at the Squirrel Hill branch, and An Evening with Beverly Jenkins, the popular historical romance author, at the Homewood library.  (This one is presented by Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures, and is the only event that is not free; tickets are just $10.)

Now if that’s not enough for you to do, there’s more!  We have partnered with the August Wilson Center for African American Culture to present Family Read-Alouds at East Liberty, Homewood, and the Hill District.  Other read-aloud events, a teen book discussion of The Liberation of Gabriel King, and craft programs round out the activities for young people.

So if you were wondering how you were going to make it through the dark, winter month of February, look no further than the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, where you can join your community in sharing history at the library.

-Kaarin

Why should little kids get all the fun?

     

     

Listen to today’s audio posting:  to find out what the above titles have in common. 

Use these links to find out more:
The List
The Event

-Kaarin