Branches are people too.

Come visit us!

With all of the amazing activities taking place at the Mothership Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Main (language lessons, poetry, author visits, crafting) it is easy to forget that CLP has 17 neighborhood branches and the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. And we’re all busy little bees, planning awesome programs for all ages, all year round. But since I’m the manager of CLP-South Side, let’s talk about me!

Every Week

Teen Lounge
Mondays 4-6 pm
The South Side Library is the place to be every Monday afternoon. There’s tons of fun happening at Teen Lounge from gaming, snacking and crafting, to working on projects around the Library and around the South Side. Come and kick it at Teen Lounge.

Crochet & Knitting Club,
Wednesdays 5:30-7:30 pm
Join us for our Crochet and Knitting Group. We are a group of friendly crochet and knitting fans, looking to teach and learn from other friendly crafters. Bring your current projects or start something new!

Storytime
Thursdays 11 am – 12 pm
All kids are welcome at these storytimes designed for children 18 months to age 5. Get up and get moving with stories, songs, rhymes and silly fun! In these 30-40 minute storytimes, children and adults will actively explore books that expand the imagination and inspire self-discovery.

Gaming
Saturdays 12-3 pm
Feel like getting your game on? Head down to the library for an assortment of video and tabletop games for all ages! Meet new people to challenge, or bring a friend along for gaming fun.

Special Events

All Day Movies
Thursday, 11/28- Family Blockbusters
Saturday, 12/13- Holiday Favorites
Friday, 12/26- Holiday Favorites
Join us at the library for an all day movie marathon! Each month we’ll feature a day long celebration of films on a fun theme.

The Labs
Monday, 12/8
3:30 pm – 6:00 pm
The Labs is the place to make and learn with art and technology. During this workshop, teens can explore a variety of processes with the help of mentors. Mentors will provide equipment and expertise related to music/audio production, design, circuitry/robotics and photo/video. Stop by and make something cool with us!

Work. Nights.
Thursday, 12/4
6 pm-midnight
Scott talked about Work. Nights. in a previous post, but I wanted to remind everyone that it is taking place at CLP- South Side!
Accelerate. Collarborate. Innovate.
Stay up late at the Library. Network. Get stuff done. Connect with other innovators. Research your ideas and jumpstart your ingenuity! Come to the library for:

• a creative co-working environment
• guidance from library professionals well-versed in technology, entrepreneurism and more
• late night snacks and coffee

Gingerbread Houses
Saturday, 12/6
11 am – 1 pm

Add a sweet touch to your holiday with edible arts and crafts! We’ll supply the gingerbread, icing and decorations—everything you need to make a delicious gingerbread house. Due to limited space, registration is required. 412-431-0505 or southside@carnegielibrary.org

Book Sale
Saturday, 12/13
10 am – 5 pm
Browse our new and gently used books. Homemade baked goods will be available for purchase, as well as gifts made by our Crochet and Knitting group. All proceeds benefit the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh- South Side Friends group.

Make-and-Do
Saturday, 12/13
2:30 – 3:30 pm
Be social, Be spontaneous and Be artistic! Check out this program dedicated to cooking, crafting and technology based making for teens.

Whew! This is only one month of one branch’s activities! You could probably find something to attend every day of the month if you tried. Hope to see you here!
suzy

 

CLP Gets To Work

Friday, November 7th featured CLP’s first ever installment of Show Your Work, a partnership between the public library and local entrepreneurs and innovators in the fields of commerce, art, and technology. This amazing event, held at our East Liberty branch, included over fifty attendees and featured four presentations from local innovators in various fields. These folks gave five minute lightning talks about their current projects and then took questions and feedback from the audience and an esteemed panel of experts.

The presenters included:

• Todd Medema — CMU alum and serial entrepreneur working on a new way to view the passage of time
• Shannon Miller — co-founder and Chief Gift Officer at giftbug
• Alexandra Oliver — creator of the Collective Archive project to document and archive Pittsburgh culture
• Allison Plummer & Ethan Plummer — creators of the Sentinel Box bicycle safety mapping device

The panelists included:

• Nick End — entrepreneur and leadership team member at Shoefitr
• Rabih Helou — co-founder of the coworking space at The Beauty Shoppe
• Chris Millard — Program Coordinator at AlphaLab Gear

Part cocktail party and part networking session, Show Your Work represents the first of a new type of programming venture for CLP. We saw a need for more common space where Pittsburgh innovators could meet up and share their energy and ideas. As we move forward into 2015, we’ll continue to address that need with more Show Your Work events and with our new Work Nights series of programs.

Debuting at the South Side branch Thursday, December 12 from 5:00 PM – 12:00 AM (yes, that’s right, the library will be open until midnight), CLP Work Nights will offer entrepreneurs and innovators a clean, well lighted space with amenities like free wi-fi, photocopies, coffee, and snacks. While these comforts are all good things, the atmosphere a Work Night offers is what really counts. A gathering of like-minded innovators carries a special energy all its own, and we hope folks can harness that creative power to drive their own projects to completion.

Programs like Show Your Work and Work Nights allow us to further our mission as a community facilitator and economic incubator. We measure the impact of our service in the success stories our patrons tell us. As the new year dawns think about joining us for these special new programs. Work nights. Then tell us about it.

–Scott P.