Mortal Instruments

Have you ever felt like you keep seeing things that NOBODY else is noticing?

Clary Fray feels that way too. Except, when she witnesses a murder at Pandemonium Night Club in NYC – nobody notices AND the victim vanishes into thin air. How do you call the police when there is no victim or evidence?

After her mother’s disappearance and witnessing the murder, Clary is thrown into an underworld filled with demons and demon hunters. Including one Shadowhunter, Jace, who “looks like an angel and acts like a jerk.”

City of Bones (the book) is so good that it’s a series AND movie. Coming August 23rd! Check out the trailer and order the books from the library!

Coming in March 2014: The sixth and final book of the Mortal Instruments series. City of Heavenly Fire!

Did you know there was a prequel too? The Infernal Devices takes place in the same universe as Mortal Instruments, just in the Victorian era! Read Clockwork Angel to get started!

What do you think about the upcoming movie? Excited? Worried it won’t live up to the books?

Michael @ CLP-Hazelwood

Make Pittsburgh Beautiful.

Bittercress (Credit: Doug Oster/Post-Gazette)

It has officially been spring for nearly one month and it’s finally starting to feel like it. Now that the gloom of winter is over, it’s time to get busy beautifying our city again. Spring is a time for renewal. Flowers are blooming. Trees are being planted. Litter is being removed. And, yes, you can help!

Last week, volunteers from the Explorers Club of Pittsburgh scaled Mt. Washington to clean up the mountainside! They removed 60 bags of trash, 25 bags of recyclables, a shopping cart, and even a baby stroller! Amazing!

Mt. Washington Clean Up (Credit: KDKA)

There are so many volunteer opportunities celebrating Earth Day on and Arbor Day over the next few weeks. The Great PA Cleanup is a good place to start. There are still a few community cleanup’s scheduled all over Pittsburgh – Hazelwood (4/20), Homewood (5/2), Highland Park 5/11).

Tree Pittsburgh is an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the City’s vitality by restoring and protecting City trees. There are opportunities to help at tree planting events and learn to prune the urban forest. Check out Tree Pittsburgh’s calendar.

At CLP-Hazelwood we will be celebrating Arbor Day with the finale of Teen Reading Lounge. Stop by to help clean up around the library, pull weeds, spread mulch, and hang colorful birdhouses on trees along Second Avenue! Thursday, April 25th at 5:00pm.

Sneak Preview: Birdhouses @ CLP-Hazelwood!

Can’t make it to a clean-up event? No Problem! Start small. Clean up litter around your house, street, or school! Water dry flowers, grass, and trees. Keeping and making Pittsburgh beautiful is something everyone can do!

(Michael @ CLP-Hazelwood)

Call Carson Daly! It’s Time to Kick Off the Library’s Own “TRL”

Tired of the same old book discussion? Join the crowd–the crowd at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Teen Reading Lounge events, that is!

Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the Teen Reading Lounge is a way to talk about books while learning fun new skills, engaging all parts of your brain while getting you active in the PA Core Curriculum standards your parents & teachers are probably be talking about.

The following Teen Reading Lounge events are currently scheduled. Make sure you call one of the numbers above and place a VOTE for your #1 way to rock literacy. And keep checking our events page for TRL at our Allegheny, Beechview, Brookline, Carrick, and Hazelwood locations:

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TRL (Teen Reading Lounge) Kickoff Party!
Monday, February 18, 2013
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has been chosen to sponsor PA Humanities Council Teen Reading Lounge, an interactive book club designed exclusively for teens! CLP-Brookline will be holding a kickoff party on Monday, Feb.18 at 3:30 PM to introduce you to this amped up book club, which includes: free books, food, parties, creative activities and plenty of teen opinion on what makes these books good or bad. For 3 months we’ll focus on COMIC BOOKS and GRAPHIC NOVELS.

Space is limited, so be sure to register by calling 412-561-1003 or complete online registration form. When registering, please commit to be an active participant, with intent to attend the majority of the sessions. Participation is reserved for teens age 12-18.

TRL Sessions will be held Mondays bi-monthly:

February 18th Kickoff Party
March 4th
March 18th
April 8th
April 22nd
May 6th
May 20th Final Party!

Event web site: http://www.facebook.com/events/584593388221702/
Location:
Brookline
708-710 Brookline Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15226

Contact:
Georgiana Deming
412-561-1003
demingg@carnegielibary.org

Registration is required for this event.

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Teen Reading Lounge – Kick Off Party
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Help us kick off this exciting, new, non-traditional book club featuring three graphic novels. Teens who sign up will receive copies of the books to take home.
Meet back at the Library two evenings a month with other North Side teens for a discussion session and a hands-on exploration of the book’s themes. This
special series is supported by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, and will run from February through May. Contact the Library for more details.
Event fee: Free
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Humanities Council
Location:
Allegheny
1230 Federal Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Contact:
Tim Yates
412-237-1890
yatest@carnegielibrary.org

Registration is required for this event.

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Teen Reading Lounge Kick-Off Party
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

It’s the official TRL Kick-Off Party to celebrate the start of our new, non-traditional teen book club! Get your FREE copy of the program’s first graphic novel: Coraline, adapted from Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name. Eat food, meet the other TRL readers and learn about the awesome workshops and activites that are happening with TRL in the weeks to come!

NOTE: This is an exclusive AFTER HOURS library event, which means you must register with J.J., the Teen Specialist at CLP-Beechview, to get on the TRL guest list!
Event fee: Free
Location:
Beechview
1910 Broadway Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15216

Contact:
J.J. Lendl
412-563-2900
lendlj@carnegielibrary.org

Registration is required for this event.

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~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

Love or Not.

Falling in love, falling out of love, being admired, being rejected. What a bunch of fun.

It’s the time of year to celebrate love or feel bad about it!  Sometimes it feels like Valentine’s Day is just a plot to separate people from their money.

So let’s not talk about Valentine’s Day with all the guilt and conspicuous consumption! Instead check out one of the many books they library has on all things love and heartbreak.

No love. Friend Love. Paranormal love. Gay love. Zombie Love. Naive Love. Poet Love. All below. Click to order or visit your library!

Graphic Content.

Memoir: noun: a narrative composed from personal experience

Graphic Novel: noun: a fictional story that is presented in comic-strip format and published as a book

Graphic Memoir: noun: the perfect combination of my favorite two genres – graphic novel and memoir

Life is hard. We all deal with the trials and tribulations of life differently. One way to cope is to read the stories of others. Which is why I like memoirs – especially graphic memoirs! Check out some of the best graphic memoirs for teens. Some are true stories and some are not – either way they are all awesome!

 

Altered Books

A cold, snowy winter’s day is a great time to get crafty and creative!

Sometimes books outlive their usefulness. Why not turn those 1970′s era Britannica Encyclopedias into a work of art?

Altered art or altered books refers to any artful repurposing/crafting/mixing/recycling of books. Best thing about altered books? NO RULES! You can let your creativity run wild: Turn old encyclopedias into bookshelves or a hardback book into a ring box. You don’t have to be an artist to turn an old book into something magical again. You just need unused books, instruction, art supplies and some creativity.

Designs can be simple or intricate. Below are some truly inspirational altered books.

source: andysowards.com

source: art-e-zine.co.uk

source: briandettmer.com

source: briandettmer.com

For the visual learner, there are tons of YouTube videos on how to get started! And, of course, the library has you covered too!

       

Michael @ Hazelwood

The Look: Blogs to Books

Blogs are cool. Clothes are just fun. So is photography. That’s what this blog post is about.

A few years ago I stumbled upon a blog called The Sartorialist. Fashion photographer Scott Schuman sees fashion as a form of self-expression. After years of working in the fashion industry in New York, he felt there was a disconnect between runway fashion and what real people were actually wearing. He started to take photographs of people on the street – Just regular people rocking a unique look. He started the blog and began to travel the world taking photographs of REAL people of all ages, shapes, ethnicities and gender expressions. Some of his best photos are now available in a book!

The Facehunter is photo fashion blog by photographer Yvan Rodic. Same idea: Real people with unique style. The blog is now also a book!

My personal philosophy is that no matter your age, ethnicity, body type, or gender/gender expession you can find a look and clothes that are unique to you. Fashion should be less about fitting in and more about standing out. Check out some of the books the library has on fashion, custom sneakers, learning photography, deconstructed t-shirts, working in the fashion industry and creating your own style.

       

Happy reading!

Michael (CLP Hazelwood)

Football Season: Allderdice Dragons

Hi, my name is Jamir and I’m a sophomore at Taylor Allderdice High School. This summer I volunteered at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Hazelwood. I’m interested in hanging out with friends and doing group activities like sports and social networking.

I play wide receiver for the Allderdice Dragons. The reason why I’m interested in sports is because it keeps me out of trouble and helps keep my grades up in school. Every year many of our programs win the championship from football to lacrosse because of hard work, sportsmanship and great chemistry. So if anyone else is interested in playing any type of sport I recommend Allderdice because all programs are great and hard working.

If you are not interested playing a high school sport you can always come to the games to support your team. The Allderdice Dragons home games are always at George K. Cupples Stadium on the Southside.  The first home game is Friday, September 7th at 7:00 pm! You can check out the game schedule here!

Yo, Pittsburgh! Take A Hike!

I have to admit, I really didn’t gain respect for the outdoors and nature until I was well into my 20s.

The first time I ever went on a hike I was 25 years old and I wish I hadn’t waited so long! Since first hiking Mount Nittany, it has become an annual trek I take with friends every July.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go all the way to Happy Valley to spend time outdoors.

Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania are full of parks, trails, hills and mountains that are worth checking out! I highly recommend a trip to the Montour Trail or Racoon Creek State Park.

Even if you can’t make it outside of Pittsburgh, there are plenty of urban trails to check out here in the city, like the Eliza Furnace Trail that connects Schenley Park and Downtown Pittsburgh!

The Library has lots of local hiking guides. Click on the photo to get one today!

Happy Hiking!

-Michael B. (CLP Hazelwood)

Straight But Not Narrow.

straight ally: n.  a heterosexual person who supports the civil rights, gender equality, and social movements of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identified people.

Straight But Not Narrow is a campaign aimed at empowering straight allies (particularly straight guys) to be stronger advocates for their friends, family, and community members who are LGBTQ. So it’s kinda like It Gets Better for awesome affirming straight folks.

Josh Hutcherson AKA Peeta Mellark of Hunger Games fame recently recorded his Straight But Not Narrow video.

After checking out SBNN on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook it’s time to take action.

-Be a straight ally by improving your attitude and actions towards the LGBT people in your life! PLFAG has a handy guide that might answer any questions you might have about being a straight ally.

-At CLP Main – Teen there is now a Gay Straight Alliance that meets bi-monthly. The next meeting is Wednesday, June 6th from 5:00-6:00 PM. There might be one at your school too. If not… START ONE!

-Check out Pittsburgh Pride – June 1st to 10th! The Pride March is Sunday, June 10th at Noon and is immediately followed by the completely free Pridefest on Liberty Ave in Downtown Pittsburgh. My favorite thing about Pridefest are the short films at the Harris Theatre!

-Lastly, don’t overthink it. Being an ally can be as simple as watching your language. Like Wanda Sykes says, “Think Before You Speak.”

-Michael (CLP Hazelwood)