Fresh Perspectives: A Teen Documentary Series

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main, Teen is screening four documentaries that focus on aspects of the teen experience, including independence, over-coming adversity, self confidence and establishing your personal identity.  All teens are welcome to come watch the films and connect with others on Wednesdays from 6-8pm in the Teen Department (Oakland).

May 22:  Film Series Kickoff & Screening
A glimpse into five Indiana teenagers’ senior year of high school.

May 29:  Now We Can Dance: The Story of the Hayward Gay Prom
The story of the Hayward Gay Prom which has been attracting hundreds of Bay Area youth since it began in 1995.  The creation of this film was a two-year project that trained teenagers to be filmmakers with the help of Hayward Public Library staff members and professional advisers.

June 5:  Girls Rock!
Four girls transform their lives at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls.

June 12:  This is What Love in Action Looks Like*
The story of a 16-year-old blogger whose parents sent him to an ex-gay rehabilitation program and the folks in the community who stood up for their friend.  His blog leads to one of the first examples of social media inspiring change and hope.

*We’ll wrap up this film series on June 12 with a popcorn bar featuring Pittsburgh Popcorn Company popcorn!  Stick around after the film to eat, mingle and talk about the films!

This awesome event was curated by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main’s Teen Gay Straight Alliance, which meets twice a month.

Don’t forget to check out The Labs @ CLP.  They have everything you need to get your thoughts on film, create and record your music and more!  In the meantime, here are some books & films to inspire you:

   

          

National Read Across America Day

Dr. Seuss from quickmeme.com

Tomorrow is National Read Across America Day!  This date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of Dr. Seuss (pictured in the meme above).   The whole point of this day is to promote reading (derh!).

Seeing as how my coworkers are avid readers (working in a library and such), I figured I would ask them what they plan to be reading on Read Across American Day.  Below are recommended reading by CLP-Lawrenceville staff:

**Karen’s a cheater because she’s reading an ARC of The moon and more!**

I hope to catch you all reading on Saturday, March 2!  Leave us a comment about what you plan to read on National Read Across America Day!

 

Happy reading!

-Amy, CLP-Lawrenceville

East Liberty’s Teen Book Club: What will we read next??

Once a month, since the fall, a small group of teens has been meeting at East Liberty to discuss books.  As the book discussion facilitator, I think you should think about joining us.

You never know what will come up in a book discussion.  So far we’ve read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, Panther Baby by Jamal Joseph, and a smattering of  poetry, including some of Anne Sexton’s takes on Grimm’s Fairy Tales in her Transformations.  

   

We’ve talked about whether the American Dream is essentially depressing, how the world might look in 10-20 years time, the politics of the late 60s in America and why there’s not a Black Panther Party today, community service, and the difference between “bird sitting on a branch” poetry and poetry you might want to read.

Books are a great place to start from if you want to end up talking about anything and everything.

Next month we will be reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  This is a story of a puzzle quest in an immersive online world, called OASIS, coded and put together by a reclusive computer genius obsessed with the culture of the 1980s.  Whoever solves his puzzle – by successfully collecting 3 keys– will inherit a giant fortune.  Five years after the announcement of the puzzle, and the genius’s death, the first key is found by a teenager in Oklahoma City.  And the race is on.

So put your copy on hold today and discuss with us on Saturday, March 16th at 2 pm.  80s music and snacks provided.

-Tessa, CLP – East Liberty.

Whether You’re Pro or Anti Valentine’s Day, We’ve Got What You Need

Valentine’s Day elicits a wide range of emotions in people.  Even if you’re a Valentine’s hater don’t give up on this post, you may read something you like!

In elementary school, I loved creating my Valentine’s mailbox–a shoe box slathered with paint or strips of red, white and pink construction paper woven into a heart-shaped basket.  I couldn’t wait for my classmates to walk up to my desk and fill it with Ghostbusters, New Kids on the Block, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle valentines!

Valentine’s Day took on a more serious tone in middle school thanks to (or not so thanks to) unsolicited and unrequited crushes.  Instead of giving cards to everyone my classmates chose one person to celebrate with, exchanging fancier cards, chocolates and stuffed animals.

“According to tradition, St. Valentine is the saint associated with courtship, travelers, and young people.  Early celebrations in honor of St. Valentine took place in the middle of February, around the time of an ancient Roman festival known as the Lupercalia. It was customary for men to draw the name of a young girl from a box and celebrate the festival with her.”

During high school I gave my friends Sweethearts to show how important they were to me, but I felt like everyone else was spending too much money due to feelings of guilt or obligation.  A dozen roses were delivered to my house on Valentine’s Day.  They were from a boy friend (not a boyfriend).  I panicked and asked, What am I supposed to do with these?  What am I supposed to say?!  My friends looked at me like I was crazy and said, Just say thank you.

“The central theme in the myth of St. Valentine is doomed romantic love.  St. Valentine fell in love just before he was scheduled to die and could do nothing about it except write a message expressing his love.  “Valentine, St.” U*X*L Encyclopedia of World Mythology.”

Whether you’re Valentine’s Day experiences have made you pro- or anti-Valentine’s Day, the Library has a list of events to keep you busy this week.  Bring your significant other.  Bring your best friend.  Be serious or silly, it’s up to you!  Join us to make:

• broken heart cookies and cranky crafts at Lawrenceville
• etched glass votives at Brookline
• Candygrams at Allegheny
• heart attacks at Main
• and cookies at East Liberty.  Try out book speed-dating while you’re there.
• Check out Hazelwood’s event
• and hit up the Anti-Valentine’s Day parties at Carrick and West End.

If you’re not up for socializing, ask a teen specialist for some book, movie and music recommendations and create your own Valentine’s tradition.  I’ll be eating a heart-shaped pizza and watching Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which features crushes, crushed hearts and amazing friends!

Awesome and Amazing Audiobooks

As a librarian serving both children and teens, I need to ingest as many titles as possible to keep up with everything that’s happening in literature for ages 0-18.  Consequently, I recently began listening to audiobooks during my commute to and from anywhere.

From experience, let me tell you: the quality of audiobooks varies greatly.  Just because a book is a good read does not necessarily mean that it will be a quality audiobook.   This is because, assuming the relative quality of the book itself, audiobooks depend entirely upon the reader of the book.  Sometimes audiobooks are read by the author—to great effect or not.   I highly recommend choosing titles that have been vetted by quality sources, like the Odyssey Award.

Check out these audiobooks & happy listening!

Vote for your favorite YA book of 2012!

Every January, a bunch of library folk get together at their semi-annual meeting and announce the winners of annual YA book awards.   This is something I greatly look forward to each year, and spend early January scrambling to read as many of the award contenders as possible, as well as perusing YA blogs for predictions.

For a comprehensive list of the panoply of awards for young adult materials, click here.

I’ve read many opinions from bloggers, librarians, so-called-experts, etc., but I want to know what YOU (the real experts at enjoying YA literature) have to say!  Vote for your pick for the 2013 Printz Award.  The Michael L. Printz Award is given annually to the “best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit”.  Vote now–do it!

I do apologize if your favorite book is not included in my list–please comment on this post with your pick.

An Unexpected Journey Begins!

It has been a long wait, but The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movie is finally being released next weekend.  The Hobbit has always been one of my favorite books and I loved the LOTR movies by Peter Jackson.  I already checked out our copy of the book to read next week before I see the movie.  If you are looking for things to do before the movie is released, the Carnegie Library has a TON of options for you!

Some ways you canYou can read the book by JRR Tolkien, watch the Lord of the Rings movies, or attend the Night in Wilderland: Hobbit Movie Anticipation Party at the Main Library next Thursday at 8:30!

You can also watch the trailer for the new movie by clicking on the image below:

Jim-CLP Sheraden

Home Sweet Home at CLP-Lawrenceville

CLP-Lawrenceville is now re-open for business!  After a six-week closure, all staff is back from our temporary homes and we are ready to show off our newly spruced- (and still sprucing-) up branch.  While work is not entirely complete, the changes look promising and fabulous.

Instead of waiting for the dust to settle, we are rushing right back into programming.  What better way to check out this freshened up branch than by joining us for one of our great teen programs scheduled this month?  Stop by for:

Teen Time – Video Games
Saturday, 12/1
2pm

Teen Time: Holiday Party with Gingerbread Houses
Saturday, 12/15
2pm

Teen Time: Epic Movie Adventure and Pizza Taste Test
Saturday, 12/29
2pm
**registration required

Instead of placing a photo of the structurally-sound branch here,
I am placing a photo of an architecturally challenged gingerbread house
I made several years ago.
Join us for the Holiday Party and make your own house!

See you there!

Amy, CLP-Lawrenceville

World Kindness Day

I bet you didn’t know that today is World Kindness Day.  I didn’t know it either until a few days ago, but I think it’s a great idea.  The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has a great website with ideas about how you can help and get involved in your community, cards and bookmarks, and resources about how kindness can make you a happier and healthier person.  And the best part is that it is FREE and EASY to practice kindness.  It can be as simple as smiling or saying hello to someone.

The Library is also a great place to turn for ideas about kindness.  You can volunteer at one of your local branches,  find a great book about kindness, or even go shopping to help the Library and the community!  Here are some great examples of items we have that can help you on your journey to be a kinder person:

 Do One Nice Thing:Little Things You Can Do To Make the World a Lot Nicer by Debbie Tenzer.  Debbie Tenzer is the founder of a website (DoOneNiceThing.com) that focuses on how making small improvements can make a big difference to the world around you.  Her website has a bunch of great ideas and stories, including ways to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  In her book, she offers a bunch of easy ideas that people can do to help that won’t take much time or money.  This is a great resource for anyone who is looking for simple ways to practice kindness.

The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference by Linda Kaplan Thayer and Robin Koval.  The authors are  advertising executives who offer a number of stories how the smallest acts can influence the biggest decisions.

Jim-CLP Sheraden

D-I-Y Now!

According to Wikipedia, “Do it yourself (DIY) is building, modifying, or repairing something without the aid of experts or professionals. . .  In recent years, the term DIY has taken on a broader meaning that covers a wide range of skill sets.”  I love DIY.  I love making my own ice cream, modifying clothing to fit, even helping friends install hot water heaters (which might be less of a DIY project and more of a professional project).

I love learning new things, then showing off the cools things I’ve made with what I’ve learned.  I am also frugal (cheap), so doing certain things myself means that I save money and control the end product.  Doing DIY projects is a good cold weather activity for the times of the year you want to be inside.

I’ve learned, though, that DIY doesn’t mean do it yourself by figuring out how to do it from a blank slate without any help.  My most successful DIY projects have come from step-by-step illustrated guides or videos.  One source that I recommend is the “DIY & Crafts” section of Pinterest.  I also highly recommend using books as resource guides.  Check out some of these titles on how to make your own very cool things.