Thank You, Library Supporters!

Thanks to everyone who helped make the Peoples Library 3rd Annual Adventure with Wine a success.  Thank you to all those who attended, and all those who helped us to plan, set up, and donated gifts! We would specifically like to extend a warm thank you to the following individuals and organizations, without whom this fundraiser would not have been possible:

Danielle Kubrick

Hoffstot's Cafe Monaco

Ray David - Sunbelt Charmer Group

Allegheny Gallery

Around Bafe Cafe and Lounge

Amanda Beatty

Kathee Birner

Brooks Gardens & Floral Designs

China Lobster

Clementine's Family Restaurant

Patty DeFelices

D.S. Gordon Jewelers

Shelly Dynys

Family Video

Fancy Lady Bridal & Boutique

Sandi Flowers

Glen's Custard

Hole in the Wall Gallery

House of 1000 Beers

It's All Clean, Inc.

Cindy Kello

Megan Krachanko

Landon Martinkovich

Eileen Matyas

Mogie's Irish Pub

Jean Nader

New York Music, Inc.

Pat Catan's

Peoples Library Board & Staff

Dana Pivirotto

Linda Seckar

Seita Jewelers

Sofia's Finer Things

Stella's Restaurant

Valos Candy Company

Villa Ballanca

Wildlife Lanes

Paul Wrona

Coming soon:  pictures from this year's event will be added to our Flickr page!

Just one week away: Annual Adventure with Wine!

One last reminder that Peoples Library's Annual Adventure with Wine is now just one week away. Please consider joining us for exquisitive hors d'ouevres, delectable wines, and fabulous company, all right here in our New Kensington facility. Socialize among other library supporters while tasting a variety of wines and enjoying the spread of food from each of our five stations.


This year's Chinese auction includes baskets of wine, Steelers tickets, and other exciting gifts you won't want to miss.


Registration closes at 5 PM on Thursday (10/14), so sign up soon!

Coming up...Peoples Library 3rd Annual Adventure with Wine!

Peoples Library's "Adventure with Wine" is a fabulous fundraiser held every year right here in our library on a Fall evening.  Once the library closes, the white linens come out, and we set up our tables with hors d'ouevres and wine.  This year's event will be held on October 19th from 7 to 9 PM.  Attendees will learn about wine as they taste a wide variety, and enjoy food selections paired expertly with both reds and whites.  The event is catered by the fine folks at Hoffstot's.  This year, they will delight your tastebuds with:

• crostini with cranberry/cinnamon goat cheese and roasted pear tapenade
• roasted tomato and asiago risotto cakes
• marinated chicken, red pepper and asparagus on bamboo skewers with chili mojo dipping sauce
• blackened filet mignon sliders presented on miniature sesame buns with horseradish cream, arugula, carmelized onion cheddar and tomato
• and for dessert, miniature tuile cups filled with housemade chocolate mousse and assorted cheesecake lollipops.

An elaborate Chinese auction also features baskets of desirable prizes. 

For $30 a person, you can attend this exciting event and help raise much needed funds for Peoples Library.  To register, visit our Events Page and scroll to Adventure with Wine.  (Look for the glass of merlot!)  Or stop in at our New Kensington or Lower Burrell location to pay with a check.

An image from the 2009 Tasting.

It's time for Story Hour!

We had a great summer, thanks to the many participants in our Summer Reading Program!  As this special program wraps up as summer ends, we return to our regular story hour offerings for children up to the age 5.

The theme for the upcoming set of story hours is ABC FUN!  Each session is filled with stories, rhymes, fingerplays, crafts, numbers, alphabet and shapes.  Attending story hours at the library helps children develop literacy and social skills, while having fun.  This is a special time for learning and making new friends!

Story hour sessions are offered for three different age groups -- under 2 years, ages 2 & 3, and ages 4 & 5 -- at multiple times and at both of our locations.  Visit our events to see all of the offerings, and register for a group of classes today!  We look forward to meeting you and your child(ren) at Story Hour.

2010 Book sale

From the Virtual Desk of the Director,

Thanks to everyone who made the 2010 Peoples Library Booksale another great success.  This event is our most successful fundraiser every year and it would not be possible without the tireless work of the volunteers and the extroordinary generosity of the community.  (Over 42,000 items were donated this year.)  Special thanks to everyone who purchased items at our sale, whether you bought 1 pound or 100 pounds, the event would not be possible without your amazing support.

Thanks again and remember, we start collecting books for the 2011 book sale on January 3, 2011 in barrels at our New Kensington and Lower Burrell locations. 

David

Summer Reading: Special Events Fridays presents...The Zinghoppers!

Get ready to hop-hop-hop with The Zinghoppers!

On Friday, July 23, 2010 from 1 PM to 2 PM, please join us for a special presentation by the award winning performance group, The Zinghoppers! 

Making positive pop music for preschoolers and their families, The Zinghoppers will present a wonderful variety of music led by Conductor Jack and his friends, Penelope The Possum, Olo the Donkey, and Coconuts the Kangaroo.  This show is appropriate for all ages.

For more information, check out http://www.zinghoppers.com/.

Wendy's Fundraiser

Thanks to the generous management of the Wendy's restaurant located on Tarentum Bridge Road, you can raise money for Peoples Library just by eating there!

On Thursday, July 22, 2010 between the hours of 6-8 PM, simply order inside the restaurant and mention that you're attending "Peoples Library Night."  20% of total sales raised that night will be donated to the library!

Need directions to this Wendy's location?  Click here!

It's that time!

Bestselling authors, old favorites, movies, magazines, romances, mysteries, do it yourself, cookbooks, crafting, hardcover, paperbacks … we have it all, and now you can too!

The Peoples Library Annual Booksale – held at our New Kensington location - starts tonight at 5pm and runs through Saturday at 12:30pm.

Tonight, from 5pm-8pm, the price is $1.20 per pound.

Tomorrow, from 10am-7pm, the price is $1.00 per pound.

Friday, from 10am-7pm, the price is .75 per pound.

Saturday, from 9:30am-12:30pm, the price is $2 for a small bag and $3 for a large bag (the bags are provided).

Plus! The food court will be operating in the park outside – hot dogs, sandwiches, Portugese meat pies, baked goods and beverages – on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Don’t miss your chance!

Thank you!

Peoples Library would like to extend a special thank you to the following businesses and individuals for their continuous support of the 2010 Peoples Library Golf Outing.   We truly appreciate everyone's contributions, which allowed us to raise more money than last year.  We will post the official total raised upon the final tally.

• A.W. Communication
• Air Products
• Air Tran
• Allegheny Gallery
• Allegheny 6 Pack and Dogs
• Altany, Lloyd, & Linquist, Inc.
• Altoona Curve Baseball
• Anchor Inn
• Andy Warhol Museum
• Applebee's
• Around Back Cafe
• Aubrey's Dubb's Dred
• Birdsfoot Golf
• Burrell Group
• Buffalo Bill's
• CLO
• Church Hill Country Club
• Creighton Hotel
• Do Drop Inn
• Fancy Lady Boutique
• Hanes Restaurant
• Heinz History Center
• Highland Tire
• Hillcrest Country Club
• Hunter's Roadhouse
• JMS Business Machines
• Joe DeBaldo
• LaRusse Distributing
• Longhorn Restaurant
• Meadows-Harmar
• On the Border
• PaperMart
• Pittsburgh Pirates
• Pittsburgh Steelers
• Pittsburgh Symphony
• Pittsburgh Zoo
• Plant Chi Hair Salon
• Power Play Sports Bar
• Primanti Brothers
• RiverForest Golf
• Rock A Fella's
• Smoke Bones BBQ
• Spaghetti Warehouse
• Taylor-Made Golf
• Treesdale Golf
• T.J. and Claudia Latona
• Washington Wild THings
• Wheeling Nailers
• Ziggy's 
• Zottolla's
• Carlo Cimino
• Phillippi's
• Pepsi
• Gatorade

We would also like to extend a special thank you to LaRusse Distributing, without whom this event would not have been possible.

Summer Reading: Make a Splash! @ Peoples Library

Summer Reading is one of our favorite times of year at Peoples Library. Not only do we read lots and lots of books, but we offer some of our most exciting programs for children and teens of all age! Want to use a super sudsoaker, make science in a bottle, or learn how to grow a garden? How about participate in an Art Camp or Math Camp? Perhaps you'd like to learn how to use real microscopes at our Bioscience Camp!

These are just a few of the cool events we are offering this summer. Running from June 21st through August 13th, the Summer Reading program encourages readers of all ages can set a reading goal, keep track of their progress, and collect cool prizes at the end.

All ages are welcome. See our registration form to register for the program, and sign up for individual events in the Events section of our web site.

Attention PENS Fans!

Peoples Library is currently in possession of an official NHL jersey, autographed by Pittsburgh Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury!  Would you like to have this?  If so, now is your chance!

Buy raffle tickets at either of our locations in New Kensington and Lower Burrell for your chance to win. Tickets are available for the following prices:

Tickets

1 for $5 

3 for $10

7 for $20

The winning ticket will be drawn on June 4th at the Peoples Library Golf Outing to be held at Hillcrest Country Club.  The winner need not be present at the drawing.

All proceeds benefit Peoples Library.

Attention Cell Phone Users

In the market for a new cell phone, or about to renew a contract with Verizon?  Considering having FiOS installed in your home? 

If you're considering any of the above, simply clip a coupon from this flyer and take it with you to a Verizon center to help us earn money for Peoples Library. 

For a limited time, we have the opportunity to earn $20 when you activate a new phone, $10 when you renew a contract, and $20 when you have FiOS installed - all at no additional cost to you!  In tough times after having our state funding slashed, every bit of extra money is immensely helpful to us in accomplishing our goals.

There are 12 nearby Verizon centers participating, located in Chippewa, Connellsville, Delmont, Fox Chapel, Gibsonia, Kittanning, Leechburg, Natrona Heights, New Kensington, North Huntingdon, Pittsburgh Mills Mall, and Ross Township.  Full addresses of locations are provided on the flyer.

Thank You!

Thanks to everyone who made National Library Week 2010 a great success at Peoples Library:

Giant Eagle
LaRusse Distributing
Mayor Guzzo
The Original Class Act
The Cookie Queen (Pat Condelli)
The Lower Burrell SD Show Choir
Greg Walker
All of our volunteer cookie bakers

The Board & Staff of Peoples Library

No series of programs would happen without a great team effort, and this was truly a great team effort.

Thanks to all!

National Library Week!

National Library Week is an annual celebration of libraries across the country, and here at Peoples Library we'll be celebrating from April 12th through the 17th.

We're celebrating in a variety of ways, including:

Amnesty Week: Do you owe fines or fees on overdue materials that belong to Peoples Library in Lower Burrell or New Kensington?  If so, return them to us this week, regardless of how late, and owe nothing.

Door Prizes: Win a $25 gift card to Giant Eagle Just come to either of our locations, and receive your chance to enter.

Educational Classes/Workshops
Cooking Class - Cookie Queen Cooking Demo Tuesday, 4/13/10 (1pm) in Lower Burrell

Photography Workshop - "Light on the Landscape: a discussion of landscape photography." Thursday, 4/15/10 (7pm) in New Kensington.

Open House: Enjoy cookies and light refreshments while learning about the free services the library offers, and help us piece together the history of New Kensington from postcards and clippings that we've collected as part of our local history collection. On Monday, 4/12/10 (12pm - 4pm) in New Kensington, and on Thursday, 4/15/10 (12pm - 4pm) in Lower Burrell.

Performances: A variety of musical and other entertainment acts.
The Original Class Act, a local singing and dancing act, performs a show appropriate for all ages on Monday, 4/12/10 (6:30pm) in New Kensington.

Burrell Show Choir performs on Thursday, 4/15/10 (3:15pm) in Lower Burrell.

Steve Abrams, renowned puppeteer,presents "Puppet Theatre Inside & Out Aesop's Fables" Friday, 4/16/10,(10am) in New Kensington.


For more information about all of these events, see the National Library Week portion of our web site, and go to the Events section to register.

We hope to see you here!

Let's do lunch.

Lunch for Peoples Library 2010 is fast approaching.   This year's event is called We're Using Fashion "Cents", and will take place on May 1, 2010 at Hillcrest Country Club.  Starting at 10:30 AM and wrapping up around 2:30 PM, the event will consist of music, lunch, and fundraising activities, including basket auctions, silent auctions, 50/50 raffle, and a used book sale. 

If you're interested in supporting the library, please consider attending this enjoyable event.  Reservations are required by April 23rd, and can be made in person at both our New Kensington and Lower Burrell locations.  For more information, you can reach us at 724-339-1021.

Amnesty Week: April 12-17, 2010

In celebration of National Library Week, we are offering a limited time opportunity for individuals who have overdue materials, belonging to either our New Kensington or Lower Burrell location, to bring the materials back and not be charged anything.

This offer is good for one week only, from April 12 through April 17, 2010.  Items must be returned to either our New Kensington or Lower Burrell locations. By returning your materials during this time, all fines and fees will be forgiven regardless of how late. No questions asked.

We are hoping to reconnect with materials that have gone missing, and we want to welcome back patrons who we may not have seen in a while.   We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity.

Introducing....Peoples Library Conference Room!

Here at Peoples Library, we're always thinking about how we can better serve our community and improve our patrons' experience. In looking at our space, we decided there was a real need for a general purpose room - a place where patrons could meet more privately while receiving tax assistance, a room where a group could gather to study, a comfortable space where a book discussion group could have a lively conversation.

So after some thinking and planning, a lot of moving, and some painting, we're proud to announce that we have moved internal offices around and officially begun to create the Peoples Library Conference Room on the main level of our New Kensington location. This room is located on the opposite side of the library from the Circulation Desk.

The painting begins... A fresh coat of light green replaces the faded blue.

Up next: new carpet will be installed.  Our goal is to have the room completed for National Library Week, which is April 11th through 17th. Stay tuned for more updates on the renovation!

Read Across America

Peoples Library recently participated in Read Across America, a national program that focuses on getting children to read. We were delighted to have many children fill out their names and the books they read on brightly colored paper slips. Thank you to all who participated!
 

Linked together, the slips formed a chain, which was displayed above our circulation desk for all to see.







Where is it now? We've since sent our chain to our District Center. There, all the chains from all participating libraries throughout the county will be linked together to create one big display that shows how much the children of Westmoreland County read!

Thank you, neighbors.

The director and staff of Peoples Library wish to extend a sincere thanks to those generous community members who came out for "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Day, a tribute to the spirit of Mister Rogers. Attendees were treated to an enjoyable performance by Stage Right!, as they celebrated Mister Rogers' messages of kindness and generosity.

On this day, we succeeded in collecting a total of 21 sweaters, which were then donated to a local organization who will distribute them free of charge to members of our community who are in need of warmth and clothing.

"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes." -— Fred Rogers

Summer Hours

Starting on April 12, 2010, we will be changing over to our "Summer Hours."   There are modifications in the times we open and close on certain days at both facilities, but the most significant changes are that our New Kensington location will be open on Tuesdays and our Lower Burrell location will be open on Fridays.

You can always find this information in the hours section of our web site as well.

Summer Hours 2010
New Kensington
Monday 10am-8pm
Tuesday 9am-6pm
Wednesday 9am-6pm
Thursday Noon-8pm
Friday 10am-5pm
Saturday 9am-5pm

Lower Burrell
Monday 11am-8pm
Tuesday Noon-8pm
Wednesday 11am-8pm
Thursday 10am-8pm
Friday 10am-5pm
Saturday 10am-3pm

Come read with us.

We're very excited to write to you today about our new Book Discussion Group.  If you enjoy reading and discussing what you've read, this may be the perfect opportunity for you!

Each month, our group of readers will all read the same title.  After registering online, participating patrons can come in and pick up a copy of the book from the circulation desk in New Kensington beginning March 5th.  These books can be borrowed for a little over a month.  For the kick off, we've pre-selected Midnight at the Dragon Cafe by Judy Fong Bates.  (Next up will be Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.)  These are both great books we're really excited about, and believe will encourage lively discussion!

That will happen once a month, when members of the Book Discussion Group meet at a scheduled time at the library.  Discussions can be as short or as long as the group wants them to be.  A leader will guide the conversation with prepared questions.

At the first meeting, which will be on Thursday, April 22 at 1:30 PM in New Kensington, the group can pick out some other titles they'll be interested in reading and chart their own course for this exciting program.  Registration is required, so be sure to sign up if you're interested.  The next meetings will be held on Thursday, May 27th at 1:30 PM in New Kensington and 6:30 PM in Lower Burrell.  We'll let you know when registration for this second set of meetings opens.
Why join?  Joining a book discussion group can motivate you to read, allow you to learn while sharing your own and discussing others' perspectives, and even make new friends.  This is one of the library's many programs that encourage lifelong learning and a love of reading in our community.  We hope to see you there!

The verdict is in...

...penguins are cool! (But, as we learned this past Saturday, they don't all live in cold climates.)

One such penguin, Simon, made a special visit to Peoples Library in New Kensington this past Saturday. In excess of 175 people of all ages came out to see him and the attending representatives from the National Aviary. Everyone was treated to an enjoyable presentation while Simon strutted across the table.

Update: Peoples Library digs out from the snow...

If you saw our parking lot in Lower Burrell last week, and are like us, you might have been shocked by the amount of snow!  We know this made it difficult for our valued patrons to park and use the library, and we want to thank those of you who did their best to squeeze into a spot or even walked to the facility.  As mentioned in our previous post, we made special arrangements to have more of that snow removed. 

Check out some pictures to see the the process of removal, and - we're happy to report - the vastly improved conditions:

The digging begins...

Finally, snow is hauled away and you have more room to park!

Won't you be my neighbor?

Did you know that if Mister Rogers were alive today, he would be celebrating his 82nd birthday this year?

Sadly, he has passed, but his spirit of neighborliness lives on. After spending 33 years on the air teaching kindness and generosity, special programs like this one keep his messages alive. We invite you to celebrate his spirit on Thursday, March 11th by attending "Won't you be my neighbor?" Day at Peoples Library, New Kensington.

We're asking our patrons to wear sweaters to the event in honor of Mister Rogers, and also to bring an extra, gently worn sweater to donate to others who are in need of warmth and assistance this winter. Help us create a sizable collection of sweaters to donate to members of our community (our neighbors!) to keep them warm.

As a special bonus, Stage Right! will do a special presentation of "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Suess. Registration is required; register online in the Events section of our web site, or by calling 724-339-1021 ext. 14.

Peoples Library digs out from the snow...

As of this writing, Peoples Library is open and warm, ready for you to come in and use the facility.  However, like everyone else in Western Pennsylvania, we have faced many challenges in weathering this storm.

In accordance with our policy of closing in line with school district closings, the libraries in New Kensington and Lower Burrell closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (2/8, 2/9, and 2/11) of last week due to extreme inclement weather.  However, by Thursday, when the school districts in Lower Burrell and New Kensington closed for a fourth consecutive day, we made a special exception. We wanted to support the community, and so we opened both Thursday and Friday, despite our winter weather policy.

We want to thank you for your patience and understanding during our closings.  Check out some pictures of our libraries during this storm.

Peoples Library - New Kensington

Peoples Library - Lower Burrell 

 

  

We'd also like to let you know that we made special arrangements for additional plowing and snow removal in the Lower Burrell parking lot, and so the conditions there have vastly improved. Again, we thank you for your patience during this difficult time!

How was the snow at your house? We'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to share your stories, links to your own blogs and/or pictures in the comments.

Ever meet a live penguin?

Well now's your chance!  Peoples Library and the National Aviary invite you to join us for a unique opportunity to meet a live penguin.

On Saturday, February 20th, a representative from the National Aviary will be bringing a penguin right here, to Peoples Library in New Kensington. The program, called "Penguins Are Cool, or Are They?" will start promptly at 1 PM. You may bring your camera to capture great memories.

Registration is required in advance. We do have a limited number of spots, so sign up today! We hope to see you there!

For more information about the National Aviary, see their website at http://www.aviary.org/.

Book Sale

Have any books lying around that you've already read, and don't need anymore? How about DVDs you've already watched plenty of times, or games you're finished playing?

If so, please consider donating your used items to Peoples Library Annual Book Sale. We are now accepting materials in good condition in the following formats:

• Hardbacks
• Paperbacks
• Juvenile Materials
• Puzzles
• Games
• CDs and Records (LPs)
• DVDs and VHS tapes
• Magazines (from 2007 to present)
• References and Texts (from 2005 to present)

We are also in need of clean plastic and paper grocery bags.

Donations can be left at either of our locations, in New Kensington and/or Lower Burrell, in the designated barrells for the book sale. An additional seven barrells will be placed throughout the community in March. Thanks to our many volunteers, the book sale is always a huge success - both in raising money for the library and allowing us to add needed materials to our own collection. Your participation will be greatly appreciated!

The Book Sale will be held Wednesday July 14, 2010 through Saturday July 17, 2010. Mark your calendars now! Check back here soon for more details on when and where the barrells for donations will be placed.

Greetings, everyone.

This cold winter weather makes us anxious for Spring. So, we are starting to look ahead to May, when our annual Lunch with the Library event will be held at Hill Crest Country Club on Saturday, May 1st from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Lunch will be served at noon.

This year will mark our eighth Lunch with the Library event. Since 2002, themes have included: "A Celebration of Reading", "A Literary Lunch", and "We're Going Green". In addition to the delicious food, prior years have included music and fundraising activities such as 50/50 raffles, silent auctions, bake sales, used book sales, and basket auctions.

We're not sure yet what special features or theme will be in store for us this year, but we are sure that it will be another very enjoyable event. Reservations will be required in advance. We'll post more details about the lunch event as soon as we have them.

After the lunch, you can also look forward to our annual Golf Outing, which is slated for Friday, June 4th this year, also at Hill Crest Country Club. Like the lunch event, we'll be sure to share additional details as soon as they become available.

We hope you can make these events. So please, save the dates!

Introducing...

Peoples Library would like to welcome you to our new blog!

This is a place we'll share news and tell you about programs happening at the library. We'll also muse about books and other resources, and anything else that might spark our interest that we think might be of interest to you too.

We welcome your comments and suggestions here as well. We hope you enjoy our blog.