Adults

PT Library Foundation hosts Yaa Gyasi

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The Peters Township Library Foundation will welcome the author of Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi, on Thursday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are on sale through the library web site or at the Circulation Desk. Ticket prices are $10 for Students and $15 for Adults. A limited number of VIP tickets will be sold for $60 and include VIP seats, a pre-event meet and greet with Yaa Gyasi, passed hors d’oeuvres, and a copy of Homegoing. Group rates for 20 or more are also available. Email theptlibraryfoundation@gmail.com for details.

The venue for this special event will be The Bible Chapel’s South Hills Campus at 300 Gallery Drive in McMurray. A book signing will follow the program.

The unforgettable New York Times bestseller Homegoing begins with the story of two half-sisters, separated by forces beyond their control: one sold into slavery, the other married to a British slaver. Written with tremendous sweep and power, Homegoing traces the generations of family who follow, as their destinies lead them through two continents and three hundred years of history, each life indelibly drawn, as the legacy of slavery is fully revealed in light of the present day.

ABOUT YAA GYASI

Yaa Gyasi was born in Mampong, Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She holds a BA in English from Stanford University and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she held a Dean’s Graduate Research Fellowship. Homegoing is her first novel and has won the PEN/Hemingway Award, NBCC’s John Leonard Award, and a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book. Photo credit: Michael Lionstar

PRESS LINKS

A 26-Year-old Looks to the Past for Her Literary Debut | TIME

 

Yaa Gyasi’s “Homegoing” | The New Yorker

 

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young African Immigrant | The New York Times

 

Yaa Gyasi | NPR

 

 The blazing success of Yaa Gyasi’s ‘Homegoing,’ a panoramic portrait of the slave trade’s legacy | Los Angeles Times

 

‘Homegoing,’ by Yaa Gyasi: A bold tale of slavery for a new ‘Roots’ generation | The Washington Post

 

Come join our team!

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Peters Township is seeking an individual for the position of Circulation Desk Clerk at the Peters Township Public Library. This is a part time position with evening hours and weekends required. Duties include checking books in and out, shelving library materials, data inputting, telephone answering, and other clerical work. The individual will have a high school diploma or equivalent and customer service experience. Library experience preferred. The position starts at $10.00/hour.

Interested applicants must send a completed application to Myra Oleynik, Library Director, 616 East McMurray Road, McMurray, PA 15317 by September 15, 2017. Print an application or pick up one at the Peters Township Municipal Building. Peters Township is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Youth Services Department at Peters Township Public Library is seeking a part-time Library Technician. Duties include assisting patrons with reference questions and routine inquiries, locating library materials, and occasionally organizing and orchestrating programs for children, teens, and families. Must be able to work evenings and weekends. Previous experience with children and teens is necessary. Prior library experience is preferred. Salary: $13.50/hour.

Interested applicants must send a completed application to Myra Oleynik, Library Director, 616 East McMurray Road, McMurray, PA 15317 by September 15, 2017. Print an application or pick one up at the Peters Township Municipal Building. Peters Township is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Read the Hiring Process for the Library Technician position.

What’s Your Story?

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Are you a former/current Peters Township Public Library patron, volunteer, staff member, or board member with a fond memory to share?

Perhaps it was sitting with your children at storytime in the ‘70s, helping with a special fundraiser over the past six decades, or discovering a book by a new author on our shelves at one of our four previous locations?  Do you have a special message about how the library has made a difference in your life?  Your story can be as brief as, “I love the library because…” or as reminiscent as, “My oldest memory of the library was when…”  Whatever the story about the library between 1957 to 2017, we’d love to film you sharing YOUR special memory. Families messages are welcome too!

Diane Lioon, secretary of The Peters Township Library Foundation, is coordinating several sessions with photographer/videographer Jim McNutt to videotape you and your brief message. Sessions will be held upstairs in our Local History Room on the dates and times listed below. Sign up at the Circulation Desk for your 20-minute time slot.

Monday, Aug. 14, 1 to 3 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 15, 1 to 3 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 14, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 15, 1 to 3 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 16, 1 to 3 p.m.

Messages will be on view at our 60th anniversary celebration on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017.

8th Annual Local Foods Potluck Dinner

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Celebrate the season’s bounty at Peters Township Public Library’s 8th Annual Local Foods Potluck Dinner on Friday, August 11 at 6:00 p.m.

For this year’s free event, the library’s GO Green Club is partnering with Farm to Table Western PA, whose goal is to bridge the gap between consumers and local food producers.

Attendees are asked to bring a potluck dish of 6-8 servings made with home grown or locally grown foods and share your recipe with the group.

Globally, up to 40% of the food produced is wasted. During the dinner, a representative from 412 Food Rescue will explain how their organization works with volunteers to prevent perfectly good food from entering the waste stream.

Registration is required to attend. Register online or call 724.941.9430 #1 by Wednesday, August 9.  For more information, email the GO Green Club at ptplgogreenclub@gmail.com.

The Middle East: Understanding the Region & its Key Players

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The Peters Township Public Library in partnership with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh will welcome Ross Harrison to discuss the ever changing landscape of the Middle East on Wednesday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m. Since our world realities often shift from hour to hour and day to day, Harrison will provide us with various lenses to view and make sense of events in that region.

Register online to attend or call 724.941.9430 #1.

Ross Harrison is on the faculty of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and is a scholar at The Middle East Institute in Washington, DC. He also teaches a course in Middle East politics at the University of Pittsburgh.

Harrison authored Strategic Thinking in 3D: A Guide for National Security, Foreign policy and Business Professionals, which currently is a required strategy text at the U.S. National War College, as well as at many civilian universities. He also co-edited a book with Paul Salem (released in 2017), From Chaos to Cooperation: Toward Regional Order in the Middle East.

He has lectured on matters related to strategy and as well as Middle East politics at the U.S. Department of State, the National War College, National Defense University, The Navy War College, the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute, Georgetown University and the Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies. He has also been part of several Track 1.5 and Track II diplomatic initiatives related to Syria and the broader Middle East.

Harrison has been published in policy related journals such as The National Interest, Al Monitor, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs and Parameters (The U.S. Army War College Journal), Huffington Post and the Post-Gazette. He is often interviewed by the media and quoted in national papers, including the New York Times on issues related to the Middle East.

McMurray Veterans of Foreign Wars POST 764 generously provides support for the International Program Series.

World War I Commemorative Events Planned

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Peters Township Public Library, in partnership with the VFW Memorial Park Post 764 and the Veterans Breakfast Club, will mark the 100th anniversary of the American entry into World War I with an evening full of activities.

Register to attend online or call 724.941.9430 #1.

A commemorative kick-off event is planned for Thursday, August 3 beginning at 6:30 p.m. featuring Over There: The Music of WWI in America presented by Val Williams with the Abbey Players and accompanied by Lynne Spatafore with additional direction by Nicole Tafe and Lorra Brannen.

Following this musical trip through history, Michael Neiberg, Ph.D. will discuss America’s Road to War, 1914-1917 at 7:15 p.m.  Neiberg is the Inaugural Chair of War Studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the United States Army War College.

At 8:15 p.m. the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History World War I and America Centennial Exhibit will be opened for viewing. Music and a reception will close the festivities for the evening.The exhibit will be on display in the library’s main lobby through Thursday, August 24, 2017.

https://video214.com/play/PGe1cqfccPEVtZt8b0YARA/s/dark

World War I and America is a two-year initiative by The Library of America presented in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the National World War I Museum and Memorial, and other organizations, with generous support from The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Additional programs are being finalized for late 2017. Please check the library web site for more information about upcoming WWI Commemorative events.