All Ages

Library and WQED Celebrate Service Members and Their Families

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In partnership with WQED Education, Peters Township Public Library will be hosting a family friendly event to celebrate and honor local service members and their families over Veterans Day weekend.

Peters Township Public Library will host Welcome Home: Celebrating Veterans and Their Families on Saturday, November 10 from noon until 2:00 p.m. Service members and their young families will enjoy a meet-and-greet with Katerina Kittycat from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, refreshments, a caricature artist, and a special performance by Pittsburgh Magician Al Mazing at 1 p.m. All are welcome to attend this event. Registration is requested online or call 724.941.9430 #1.

This event is part of a Veterans Coming Home grant that WQED received from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Veterans Coming Home is a collaborative, multi-platform effort to highlight innovative, effective programs and individuals that are leading the way to better outcomes for service members as they transition to civilian life.

“Military service extends beyond the person who directly answers the call to serve to encompass the whole family,” said Gina Masciola, manager of education projects. “It is important that we thank service members for the sacrifices they make, but this event also allows us to draw attention to and celebrate the service of their families as well. Libraries are the perfect community partner to host these thank you events as they are an integral part of the communities they serve.”

For more information, call the library at 724.941.9430 #1.

6th Annual Fall Animal Fair

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Peters Township Public Library will hold its 6th annual Fall Animal Fair at the library on Saturday, September 29 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. All are welcome to this free, family-friendly event to visit with local organizations and businesses involved with pet care.  Angel Ridge and the Washington Area Humane Society will have animals available at the fair to consider for adoption. There will be a dog obedience training demonstration by Paws Up Professional Dog Obedience Training at 11:30 in the Family Activity Center. Author Linda Diesing will be reading her book What Do Dogs Do When You Go Off to School at 12 noon.

TWENTY different organizations and businesses to date will participate in the fair including:

Angel Ridge Animal Rescue
Animal Friends
Catnip Acres
Doodie Deeds Dog Waste Removal
Fix Ur Cat
FurKid Rescue
Golden Triangle Obedience
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs Inc.
Healthy Pet Products
Hearts and Paws Ministry
Keystone Canine Training Club
My Little Dog Shoppe
Pennsylvania Great Dane Rescue
Pet Search
Rabbit Wranglers
South Hills Pet Rescue
University Veterinary Specialists
Washington Area Humane Society
Paws Up Professional Dog Obedience Training
WQED Pittsburgh

Attendees can talk with all the participants, who will be distributing samples and coupons. The library is accepting pet product donations for our local shelters in the lobby through the day of the fair. Registration is not required to attend this event being offered for animal lovers of all ages. Please do not bring pets to the fair. Call the library at 724.941.9430 for more information.

Alexander Hamilton: Immigrant, Patriot, Visionary

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A National Traveling Exhibition from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, made possible by the Rockefeller Foundation, is coming to your library!

Visit this exhibition during library hours from Friday, June 15 through Saturday, July 7. The library is closed on Sundays, June 17 and 24; Sundays, July 1 and 8; and Wednesday, July 4.

Using primarily reproductions from the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s renowned collections, and drawing on recent scholarship about Alexander Hamilton, this traveling exhibition will examine Hamilton’s role during the Revolutionary War and Founding period (1774-1804) in creating the economic, constitutional, social, journalistic, political, and foreign policy templates for modern America. It will acquaint visitors with a statesman and visionary whose life inspired discussion and controversy and shaped the America we live in two hundred years after his death.

Library prepares for Read Local/Eat Local event

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Peters Township Public Library will gather over 20 local authors to shine and share their talents at a new event called Read Local/Eat Local on Saturday, June 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The library is encouraging the community to read books by authors from the southwestern Pennsylvania area that represent all genres for all age groups. The library plans to offer storytimes and activities for children at this family-friendly event. No registration is needed to attend.

“The library is frequently contacted by local authors when they have a new book to share,” explained Sue Miller, Assistant Library Director. “And that is how we discovered so much talent right in our backyard. With the Read Local event, we have an opportunity to showcase these authors to the community. They offer everything from children’s books, fiction for young adults, romance, fantasy, mystery, science fiction, history, and self-help. I think the event will offer something for just about everyone, including some tasty food available for purchase.”

Authors to date that will be available for two hours of conversation, book readings, book sales and signings include:

Plan to Eat Local while at this free event or passing through the area as three food trucks will be in the library parking lot with refreshments for sale that afternoon. Trucks on-site will include Hott Dawgz, Revival Chili, and Kona Ice.

Kicking off Read Local/Eat Local will be a pre-event from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. with bestselling author J.D. Barker who will discuss Making the Leap from Indie to Traditional Publishing. Barker successfully published his debut novel as an indie and sold enough copies to land on the radar of the traditional publishers in a big way including seven-figure advances, two feature films, and a television program. He’ll open his toolbox and explain exactly what he did to make it happen. All are welcome to attend this session, especially any aspiring author or seasoned veteran trying to find their place in today’s publishing world. J.D. Barker is an international bestselling American author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural. Register online to attend his talk.

Concluding the afternoon will be Susan Hans O’Connor from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. with her talk Authors and Independent Bookstores: Working Together for Mutual Success. Independent bookstores are a vital piece of the book publishing puzzle.  Partnering with local stores can be one of the most effective tools authors can use to promote their books.  O’Connor will share her insights from the perspective of both a current bookstore owner as well as a former book editor.  Susan Hans O’Connor has been the owner of the Penguin Bookshop since 2014.  She began her publishing career at Viking Penguin where she worked as an editor for over a decade. Register online to attend her talk.

With Kanopy, PT Library patrons will have access to 30,000+ films for free

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The popular on-demand film streaming service Kanopy is now available for free by registered users of the Peters Township Public Library. PTPL cardholders can access Kanopy and sign up to start streaming films on instantly by visiting https://ptlibrary.kanopy.com/. Films can be streamed from any computer, television, mobile device or platform by downloading the Kanopy app for iOS, Android, AppleTV, Chromecast or Roku.

Offering what the New York Times calls “a garden of cinematic delights,” Kanopy showcases more than 30,000 of the world’s best films, including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films, and world cinema with collections from Kino Lorber, Music Box Films, Samuel Goldwyn, The Orchard, The Great Courses, PBS and thousands of independent filmmakers.

Kanopy Kids PosterOur subscription includes Kanopy Kids: thoughtful entertainment for children aged preschool and up. Kanopy Kids categories include TV Series, Learning Languages, Animated Storybooks, Anime Favorites, Classic Films and Movies for the Whole Family. Key titles include Arthur, Babar, Franklin & Friends, Maya The Bee, Wild Kratts, Between the Lions, Little Pim, and Nigerian-animated Bino & Fino. The collection also highlights Classic Films from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton and Oscar® nominated titles including A Cat in Paris and The Secret of Kells, plus family-friendly documentaries, Girls Rock, and The Endless Summer. In order to help parents decide which videos are best for their children, Kanopy has partnered with Common Sense Media™ to provide developmentally appropriate age ratings on Kanopy Kids. Parents can also choose to implement parental controls for additional security.

With the motto of “thoughtful entertainment,” Kanopy provides Peters Township Public Library cardholders with access to films of unique social and cultural value; films that are often difficult or impossible to access elsewhere, and programming that features diversity, with a wide array of foreign language films and films on race, and current affairs.

The Kanopy collection includes indie hits like Hunt For the Wilderpeople and 2 Days in Paris, classic masterpieces like Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Seven Samurai, and award-winning documentaries like the 2017 Oscar®-nominated I Am Not Your Negro and Sundance Film Festival winner Mother of George.

Kanopy was founded in 2008 by CEO Olivia Humphrey as an educational tool for colleges and universities. More than 5 million Kanopy users stream the most acclaimed movies and documentaries from award-winning filmmakers and experience the best in independent, classic film, and world cinema.

Vietnam Memories Videos

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The Peters Township Library Foundation in partnership with The Peters Township Public Library has filmed and produced a selection of “Vietnam Memories” to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Tet Offensive and to delve more deeply into the experiences of local Vietnam veterans and the recollections of local residents.  Visitors are welcome to watch the Vietnam memories currently playing in our library lobby or with this link to our YouTube Channel. Our intention in providing this brief oral history is to honor those who served by sharing their stories and experiences firsthand to teach younger generations and the general public about this difficult time in our nation’s history.  In addition to thanking our guest speakers, we also offer special thanks to Jim McNutt and Diane Lioon for their commitment to making this project a reality. We also wish to thank PTHS Art Teacher, Lauren McCutcheon and the PTHS Art Club student volunteers, Cassie Tomlin, Rebecca Nelson and Kim Mincin for their assistance in painting our bunker scenery.

The Vietnam Memories videos are now airing on Comcast Channel 7 and Verizon Channel 38 on Mondays at 10:00 a.m., Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m., Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m., Thursdays at 11:00 p.m., and Fridays at 4:30 a.m.

George Dvorznak – An officer in the US Army in May 1967, George was stationed at the Long Binh Base, which housed the 3rd Ordinance Battalion’s largest ammunition dump in operation at the time. This is his story of the night the ammunition dump exploded.

Ron Worstell – Drafted by the US Army in 1968, Ron was assigned to the Infantry to provide security along the Ho Chi Minh Trail near the Cambodian border. He talks about his experiences with the Vietnamese villagers and how his 18 years of volunteer work at the Vietnam Memorial Wall have helped him overcome his survivor’s guilt.

Jim McNutt – In 1968 Jim McNutt was a US Army news correspondent in Vietnam. He was assigned to cover the action with the 60th Infantry Division’s Mobile Riverine Force as they patrolled the Delta south of Saigon. This is his exciting story of a surprise ambush attack while doing his job.

Jim Puhala – Jim was a helicopter pilot with the 1st Cavalry Division of the US Army. On November 8, 1967, he was called to provide fire support for US troops who were under heavy attack by the VC along Highway 1 in Vietnam. Hear his account of his helicopter being shot down and the crew rescued.

Richard Gotch – A MACV Advisor for the US Army in 1966, Richard’s job was to be the liaison between the US Armed forces and the South Vietnamese ARVN troops at the US Fort at Song Be. This is his story of an NVA battalion decimating the ARVN troops as they charged over a mountain into Cambodia.

Peter Bonadio, MD – Dr. Bonadio was assigned to the artillery headquarters near Chu Lai in August of 1969. He made his “rounds” via helicopter to three nearby firebases to inspect facilities and treat soldiers. He also provided first aid to the local villagers, sometimes with surprising results.

Judge Mike McCarthy – In 1970, Mike was a Seabee in the US Navy assigned to the Delta region in Vietnam. This is the story of how his team replaced a section of a footbridge which crossed the river while fellow Navy swift-boats distracted the enemy with firepower.

Patricia Fink – Patti showed her support for the POWs of the Vietnam War by wearing her POW bracelet from 1971-1973. The bracelets were a fundraiser for her mother’s Marine Corp Ladies Auxiliary. She shares stories about the support that the Auxiliary gave to the wounded Vietnam Veterans in Pennsylvania.