News

Annual Animal Fair

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Celebrate our animal friends at the library on Saturday, September 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.! Check out and/or adopt a new pet friend, learn about animal care and all things pet related. We’ll be visited by local shelters, vets, trainers, stores, and more. There will be prizes and giveaways for you and the animals in your life. Please bring a pet supply donation for our participating shelters and PLEASE leave your personal pets at home for this terrific family-friendly event! A true tradition in our community! Please register to let us know you are coming at https://tinyurl.com/annual-animal-fair

Participating organizations include:
Angel Ridge Animal Rescue
Animal Advocates
Animal Friends
Golden Triangle Obedience
Hearts and Paws Ministry
My Little Dog Shoppe
Pet Search
Rabbit Wranglers
South Hills Pet Rescue
Washington Area Humane Society
WQED
Terri Herman, Pet Portrait Artist

Veterans Speak Out

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According to a recent Pew Research Center poll at https://tinyurl.com/y2ngvok5, two-thirds of our nation’s veterans think the wars fought since September 11, 2001 weren’t worth the cost of fighting them. The Veterans Breakfast Club will convene a panel of young post-9/11 veterans to share their thoughts, pro and con. REGISTER at https://tinyurl.com/vbc-panel to attend this discussion. Refreshments compliments of Pilgrimage Hospice.

MODERATOR:
Nick Grimes enlisted in the Army in 2004 and served two tours of combat in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. Nick is currently the Project Director for the Veterans Breakfast Club and the host of the upcoming podcast, Truth About War.

PANELISTS:
Ryan Ahl is the Veterans Outreach Program Specialist for the Pittsburgh Vet Center and a company commander in the Pittsburgh Army National Guard. Ryan is a two-tour veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2004 and 2009, where he served as an infantryman. He has been working with veterans in the Pittsburgh area for the last 7 years.

Aryanna Berringer is an Iraq War veteran having enlisted two months after 9/11 and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom with the XVIII Airborne Corps. She is a mom of three, a Ph.D. student focusing on Community Engagement, and is the Director of the Office of Veteran Services at the University of Pittsburgh.

Matt Landis enlisted in the Army in 1999 as an Artilleryman and later became a Warrant Officer, flying Apache attack helicopters in Iraq. Currently, Matt works for The Mission Continues as an Advisor for the Service Leadership Corps.

Karen Sudkamp is a former Department of Defense senior intelligence and policy analyst, focusing on the Middle East and counterterrorism issues. She supported the military at all levels, from deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Jordan to multiple positions on the Joint Staff. She currently researches critical national security issues.

The Great Halloween Costume Swap Returns!

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The library is bringing back the Great Halloween Costume Swap on Saturday, October 5. Instead of purchasing new costumes each year, the library staff aims to encourage the community to swap their slightly used costumes to save resources, packaging, transportation costs, and money.

Persons interested in participating can drop off gently-used costumes for children, teens or adults on Thursday, October 3 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. or Friday, October 4 from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. at the library. Costumes should be in GREAT condition. Participants will get a token for each costume donated for the swap. Return on Saturday, October 5 from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. with your token and shop for a swap. Any costumes and accessories remaining will be donated to a local charity in the South Hills area.

A Novel November with Anna Quindlen

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Anna Quindlen will be the featured author for The Peters Township Library Foundation’s 3rd annual Novel November on Thursday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for the event will go on sale on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 12 noon online at https://www.showclix.com/event/anna-quindlen. A limited of number of tickets will be available to purchase at the Library Services Desk.

Ticket prices are $60 for VIP, $20 for Adult General Admission, and $5 for Student General Admission. General Admission tickets for adults/students will be sold at the door that evening if available. The venue for this event will be the Peters Township High School Auditorium at 264 East McMurray Road in McMurray. Doors open for General Admission at 6:15 p.m. An ASL interpreter will be provided at the event. A book signing will follow the program. Books will be sold by Riverstone Books.

VIP tickets will include:

  1. A Pre-event reception/book signing with Anna Quindlen from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m.
  2. Passed hors-d’oeuvres by Chef Garnett Livingston of La Maison
  3. VIP reserved seating
  4. Your choice of one of six Anna Quindlen titles, selected during the ticket purchase process


About Anna Quindlen
Bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and social critic Anna Quindlen has appeared in some of America’s most influential newspapers, magazines, and prominent fiction and non-fiction bestseller lists.

Even before blogs existed, she was the go-to writer for millions of readers on the joys and challenges of family, motherhood, and modern life. Bringing to the stage her ability to balance the political with the personal, Quindlen discusses every aspect of our culture from work-life balance and education to health care, philanthropy, and social justice.

Quindlen’s newest New York Times bestseller, Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting, celebrates the love and joy and many lessons learned from being a grandmother. Her latest bestselling novel, Alternate Side, is a provocative look at what it means to be a mother, a wife, and a woman at a moment of reckoning.  

Thirteen of Quindlen’s books, including seven of her novels, have appeared on The New York Times Best Sellers list. One True Thing became a feature film starring Renee Zellweger and Meryl Streep, and Black and Blue was made into a TV movie. Her book,  A Short Guide to A Happy Life, sold well over one million copies. 

Quindlen’s memoir on aging, Lots Of Candles, Plenty Of Cake debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list, while her follow-up bestseller, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, debuted at #3. 

One of the top “100 Outstanding Journalists in the United States of the Last 100 Years,” Quindlen began her career at age 18 as a copy girl. She spent three years as a reporter for The New York Post before moving to The New York Times in 1977. Working her way up The Times’ masthead, Quindlen wrote the “About New York” column, served as deputy metropolitan editor, and created the weekly “Life in the 30’s” column. 

In 1990, Quindlen became the third woman in The New York Times’ history to write for its influential Op-Ed page. Her nationally syndicated column “Public and Private” won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992, and then, Quindlen wrote the “Last Word” column for Newsweek for 10 years. 

Quindlen serves on the Board of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and is an American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow. The Child Welfare League of America established “The Anna Quindlen Award for Excellence in Journalism on Behalf of Children and Families.” She holds honorary degrees from more than 20 colleges and universities.

Still Family Storytime

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The library is once again partnering with The Still Remembered Project and WQED to offer a memorable storytime for children and families who have experienced loss. The program will offer encouraging and uplifting stories and activities to help children understand loss and grief. We will be joined by Clifford the Big Red Dog for lots of hugs and photos. This program is being facilitated by Ms. Shannon in memory of her niece Scarlett Pauley. 

Please register online to let us know you and your family members will be joining us.

The Still Remembered Project provides bereaved parents and families Christian-based support and encouragement for a loss due to miscarriage, stillbirth, or early infant death. Their efforts offer hope and healing throughout all stages of the grief journey. They accomplish this mission by:

– Educating local medical and bereavement communities,
– Providing remembrance keepsakes to families,
– Holding awareness events, and
– Hosting a monthly peer support group meeting for bereaved mothers.

For more information, contact Shannon Pauley at 724.941.9430 #3.

Read Local/Eat Local Returns!

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The Peters Township Public Library will host 25 local authors at its 2nd annual Read Local/Eat Local event on Saturday, June 22 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The library is encouraging the community to read books by Pennsylvania authors that represent all genres for all age groups. No registration required to attend.

Authors at the event will include:

Kicking off the event at 10:00 a.m. will be a talk by New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict followed by a book signing. Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator at two of the country’s premier law firms. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College with a focus in History and Art History, and a cum laude graduate of the Boston University School of Law. While practicing as a lawyer, Marie dreamed of a fantastical job unearthing the hidden historical stories of women — and finally found it when she tried her hand at writing.  

She embarked on a new, narratively connected series of historical novels with The Other Einstein, which tells the tale of Albert Einstein’s first wife, a physicist herself, and the role she might have played in his theories. The following novel in this series is Carnegie’s Maid, which tells the story of one brilliant woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie’s transformation from ruthless industrialist into the world’s first true philanthropist. Marie’s 3rd installment in the series, The Only Woman in the Room, was published in January of 2019. A powerful novel based on the incredible true story of Hedy Lamarr, glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication, The Only Woman in the Room is a masterpiece. Writing as Heather Terrell, Marie also published the historical novels The Chrysalis, The Map Thief, and Brigid of Kildare. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

Advance registration is requested for Ms. Benedict’s talk as seating is limited. Call 724.941.9430 #1 to register to attend. Independent bookstore Riverstone Books will be handling books sales for Marie Benedict that day. To preorder your books before Read Local/Eat Local, call Riverstone Books at 412.366.1001.

No registration is required to attend the rest of the Read Local/Eat Local event.

Concluding the event at 1:00 p.m., Robin Carroll from Riverstone Books will offer tips for authors about marketing themselves and their books, working with an independent book seller, and discuss opportunities for events at their bookstore.

Plan to Eat Local while at this free event or passing through the area. Three food trucks, Burgh Bites, Southside BBQ Company, and Udderly Fresh, will be in the library parking lot with refreshments for sale that afternoon.

For more information about Read Local/Eat Local, call the library at 724.941.9430 ext. 5771.